Ebola virus disease in Guinea has multiple causes – ANSS
Conakry, Guinea (PANA) - Three hypotheses are at the root of the resurgence, eight years later, of the Ebola virus disease in Guinea, Dr. Sakoba Keita, director of the National Health Security Agency, revealed on Friday in a prime time programmw on a local private radio station.
Among these three hypotheses, the head of the ANSS explained the consumption of wild animals, especially in southern Forest Guinea, the epicentre of the disease since the first epidemic in 2013.
"The bat is involved in this and it is consumed locally. As in many other parts of Forest Guinea, people are consuming bat meat, although at the moment we don't have any evidence yet," he said.
He said joint investigations will be carried out with the Environment and Livestock Services on samples of bats living in the area.
The second hypothesis, he continued, could be that probably part of a healed person, like the case we had in Koropara (South).
The third hypothesis to be verified, according to the ANSS boss, is to ask whether a Guinean who returned from Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), prey to the Ebola virus disease for several years, has not stayed in Gouécké (South) where the first cases were detected last week.
Guinea had sent health experts to DRC to assist their Congolese counterparts who have been engaged in the fight against Ebola for several years.
The head of the ANSS said recently at a press conference that the government has placed an order for nearly 12,000 doses of vaccine to be distributed to three sites starting next week.
He assured that his services could vaccinate more than 100 people a day, especially in areas at risk and where the first cases have been identified.
The Ebola virus disease caused more than 10,000 deaths in the country in 2013.
-0- PANA AC/JSG/SOC/MTA/AR 19Feb2021
