GUINEA Ebola’s spread to capital raises fears

Associated Press

CONAKRY, GUINEA

Ebola, one of the world’s most deadly viruses, has spread from a remote forested corner of southern Guinea to the country’s seaside capital, raising fears that the disease, which causes severe bleeding and almost always death, could spread far beyond this tiny West African nation’s borders.

In the first outbreak of its kind here, Ebola already has killed at least 70 people including one man whose family brought him to Conakry, the capital, for medical treatment. Now six of his relatives and two others exposed to him are being kept in isolation at a hospital.

Health officials warn that the arrival of Ebola in this sprawling city of some 2 million people with an international airport could spell disaster. Among the poorest countries in the world, Guinea has severely limited medical facilities and a large population living in slums where the virus could spread quickly.

International aid groups such as Doctors Without Borders and Plan International are trying to educate Guineans about how the disease is spread, and working to identify and isolate anyone who may have been exposed. There is no cure for the disease and the virus strain in Guinea has a fatality rate of up to 90 percent. Some 111 people have fallen ill and authorities in neighboring Liberia and Sierra Leone are investigating possible cases.

“Above all, we must avoid widespread panic,” said Marie-Christine Ferir, emergency coordinator for Doctors Without Borders.