Guinea Declares Ebola Outbreak
Guinea officially declared that it is dealing with an Ebola epidemic after the deaths of at least five people from the virus which authorities traced back to the burial of a nurse in Gouecké, a small town near the Liberian border and located less than 50 km away from one of SOS Children’s Villages Guinea’s programs.
This new outbreak is in roughly the same area where the epidemic began in December 2013. Given the cross-border trade between Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, there is concern the outbreak could spread.
“All the children in our care and the participants we support through our family strengthening program in N’Zérékoré are safe and we are relieved that none of them had been in Gouecké recently,” says SOS Children’s Villages Guinea National Director M. Richard Watchinou.
At about the same time, the Democratic Republic of Congo reported two deaths in North Kivu region due to the virus. “Given the important mobilization of DR Congo Government and its partners such as WHO, the risk of contamination beyond this area is low. However, a special focus will be put in raising awareness within the population as well as reducing movement to the affected area,” says SOS Children’s Villages DRC National Director Mr. Aboubacar Moutari.
“We are closely monitoring the situation and we are giving information about Ebola to our participants. Moreover, we are still observing the barrier measures we put in place to protect against the spread of COVID-19 such as systematically taking temperatures with instant thermometers, handwashing before entering the SOS Children’s Village premises or simply by restricting access.” adds SOS Children’s Villages International Director for West, North and Central Africa Benoit Piot,.
Between 2013 and 2016, more than 11,000 people died in the West Africa Ebola epidemic that began in Guinea.
In response to that epidemic, which affected mainly Guinea and its neighbours Liberia and Sierra Leone, several vaccines were developed and have since been successfully used to fight outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Canadians wishing to help vulnerable children are encouraged to Sponsor a Child, Sponsor a Village or make a Donation today to our COVID-19 response.