Guinea is set to announce an end to the Ebola epidemic in the West African state this weekend, the country’s health minister said Thursday.
Speaking during a webinar hosted by the World Health Organization, Health Minister Remy Lamah said the viral epidemic will be declared over on Saturday — barring the discovery of new cases. Guinea announced an Ebola outbreak on February 14, evoking spectres of the devastating 2013-2016 West Africa epidemic, which left 11,300 dead in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. nThe disease causes severe fever and, in the worst cases, unstoppable bleeding. It is transmitted through close contact with bodily fluids, and people who live with or care for patients are most at risk. According to the WHO, Ebola has infected at least 16 people and claimed five lives since February in Guinea, where the disease reappeared in the forested Nzerekore region in the southeast of the impoverished nation.
On Thursday, Lamah credited the speed of the health response for getting the outbreak under control.