Senegal becomes 5th African nation to confirm first case of Ebola
Iran Press TV
Fri Aug 29, 2014 2:52PM GMT
Senegal becomes the fifth African nation to verify the Ebola outbreak as the country's authorities have confirmed the first infected case.
The infected person was checked into a hospital in the capital, Dakar, while he admitted to having contact with Ebola patients when he was in Guinea, Senegal Health Minister Awa Marie Coll Seck said Friday.
Authorities initially failed to determine how the infected person came to Senegal, which has closed its border with Guinea.
Earlier, Guinea authorities alerted Dakar that a person who had had contact with Ebola patients may have managed to escape to Senegal.
Senegal investigators later determined that the man now in quarantine is the one who fled.
The Institut Pasteur confirmed that the Guinea national in Senegal now has Ebola, with the World Health Organization (WHO) put on alert.
According to the WHO, Ebola has so far killed more than 1,500 people in West Africa. It has mainly affected Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, with Liberia reporting most deaths among the other countries.
On August 24, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) confirmed its first cases of Ebola.
Ebola is a form of hemorrhagic fever whose symptoms are diarrhea, vomiting and bleeding. The virus spreads through direct contact with infected blood, feces or sweat. It can also be spread through sexual contact or the unprotected handling of contaminated corpses.
Ebola remains one of the world’s most virulent diseases, which kills between 25 to 90 percent of those who fall sick. There is currently no known cure for the disease.
GMA/AB
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
