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Ebola outbreak: Senegal confirms first case

August 29th, 2014 | Tags: Ebola outbreak Senegal first case Guinea
Senegal had already closed its borders to neighbouring Guinea to try to stop the spread of the virus. Photo: BBC
BBC NEWS

Senegal's health ministry has confirmed a first case of Ebola, making it the fifth West African country to be affected by the outbreak.

Health Minister Awa Marie Coll Seck told reporters on Friday that a young man from Guinea was confirmed to have contracted the virus.

The man was immediately placed in quarantine, she added.

The current outbreak, which began in Guinea, has killed more than 1,500 people across the region.

At least 3,000 people have been infected with the virus. The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned it could get much worse and infect more than 20,000 people.

Guinea riot

Senegal had previously closed its border with Guinea in an attempt to halt the spread of Ebola, but its frontiers are porous.

A soldier from the Sierra Leone army stands near an Ebola information poster outside Kailahun, on August 14, 2014.The affected countries have been running public information campaigns to warn about Ebola

It had also banned flights and ships from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone - the three worst-hit countries.

But the Guinean health services reported on Wednesday "the disappearance of a person infected with Ebola who reportedly travelled to Senegal," according to Senegal's health minister.

A young Guinean student later turned up at a hospital in the capital, Dakar, said Ms Seck, but he did not reveal that he had had contact with Ebola patients in his own country.

Senegal, a major transit hub for aid agencies, has a large Guinean population.

Health workers take off their protective suits as they finish their shifts at Pita hospital in Guinea - 25 August 2014Treatment centres in the affected West African states are already said to be operating at full capacity

Separately on Friday, residents of Guinea's second largest city, Nzerekore, rioted after its main market was sprayed with disinfectant in an attempt to halt the spread of the virus.

The exact cause of the riot is not clear - some people reportedly feared the spray would spread Ebola.

A 24-hour curfew is currently in place in the city.

There have been relatively few cases in Guinea recently, with far higher infection rates in Liberia and Sierra Leone, and six deaths in Nigeria.

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Ebola Virus Disease (EVD)

  • Symptoms include high fever, bleeding and central nervous system damage
  • Spread by body fluids, such as blood and saliva
  • Fatality rate can reach 90% - but current outbreak has mortality rate of about 55%
  • Incubation period is two to 21 days
  • There is no vaccine or cure
  • Supportive care such as rehydrating patients who have diarrhoea and vomiting can help recovery
  • Fruit bats, a delicacy for some West Africans, are considered to be virus's natural host
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