Local crowd attacks aid workers at Guinean Ebola treatment center
By Colin Daileda From Mashable
Enraged by an Ebola outbreak that has killed 86 people across the country, a group of Guineans attacked aid workers at an Ebola treatment center, accusing them of having brought the disease over, according to multiple reports.
The attack forced workers from Doctors Without Borders to suspend operations at the clinic in Macenta, a town in the nation’s south, where the disease has killed 14 people. Some members of the mob hurled rocks at aid workers, but no one was injured, the Associated Press reported.
The Guinean government quickly defended Doctors Without Borders, saying the organization and other groups have been instrumental in containing the Ebola outbreak.
“The international community has rapidly mobilized to help us in these difficult moments with considerable medical support and specialists on the ground at the disease’s epicenter,” the statement said. “That’s why the government is calling on people to stay calm and allow our partners to help us eradicate this epidemic.”
Although the virus is only transferrable via bodily fluids, it is one of the deadliest diseases on the planet, and there is no cure. The strain found in Guinea has killed up to 90% of those affected, and all Ebola strains have killed around 1,500 people since the first known outbreak in 1976. Experts say the disease could have been transferred to humans via fruit bats in West Africa after someone ate a bat, or bit into a fruit that a bat had also eaten. The disease causes vomiting, diarrhea and external bleeding.
Liberia, which shares a border with Guinea, has confirmed seven deaths out of 14 cases as a result of Ebola, according to Reuters. Nearby Mali is also looking into three potential cases, and Sierra Leone is investigating a possible small outbreak of its own.
Misinformation about the Ebola patient-intake process is likely what led to the small riot, the AP reported. Residents are concerned that the clinic was transferring patients without Ebola to an area filled with confirmed Ebola patients, therefore putting relatively healthy people in contact with the deadly disease.
Patients who might have Ebola at the clinic are actually kept in a separate section for observation. If the case is confirmed, they are moved to an area for those who have the disease.
Doctors Without Borders is trying to resolve the confrontation, and aims to begin treating patients again soon, Reuters reported.
PHOTO: Workers with Doctors Without Borders carry the body of a person killed by Ebola at a center for victims of the virus in Guekedou, Guinea on April 1.IMAGE: SEYLLOU/AFP
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