Ebola threat to Guinea Bissau rises as border zone heats up

Violent protests against Ebola controls in a north Guinea town have prompted the Red Cross to withdraw workers, undermining efforts to stop the spread of Ebola into neighboring Guinea Bissau. The Ebola epidemic was detected in Guinea over a year ago and has since killed more than 11,000 people in West Africa. But in a huge relief to officials and aid workers, it has not yet spread to Guinea Bissau, whose health system is deemed vulnerable even by low regional standards.

This attack…impedes attempts to stop the epidemic from spreading and to trace those who may have come into contact with an infected person.

Corinne Ambler, regional communications coordinator at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)

Now, a spike in new cases in Guinea’s Boke border province combined with violent resistance to efforts to control it there are stoking concerns it could spread. Boke had reported no Ebola cases for months and then reported six cases within a fortnight in May, resulting in a list of more than 230 people deemed at risk of catching the haemorrhagic fever, according to the World Health Organization.

Ebola Africa