Efforts are intensifying to stop the spread of the epidemic that broke out in Guinea Conakry.

Following the confirmation last week of the outbreak of the deadly Ebola haemorrhagic fever in Guinea Conakry that has so far claimed 70 lives since January 2014, governments in West Africa are mobilising to stop its spread.

Guinean authorities said the epidemic had spread from the south of the country to the capital, Conakry, killing at least four people. Thousands of Dakar residents now prefer to remain at home, fearing contamination. Agency reports said frequent water and electricity cuts in most neighbourhoods have led to fears of a full-blown epidemic in the city. 

Meeting last week in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire, the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, requested help from member states and the West African Health Organisation, WAHO, to tackle the situation. ECOWAS said it was mobilising stakeholders and gathering resources to stop the epidemic. Radio France Internationale, RFI reported yesterday, March 30, 2014 that Senegal has begun sensitizing the public on basic hygiene.  

An isolation site has been set up at Dakar International Airport where travelers from Conakry are screened. Similarly, the Ministry of the Interior on Saturday, March 29, 2014, closed the country’s borders with Guinea Conakry in the southern Kolda and Kedougou regions. Also, weekly frontier markets that usually draw traders from Guinea Conakry, The Gambia and Guinea Bissau, have been shut down in what the authorities described as a temporary measure.

In Mali, border health checks have been stepped up to prevent suspected cases from entering the country. On the other hand, disease surveillance - especially among those presenting symptoms similar to Ebola - and community sensitisation, are on the increase. Likewise, relevant drugs and Ebola prevention kits for medical staff have been distributed.  

All health institutions in Nigeria were last week put on red alert over a possible outbreak of the deadly air-borne disease. The Federal Ministry of Health urged people with high fever, headache, severe abdominal pain, diarrhea and bleeding, especially those who recently travelled to Guinea, Sierra Leone or Liberia, to report to health authorities. The Guardian newspaper said the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, was studying the outbreak trends, had mobilised its rapid response teams as well as developed a detailed response plan.