Russian Welfare Watchdog Says Closely Following New Ebola Outbreak In Guinea

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th February, 2021) Rospotrebnadzor, the Russian Federal service for consumer rights protection and human welfare, said on Sunday its Guinean-based experts carried out oversight of the new Ebola outbreak, citing their previous experience and the preparedness of infrastructure.

On Saturday, Guinean Health Minister Remy Lamah said that four people died of Ebola in the country's southeastern region of Nzerekore. These were Guinea's first Ebola-linked fatalities in over five years.

"Rospotrebnadzor actively partook in the elimination of the 2013-2016 Ebola outbreak in Guinea. Experts of Rospotrebnadzor's science organizations continue to work in Guinea today at the Russian-Guinean Research Center of Epidemiology and Prevention of Infectious Diseases. The hospital in Kindia, whose creation was aided by Russian businesses, stands ready to admit patients.

The situation is under Rospotrebnadzor's oversight," the watchdog said in a press release.

Among the four fatalities was a female nurse, who fell ill in late January and was buried already on February 1.

According to Rospotrebnadzor, eight of the people who attended the funeral displayed Ebola infection symptoms ” diarrhea, vomiting and bleeding. Three of them later died, and another four are currently in a hospital. One more patient left the hospital without permit but was later found and hospitalized in the Guinean capital of Conakry, according to the press release.

The Ebola virus is transmitted from human to human via contact with bodily fluids of an infected person. The World Health Organization estimates it to have a 50 percent fatality rate.