BREAKING NEWS: West Africa - Ebola Virus High Alert

According to BBC News, West Africa is now on Ebola virus high alert. Since the cases were reported in Guinea, Sierra Leone has now become the latest country on alert over potential outbreak of Ebola virus. The cases of deadly disease with up to 90% mortality rate, have been previously detected in neighbouring Liberia. 5 people have reportedly died after coming from Guinea for treatments. The disease spreads via direct contact with fluids of infected people or animals. Symptoms of virus include diarrhea, bleeding and vomiting. According to reports, Mauritania had already closed its Southern borders to avoid possible outbreak. Guinea has banned consumption of bats, which are very common for local diet also considered to be natural hosts of the virus, as they are migrating between 4 prefectures of the Diecke area “I have formally forbidden the consumption of bats in the region," according to Health Minister Remy Lamah. This is the first time when the Ebola virus is detected in the western part of Africa. Canada – health ministry fears the virus might have travelled across the continents as a man was hospitalized there with Ebola-consistent symptoms after having returned from Lyberia. However the tests have proved to be negative, as reported by Canadian Health Minister Rona Ambrose. According to emergency coordinator of medical organization, Doctors Without Borders (French – MSF), the suspected outbreak and spread happened due to people travelling long distances for funerals in which the mourners are to touch the dead person’s body. 35 MSF health workers have been sent to the heavily forested south area close to the outbreak, Gueckedou, to treat those affected and identify possible new cases and inform the locals to limit the spread of the deadly disease. For now, there has been no proven treatment of vaccine for Ebola.