Ebola death toll halved in Guinea

The number of people who have died from the disease is cut even as West Africa continues to fight the deadly virus.

Medical personnel at the emergency entrance of a hospital wait to receive suspected Ebola virus patients in Conakry, Guinea on March 29. Youssouf Bah / AP

Conakry // Guinea halved the death toll from an Ebola outbreak after confusion caused cases in the West African nation to be duplicated.

The number of dead from the hemorrhagic fever was revised to 61 since the outbreak started in January, Sakoba Keita, head of epidemic prevention unit at Health Ministry, told reporters in Conakry, the capital, on Saturday. The government said on April 17 that 122 people have died from the disease for which there is no cure or vaccine.

“The death toll reduction is due to the cleaning of figures because there had been a lot of confusion,” he said. “Some deaths were recorded three times.”

West Africa is fighting to contain the disease that kills as many as nine out of 10 people who contract it. Senegal shut its border while the Ivory Coast barred buses from Liberia and Guinea. Rio de Janeiro-based Vale SA, the world’s biggest iron- ore producer, sent foreign workers in Guinea back to their homes. The outbreak has halted economic activity in Guinea’s interior, according to Organized Group of Businessmen in Conakry.

While the progression of the disease is falling, the government remains careful as the situation can change “all at once,” Mr Keita said.

* Bloomberg