With Ebola cases on the decline in most West African countries, and none being reported in Liberia, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is now focusing their efforts on the border between Guinea and Guinea-Bissau.
Even though it has been a huge relief that Ebola did not spread to Guinea-Bissau during the recent outbreak, there is now the real possibility that the little country may not be spared. In a story reported by Digital Journal on May 24, a total of 27 new cases of Ebola were confirmed in Guinea the previous week, with five of them occurring in the northeastern prefecture of Boke, on the border with Guinea-Bissau.
But Monday evening, Reuters reported that Red Cross workers were quickly pulled from the Boke prefecture town of Kamsar after violent protests broke out over Ebola controls, undermining any efforts by health workers to control the spread of Ebola into neighboring Guinea-Bissau.
Boke had not reported any Ebola cases for months, but then in May, six cases were reported in less than a week. At about the same time, it was discovered that people were transporting the dead bodies of Ebola victims on public transportation, spreading the virus despite precautions and controls being in place.
Now there is outright violent resistance being shown to any efforts to bring further education or controls to the Boke region, in particular. If efforts are not successful in bringing the situation under control, it is entirely possible that the Ebola virus will spread into the impoverished country of Guinea-Bissau.
Over the weekend, according to Reuters, two Red Cross cars, and an employee’s house were attacked. Added to the vicious attacks, a warehouse containing equipment and supplies for containing the Ebola virus was torched and burned to the ground.
“This attack…impedes attempts to stop the epidemic from spreading and to trace those who may have come into contact with an infected person,” said Corinne Ambler, regional communications coordinator for the IFRC. She added that she was “very concerned that Ebola could spread from Guinea to Guinea-Bissau.”
What is the most worrisome is a WHO report back in November 2014 that said Guinea-Bissau’s health system was so fragile that labs there couldn’t even diagnose the Ebola virus. WHO is also saying a person who attended an Ebola funeral recently in Guinea has already gone back to Guinea-Bissau, where many Guineans commute to on a daily basis.
