Côte d’Ivoire detects first Ebola case in 25 years

ABIDJAN, Aug.14 (Reuters) – Côte d’Ivoire has declared the first case of Ebola hemorrhagic virus in 25 years, the Minister of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO) announced separately on Saturday.

Health Minister Pierre Dimba told national television it was an isolated case of an 18-year-old girl who traveled from neighboring Guinea.

The World Health Organization said in a statement that Côte d’Ivoire had confirmed the country’s first case of Ebola since 1994.

“This came after the Institut Pasteur in Côte d’Ivoire confirmed the Ebola virus disease in samples taken from a patient, who was hospitalized in the commercial capital of Abidjan, after arriving from Guinea,” said WHO said in the statement.

WHO said initial investigations revealed the patient traveled to Côte d’Ivoire by road and arrived in Abidjan on August 12.

“The patient was admitted to the hospital after having a fever and is currently receiving treatment,” he said.

Guinea – the site of the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak, the deadliest on record – experienced an Ebola outbreak four months earlier this year that was declared over on June 19.

Guinea also confirmed earlier this week a first case of the Marburg virus in West Africa. Marburg virus disease is a highly infectious hemorrhagic fever similar to Ebola. Read more

Transmission of the two deadly diseases occurs through contact with infected bodily fluids and tissues, while symptoms include headache, vomiting blood, muscle pain, and bleeding.

WHO said there was no indication that the current case in Côte d’Ivoire was linked to the outbreak in Guinea earlier this year. He said further investigation and genomic sequencing would identify the strain and determine if there was a connection.

“It is extremely worrying that this epidemic has been declared in Abidjan, a metropolis of more than 4 million inhabitants,” Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa, said in the statement.

“However, much of the global expertise in the fight against Ebola is found here on the continent and Côte d’Ivoire can take advantage of this experience and accelerate the response,” she said.

Report by Loucoumane Coulibaly in Abidjan; Written by Bate Felix; Editing by Matthew Lewis and Daniel Wallis

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