A PROJECT that is working to halt the spread of the Ebola virus
outbreak in West Africa has been set up by a Methodist relief and
development charity. The All We Can project is working with
communities on the border between Mali and Guinea.
The virus was first spotted in the south-eastern region of
Nzerekore, in Guinea, where most of the deaths have been recorded.
It then spread to the Guinean capital, Conakry, and over the border
into Sierra Leone and Liberia. There have been suspected cases in
Mali, but these have not been confirmed by laboratory tests.
The Ebola virus has a fatality rate of up to 90 per cent. There
is no vaccine, and it usually kills within three to four days of
the first symptoms.
The charity's programme manager for Mali, Rebecca Low, said that
she was working with a local partner to improve hygiene practices
and raise awareness of symptoms of the virus.
Boubar Coulibaly, president of the Malian partner agency, said:
"Travel between Mali and Guinea is high; it is busy, and it has not
been stopped. Malians on the Guinean border are not well-informed
of the risks of contamination, or how to identify the
symptoms."
The new project is targeting 17 border communities, and will run
radio campaigns to raise awareness. So far, more than 300 people
have died in this most recent outbreak.