Ebola has raised its ugly head again in Guinea. The 2013-2016 outbreak killed 11,300 people, mostly in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. Already the country is battling the COVID-19 pandemic, and this second blow has medical workers questioning what is going on. Sunday, health officials confirmed three people had died, and an additional four people are confirmed with Ebola. Symptoms of the disease include fever, diarrhea, and vomiting. The government has declared an epidemic and has already started contact tracing. The previous Ebola outbreak in Guinea killed 2,500, but 11,300 died as the disease continued in neighboring countries between 2014 and 2016.

The new cases are in the Nzerekore region where the previous epidemic started. “I don’t know why this curse is hitting the Guineans, all the pandemics are falling on us,” said Miriam Konate, a nurse. “it’s like the country has been hit by a curse,” she said. There is a vaccine for Ebola, but securing it in ample quantities can be a challenge. At the present time there are only 7,000 available vaccines. There are fears that Ebola could  spread to urban centers where is could be devastating. The resurgence in Guinea started after the funeral for a nurse who was buried in the country’s southeast on February 1. Seven people who took part in that funeral fell ill and tested positive for Ebola.

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• Guinea races to trace contacts after Ebola deaths
• Guinea confirms 3 dead from Ebola, first cases since 2016

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