Ebola in Guinea and Côte d'Ivoire: what we know about the route of the virus

An Ebola prevention poster in Côte d'Ivoire.

© AFP - SIA KAMBOU

Text by: Claire Fages Follow

7 mins

From Labé in Guinea to Abidjan in Côte d'Ivoire, the patient with Ebola virus disease traveled 1,500 km in several public transport vehicles.

The details of the journey however still differ according to the sources.

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Claire Fages,

with our special correspondent in Abidjan,

Jean-Luc Aplogan

August 8: departure from Labé

The young woman leaves the locality of Labé, in northern Guinea (Middle Guinea), on August 8 at 7 p.m., aboard a minibus carrying 25 passengers, reports Dr Mamadou Hady Diallo, prefectural director of health of Labé .

The health manager was able to question the driver - who returned to Labé on Tuesday August 17 to carry out his quarantine -, as well as the conveyor, owner of the minibus, and the transport union.

August 9: stops in Kissidougou, Macenta and Nzérékoré

According to Dr. Diallo, the passengers spend the night in the minibus.

They made a meal stop in Kissidougou on August 9, then a break in Macenta, before arriving in Nzérékoré in the south-east of the country around 10 p.m.

The testimony of the Guinean patient diverges on the first of these points.

She told the spokesperson of the watch committee, Professor Eholie - who treats her at the Abidjan hospital - that she slept in a mosque in Marela during the night of August 8 to 9, to leave for 6 hours aboard the minibus.

Still according to Professor Eholie, the Guinean traveler feels the first symptoms - vomiting and diffuse pain - when she arrives in Nzérékoré.

The scientist adds that, for this reason, she does not remember what time she left this forest town in Guinea which borders the Ivorian border.

Route taken by the Guinean woman detected positive in Abidjan, from Labé (northern Guinea), to the Ivorian capital, from August 8 to 12, 2021. FMM graphic studio

► See also: Ebola in Guinea: health actors faced with mistrust vis-à-vis vaccination

August 10: change of vehicle in Waninou and trip to Abidjan

The driver then buys paracetamol to give it to him, specify the health authorities of Labé, then the same 25 passengers leave Nzérékoré on August 10 at 1 a.m.

The journey resumes, still according to the Guinean authorities, aboard another minibus, belonging to the same conveyor but driven by a new driver, to cross the border.

This change of vehicle is not confirmed by other sources.

Direction Waninou in Ivory Coast.

In Waninou, passengers from Guinea are taken care of by a new vehicle, a coach, says Professor Eholie.

The Ivorian bus now carries 70 people, and makes at least one stopover in Man, where the young woman's symptoms worsen: vomiting, fever and headaches.

37 passengers descend en route between Waninou and Abidjan and then disperse throughout the country.

August 12: arrival in Abidjan and hospitalization of the patient

The 33 other passengers, including the Guinean, continue to the terminus, the Adjamé bus station in Abidjan.

This is where the husband of the Guinean traveler comes to pick her up.

He calls the Guinean transporter when she is diagnosed with Ebola virus.

The driver of the first minibus returned empty to do his quarantine at the starting point, in Labé, according to the health authorities of this prefecture.

As for the driver of the second minibus, which left Nzérékoré, he also joined Labé to be quarantined, according to the same sources.

► To read also: Côte d'Ivoire: the plan to fight against Ebola ready to be put in place

Complicated contact case search

The Abidjan hospital watch committee for its part begins the search for the 70 passengers to isolate them and have them vaccinated.

They were identified by name and telephone with the carrier, but half of them having dispersed throughout Ivorian territory, it is more difficult to find their trace.

Including nursing staff, 2,000 vaccinations are planned in Côte d'Ivoire and Guinea has sent him doses.

Lack of food and caregivers in Labé

In Guinea, 58 contact cases were identified, including members of the traveller's family.

In Labé they are kept in home quarantine.

This containment strategy had already been adopted during the

previous Guinean

Ebola epidemic, explains the prefectural director of health, Mamadou Hady Diallo.

To provide them with food, local authorities, traders and NGOs are mobilizing, says Dr Diallo, while waiting for the World Food Program (WFP), alerted, to be ready to intervene.

The prefecture of Labé has requested reinforcement of medical staff to follow up on these contact cases, he continues, because health centers are already very busy with Covid-19 cases.

In Ivory Coast, the authorities have announced the establishment of a toll-free number, 143

► See also: Côte d'Ivoire: a first case of the Ebola virus detected in the country

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  • Ivory Coast

  • Guinea

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  • Vaccines

  • Ebola

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