Ebola outbreak: Guinea health team killed

Guinean health workers wearing protective suits at a hospital in Conakry - 14 September 2014 Some villagers in Guinea have been scared by the appearance of health workers trying to combat Ebola

Eight members of a team trying to raise awareness about Ebola have been killed by villagers using machetes and clubs in Guinea, officials say.

Some of the bodies - of health workers, local officials and journalists - were found in a septic tank in a village school near the city of Nzerekore.

Correspondents say many villagers are suspicious of official attempts to combat the disease.

More than 2,600 people have now died from the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

It is the world's worst outbreak of Ebola, with officials warning that more than 20,000 people could ultimately be infected.

Neighbouring Sierra Leone has begun a controversial three-day curfew to try to stop the spread of the disease.

The BBC looks at the scale of the challenge the Ebola outbreak presents

The team disappeared after being pelted with stones by residents when they arrived in the village of Wome - in southern Guinea, where the Ebola outbreak was first recorded.

A journalist who managed to escape told reporters that she could hear villagers looking for them while she was hiding.

A government delegation, led by the health minister, had been dispatched to the region but they were unable to reach the village by road because a main bridge had been blocked.

'Killed in cold blood'

On Thursday night, government spokesman Albert Damantang Camara said the victims had been "killed in cold blood by the villagers".

The bodies showed signs of being attacked with machetes and clubs, officials say.

Six people have been arrested and the village is now reportedly deserted.

The motive for the killings has not been confirmed, but the BBC's Makeme Bamba in Guinea's capital, Conakry, says many villagers accuse the health workers of spreading the disease.

Others still do not believe that the disease exists.

Last month, riots erupted in Nzerekore, 50 km (30 miles) from Wome, after rumours that medics who were disinfecting a market were contaminating people.

Map of Guinea showing the capital Conakry and the southern city of Nzerekore - 18 September 2014

Speaking on Thursday, French President Francois Hollande said France was setting up a military hospital in Guinea as part of his country's efforts to support the West African nations affected by the outbreak.

He said the hospital was a sign that France's contribution was not just financial, adding that it would be in "the forests of Guinea, in the heart of the outbreak".

The BBC's Umaru Fofana reports on a chaotic lockdown in Sierra Leone

The World Health Organization said on Thursday that more than 700 new cases of Ebola have emerged in West Africa in just a week, showing that the outbreak was accelerating.

It said there had been more than 5,300 cases in total and that half of those were recorded in the past three weeks.

The epidemic has struck Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Nigeria and Senegal.

A three-day lockdown is underway in Sierra Leone in a bid to stop the disease spreading.

line
Ebola virus disease (EVD)
  • Symptoms include high fever, bleeding and central nervous system damage
  • Spread by body fluids, such as blood and saliva
  • Current outbreak has mortality rate of about 55%
  • Incubation period is two to 21 days
  • There is no proven vaccine or cure

Press divided on response to Ebola

Ebola: Mapping the outbreak

How bad can it get?

'Biological war': A week on the Ebola frontline

line

Have you been affected by the Ebola outbreak? You can send us your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk

Alternatively, you can get in touch using the form below.

If you are happy to be contacted by a BBC journalist please leave a telephone number that we can contact you on. In some cases a selection of your comments will be published, displaying your name as you provide it and location, unless you state otherwise. Your contact details will never be published. When sending us pictures, video or eyewitness accounts at no time should you endanger yourself or others, take any unnecessary risks or infringe any laws. Please ensure you have read the terms and conditions.

Terms and conditions

More on This Story

Ebola outbreak

More Africa stories

RSS

Features & Analysis

  • President Bashar al AssadAnalysing Assad

    What does Syria's president really think about his country's civil war?


  • Antonia Eklund dancing with another womanHair, hips and heels

    Confessions of a British Carnival dancer in Rio


  • Dawn in SwedenLight up

    Swedish researchers look to help people through dark days


  • Visitors to Lahore festivalShow goes on

    The literary festival that breathes life into Lahore


Elsewhere on the BBC

  • HeartsHeart and head

    Falling in love – and suffering a broken heart – have some powerful effects on the body

Programmes

  • Sir Paul McCartneyClick Watch

    Sir Paul McCartney on how technology has changed music-making

Copyright © 2015 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.