- Believed to have the Ebola Virus
In a daring highway robbery in Guinea, bandits got the shock of their lives when their bounty turned out to be nothing but blood samples that are believed to be infected with the deadly Ebola virus. Guinean Authorities publicly sent an appeal to the unidentified robbers to hand over the samples that were stolen from the minibus taxi en route to a test site in southern Gueckedou from central Kankan prefecture.
Four Red Cross officials accompanied the samples that were drawn from a single person and stored in a sealed container. The aid group had commissioned a taxi near the town of Kissidougou when the bandits stopped the vehicle, a press release stated. The theft underscores how hazards abound and hiccups remain in the aid response, despite millions of dollars’ worth of international support pouring into West Africa to fight a virus now responsible for more than 5,000 deaths.
Dr. Barry Moumie, who heads patient care for the national Ebola response coordination committee, told The Associated Press: “We have informed the security services. If these thieves handle this blood, it will be dangerous.” He also added that stricter measures will now be implemented for the transportation of samples. Ebola, which has killed more than 5,000 people in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, is spread primarily by contact with infected bodily fluids including blood, faeces and vomit.
Extracted and modified from Yahoo News.
