Bandits in Guinea steal suspected Ebola blood

Officials in Guinea say bandits during a roadside robbery stole a cooler containing blood samples that are believed to have Ebola.

National health officials said on Friday the vehicle was transporting test tubes containing blood. It was travelling from Kankan prefecture in central Guinea to a test site in Gueckedou, in the south.

Guinea Red Cross press officer Faya Etienne Tolno said the bandits held up the minibus taxi carrying the samples from a suspected Ebola patient on Wednesday. Why they took the blood samples is unknown.

Officials appealed on national radio for the thieves to return the potentially dangerous blood 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.