Ebola detected in Guinea victims, 50 dead

Guinea says some of the more than 50 people killed in recent weeks by a viral hemorrhagic fever have tested positive for the Ebola virus.

Government spokesman Damantang Albert Camara said on Sunday the virus was found in tests conducted at a laboratory in Lyon, France.

A Health Ministry statement on Saturday said 80 cases including 59 deaths had been reported mostly in three southern prefectures.

Esther Sterk, tropical disease adviser for Doctors Without Borders who is coordinating the organisation’s response from Geneva, said on Sunday that 49 cases including 29 deaths had been confirmed.

She said samples from six victims were linked to Ebola, though it was “quite likely” the others also contracted the virus.

An outbreak among humans has never previously been detected in West Africa.