Mob Attacks Ebola Virus Treatment Center in Guinea, Health Officials Issue Shutdown

With the rising Ebola virus threat occurring in West Africa, health officials have instituted treatment centers to try and halt the spread of the disease. However, a mob attacked one of the centers in Guinea and forced its shutdown.

There have been over 90 confirmed deaths due to the Ebola virus in both Guinea and Liberia, with seven of those coming from Liberia. Guinea has numbered 137 cases amassing 86 deaths compared to Liberia's 14 cases and seven deaths. And now, Mali reported three suspected cases of the virus earlier today.

Doctors Without Borders, the emergency medical staff that provides aid to people worldwide who are affected by conflict, epidemic, disasters, or exclusion from healthcare, have more than 60 international field workers in Guinea responding to the outbreak. They currently work in 70 countries across the world.

"We are facing an epidemic of a magnitude never before seen in terms of the distribution of cases in the country," said Mariano Lugli, coordinator of the Doctors Without Borders operation in Conakry, Guinea, in this NBC News article.

Today, their treatment center was attacked by young people from the local community who accused the medical staff of bringing the virus to Guinea. Tim Shenk, the press officer for Doctors Without Borders told NBC News that this has happened before among populations who are unfamiliar with a disease. Health officials hope to reopen the treatment center as soon as possible.

Such an issue could get worse as the Ebola virus continues to spread. Cases of the disease, although not tremendously high, have only been increasing in different areas. Guinea has witnessed an unprecedented rise in cases; Liberia has seen a small increase; Sierra Leone has some suspected cases; and three cases were confirmed earlier today in Mali, which is a new region mentioned in the outbreak.

These treatment facilities will be important moving forward, especially in Guinea's capital of Conakry. Hundreds of thousands of people live in close quarters in the capital, which will only further enable the spread of the virus if it worsens. Ebola killed up to 90% of those infected, so hopefully the village leaders can educate the youths in the area to avoid occurrences like the attack on the Conakry treatment center.

To read more about the Ebola virus outbreak, visit this CNN News article as well as this Washington Post article.