Ebola flares in Guinea; handling of bodies cited
By BOUBACAR DIALLO
ArkansasOnline.com
May 23, 2015
CONAKRY, Guinea — Relatives of Ebola victims are transporting their bodies on public transportation in Guinea, seating the corpses upright between other passengers to skirt health controls and contributing to the spread of the deadly disease there, authorities said.
The Ebola epidemic began in Guinea, and, instead of being snuffed out as officials had hoped, at least 27 new cases have occurred in a week’s time, marking a significant spike.
Ebola is spread through contact with the bodily fluids of victims, including corpses, yet health recommendations to not touch bodies at funerals go against hundreds of years of tradition. Family members still want to give their loved ones traditional burials to prepare their souls for the afterlife, and some even try to transport the bodies to their home villages if they died elsewhere.
“It is regrettable that some families with the help of transport providers are dressing up cadavers and seating them upright between other passengers in a taxi as though the person is still living, when in fact it’s sometimes the body of someone who has died from Ebola,” said police Capt. Claude Onivogui. “Every day we are finding bodies in these conditions, and that’s what is spreading the contagion.”
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