Ebola blood samples stolen in Guinea

Guinea has reported the theft of blood sample infected with the deadly Ebola virus en route to a test centre, as unlikely ever to be found.

A gang of robbers held up a taxi last week near the town of Kissidougou which was transporting the sample from central Kankan Prefecture to southern Gueckedou, about 265 kilometers away.

Reports say even if the blood is retrieved the virus would not have survived in the sample, although studies have shown that it can last in fluids for several weeks if it is not kept in direct sunlight.

Guinea authorities have appealed to the robbers to return the sample, taken from the patient’s mouths shortly after they died. 

The incident has spread alarm over the safety of transporting samples of the highly virulent pathogen, which is estimated to kill around 70 percent of those it infect.

News 24