Unicef said the haemorrhagic fever had spread quickly from southern Guinea, hundreds of kilometres away.

 

Scores of cases have been recorded since the outbreak began last month. There is no known cure or vaccine¹. 

 

It is spread by close personal contact with people who are infected and kills between 25% and 90% of victims.

 

Symptoms include internal and external bleeding, diarrhoea and vomiting².

 

"At least 59 out of 80 who contracted Ebola across the West African country have died so far," a Unicef statement quoted by the AFP news agency.

 

"Over the past few days, the deadly haemorrhagic fever has quickly spread from the communities of Macenta, Gueckedou, and Kissidougou to the capital Conakry." 

 

Conakry is a sprawling port city, where up to two million people currently live.

 

The Unicef statement also said that at least three victims of the virus were children.

 

Outbreaks of Ebola occur primarily in remote villages in Central and West Africa, near tropical rainforests, the World Health Organization says. 

 

Analysts⁴ suggest it has never been recorded in Guinea before.

 

Recent years have seen outbreaks in Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo.

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