Sitting shirtless on the road, women have been blocking access to their village in southern Guinea for several days, preventing the identification of Ebola patients and vaccinations, authorities said on Tuesday, trying to lift the blockade. through negotiation.
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The deadly virus reappeared in Guinea in January, nearly four and a half years after the end of the epidemic in West Africa (2013-2016) which had killed more than 11,300, an undervalued toll according to the authorities. medical, but seven times higher than that accumulated in all previous Ebola epidemics since 1976. In Kpaghalaye, a village in the region of Nzérékoré (South), where "three group deaths" recently alerted the authorities, explained to the 'AFP Deputy Director of the Guinean Health Agency, Bouna Yatassaye, tests have shown that a relative of the deceased with fever was positive for Ebola.
Since April 1, the elderly women of the village, traditionally responsible for funeral rites, refuse to allow the actors mobilized to stop possible contagions, isolate and treat the sick and carry out vaccinations, the deputy told AFP on Tuesday. prefect of the region, Rodrigue Kolié.
One of the victims being a woman,
"they say it's their business,"
said Rodrigue Kolié.
"We are doing everything to ensure that the blockade is lifted before the situation becomes unmanageable"
, he added.
According to custom, by partially undressing, the women underline the gravity of the situation and prevent the men from approaching.
A total of 23 cases have been reported, mainly in the Nzérékoré region, near Liberia, Sierra Leone and Côte d'Ivoire.
Sixteen cases are confirmed, including 5 dead people, said the representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Guinea, Georges Ki-Zerbo.
After three weeks without a new case,
"there has been a new chain of transmission, which is being investigated and teams from WHO and other partners are in talks to ensure that all access is provided"
, he added. Georges Ki-Zerbo told AFP.