The Ebola virus has killed more than 100 people in Guinea and Liberia, and health officials hope to contain the virus before it spreads to other African nations.
CNN reported that 101 people have died from Ebola in Guinea, and 157 have been affected in the nation. Health officials say that another 10 deaths in Liberia have been liked to Ebola, and there are 21 cases in total there.
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There have been cases reported Sierra Leone, Mali and Ghana, as well, but the World Health Organization said none of them have been confirmed. Rumored cases in Mali are still being investigated.
Most of the people who died from Ebola came from Guekedou, the Guinea city near the border of Sierra Leone and Liberia.
The Ebola virus, formally known as the Ebola haemorrhagic fever, is one of the world's deadliest diseases, with a fatality rate of 90 percent,
according to the WHO. The virus is transmitted from wild animals and spreads from human-to-human contact. It often originates in remote villages in Central and West Africa. There is no cure or vaccine for the virus.
"This is one of the most challenging Ebola outbreaks that we have ever faced," Dr. Keiji Fukuda, WHO's assistant director-general for health security, told CNN.
BBC News reported that the International Federation of the Red Cross, Medecins Sans Frontieres and other agencies have joined in the fight to contain the outbreak.
Some who received medical treatment for the virus early have recovered and been able to return home.
"When the first patient came out from the treatment center, I was so happy and the whole team was cheering," said Dr. Marie-Claire Lamah, who works at a MSF Ebola treatment center in Guinea's capital, Conakry.
Medecins Sans Frontieres spokesman Sam Taylor told the BBC News that recovering patients give them hope.
"When you see them and you can hold their hand and see that they are totally fine, it improves everyone's morale and it's great news for the families and the communities these people are going back to," Taylor said to the BBC News.
Rose Komano, an 18-year-old, was the first patient discharged from the Ebola medical ward in Guekedou, an MSF official said.
"I don't feel sick anymore and I'm really glad I recovered my health," Komano told health officials. "I don't understand why I become sick."
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