CONAKRY, Guinea — Guinea's ministry of health says that 49 people have been registered with viral hemorrhagic fever in the country's south since February, and 29 of those people have since died.
The ministry said in a statement Friday that initial studies confirm the presence of a virus in Gueckedou, Macenta, Kissidougou and Conakry, though it hasn't yet been specifically identified. The ministry has asked people to report any suspected cases.
Doctors Without Borders says it has launched an emergency response to the outbreak in southern Guinea and is helping to set up isolation units.
The organization says that "viral hemorrhagic fever of filovirus type is a rare but severe and often fatal disease that spreads rapidly through direct contact with infected people or animals," and is transmitted by blood and body fluids.