Tracing back to a year ago, when the Ebola virus started killing people in West Africa, a two-year old boy was considered as patient zero, meaning, he was the first person to die from Ebola. The boy, who hailed from Meliandou, Guinea, was likely to have acquired the deadly virus from playing near a tree harboring free tailed bats before his death. Scientists revealed today that fruit bats are more likely the source of the outbreak.
Emile Ouamouno, 2 years old, was described as a playful toddler as recalled by his father, Etienne. Before the child's death in December 6, 2013, he was playing near a tree where free-tailed bats live. After some time, the boy suddenly had high fever, vomiting and had black tarry stools. After four days, he died from the disease.
Sadly, Emile was not the only family member who died from Ebola, his sister, Philomene became sick on Christmas day and died before New Year. His mother and grandmother died in the first week of 2014. Apparently, the virus has spread throughout the whole community and spread to other parts of Guinea. By March 2014, it has spread to neighboring countries namely Liberia and Sierra Leone.
By one year after the spread of the virus, the largest and worst Ebola outbreak in history has claimed more than 7,800 lives and infected nearly 20,000 people not only in West Africa but also to other countries such as Spain, Europe and the United States.
Health officials regard the outbreak as a sign of lack of a health system in West Africa. It took months before identifying the disease killing their constituents. The virus has silently spread through far flung communities because there are no health centers and health care practitioners to properly diagnose patients.
Free-tailed bats or fruit bats are suspected carriers of Ebola virus. In fact, they have been linked to previous outbreaks in Africa. Bats are often eaten in the continent but health officials said that it is unlikely to be food-borne because only the boy got infected with the virus first before he transmitted it to his family members.
The constituents in the village claim that children are fond of playing around the tree where the bats live. The virus can be transmitted to exposure to bats.
