Africa CDC to deploy emergency response team in Guinea amid new Ebola outbreak

ADDIS ABABA -- The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) will deploy an advance emergency response support team of experts in Guinea to help the country fight a new Ebola virus outbreak.

The Africa CDC, the African Union (AU) Commission's specialized healthcare agency, said late Sunday that the AU Commission is ready "to offer the comprehensive support of all AU organs."

Guinea announced the new Ebola outbreak on Sunday in Gouecke, a sub-prefecture in its Nzerekore Prefecture.

The Africa CDC said it is closely monitoring the situation and will continue to mobilize its expertise and resources to support the response.

It will call for an emergency meeting of experts to better coordinate emergency responses in Guinea and in neighboring countries across the region, in collaboration with the West African Health Organization, Africa CDC said in a statement.

Guinea has so far reported seven Ebola cases and three deaths.

There have also been fresh cases of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo in its North Kivu province.

The 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola virus outbreak claimed over 11,300 lives, with over 28,600 recorded cases.