Conakry: "As long as people have misconceptions about how Ebola is spread, and continue to prevent volunteers from doing their work, we will not stop the disease," said Youssouf Traore, president of the Red Cross Society of Guinea.
The number of new cases in Guinea nearly doubled last week to 64, the World Health Organization said, jeopardising a government plan to get to zero new cases by early March.
Officials say that locals especially around the capital Conakry continued to hide sick friends and relatives from authorities.
Traore said he thought hostility towards the charity was due to rumours that it had been disinfecting schools and vaccinating children, amid fears this was part of a plot to infect locals with the virus.
President Barack Obama said on Wednesday he was bringing back nearly all U.S. troops fighting the Ebola epidemic in West Africa and marking a new phase in the battle to help countries "get to zero" cases. Guinea has the longest way to go in ending the outbreak, he added.
Red Cross teams in Ebola-hit Guinea have been attacked on average 10 times a month over the past year, the charity said on today, warning that the violence was hampering efforts to contain the disease.
In the most recent incident last Sunday in the town of Forecariah about 60 kilometres (40 miles) southeast of Conakry, two Red Cross volunteers were beaten while trying to conduct a safe burial, the charity said.
Ending traditional burials is seen as crucial to stopping the spread of the latest outbreak, which has killed more than 9,100 people, mainly in West Africa, because rituals often involve extensive contact with highly contagious corpses.
The number of new cases in Guinea nearly doubled last week to 64, the World Health Organization said, jeopardising a government plan to get to zero new cases by early March.
Advertisement
Traore said he thought hostility towards the charity was due to rumours that it had been disinfecting schools and vaccinating children, amid fears this was part of a plot to infect locals with the virus.
Advertisement
© Thomson Reuters 2015
COMMENTS
Advertisement
War, Economic Chaos, Extreme Weather Defied Drive To End Hunger In 2023: UN One Of World's Youngest Air Forces Takes To Skies Among Top Guns Senior Papua New Guinea Minister Arrested For Assaulting Woman In Australia Life On Earth Originates From One Ancestor, Older Than Previously Believed Siddaramaiah's Swipe At Governor Amid Calls For Resignation: 10 Points Kolkata Rape-Murder: Fractures, 150 mg Semen, Other Claims Denied By Cops Watch: Russian Woman Travels In Mumbai Local Train, Chats With Passengers Germany To Cut Down Military Aid For Ukraine In 2025: Report Hundreds Evacuated Amid Raging Forest Fire In Turkey: Report Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.