Assault on Ebola workers continue as Red Cross team is attacked in Guinea

The string of assaults on Ebola health workers and volunteers is not abating. On Tuesday, a Red Cross team was attacked while collecting bodies believed to be infected with the virus in Forecariah, southeastern Guinea.

An official said family members of the dead attacked volunteers and damaged their cars. They also reportedly threw stones at the regional health office building. One worker is recovering after being wounded in the neck.

Last week in the same country, eight health workers educating people about the virus and journalists accompanying them were killed and their bodies deposited in a village latrine. Officials said resistance and assaults have continued to hinder the control of the virus which is believed to have infected more than 5,800 people in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Nigeria and Senegal.

In April, Medecins Sans Frontieres briefly pulled out its team from a Guinean town after their clinic was stoned.

The outbreak has led governments in these countries to impose severe measures to control it, including a recent nationwide curfew in Sierra Leone.

On Wednesday, Sierra Leone said 30 more cases were uncovered during the lockdown raising the total number discovered over the three days to 160.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently hailed Nigeria and Senegal for effectively containing the virus as both countries currently have no known Ebola case after successfully treating those infected and instituting preventive measures