In Guinea, the highly contagious Ebola virus has been blamed for killing nearly 60 people in the country.
Dozens of cases of the deadly disease have been identified after an outbreak of hemorraghic fever was first reported in the West African state last month.
Test results sent to France confirmed the epidemic was Ebola.
World Health Organization officials say cases with similar symptoms, including fever, diarrhoea, vomiting and bleeding, have also shown up in neighbouring Sierra Leone near Guinea’s border, with fears it may be spreading.
Aid agencies are said to be working to try to contain the virus, which primarily occurs in remote rain forest areas in West and Central Africa.
Transmitted via human contact, Ebola is one of the most virulent pathogens known to man. There is no known cure or vaccine for the virus which can kill anywhere between 25 percent and 90 percent of its victims.
