Armed robbers in
Guinea have stolen a batch of blood samples infected with Ebola virus
as they were in transit for delivery to a test centre.
The robbers held
up a minibus near the town of Kissidougou which was transporting the
samples.According to AP, the blood was stored in a sealed container and
was being escorted by four Red Cross officials.
Guinea
authorities publicly appealed on national radio to the unidentified
robbers to hand over the stolen samples that are understood to have been
taken from a single person.
Guinea Red Cross
press officer Faya Etienne Tolno explained that the Guinea Red Cross
did not have its own vehicles for transport, which explains why a taxi
was commissioned.
'We don't understand why they stole the blood sample. Perhaps they thought there was cash hidden in the flask,'
Dr. Barry Moumie, who heads patient care for the national Ebola response coordination committee, told The Associated Press:
'We have informed the security services. If these thieves handle this blood, it will be dangerous.'I can assure you, however, that the sample-transportation procedures will now be strengthened to avoid such disappointments,'
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