Epidemiologist believe a two year old boy who died on December 6 may be patient zero in the Ebola outbreak. The boy became sick in a small village in the province of Guéckédou, which is located in southeastern Guinea.
The young patient suffered for four days with several symptoms including fever, black stools, and vomiting before dying on December 6. His mother, grandmother, and three year old sister died shortly after.
Researchers then believe two mourners at the grandmother’s funeral took the virus home to their neighboring communities. From there the virus spread and killed a health worker and his doctor, but not before infecting their families in other towns.
When the virus was finally recognized in March, dozens had already died in Guinea and the virus was starting to breach borders in both Liberia and Sierra Leone.
As of August 8, the WHO reported 961 people had already died during the outbreak and 1,779 have been affected.
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