By Clarisse Bolonga
ABIDJAN
Ivorian authorities have announced the closure of its borders with Guinea and Liberia, both hit hard by the deadly Ebola virus, as part of "preventive measures" to prevent the disease from getting into the country.
Prime Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan, who announced the decision in a statement, said the "exceptional" decision came following the emergence of "new outbreak sites" in both countries.
So far, no cases of Ebola have been confirmed in Ivory Coast, although 40 cases were suspected, but they all turned out "negative," according to health sources.
Earlier this month, Ivory Coast banned all passenger flights from the three Ebola-hit West African countries of Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, in an attempt to prevent the spread of the deadly virus.
Ebola, a contagious disease for which there is no known treatment or cure, has claimed hundreds of lives in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia.
The tropical fever, which first appeared in 1976 in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, can be transmitted to humans from wild animals.
It also reportedly spreads through contact with the body fluids of infected persons or of those who have died of the disease.
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