Medical charity says geographical spread of disease has not been seen before

A medical charity has said the ebola outbreak responsible for 78 deaths in Guinea is an  "unprecedented epidemic".

An official from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said previous ebola outbreaks in recent years have been "much more geographically contained", involving more remote locations.

Mariano Lugli from MSF said the geographical spread of cases is "worrisome" and makes controlling the epidemic more difficult.

To date, health authorities have recorded 122 suspected cases of ebola and 78 deaths. Other suspected and diagnosed cases have been reported in Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Michel Van Herp, an MSF epidemiologist said it is the Zaire strain of the virus that is being seen in Guinea. "This is the most aggressive and deadly," he explained. "It kills more than nine out of 10 patients."

Currently, there is no vaccine or treatment for ebola.

MSF says more than 40 tonnes of equipment has been flown into the country to help stop the spread of disease.

The charity has begun to identify people who may have been in contact with  existing patients and teams are looking for a place to build a new structure to support local health authorities.

Over the past two weeks, two structures were built for the isolation of patients in the towns of Guekedou and Macenta.