The medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres has warned that Guinea faces an unprecedented Ebola epidemic.

There have been nearly 80 deaths and scores of suspected cases of one of the world’s most lethal infectious diseases.

It has forced a number of countries with weak health systems to restrict travel and cross border exchanges.

MSF Epidermologist, Michel Van Herp said: “We are facing the most aggressive strain of Ebola, called the Zaire strain. This is a strain that kills more than 9 people out of 10. There is no treatment. There is no drug that specifically kills the virus. We aim at making infected people stronger,” he said.

“We want to ensure their bodies are not dehydrated, so they’re able to produce antibodies that will remove the virus from their body.”

MSF’s warning comes after the west African nation’s president appealed for calm following a rise in the number of fatalities linked to an outbreak on the border with Liberia and Sierra Leone.

MSF is now fighting to contain the disease in numerous locations, some of which are hundreds of kilometres apart.