Guinea`s Ebola death toll rises to 81

Conakry: The Ebola virus has killed 81 people out of 127 confirmed cases in Guinea so far this year, health authorities said.

Statistics released by the government April 28 reported 74 deaths among 121 confirmed Ebola cases, Xinhua reported Sunday.

First discovered in 1976 in two simultaneous outbreaks in Sudan and in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), the Ebola virus was named after the Ebola river where the DR Congo outbreak was found in a nearby village.

Ebola is a fatal disease that kills up to 90 percent of its victims.

Its initial symptoms can include a sudden fever, intense weakness, muscle pain and a sore throat.

Outbreaks of Ebola occur primarily in remote villages in central and west Africa near tropical rain forests, according to the WHO.