Free Republic

CONAKRY, Guinea (AP) — It was a highway robbery but the bandits got more than they bargained for when they stopped a taxi van in Guinea and made off with blood samples that are believed to be infected with the deadly Ebola virus. Authorities publicly appealed on national radio Friday to the unidentified robbers to hand over the samples that were stolen from the minibus taxi during its 265-kilometer (165-mile) trek from central Kankan prefecture to a test site in southern Gueckedou. Four Red Cross officials accompanied the samples, that were drawn from a single person and stored in a...

CBS4 has learned that Quest Diagnostics, the nation’s largest diagnostic lab company, has told doctors, hospitals and health care providers nationwide the company will not accept blood samples suspected of being infected with Ebola; and will not knowingly allow any patients suspected of having Ebola into Quest offices. In a message sent Oct. 11 to hospitals and doctors, Quest Diagnostics said, “Patients with known or suspected Ebola hemorrhagic fever should not be referred to Quest Patient Service Centers or Quest In-Office Phlebotomists for specimen collections of any type.” CBS4 contacted Wendy Horst, a Quest spokesperson. She said, “We have informed...