Guinea's President Alpha Conde has warned of a "health emergency" as authorities race to contain a spiralling Ebola epidemic which has killed 78 people and prompted neighbouring Senegal to close its border.
Guinea's health ministry said that 122 "suspicious cases" of viral haemorrhagic fever, including 78 deaths, had been registered.
President Conde said his country was facing a "health emergency" but that "thanks to the international community, all measures have been taken to effectively fight this epidemic."
Latest information on the outbreak "allows us to be optimistic and confident about achieving a final and rapid success in our response to this problem", he said on public television, urging people not to panic.
Samples taken from a number of the suspect cases include 22 that tested positive for Ebola, three more than previously reported, according to the latest official figures.
Of these, half were in the capital Conakry, and the others in southern towns - six in Gueckedou and five in Macenta.
In Conakry, the fear of contracting the virus has prompted many residents to stay home or limit their movements.
A concert by Senegalese music star Youssou N'Dour scheduled for Saturday night was postponed in solidarity with the victims of Ebola and to avoid the "enormous" risk of contamination, organisers told AFP.
The European Union has pledged 500,000 euros ($A750,131) to fight the contagion, while the Senegalese interior ministry said border crossings to Guinea would be closed "until further notice".
The tropical virus - described in some health publications as a "molecular shark" - leads to haemorrhagic fever, causing muscle pain, weakness, vomiting, diarrhoea and, in severe cases, organ failure and unstoppable bleeding.
No treatment or vaccine is available, and the Zaire strain detected in Guinea - first observed 38 years ago in what is today called the Democratic Republic of Congo - has a 90 per cent death rate.
