It was a highway robbery but the bandits got more than they bargained for when they stopped a taxi in Guinea and made off with blood samples that are believed to be infected with the deadly Ebola virus....

The samples, stored in tightly wrapped vials tucked into a cooler bag, were in the care of a Red Cross courier who was among nine passengers sharing a taxi when three bandits on a motorbike led the attack near the town of Kissidougou, a local Red Cross official said....

"We don't understand why they stole the blood sample. Perhaps they thought there was cash hidden in the flask," Tolno said.

Dr. Barry Moumie, who heads patient care for the national Ebola response coordination committee, told The Associated Press: "We have informed the security services. If these thieves handle this blood, it will be dangerous."