2014-09-27 16:43New York - Ivory Coast
President Alassane Ouattara said on Friday his country will lift the
controversial suspension of flights to countries stricken by the Ebola
virus to show solidarity with the nations affected by the lethal
outbreak.
He said the initial decision to suspend flights was
prompted by uncertainty about the threat, which he called a terrible
problem for the people of West Africa.
"When Ebola first broke out, people got panicked," he told The Associated Press in an interview. "Obviously
we rushed to make certain decisions. Now that everything is under
control - there is no case of Ebola in Cote d'Ivoire [Ivory Coast] - I
have decided that next week we will lift the suspension of flights and
the maritime suspension."
In addition, he said Ivory Coast has
opened a "humanitarian corridor" so that people who want to enter Ivory
Coast can be checked. The country has also contributed $1m to the
international anti-Ebola effort.
Ouattara, who addressed the
United Nations General Assembly on Friday, said initial concerns were
prompted by Ivory Coast's shared borders with two countries - Guinea and
Liberia - hit by Ebola.
"I think we are the only country that has
two Ebola countries to its borders and we have to really work on its
prevention and we are very grateful to President Obama - the Centres for
Disease Control has sent two experts to work on this control," he said.
"We are trying to work on specific measures to contain and to prevent." Practical steps
In
the first few days of the crisis, Ouattara said his first response was
to send health and military personnel to the borders because of reports
that infected people had entered Ivory Coast.
He then called his security council into a series of crisis meetings, but added health officials to the gatherings.
"We
discussed specific measures, one by one, for several hours, then we
sent a communiqué on television to explain to our people: Yes, there is a
problem, don't be scared, we're handling it, we have taken measures.
You can count on the government not to hide a single case of Ebola. If
there is a case of Ebola, we'll say that there is a case."
He said he is following World Health Organisation guidelines to prevent the spread of the disease.
As
a recommended precaution, he no longer shakes hands with people in
Ivory Coast and also frequently washes his hands in public so that
residents will see that practical steps can help reduce the threat.
International health officials had said flight suspensions and the closure of sea ports and borders were not needed.
2014 Saturday, September 27th: Last Update Monrovia: Dozens of relatives of patients with Ebola lost touch a few days ago, their anger in front of Island clinic in a poor neighborhood in Monrovia, and suddenly there was silence when he came out of Baanha two trucks ferrying bodies. A spokesman for the World Health Organization, which runs the clinic, said the health center, which opened Sunday, "has become a crowded Monday., Which includes 120 beds and it was Friday 206 patients." She Janjay Jelblaa "our relatives at home. We can not access to see them. Want to see my son!". Sunday came and with the boy Joshua (12 years) of the 72 in her neighborhood Liberia's capital, "where there are cases of Ebola heavily." She says since then she has not received "information from the authorities, who are always saying that we have to wait. Latte every day and I want to see my son! Perhaps may have died." And guarding a man wearing a white dress condom from the Ebola virus, which enters the door to him sick and surrounded by high walls and barbed wire placed above it.
And the transfer of George Williams, 58, his wife and daughter Tuesday in the center "on his bike." And also tell them to cut it, "trust doctors and the government." Forty harnesses people who are in the place of his words and raise some pictures of relatives being treated and brings others small sacks handing them over to the guard. Finley says Freeman (32 years) "It's food for my mother. Spoke to them by telephone yesterday and continues to pray." Doors open and then there is silence and graduated two trucks belonging to the Red Cross movement slowly each one about a dozen corpses. Jahshan woman crying and followed the other and screaming louder than anger prevails. An official at the World Health Organization embarrassment "There is a system that allows patients to talk to their families at a distance of a few meters, but did not operate after it seems." The clinic Island as all health centers to combat the disease Ebola in Monrovia run by non-governmental organizations, are no longer able to contain the virus, which has greatly impacted on the health system is simple in Liberia, which has seen civil wars for 14 years (1989-2003).
On the other side of the city has become the center of Medecins Sans Frontieres non-governmental, which includes 160-bed, refusing to receive patients since the days of its inability to accommodate more of them. The Belgian returned factor in the humanitarian field he was the reception or rejection of patients, to his country's frustrating because he was forced to expel the injured were sometimes Nzon. Said one of his colleagues and students not to reveal her name, "Many say it the hardest task they have made." And remedied, "but since Thursday decline in the number of patients a little bit and we no longer reject them. Perhaps because the new centers opened their doors." Because of the availability of funds in the capital opened new centers quickly overwhelmed with patients.
The MSF hopes to secure an additional 500 beds within a month on the security of the American military 25 beds for medical personnel who are infected with the virus. Said Frank Mahoney American representative of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) "during the weeks or the next three weeks we will have more than a thousand beds in Monrovia." In Monrovia alone, more than half the number of deaths from the 3000 out 6000 due to injury, a serious outbreak of the Ebola virus, which could infect 20 000 people by November if not strengthening the means to combat it. And Thursday, said the president of Liberia Allen Johnson Sirleaf in a distress call to the United Nations, "we can not allow that to happen catastrophic scenario under which the 100 000 of our innocent people because they do not understand the disease." He said about a dozen humanitarian workers told AFP that means is not the main problem. Someone said that "the equipment is available and what is missing is an expert in the field of health." "The foreign workers in the humanitarian field are afraid," pointing out that "after the earthquake in Haiti in 2010, involved 820 non-governmental organization. Either in Liberia Fddha least ten."
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2014 Saturday, September 27th: Last Update
Hospitals in Monrovia stenosis patients with Ebola and its inhabitants are angry
A.Q.B.
00Blogger00
Monrovia:
Dozens of relatives of patients with Ebola lost touch a few days ago,
their anger in front of Island clinic in a poor neighborhood in
Monrovia, and suddenly there was silence when he came out of Baanha two
trucks ferrying bodies.
A spokesman for the World Health Organization, which runs the clinic,
said the health center, which opened Sunday, "has become a crowded
Monday., Which includes 120 beds and it was Friday 206 patients."
She Janjay Jelblaa "our relatives at home. We can not access to see them. Want to see my son!".
Sunday came and with the boy Joshua (12 years) of the 72 in her
neighborhood Liberia's capital, "where there are cases of Ebola
heavily."
She says since then she has not received "information from the
authorities, who are always saying that we have to wait. Latte every day
and I want to see my son! Perhaps may have died."
And guarding a man wearing a white dress condom from the Ebola virus,
which enters the door to him sick and surrounded by high walls and
barbed wire placed above it.
And the transfer of George Williams, 58, his wife and daughter Tuesday in the center "on his bike." And also tell them to cut it, "trust doctors and the government."
Forty harnesses people who are in the place of his words and raise some
pictures of relatives being treated and brings others small sacks
handing them over to the guard. Finley says Freeman (32 years) "It's food for my mother. Spoke to them by telephone yesterday and continues to pray."
Doors open and then there is silence and graduated two trucks belonging
to the Red Cross movement slowly each one about a dozen corpses.
Jahshan woman crying and followed the other and screaming louder than anger prevails.
An official at the World Health Organization embarrassment "There is a
system that allows patients to talk to their families at a distance of a
few meters, but did not operate after it seems."
The clinic Island as all health centers to combat the disease Ebola in
Monrovia run by non-governmental organizations, are no longer able to
contain the virus, which has greatly impacted on the health system is
simple in Liberia, which has seen civil wars for 14 years (1989-2003).
On the other side of the city has become the center of Medecins Sans
Frontieres non-governmental, which includes 160-bed, refusing to receive
patients since the days of its inability to accommodate more of them.
The Belgian returned factor in the humanitarian field he was the
reception or rejection of patients, to his country's frustrating because
he was forced to expel the injured were sometimes Nzon.
Said one of his colleagues and students not to reveal her name, "Many say it the hardest task they have made."
And remedied, "but since Thursday decline in the number of patients a
little bit and we no longer reject them. Perhaps because the new centers
opened their doors."
Because of the availability of funds in the capital opened new centers quickly overwhelmed with patients.
The MSF hopes to secure an additional 500 beds within a month on the
security of the American military 25 beds for medical personnel who are
infected with the virus.
Said Frank Mahoney American representative of the federal Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) "during the weeks or the next three
weeks we will have more than a thousand beds in Monrovia."
In Monrovia alone, more than half the number of deaths from the 3000
out 6000 due to injury, a serious outbreak of the Ebola virus, which
could infect 20 000 people by November if not strengthening the means to
combat it.
And Thursday, said the president of Liberia Allen Johnson Sirleaf in a
distress call to the United Nations, "we can not allow that to happen
catastrophic scenario under which the 100 000 of our innocent people
because they do not understand the disease."
He said about a dozen humanitarian workers told AFP that means is not the main problem. Someone said that "the equipment is available and what is missing is an expert in the field of health."
"The foreign workers in the humanitarian field are afraid," pointing
out that "after the earthquake in Haiti in 2010, involved 820
non-governmental organization. Either in Liberia Fddha least ten."
- See more at:
https://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&ie=UTF8&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http://www.elaph.com/Web/News/2014/9/944525.html%3Futm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed:%2520Elaph/News%2520(News%2520%257C%2520%25D8%25A3%25D8%25AE%25D8%25A8%25D8%25A7%25D8%25B1)&usg=ALkJrhj39JN3CrPc4rzXGJxg55FwwPBGYw#sthash.vx5GyrGT.dpuf
2014 Saturday, September 27th: Last Update
Hospitals in Monrovia stenosis patients with Ebola and its inhabitants are angry
A.Q.B.
00Blogger00
Monrovia:
Dozens of relatives of patients with Ebola lost touch a few days ago,
their anger in front of Island clinic in a poor neighborhood in
Monrovia, and suddenly there was silence when he came out of Baanha two
trucks ferrying bodies.
A spokesman for the World Health Organization, which runs the clinic,
said the health center, which opened Sunday, "has become a crowded
Monday., Which includes 120 beds and it was Friday 206 patients."
She Janjay Jelblaa "our relatives at home. We can not access to see them. Want to see my son!".
Sunday came and with the boy Joshua (12 years) of the 72 in her
neighborhood Liberia's capital, "where there are cases of Ebola
heavily."
She says since then she has not received "information from the
authorities, who are always saying that we have to wait. Latte every day
and I want to see my son! Perhaps may have died."
And guarding a man wearing a white dress condom from the Ebola virus,
which enters the door to him sick and surrounded by high walls and
barbed wire placed above it.
And the transfer of George Williams, 58, his wife and daughter Tuesday in the center "on his bike." And also tell them to cut it, "trust doctors and the government."
Forty harnesses people who are in the place of his words and raise some
pictures of relatives being treated and brings others small sacks
handing them over to the guard. Finley says Freeman (32 years) "It's food for my mother. Spoke to them by telephone yesterday and continues to pray."
Doors open and then there is silence and graduated two trucks belonging
to the Red Cross movement slowly each one about a dozen corpses.
Jahshan woman crying and followed the other and screaming louder than anger prevails.
An official at the World Health Organization embarrassment "There is a
system that allows patients to talk to their families at a distance of a
few meters, but did not operate after it seems."
The clinic Island as all health centers to combat the disease Ebola in
Monrovia run by non-governmental organizations, are no longer able to
contain the virus, which has greatly impacted on the health system is
simple in Liberia, which has seen civil wars for 14 years (1989-2003).
On the other side of the city has become the center of Medecins Sans
Frontieres non-governmental, which includes 160-bed, refusing to receive
patients since the days of its inability to accommodate more of them.
The Belgian returned factor in the humanitarian field he was the
reception or rejection of patients, to his country's frustrating because
he was forced to expel the injured were sometimes Nzon.
Said one of his colleagues and students not to reveal her name, "Many say it the hardest task they have made."
And remedied, "but since Thursday decline in the number of patients a
little bit and we no longer reject them. Perhaps because the new centers
opened their doors."
Because of the availability of funds in the capital opened new centers quickly overwhelmed with patients.
The MSF hopes to secure an additional 500 beds within a month on the
security of the American military 25 beds for medical personnel who are
infected with the virus.
Said Frank Mahoney American representative of the federal Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) "during the weeks or the next three
weeks we will have more than a thousand beds in Monrovia."
In Monrovia alone, more than half the number of deaths from the 3000
out 6000 due to injury, a serious outbreak of the Ebola virus, which
could infect 20 000 people by November if not strengthening the means to
combat it.
And Thursday, said the president of Liberia Allen Johnson Sirleaf in a
distress call to the United Nations, "we can not allow that to happen
catastrophic scenario under which the 100 000 of our innocent people
because they do not understand the disease."
He said about a dozen humanitarian workers told AFP that means is not the main problem. Someone said that "the equipment is available and what is missing is an expert in the field of health."
"The foreign workers in the humanitarian field are afraid," pointing
out that "after the earthquake in Haiti in 2010, involved 820
non-governmental organization. Either in Liberia Fddha least ten."
- See more at:
https://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&ie=UTF8&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http://www.elaph.com/Web/News/2014/9/944525.html%3Futm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DFeed:%2520Elaph/News%2520(News%2520%257C%2520%25D8%25A3%25D8%25AE%25D8%25A8%25D8%25A7%25D8%25B1)&usg=ALkJrhj39JN3CrPc4rzXGJxg55FwwPBGYw#sthash.vx5GyrGT.dpuf
By Anthony Q. Jiffan, Jr. In wake of the
deadly Ebola virus in the country, Police Chief of Traffic Inspector
John M. Saar has repeated the warning to motorcyclists against plying
the main streets of the Monrovia. Speaking Monday to media practitioners at the National Police
Headquarters on the Capitol Bye-Pass, Inspector Sarr said any
motorcyclists caught plying the main street irregularly will be
penalized by police authorities.
He said before the outbreak of Ebola in Liberia, the government
instituted a policy that regulates the movement of motorcyclists in the
country which includes reduction of passengers from two to one, which
according to him the cyclists are still violating, taking advantage of
the transportation difficulties faced in the country.
According to Inspector Saar, hundreds of motorcycles have been
arrested and will not be returned to their owners no matter the status,
position or whatever. The inspector strongly warned the cyclists to be
running transport in the communities instead of the main using the
streets to avoid further embarrassment from the Liberia National Police.
He said any motorcyclist who refuses to heed the Police directive
when stopped will have himself or herself blamed as the police will go
after such cyclist. Inspector Saar also warned taxi drivers and other
public transport vehicles against carrying sick patients and dead bodies
to Ebola or health centers. He said such practice by commercial
vehicles has the propensity to continuously spread the Ebola virus among
citizens.
"Any taxi driver or other cars that are not authorized by the
government to pick up sick person or dead body and is caught doing so
will be arrested" further warned. He urges the Ebola task force to
quickly respond to calls from the communities and pick up sick patients
and dead bodies to avoid non-ambulance vehicles taking the
responsibility.
as contacts Guineematin.com Macenta, patients who should be under
intensive care treatment center Guékédou yesterday were still 'pending'
transit center Macenta. The reason? The defective section Macenta-Guékédou is invoked in this rainy season.
To believe the information reported to Guineematin.com a delegation
Macenta should urgently come to Conakry to plead with the government on
the state of the road Macenta Guékédou-emphasizing its arguments on the
negative consequences of this fact, including the problem of patients
who continue to wait desperately to be transferred to the center
Guékédou.
In Guinea, since the sad events on September 16 in the town of womey
near N'Zérékoré where villagers killed eight people on a mission to
raise awareness against the Ebola virus, the forces of defense and
security were deployed in the region and have made dozens of arrests. The Guinean authorities have promised to give a lesson to those who committed the murders.
Thirty-two people were arrested in Guinea in connection with the killings last week in womey in southeastern Guinea.
Eight members of a shift in awareness campaign on Ebola, including
political, administrative and staff responsible media, were killed. Thirty-two people are behind bars, the main accused of the killing, a
trader womey 38 years, and others who have encouraged local people to
revolt against the official delegation led by the then Governor of
Forest Region Lancei Conde. They have, for the most part, were arrested while trying to flee to neighboring Ivory Coast. In a press statement, the Guinean Minister of Justice, Cheick Sacko, affirmed the determination of the Guinean government."In this case, the government to which I belong will go through.I promise to do justice and to charge the price guilty of this inhuman tragedy, "said the minister. For now, these defendants are held N'Zérékoré, the regional capital, and are subject to interrogations before the prosecutor. A total of ten judges who are appointed to hear this case qualified as "exceptional event" by the Minister of Justice, which must be given "exceptional" finally tell the Guinean Minister of Justice, Cheick Sacko.
Because of theEbola outbreak,no vehicle canenter or leavethe town ofKenemawithout evidence.Given the increasing numberof casesof hemorrhagic feversince May, this town300 km fromFreetown, the capital ofSierraLeone,has beenquarantinedby the authoritiesin August.Ahospital inKenema, caregiversare on the frontline.
Health professionalsKenemahave paidthe heaviest pricein SierraLeone.At the beginningof the epidemic, the hospitalhas lost39 ofitsnursingvictimsof the Ebolavirus.The epidemichas spreaddue to lackofequipmentand especiallysanitaryprecautionswere not implementedbecause the diseasehad not yetbeen identified.
In recentweeks, thanksto better managementof patients,the situationis againcontrollable.Butthe authorities decidednot to liftthequarantineKenema. A teamof UNICEFis presentin the cityand found that athird of patientswithEbolaare children.Higher thanthe national averagefigures.UNICEFstaffand thehospital staffinvolvedincluding orphanswho losttheir parentshemorrhagic fever.Childrenbecause of thequarantineare strandedin thehospital grounds.Socaregivers totake care ofbefore they areplaced infoster homes,often out ofKenema.
September 25, 2014 In Istanbul,a businessman inNigerianationals"high fever" and "vomiting"ona signwas hospitalized.Hospital"ebolavirus"wasalarmedupon suspicion. According to reports,this past Sundayin Nigeria'ssouthwesternOwahAbeinIstanbul frombusiness contactsfor theincomingNigerianbusinessmanFabianChlmaeolthe(43),stayedin the hotelthis morning,fever andvomitingon theambulanceSisliHamidianPediatric Education and ResearchHospital, removed.Hospital'ebola' panicthat led to thehospital forNigerianbusinessmanFabianChlmaeolalarmwas initiatedin the emergency department.Doctorskeptunder controlin the presence ofNigerianmedical teamforparties, specialclothing andmaskstookintensive measuresagainst the virus.
World Bulletin / News Desk
A Rwandan woman is suspected to have died of the Ebola virus in the
east-central African country, a hospital director said Wednesday.
"A woman was rushed to hospital bleeding from her nose and ears and died shortly," Mulindwa Patrick told Anadolu Agency.
He said results of tests to confirm the cause of the death will be released in two days.
The Rwandan Health Ministry has yet to comment.
So far, no Ebola case has been registered in Rwanda.
Ebola, a contagious disease for which there is no known treatment or
cure, has killed at least 2,803 people in West Africa in recent months,
according to the World Health Organization. http://www.worldbulletin.net/health-environment/145094/suspected-ebola-fatality-reported-in-rwanda
Ebolaalarmin Istanbul In IstanbulNigeriannationals43-year-oldFabianChimenEgeol, Ebolasuspectedobservationstaken under theŞişliHamidianPediatric Education and ResearchHospital,a detaileddiagnosisof makingHassekiTraining and Research Hospitalwere referred to. http://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/foto/foto_galeri/123447/1/istanbul_da_ebola_alarmi.html
Security forces yesterday afternoon, quarantined a house in Freetown’s biggest slum, Kroo Bay, in the west of Freetown.
This followed the death of a herbalist Santigie Bangura alias ‘Agba
Kudu-ku’ on Monday a day after he was discovered during the Ose-to-Ose
exercise on Sunday.
According to information from those around, Agba Kudu-Ku, who was a
popular herbalist, had accepted to heal a patient who had been brought
to him from the Northern Province of ‘Alay’ but who was actually an
Ebola victim.
A few days after, the patient died and Agba being a popular person in
the community convinced the Burial team that the man had died of natural
causes while others yesterday said he succeeded in bribing the team.
However, when Awoko visited the Bay area on Sunday, it was whispered
that Agba may be an Ebola patient as he was sick after attempting to
heal an unknown patient.
Eventually the Ebola response team was alerted and they took him to the
Connaught Hospital Holding Centre where he was kept until his death on
Monday. He however died after testing positive to Ebola and as a result those
around his household fled while some who were left were quarantined
yesterday by security forces to ensure that they go through the 21 days
period without any signs of Ebola.
Meanwhile, there are fears that those who had fled may cause the spread
of the disease in the slum which may be a big disaster in Freetown.
As a result , people are calling for Port Loko and Lunsar to be
quarantined while others say commercial transportation to Freetown
should be halted.
By Jay Willie & Bernard Turay
Thursday September 25, 2014 http://awoko.org/2014/09/25/sierra-leone-news-kroo-bay-quarantined/
25/09/2014 00:00:00 THE Namibian government has warned against
travel to Zimbabwe following reports that Harare had quarantined over
100 people who returned from countries affected by the deadly outbreak
in West Africa. Speaking to local media from New York, the country’s health minister
Richard Kamwi said he was not aware of the quarantine in Zimbabwe but
warned Namibians not to visit that country.
“The incubation period for Ebola is 21 days and until they are over
and the country has been declared safe, I advise Namibians not to
visit and Zimbabweans not to come to Namibia,” he said.
Kamwi also maintained that no Namibian is yet allowed to visit Nigeria and Senegal.
This is despite the fact that the WHO on Monday declared that the
Ebola virus had been “pretty much contained” in Nigeria and Senegal and
declared the two countries Ebola-free.
Ebola arrives in Rwanda. Suspected Ebola fatality reported in Rwanda.
World Bulletin / News Desk. The Rwandan Health Ministry has yet to
comment. A Rwandan woman is suspected to have died of the Ebola virus
in the east-central African country, a hospital director said
Wednesday. "A woman was rushed to hospital bleeding from her nose and ears and died shortly," Mulindwa Patrick told Anadolu Agency. He said results of tests to confirm the cause of the death will be released in two days. The Rwandan Health Ministry has yet to comment. So far, no Ebola case has been registered in Rwanda. Ebola,
a contagious disease for which there is no known treatment or cure, has
killed at least 2,803 people in West Africa in recent months, according
to the World Health Organization.
Reluctance against Ebola still continue to pose risk behaviors in the Guinean capital and within the country.
All indications are that the message is still not over and that some of
our compatriots continue to take health workers, who come as protect
those who, on the contrary, want to contaminate ...
According to information provided to Guineematin.com in some localities
Macenta, some people refuse any foreign presence, and some have even
driven the health workers who have tried to raise awareness about the
existence of the Ebola outbreak.
To believe some reports, the inhabitants of a locality called Irie
allegedly threatened the head of the local health center, accusing him
of being at the base of the misfortunes that befell them, says a
journalist, the phone Guineematin com, adding that 8 patients were
"prisoners" of the non-cooperation of the local population.
Moreover, according to the always contact Guineematin.com Macenta
several other localities are still reluctant to any presence of the Red
Cross, despite the risk to the population yet close Liberian borders,
especially in the sub-prefecture of Koyama. These are, among others, and Koyama Beberezou Centre. Also, we hear a reluctance to Zappa, Zenie, Irie, Watanka, Fassankoni, Noborotono, etc.
However, a delegation from the Association nationals Macenta (AREMA) is
now working for several days to make parents aware of the Ebola virus
in different localities of the province ...
Like every other volunteer who serves with Médecins Sans Frontières, Stefan
Liljegren joined up to help the sick and destitute. In 15 years with the
agency, he has been everywhere from Afghanistan and Kosovo through to South
Sudan and East Timor, the hard and often dangerous work compensated for by
the knowledge that he is saving lives.
His latest mission, in Ebola-hit Liberia, offers rather less job satisfaction.
As field co-ordinator of MSF's new 160-bed Ebola treatment centre in the
capital, Monrovia, one of his tasks is to decide which of the sick people
who arrive outside the clinic's gates should get treatment. Such is the
scale of the outbreak that for every 20-30 new patients the clinic admits
each day, the same number are often turned away - despite the likelihood
that they will go home and infect their relatives.
MSF staff carry a dead body into the Ebola clinic in Monrovia, Liberia,
to be cremated (Will Wintercross/The Telegraph)
"This is by far the most difficult challenge that I have ever faced,"
the 44-year-old Swede told The Telegraph during a brief break from his work
in the sweltering humidity of Liberia's monsoon season. "Every day I
have been faced with impossible choices, and decisions that are inhuman to
make. Having to tell someone that they can't come in when they are screaming
and begging to do so is an indescribable feeling, especially when you know
they may go back to families who might well then get sick themselves."
Outside the clinic an hour earlier, a grisly scene demonstrated Mr Liljegren's
point. Resting face down in the mud was the body of Dauda Konneh, 42. He had
been lying there dead since daybreak.
"He was vomiting a lot and had symptoms like Ebola, so we put him in a
pick-up truck and took him here for treatment," said one young man
outside. "When we got here last night, he was still alive, but the
clinic would not accept him. He died at dawn today."
When The Telegraph mentions this to Mr Liljegren, he nods. Having dead or
dying patients outside the clinic overnight is "a regular occurrence,"
he says. The reason being that once night falls, the hospital does not admit
anyone: handling Ebola patients requires extreme care at the best of times,
and it would be dangerous to do so in the dark.
The task of removing Mr Konneh's body falls to Stephen Rowden, a British MSF
volunteer from Danbury, Essex, who leads a team in charge of the safe
removal of corpses, which are sprayed with chlorine-based disinfectant
first. "When I started it was maybe a body every two days, now it is
daily and sometimes up to five a day," said Mr Rowden, 55. "I have
never seen this amount of bodies before. It sounds callous, but you just
have to switch off emotionally."
No amount of "switching off", though, spares the MSF staff from the
wider scale of the fatalities around them. The clinic, one of three now
operating in Monrovia, has seen 350 deaths in the last month alone. Since
all infected bodies have to be burned, the casualties have exceeded the
ability of Monrovia's local crematorium to cope. MSF has had to import an
incinerator from Europe - normally used for livestock - to assist. For an
aid agency that prides itself on triumphing in even the most difficult
operating circumstances, it is a depressing reminder of how far there is to
go.
Goggles are hung up in an Ebola linic in Monrovia (Will Wintercross/The
Telegraph)
The challenges facing the MSF clinic are in turn a snapshot of the wider
outbreak now engulfing West Africa. On Tuesday, a World Health Organisation
study warned that the number of Ebola cases - currently topping 5,000 -
could reach hundreds of thousands by January unless the aid operation was
drastically increased.
Nowhere is the problem more acute than in Liberia, where 40 per cent of all
the deaths have taken place, and where the government health service -
already badly damaged by the 1989-2003 civil war - has been paralysed by
Ebola infections among its own staff. In coming weeks, a 3,000-strong US
military mission will arrive in Monrovia to build 17 more Ebola treatment
clinics. But MSF, which worked in Liberia throughout the civil war, says the
situation is already spiraling out of control.
Inside the MSF clinic in Monrovia, those patients fortunate enough to get
through the gates are admitted to rows of large white treatment tents. The
clinic is designed so that only staff clad in the yellow high protective
gear can enter the "high risk" wards, where those with advanced
stages of the virus are treated.
In the nurses' area, meanwhile, a pair of paperwork folders hung next to the
door describe the patients' only possible outcomes. One has a set of forms
marked "Discharge", given to the few who manage to fight the virus
off. The other has a set of forms marked "Death Certificate".
Right now, the latter is used between 70 and 80 per cent of the time.
In another section, patients who have tested positive but are not yet acutely
ill congregate in an open air living room, where they can chat to each
other, do exercises, and play board games.
One patient, Foofee Sheriff, 54, tells how he became infected after attending
the funeral of his brother, who died recently. "We did not touch my
brother's body during the burial, we used plastic bags on our hands to make
sure that didn't happen," he insists. "But eight days after I
started feeling sick."
Mr Sheriff's claim not to know how he became infected is typical. It may be
that he genuinely does not know. Or it may be that he failed to take
adequate precautions at his brother's funeral but does not wish to admit it.
Either way, it makes it all the harder for the medical staff to establish
patients' so-called "contract traces", which, in an ideal world,
identify exactly who else might have been infected. This would also be
useful in the case of Mr Konneh, who, according to the man who brought him
in, worked for Irish aid agency Concern, which itself has been conducting a
public health campaign about how to avoid getting Ebola.
Alerted by The Telegraph the following day, Concern confirmed that Mr Konneh,
a father-of-two, did indeed work for them, although they believe he may have
died from an existing medical condition which took a turn for the worse in
the past ten days. Such is Ebola's grip on Liberia, however, that right now,
any sudden illness is feared to be the virus - hence Mr Konneh's attempt to
reach the clinic. The young man adds that Mr Konneh moved between two
different households while sick, and that the occupants of both houses are "now
very worried".
As too is Mr Liljegren, for whom there is simply no telling how many more
desperate people may soon be pleading outside his clinic's gates. "It
gets worse by the day," he says. "How much worse it will it get? I
have no idea." http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/ebola/11118025/I-have-never-seen-this-number-of-bodies-before-Life-at-an-Ebola-clinic-in-Liberia.html
The Assistant Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of
Liberia (ELCL) Rev. Samuel S.Y. Navoh,I on Monday September 22nd left
the Country to attend a four day international SCMS Disaster Response
committee conference in Indiana, United State of America.
Bishop Navoh was invited by the SCMS International Disaster Response
Committee in the United State to represent the ELCL church in Liberia.
During his deliberation at the conference, the ELCL assistant Bishop
Navoh said he will reemphasize on the present Ebola Disaster in Liberia
which a according to him is a very serious crisis in country.
More besides, Bishop Navoh Said he will also expressed gratitude on
“behalf of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Liberia to the SCMS
International Disaster response committee for their continuous support
to the church in Liberia since the Liberia civil crisis up to the
present Ebola crisis in the country.
Bishop Navoh however disclosed that while in the United States he
will lobby with other international organizations for more support to
the Church in Liberia.
He have meanwhile called on member Churches of the ELCL to uphold
“the faith of the church and they should also continue to pray for the
Nation for the Eradication of the Ebola virus from the land.
Wednesday, 24 September 2014 06:22
By Winston W. Parley
Deputy Police Director for Administration, William K. Mulbah,
has told a US medical team visiting Liberia that the deadly Ebola virus
has killed five officers of the Liberia National Police, LNP. A police
barrack on Camp Johnson Road, Monrovia was early this quarantined after
an affiliate of one of the officers there was allegedly infected and
subsequently spread the disease in the barrack.
Dozens of officers in the barrack were being observed after it was
discovered that a nurse, who had been visiting there died of Ebola.
Meanwhile, Mr. Mulbah said the LNP is
grateful for the numerous support it continues to get from the
Americans, directed towards rebuilding the capacity of the police,
saying, with such knowledge the LNP was prepared to fight against Ebola.
The
police announced yesterday that a team from the Louisiana State
University arrived in Liberia to conduct a three-day intensive
anti-Ebola seminar for over five hundred officers. Mr. Mulbah
had cautioned officers attending the training to take it seriously.
Officers from the patrol, Police Support Unit and the Emergency Response
Unit are partaking in the training.
The seminar, which is
ongoing at the National Police Headquarters on Capitol Hill, is made
possible through the US State Department to train first respondents of
the police to the Ebola crisis, a statement said on Monday. The LNP says
the US team is headed by Jason Krause, Director of Operations at the
National Center or Biomedical Research and Training based in the State
of Louisiana, America.
Wednesday, 24 September 2014 06:25
By Winston W. Parley
The World Health Organization’s Case Management Consultant to
Liberia, Ugandan Doctor Atai Omorutu says a Blood Bank is ready to
receive blood from donors, including “strong” Ebola survivals, as well
as those not tested positive of the virus.
Speaking at the Ministry of Information during a news conference aired live on state radio ELBC on Tuesday, September 23, Dr. Omorutu
said the Island Clinic was a new Eblola Treatment Unit that still
needed a lot of support. “We need people to come; we need the survivals
to come and help us with blood donation, especially. We also need anyone
else who can do it to give us blood,” she said.
She noted that Ebola consumes the substances that help “the body”
system to repair itself, thereby causing patients to bleed after the pothholes in their blood vessels had been deepened. “So, when we get fresh blood, these protein substances are …
in fresh blood from anybody. So when we give this fresh blood to the
patients, we give them the repair- the road materials for repairing
their blood vessels. And therefore, they do not bleed,” said Doctor
Omorutu.
As such, she said, her appeal is that anybody who’s willing to give
blood should come forth, saying “the blood bank is ready to receive any
blood donor.” Directing the public to the blood transfusion service on
24th Street, Sinkor, she made specific request to Ebola survivals that
are strong, because she said, they have the antibodies, otherwise called
“the soldiers” that have fought and defeated the Ebola virus. The WHO consultant indicated that that if individual blood donors are
unable to donate the full unit of 450 mills, “we would be happy to take
whatever amount.”
In the same vein, Dr. Omorutu
has disclosed that the newly opened Ebola Treatment Center at the
Island Clinic on Bushrod Island is now turning patients away after
exhausting its 150 bed capacities. Since Sunday, September 21, she said, Island Clinic has had a
transfer of more than 100 confirmed Ebola patients from Redemption
Hospital. By 8am on Monday, September 22, she said: “we had a total of
119 cases,” but noted that seven of them had unfortunately died from 3pm
on Sunday to 8am on Monday. She, additionally, noted that from 8am on Monday to 8am on Tuesday,
the Clinic had 74 new admissions, arriving at a total of 186 cases from
the time the clinic was opened on Sunday.
Up to
Tuesday, Madam Omorutu said the clinic had a total of 20 deaths in
the two days, and that two of the deceased from Nimba County had died in
the ambulance, while others died shortly after being transferred to
Island Clinic. Announcing a total of 173 patients were now admitted at Island Clinic, she said “unfortunately” they have to turn away some patients because there was no more space.
Notwithstanding, Madam Omorutu concluded that the Government of Liberia has got more support to built
Ebola Treatment Units, but said it will take at least three or four
weeks before another Unit can be ready in addition to what is available.
Wednesday, 24 September 2014 06:12
Franklin Doloquee, Nimba County
Two
Ebola patients, who died of the virus in separate communities in Nimba
County have reportedly resurrected in the county. The victims, both
females, believed to be in their 60s and 40s respectively, died of the
Ebola virus recently in Hope Village Community and the Catholic
Community in Ganta, Nimba.
But to the amazement of residents and onlookers on Monday, the deceased reportedly regained life in total disbelief. The NewDawn
Nimba County correspondent said the late Dorris Quoi of Hope Village
Community and the second victim only identified as Ma Kebeh, said to be
in her late 60s, were about to be taken for burial when they
resurrected.
Ma Kebeh had reportedly been in door
for two nights without food and medication before her alleged death.
Nimba County has had bazaar news of Ebola cases with a native doctor
from the county, who claimed that he could cure infected victims, dying
of the virus himself last week. News of the resurrection of the two victims has reportedly created
panic in residents of Hope Village Community and Ganta at large, with
some citizens describing Dorris Quoi as a ghost, who shouldn’t live
among them. Since the Ebola outbreak in Nimba County, this is the first
incident of dead victims resurrecting.
My staff are not ready to risk their lives for Ebola - NADMO boss
Created on Friday, 19 September 2014 19:41 | By Nathaniel Yankson
Kofi Portuphy
The National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) has indicated it
will not be able to manage any possible outbreak of the Ebola virus in
Ghana.
Staff expect to be equipped with the appropriate protective gears to
enable them identify and isolate cases of the dreaded disease.
Their request is also to safeguard their lives from being infected, should there be an outbreak in the country... http://www.globalnewsreel.com/health/my-staff-are-not-ready-to-risk-their-lives-for-ebola-nadmo-boss
Ebola epidemic: house-to-house search in Sierra Leone reveals 358 new cases
Teams of volunteers also find hundreds of unburied corpses, according to leaked email from senior American diplomat Wednesday 24 September 2014
Door-to-door searches during a three-day curfew in Sierra Leone identified more than 350 suspected new cases of Ebola, according by the top US diplomat in the country.
Charge d’affairs Kathleen Fitzgibbon said teams of volunteers had
also discovered 265 corpses, of which 216 have since been been buried,
in an email to organisers of the curfew that has been seen by the
Guardian.
Fitzgibbon said the home visits had identified a preliminary 358 new
suspected cases, with 85 patients sent to treatment centres.
Although there had been some “challenges” during the curfew, which
saw the normally chaotic streets of the capital Freetown replaced by
eerie silence after the government ordered everyone to stay in doors, it
could be seen as the “beginning of the end” of the Ebola epidemic,
which has killed more than 2,800 people, primarily in Liberia, Sierra
Leone and Guinea.
“The challenges included the late arrival of some materials, a rumor
that the soap was infected with Ebola. Some people fled to the bush to
avoid the house-to-house [checks] but came back for the last day,” she
said, adding that there had also been a “slow response to pick up
corpses”.
American public health institute the Centers for Disease Control has
been heavily involved in the emergency response in Sierra Leone and is
running the laboratory in Kenema, Sierra Leone’s third biggest city.
“Our team decided the three-day stay-at-home was a ‘watershed moment’
whose momentum must be turned into specific activities to ensure that
we can reach our goal of isolating 70% of positive cases to reverse the
upward trend of the epidemic,” Fitzgibbon said.
“The public needs to understand that this campaign did not end Ebola
but can be the beginning of the end if everyone remains vigilant,” she
added.
The email said one of the priorities was to ensure all bodies were
buried correctly as funerals have been identified as one of the ways the
disease has spread, with relatives touching the bodies of the deceased.
She said she was “extremely saddened” to hear of two incidents of the
disease spreading recently, one in the area of Moyamba in which 24
people had died “as a result of participating in this funeral” and
another in Kenema, in which 17 infections were traced to a funeral.
Fitzgibbon described one man in Kenema government hospital as a
“hero”. He survived the disease and stayed in the hospital helping other
patients, “in particular a young child whose parents are dead”, because
he knew he was immune to contracting the virus again.
“We need to celebrate this man’s contribution ... survivors should not be stigmatised, but instead celebrated,” she said.
In Makeni, a large town three hours from Freetown, an Irish nun
helping at a holding centre said 138 suspected cases had been identified
with 19 bodies buried and 39 patients send five hours away for
treatment.
“The good thing is we have had some survivors. One man and four women
came back and they addressed the emergency people. It seemed to give
them back the energy, because they are all exhausted,” said Sr Mary
Sweeney. Near-empty streets during a three-day curfew in Freetown.Photograph: Michael Duff/AP
Full email
From Charge d’Affaires Kathleen FitzGibbon September 23, 2014
The House-to-House campaign met its objectives, thanks to public
participation. Preliminary information indicates that the teams were
able to reach between75% to 85% of the 1.7 million households throughout
the country. Here are some of the lessons learned. Interpersonal
communication is the most effective way to deliver messages. Most
misconceptions were dispelled by the teams. Neighborhood watches will
continue helping communities connect with service providers. It will be
important to sustain the holding and treatment facilities as those who
were ill self-reported or were identified by neighbors. The public needs
to understand that this campaign did not end Ebola but can be the
beginning of the end if everyone remains vigilant.
Sierra Leoneans voluntarily went to holding or treatment centers. A
preliminary number is that 358 suspected cases were transferred to
holding centers for testing, with 85 transferred to treatment centers.
There were 285 bodies found during the exercise and 216 of those have
been buried. Corpses are swabbed and tested to determine cause of death.
We still await the official data as the districts are still reporting
results so these numbers are not final. Public acceptance of the
campaign was high. It is important to get all cases of Ebola into care
centers.
The challenges included late arrival of some materials, a rumor
that the soap was infected with Ebola, some people fled to the bush to
avoid the House-to-House but came back for the last day, and improved
but still slow response to pick up corpses. Another constraint was that
some of the holding centers were opened late. For sure, small businesses
and poor residents faced more challenges than most, but independent
monitors report that many of them stated that campaign was important
enough to participate.
Today, our CDC team shared with President Koroma what our team has
been doing and will continue to do in support of the response. In Dr.
Frieden’s words, we are with Sierra Leone through the entire epidemic.
Our team described this three-day stay-at-home as a “watershed moment”
whose momentum must be turned into specific activities to ensure that we
can reach our goal of isolating 70% of positive cases to reverse the
upward trend of the epidemic.
CDC is running the laboratory at Kenema,
assisting the Ministry of Health and Sanitation with data management,
supporting the Emergency Operations Center at the national and local
levels, and will be doing more to strengthen the district health teams.
This is where the fight will be won. The data is important to allow us
to target where the new infections are coming from. CDC also recommends
that all bodies are buried in a medically safe manner. This is what we
are aiming for and you can be assured that all the donors are working
closely with the government to support the burial teams. We are
supporting the International Federation of the Red Cross to train and
manage burial teams in several districts. We also are funding treatment
centers. I was extremely saddened to here of two recent instances, one in
Moyamba and a second in Kailahun, where prominent persons died and the
communities conducted burials. In Moyamba, 24 persons are dead as a
result of participating in this funeral and there may be others. In
Kailahun, the same scenario, with some 17 deaths traced to this funeral.
Please, save yourselves and your community, let the Ministry of Health
and Sanitation conduct all burials. We know that these teams are
overwhelmed, but be persistent in insisting that corpses are handled
only by trained personnel.
Let’s end on a high note and talk about a hero. There is a man in
the Kenema Government Hospital treatment center who has recovering from
Ebola. He is now immune. He stayed in the treatment center helping with
other patients, in particular, a young child whose parents are dead. He
could have left, but he chose instead to remain and help this child, who
is unrelated to him. We need to celebrate this man’s contribution to
the fight against Ebola. Survivors should not be stigmatized, but
instead celebrated and enabled to be an important component of the
response. Bravo http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/24/ebola-sierra-leone-curfew?CMP=twt_gu
Red Cross team attacked
in Guinea
September 24, 2014 15:33 GMT
CONAKRY, Guinea (AP) -- A Red Cross team has been attacked in the West
African country of Guinea -- in the latest in a string of assaults that
are hindering efforts to control the outbreak of Ebola.
The team had been collecting bodies believed to be infected with the
disease. They were attacked by family members of the dead. One of the
volunteers is recovering from a neck wound.
Last week, a team of several health officials and journalists in Guinea
was abducted and killed. They had been educating people on how to avoid
contracting Ebola.
Ebola is believed to have infected more than 5,800 people in Liberia,
Sierra Leone, Guinea, Nigeria and Senegal. The outbreak has grown into
the world's largest ever for the disease, partially because it went
undetected for months.
Efforts to control the disease have been hampered by resistance --
ranging from outright denials that Ebola exists to fears that the very
people sent to combat it are in fact carriers.
%@AP Links
APPHOTO ALIB104: People protest against the governments lack of help to
the public with the Ebola virus in their communities, outside the
Liberian House of Representative in Monrovia, Liberia, Tuesday, Sept.
23, 2014. U.S. health officials Tuesday presented worst-case and
best-case scenarios for the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, calculating
that as many as 1.4 million people could be sickened in two countries
alone by mid-January -- or the outbreak could be winding down by then,
if control efforts substantially increase. (AP Photo/Abbas Dulleh) (23
Sep 2014)
September 24, 2014 15:33 GMT
CONAKRY, Guinea (AP) -- A Red Cross team has been attacked in the West African country of Guinea -- in the latest in a string of assaults that are hindering efforts to control the outbreak of Ebola. The team had been collecting bodies believed to be infected with the disease. They were attacked by family members of the dead. One of the volunteers is recovering from a neck wound. Last week, a team of several health officials and journalists in Guinea was abducted and killed. They had been educating people on how to avoid contracting Ebola. Ebola is believed to have infected more than 5,800 people in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Nigeria and Senegal. The outbreak has grown into the world's largest ever for the disease, partially because it went undetected for months. Efforts to control the disease have been hampered by resistance -- ranging from outright denials that Ebola exists to fears that the very people sent to combat it are in fact carriers. U.S. health officials Tuesday presented worst-case and best-case scenarios for the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, calculating that as many as 1.4 million people could be sickened in two countries alone by mid-January -- or the outbreak could be winding down by then, if control efforts substantially increase. (AP Photo/Abbas Dulleh) (23 Sep 2014) Read More at: http://www.fox17.com/template/inews_wire/wires.international/360dd56e-www.fox17.com.shtml
Red Cross team attacked
in Guinea
September 24, 2014 15:33 GMT
CONAKRY, Guinea (AP) -- A Red Cross team has been attacked in the West
African country of Guinea -- in the latest in a string of assaults that
are hindering efforts to control the outbreak of Ebola.
The team had been collecting bodies believed to be infected with the
disease. They were attacked by family members of the dead. One of the
volunteers is recovering from a neck wound.
Last week, a team of several health officials and journalists in Guinea
was abducted and killed. They had been educating people on how to avoid
contracting Ebola.
Ebola is believed to have infected more than 5,800 people in Liberia,
Sierra Leone, Guinea, Nigeria and Senegal. The outbreak has grown into
the world's largest ever for the disease, partially because it went
undetected for months.
Efforts to control the disease have been hampered by resistance --
ranging from outright denials that Ebola exists to fears that the very
people sent to combat it are in fact carriers.
%@AP Links
APPHOTO ALIB104: People protest against the governments lack of help to
the public with the Ebola virus in their communities, outside the
Liberian House of Representative in Monrovia, Liberia, Tuesday, Sept.
23, 2014. U.S. health officials Tuesday presented worst-case and
best-case scenarios for the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, calculating
that as many as 1.4 million people could be sickened in two countries
alone by mid-January -- or the outbreak could be winding down by then,
if control efforts substantially increase. (AP Photo/Abbas Dulleh) (23
Sep 2014)
Ebola virus in humans may be here to stay; fatality rate is 71%
...In order to stop the epidemic, researchers say the rate of
transmission would have to be cut in half. This would be equivalent to
vaccinating 50% of the population.
Several experimental vaccines
are under development, and -- if they prove to be effective -- won't be
available in large quantities for months. Study authors made the following observations on the effects of the outbreak.
The
average age of a person infected with Ebola is 32, and 49.9% of
patients are male, researchers said. The age group that has been most
affected by the virus makes up 44% of the total population.
The
most common symptoms reported by patients included fever (87.1%),
fatigue (76.4%), loss of appetite (64.5%), vomiting (67.6%), diarrhea
(65.6%), headache (53.4%), and abdominal pain (44.3%).
Although
the disease is infamously known for causing bleeding, "specific
hemorrhagic symptoms were rarely reported (in less than 1% to 5.7% of
patients)," authors wrote. "Unexplained bleeding" however was reported
in 18% of cases.
People age 45 or older faced a significantly
greater threat of death, as did those who suffered a number of the
following symptoms: diarrhea, conjunctivitis, difficulty breathing or
swallowing, confusion or disorientation and coma, unexplained bleeding,
bleeding gums, bloody nose, bleeding at injection sites and bleeding
from the vagina. http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-ebola-may-be-endemic-in-people-20140922-story.html
"The risk of continued epidemic expansion
and the prospect of endemic EVD in West Africa call for the most
forceful implementation of present control measures and the rapid
development and deployment of new drugs and vaccines," the authors
concluded.
Doctor's Report : Youngster With Ebola Symptoms Admitted In Rajiv Gandhi Hospital... A
Youngster from Ariyalur was detected with Ebola Virus when he came from
Nigeria This Morning.. He was admitted and given Special Treatment in
Rajiv Gandhi General Hospital, Chennai- Thanthi TV
Doctors and nurses dressing with security suits to receive
Spanish doctor Manuel Garcia Viejo, infected with Ebola, who will be
treated at the hospital Carlos III in Madrid, Spain.
Source: EPA
JOHANNESBURG – The number of Ebola infections in Liberia and
Sierra Leone could skyrocket to 1.4 million by January 2015, according
to a new projection by US health authorities out Tuesday.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that
Ebola cases in these two West African nations could range from between
550,000 and 1.4 million cases by January 20, 2015.
The estimate is based on the assumption that Ebola cases in the
world's largest outbreak to date are being underreported by a factor of
2.5, said the report from the CDC.
However, experts cautioned that the projection was based on data
available in August, before the United States ramped up its response to
the epidemic in West Africa.
Meanwhile, at least 98 people have been monitored in Harare after
having travelled to Ebola-hit West African countries over the past few
weeks.
That’s according to Zimbabwe’s NewsDay publication.
It says that of the 98 people, 84 were coming from Nigeria.
Half had already been cleared after testing negative following a
21-day surveillance period under which the disease is expected to
manifest.
Harare City Council health director Prosper Chonzi told NewsDay:
“If one is coming from West Africa, they are screened first at the
ports of entry and if they do not have any signs and symptoms, we do
not put them under quarantine, but we put them under surveillance for 21
days,” Chonzi said.
“Port health officials assess the
people and then those who have been to the affected countries fill in
forms which are then sent to us, so that we follow them up.
We check on them every day and tell them to go about their
business, but ask them not to move around unnecessarily so that in the
event they are affected, it will be easy to trace them.
Chonzi said after expiry of the 21-day gestation period for the
Ebola virus, the monitored patients would be certified as free of the
disease, NewsDay reported.
“For one to be put under quarantine, they would have one or two
signs and symptoms associated with Ebola and if their history shows that
they have been in contact with an Ebola patient, then we refer them to
Wilkins Hospital (an infectious disease hospital in Harare) where the
procedure will go on,” Chonzi said.
Two
Ebola patients, who died of the virus in separate communities in Nimba
County have reportedly resurrected in the county. The victims, both
females, believed to be in their 60s and 40s respectively, died of the
Ebola virus recently in Hope Village Community and the Catholic
Community in Ganta, Nimba.
