By Bampia James Bundu
The Minister of Heath and Sanitation, Miatta Kargbo has declared Kailahun and Kenema as a high risk zone for the Ebola virus.
Speaking at an emergency press conference held at the Ministry of Information and Communication in Freetown, Madam Kargbo revealed that the Ebola virus has been confirmed in Sokoma village in Kissy Teng Chiefdom, Kailahun District on Sunday 25 May 2014. She said that the Ebola virus was brought to Sierra Leone by a woman who travelled to Guinea to witness a funeral ceremony victim who died of Ebola the fever and later returned home with the virus, got sick and died subsequently.
The minister of health said during her funeral, the women who washed the corps were also infected with the virus and are presently hospitalized at the Koindu hospital. She noted that as of yesterday, “one Ebola case has been confirmed, six hospitalized due to Ebola trace and are undergoing series of testing.” She said as a result of that, people in Kailahun and Kenema Districts were at high risk of coming in contact with the Ebola virus. “I urge all to restrict their movement to and from Kenema and Kailahun especially in Kissy Teng Chiefdom where the disease was discovered”, she warned.
Madam Kargbo said that the ministry has move from preparation to response stage and they were doing all they could to ensure that they trace all those who were at the funeral of the late woman in order to test them for the virus.
She called on everybody to be cautious because "Ebola is a dangerous disease that kills faster than one could imagine," and can be transmitted through “fruit bats, bush animals, and human contact.” She also urged all health practitioners, especially the rapid respond team to be vigilant and step up their efforts in ensuring that they use all protective gears and check patients properly.
The Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Brima Kargbo noted that in Sierra Leone, victims have shown less symptoms. He said symptoms like “diarrhoea and vomiting are the only symptoms we have observed for now, but bleeding and sore throat are yet to be detected,” he said. He appeal to all Sierra Leoneans not to panic, but to be cautious and should be mindful of what they do and how they interact. “We should not attend funerals service of Ebola victims, it’s highly risky; don’t touch Ebola victims or carry them without protective gears”, he cautioned.
The World Health Organizatio Country Representative, Dr. Jacob Mufundadescribe Ebola as "a very serious disease that kills very fast and can be transmitted from one person to another through body contact." He said many people have died as a result of the Ebola
infection since the disease was discovered in Guinea and Liberia in March this year because the two countries were not prepared for such outbreak. “Sierra Leone is lucky to be prepared for the disease, which Guinea and Liberia never had”, he noted.
He urged all Sierra Leoneans to listen and follow the instructions of the government because they are very important. “Report all cases to the hospital, stay away from a dead corpse and be vigilant,” he said.
The head of disease prevention and control, Dr. Amara Jambai said the ministry had alerted all their district health medical teams to be vigilant and run more tests on people suspected of the Ebola virus. He said they had already supply protective gears to all Ebola-threat areas, all border crossing points, and to PHUs so that they can be well equipped in handling cases of Ebola. “We had conducted series of training with our nurses, to educate them on how to handle Ebola cases and how to use those protective gears”, he assured.
(C) Politico 27/05/14
