Dr. Brima Kargbo
Following concerns by aid agencies that the deadly Ebola virus that has killed several people in Guinea poses a threat to Sierra Leone, the country's Chief Medical Officer says a Task Force has been set up and its members held their inaugural meeting yesterday.
Dr Brima Kargbo told Politico that the Task Force comprised four sub-committees and was led by health minister, Miatta Kargbo.
He said a team of scientists under the auspices of the US Defence Department would arrive in the country in a matter of days to be in readiness for a response to the threat should any case of the deadly haemorrhagic fever be detected.
They will come from the respected Meta Biota Incorporated and Tuleni University in the States.
For years now the two institutions have maintained a presence in Sierra Leone helping with the surveillance team of the health ministry in the area of Lassa Fever.
The Country Director of Meta Biota, Professor Aiah Kpakima says two scientists will join them later this week to be on the alert for the Ebola threat. He told Politico that they would be involved in identifying possible contacts in Kono and Kailahun - two districts under threat because of their close proximity to the areas of Guinea affected - and investigating them for hemorrhagic fever other than Lassa fever - in other words suspected Ebola.
The Kono District Medical Officer, Dr Francis Jayah says they have identified the grave of a 14-year-old suspected to have been killed by the virus. He says the boy, Sahr Laffalay died in Fangamandu in Guinea where he had gone to attend the funeral of an Ebola victim. His corpse was brought back into Sierra Leone and "buried in bleeding condition in Boidu in the Sowa chiefdom in Kono district" - and not Buedu in Kailahun as the ministry of health had earlier thought, the medic told Politico.
Dr Jayah says a team will leave this morning for Boidu to collect blood and stool samples of those who participated in the burial of the 14-year-old.
Asked whether they would be quarantined, he said "not now", adding that the samples would be processed "immediately" and if they proved positive for Ebola then a quarantine would be considered.
Scientists tackling the Ebola outbreak in Guinea say they believe they have identified the virus as the Zaire strain which is the most deadly of all. This has caused high level concern among aid agencies and scientists.
(C) Politico 25/03/14
