Two Nigerians diagnosed with Ebola in Sierra Leone

[jchima]

Recent reports from Sierra Leone shows that two Nigerians resident in Freetown, have been diagnosed of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).

The two Nigerians included a 27-year-old indigene of Abia stated and a 22-year old indigene of Edo state.

This was disclosed by the Supervisory Minister for Health, Khaliru Alhassan Thursday while declaring open the National Council for Health, (NCH), meeting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

Source: Two Nigerians diagnosed with Ebola in Sierra Leone - eReporter

 

[waltky]

Ebola season startin' up again in Africa?...

Three New Ebola Patients Found in Sierra Leone
September 09, 2015 | Three more people have tested positive for Ebola from the same village in Sierra Leone's northern Kambia district of the country where a 67-year-old woman died last week from the virus, Sierra Leone health officials said.

Chief medical officer Dr. Brima Kargbo told VOA Tuesday the three new patients came from among the 50 high-risk persons identified as close relatives of the deceased woman. Sierra Leone has had nearly 14,000 cases of Ebola and about 4,000 deaths since the outbreak began in 2014. But Dr. Kargbo said the latest outbreak is containable because its origin is traceable. “These are people who stayed in the same community because, of course, when the woman died neither knew that it was Ebola. So most of them stayed home and some even participated in washing of the corpses. So that is why the entire village was quarantined to avoid transmitting the infection from one place to another,” he said.

The latest outbreak temporarily dashed the country’s hopes of being declared Ebola-free following the release from the hospital late last month of the country’s last known Ebola patient. But Dr. Kargbo said Sierra Leoneans should not fear a widespread outbreak like a year ago. “Ebola is not coming back to Sierra Leone because now we can actually trace the origin of the infection. If it had been from an unknown source, that would have been another matter. But this is from a source that is known, in the same village and same community,” he said.

A health worker stands at Elwa hospital in Monrovia, Sept. 7, 2014, The facility is run by Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders -- MSF).

In addition, Dr. Kargbo said, they have begun administering the experimental “Guinea ring vaccine” to people in the community. “We have actually vaccinated more than 130 people in that same community to protect them, but also to prevent those who may have come in contact with the deceased woman from actually getting the infection,” Kargbo said.

He said authorities are looking for the deceased woman's niece because they consider her a high-risk. “The niece was the first person to become infected after the woman because she was more likely the caregiver of the deceased woman. So all those who became positive are those who were closely related to the deceased woman,” he said. Dr. Kargbo said the niece should turn herself in and not fear that the authorities may arrest her for violating the country’s Ebola procedures.

Three New Ebola Patients Found in Sierra Leone

 

[waltky]

False positive...

New Ebola case emerges in Sierra Leone
Jan 15,`16 -- A corpse has tested positive for Ebola in Sierra Leone, officials said Friday, the day after the World Health Organization declared the outbreak over in West Africa.

Tests on a 22-year-old woman who died earlier this month in Sierra Leone's north proved positive for the virus, Francis Langoba Kellie, spokesman for the Office of National Security, told a local radio program. She came from the Northern Kambia District and went to the Northern Tonkolili District for medical attention, he said. Authorities are tracing her contacts and have dispatched teams to the area for investigations. Certain areas will be quarantined, he said. The World Health Organization confirmed the new case that comes during a 90-day period of heightened surveillance, saying that Sierra Leone's government acted rapidly. Authorities are initiating control measures to prevent further transmission, it said.

People pass a banner reading 'STOP EBOLA' forming part of Sierra Leone's Ebola free campaign in the city of Freetown, Sierra Leone, Friday, Jan. 15, 2016. A corpse has tested positive for Ebola in Sierra Leone, an official said Friday, the day after the World Health Organization declared the outbreak over in West Africa.​

WHO declared an end to the deadliest Ebola outbreak ever on Thursday after no new cases emerged in Liberia. It had been at least two weeks since Ebola had been seen in Guinea or Sierra Leone. The three countries were most affected by the epidemic that began two years ago. "Our level of preparedness and response capabilities are very high and there is no cause for concern," said Kelly. "We encourage the public to continue to practice the hygiene regulations which were in force during the period while Ebola was raging and the emergency regulations are still in force."

The organization warned that flare-ups were still possible. "We are now at a critical period in the Ebola epidemic as we move from managing cases and patients to managing the residual risk of new infections," Dr. Bruce Aylward, WHO's Special Representative for the Ebola Response said Thursday. "We still anticipate more flare-ups and must be prepared for them." Nearly 4,000 people had died before Sierra Leone was declared free from transmission of Ebola on Nov. 7. Guinea marked that day on Dec. 29.

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[waltky]

2nd Ebola case in Sierra Leone after epidemic thought over...

Sierra Leone has 2nd Ebola case after epidemic thought over
Jan 21,`16 -- A second case of Ebola emerged in Sierra Leone after health officials thought the epidemic was over, with a close relative of the first victim testing positive for the virus that has killed more than 11,000 people, authorities said Thursday.

About 150 of the first victim's contacts have been under monitoring, and the new patient had been under quarantine. Health Ministry spokesman Sidi Yaya Tunis said the new patient was one of the people who prepared the initial victim's body for burial. The 22-year-old died in mid-January, and relatives were allowed to hold a traditional funeral as authorities at the time did not suspect she had died from Ebola.

Ebola is spread through direct contact with the bodily fluids of victims, and corpses are especially contagious. Traditional funerals in the region where mourners touch the body were a major source of virus transmission during the epidemic in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.

The new cases in Sierra Leone have marked a major setback for the region, as virus transmission had appeared to stop. Even in announcing the apparent end of the outbreak, though, World Health Organization officials had warned that additional "flare-ups" of new cases were still possible.

However, Sierra Leone's new cases are particularly worrisome to experts because no one identified the first victim as an Ebola patient, and burial precautions were not taken to prevent further infections. There also had not been any known cases in Sierra Leone for two months, and it is still not known exactly how the 22-year-old contracted the virus.

News from The Associated Press