February 16, 2021
By: Sulaiman Stom Koroma
The Health Minister of the Guinea Rémy Lamah has confirmed that one patient was taken to Conakry for treatment, a cause for concern as officials wait for the second set of results to confirm the Ebola infections. At least two of the cases were confirmed by initial lab results, according to hospital employees speaking with local reporters.
Early reports from Guinea come as officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo announced the third case of a reemerging Ebola virus outbreak in the country’s volatile east.
The World Health Organization said the case was confirmed in Katwa, just a few kilometers east of Butembo and the first new case was reported earlier this week. The new cases have emerged since Congolese officials declared an end to Ebola in June, after an outbreak that claimed 2,300 lives, many of them in Katwa and Butembo.
Just after the announcement made by the Guinean authorities, the government of Sierra Leone through the Ministry of Health and Sanitation immediately highlighted plans they have put in place in case the outbreak spreads to Sierra Leone “HE Retired Brig. Julius Maada Bio instructed the Ministry of Health and Sanitation to inform the general public that even though there are no reported cases of EVD in Sierra Leone, the government should take prudent action to prevent any introduction of the virus into the country and to institute measures to protect the lives of Sierra Leoneans”. The Release said.
The government of Sierra Leone says it has activated its Health Emergency Response System to level II (Enhanced Surveillance, Active Case Finding, and robust Community Engagement). According to the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, although the border with the Republic of Guinea is currently closed, Health Authorities and local stakeholders in the districts bordering Guinea and Sierra Leone have been supported to heighten Ebola surveillance, and improve community awareness including appropriate preparedness measures. National Rapid Response Teams are being dispatched to provide additional support to the District Health Management Teams. We intend to work very closely with our Guinean counterparts to quickly contain the situation.
“EVD is a severe, often fatal illness in humans. The virus is suspected to be transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission. It can be transmitted through human contact with body fluids of a person infected with the virus”. Said Dr. Austin Demby Minister of Health and Sanitation
Major symptoms of the Ebola disease can include some of the following: fever, sometimes unexplained bleeding tendencies from nose, gums, vagina, skin or eyes, as well as vomiting and diarrhea.
The Ministry of Health and Sanitation encouraged the general public to be vigilant and report all suspected cases and deaths through the 117 toll-free hotline or to their local authorities.
It could be recalled that a retrospective investigation by WHO revealed that the country’s first case was a woman who was a guest at the home of the index case in Meliandou, Guinea. When the host family became ill, she traveled back to her home in Sierra Leone and died there shortly after her return in early January. However, that death was neither investigated nor reported at the time.
On March 23, 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported the first cases of EVD in West Africa in what would become the largest Ebola virus epidemic in history. Over two years, a total of 28,616 cases of EVD and 11,310 deaths were reported in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. An additional 36 cases and 15 deaths occurred when the outbreak spread outside these three countries.
On 1st April 2014, the country stepped up vigilance for imported cases when two members of the same family who had died from Ebola virus disease in Guinea were repatriated to Sierra Leone for burial. Though heightened vigilance yielded a number of suspected cases, all tested negative.
The burst of new cases seen in early June has been traced to the 10 May funeral of a respected traditional healer held in Sokoma, a remote village in Kailahun district, near the border with Guinea. The healer became infected while treating Ebola patients who crossed the border from Guinea, seeking her healing powers.
Since Sierra Leone recorded the first Ebola case on 24 May 2014, a total number of 8,704 people were infected and 3,589 have died. From those who tragically lost their lives, 221 of them were healthcare workers. We remember them all today.
After an initial declaration in November 2015, Sierra Leone announced a new case of EVD in January 2016 and declared it was Ebola-free on March 17, 2016.
