By Mohamed T Massaquoi
The Pujehun district health management team has confirmed the death of one person in the town of Zimmi from the Ebola virus.
Dr. David Bome, the District Medical Officer, disclosed to Politico that the incident took place on the 11th July. He said the late man's wife had earlier died of Ebola, causing the man to be put under surveillance at the Kenema district hospital but fled The DMO said the man fled the hospital and ended up with a relative in Zimmi about 42 miles from Pujehun town on the 8th of July with the Kenema District Medical Team searching for him for over four days.
Dr. Bome said while in Zimmi, the deceased became "seriously ill with high fever but his family did not take him to any health centre until his death". He said it was only after he had died that the Community Health Officer at Zimmi was called in and certified that the deceased had "an epidemiological link with Kenema".
The Pujehun district medical boss said his health workers lacked the technical idea to deal with Ebola and pleaded to the DHMT in Kenema to train health workers in Pujehun. That notwithstanding, he said an emergency Ebola task force had gone to the scene to protect the community people from contacting the deceased.
He said their major challenge was that they had only one ambulance in the district at present but assured that the district taskforce would soon embark on mass Ebola sensitisation both on radio and direct outreach activities across the district.
(C) Politico 15/07/14
