By Kemo Cham
Amidst growing fears over the recent Ebola death in Magburaka, north of the country, authorities have called for calm while urging for vigilance and ensuring that the latest flare-up doesn’t spread further.
As of Saturday 16 January, the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), identified 109 suspects as contacts of the 22-year-old secondary school pupil, Mariama Jalloh, who died of the deadly hemorrhagic fever disease.
The EOC is the successor agency of the defunct National Ebola Response Center (NERC). It is jointly coordinated by the Office of National Security (ONS) and the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS).
National coordinator of ONS, Ismael Tarawally, said there had always been the possibility for a new flare-up of the virus but stressed that with the country’s experience of dealing with the epidemic over the last two years, it was well placed to deal with any outbreak.
“It is not unexpected that a flare-up is possible as lessons learnt in neighboring Liberia have taught us,” Tarawally said in a prepared statement made available to journalists after an emergency press conference convened to officially confirm the cause of death of Jalloh, a pupil of a Lunsar secondary school.
“We are worried and concerned about this new development, but we are calling on the general public not to panic…We have been through this before, we know how to fight Ebola…Now more than ever all Sierra Leoneans must work together to prevent further infection,” the ONS boss said.
To this effect, he added, the national situation room of the EOC had been reactivated.
Jalloh reportedly fell ill after returning from holiday in Bamoi Luma in the Kambia district, an area that shares borders with neighboring Guinea where the epidemic first started back in 2014. Guinea was declared free of the virus at the end of last month.
Liberia was also declared free of the virus last week, only hours before the flare-up in Sierra Leone.
As of January 6, WHO has recorded 11, 315 deaths out of 28, 637 infections from the epidemic. Most of the cases and deaths were in the three neighboring countries – Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
This development came as Sierra Leone was entering 68 days of the WHO recommended 90-day Enhanced Surveillance Period, instituted when the country was first declared free of the virus on November 7.
EOC officials said preliminary investigations found that Mariama traveled through four districts when she fell ill between December 28 and January 12 when she reportedly died.
All the 109 contacts were traced in the four districts – Tonkolili, where she died; Port Loko; Kambia; and Bombali, where she went to consult a herbalist. Three contacts were still missing as of the week end.
She first sought treatment at the Magburaka government hospital in Tonkolili District which later discharged her without indicating any sign of the disease. She returned home only to die after her condition had deteriorated. The family washed and buried her body.
The step-father of the deceased was located in the capital Freetown and was under surveillance, according to the EOC, which also said it was now investigating the source and route of the infection.
(C) Politico 19/01/16
