Following the withdrawal by WHO of its entire team from the Ebola-hit district of Kailahun and the closure of its laboratory there, the Canada government is evacuating its three-member mobile laboratory team from the country over safety concerns.
According to Canadian TV, the country's Public Health Agency said the team was being recalled to Canada after a Senegalese WHO colleague was diagnosed with Ebola saying the situation was significant enough to require the withdrawal of the scientists from the country.
When the WHO withdrew its staff on Tuesday the organisation assured it was a temporary safety measure and that the team would return after an investigation had been carried out into what led to the infection of its Senegalese epidemiologist.
The Canadian team is in Sierra Leone under the aegis of the WHO's Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN).
The WHO however says the Kailahun post will be re-staffed after an assessment of the situation, with the Canadian Public Health Agency sending another lab team to the country once safety concerns have been addressed.
(C) Politico 28/08/14
