Anxiety as Sierra Leone confirms first Ebola deaths

 The Sierra Leone government Monday announced a shift in its handling of the West African Ebola outbreak from preparedness to response, following confirmation of its first suspected deaths from the virus.

Health ministry officials said at an emergency press briefing in Freetown that the country was focusing on specific case management to contain the disease.

The general public was been urged to adopt extreme precautionary measures that involve movement restrictions within the country and instant burial of victims.

As of Monday afternoon, the official death toll from suspected Ebola virus stood at four.

However, officials said only one among a total of 11 suspected cases was confirmed to be of the virus, as had been verified by two independent sources - the US-based health tech firm Metabiota and Tolane University. And the victim of the only confirmed case was still alive and responding to treatment, the ministry further said.

One of the infected victims is said to be a health worker, although no detail was given on how they were infected, prompting concerns as to how protected health personnel were.

The outbreak in Sierra Leone comes about two months since the first confirmed cases were recorded in West Africa`s first experience of the disease in Guinea and then Liberia, where over 250 cases have been recorded with about 190 combined deaths.

In Sierra Leone, the cases were recorded at the border with Guinea in an area near the epicenter of that country`s outbreak in March.

The top hierarchy of the Health ministry was at Monday`s press conference.

Information and Communication Minister, Alhaji Alpha Kanu, who chaired the ceremony, said given the level of intermingling that existed within the populations of the region, it was highly inconceivable that such a situation would go without getting some effect across the border.

Among the immediate measures announced by the government include no funeral for Ebola victims.

When anyone dies of suspected cases, they should be buried straight away, said Health minister Mrs Kargbo.

She stressed that victims must not even go through the usual practice of washing.

The eastern towns of Kailahun and Kenema (the district headquarter town) were identified as the most high risk places and the Health ministry has called on citizens to restrict movement to these and other outbreak prone zones.

The media is also on the spotlight for its coverage with pleas coming from both the World Health Organization (WHO) and the local Health authorities to avoid creating panic by reporting “false alarm”.

“When government makes pronouncement, we mean it,” said Minister Kargbo, in a rather somber tone.

“Our health workers are needed more than ever before,” she added.

On the same day, reports indicate a fresh case of single death to the Ebola virus in Guinea, bringing to about 190 deaths in the larger West Africa.

This has dampened hopes that the virus has been brought under control.

There is also fear of immigration restrictions by neighboring countries following this development among Sierra Leoneans.

Gambia only recently lifted a ban on direct flight from Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea over the epidemic.

But a WHO representative said the global health watchdog doesn’t support movement restriction across neighboring borders as per its 2005 World Health Regulations.

The official, Dr Mofunda, also said they were sending experts to affected areas in Sierra Leone with relevant supplies to help tackle the outbreak.

Health ministry officials also hope that this team can identify the exact strain of the virus, even though the Health minister has said information already at her disposal suggested that all the suspected cases originated from Guinea.

She said the victim who died had traveled to attend a funeral across the border and on returning, developed symptoms.

All those under treatment, mostly women, were thought to have come in contact with the first victim.

The ministry says it`s trying to trace several others thought to be missing who`d also come in contact with the already identified victims.

Ebola is a haemorrhagic fever and has a fatality rate of up to 90 percent.

Experts say there is no cure or vaccine for the viral disease whose infection is transmitted by direct contact with the blood, body fluids and tissues of infected animals or people.

Chief Medical Officer Dr Brima Kargbo said victims of the Sierra Leone outbreak uniquely exhibited symptoms of diarrhea and vomiting, rather than the usual high fever associated with victims in Guinea and elsewhere.

When Guinea and Liberia first struggled with the initial outbreak, Sierra Leone recorded several cases with symptoms similar to those of the viral infection, but none of them had tested positive for Ebola.

While there was no room for complaisance given the severity of the virus and the fact that this is its first occurrence in West Africa, the WHO representative at Monday`s press briefing in Freetown said the country was lucky that the experiences in neighboring countries will come in handy. 

The world health body, in a separate statement, said the outbreak in Sierra Leone was located in an area along its border with Guinea's Guéckédou Prefecture, where some of the earliest cases of the disease were recorded.

“We are not reinventing the will. We have already learnt from experiences in Guinea and Liberia,” said Dr Mofunda.