Tag Archives: Ebola

Last Ebola Patient Discharged From Guinea Hospital

According to health officials, the last known Ebola patient in Guinea has recovered and has been released from a treatment centre in the capital Conakry.

A spokesman for the country’s Ebola co-ordination unit has disclosed that two tests on the patient, a baby, had come back negative. Fode Tass Sylla has disclosed that “the baby is negative and so Guinea today is without a single Ebola patient,” adding, “we are crossing our fingers and praying that nothing will happen over the next 42 days so that we can celebrate Guinea without Ebola.”

Authorities have effectively begun the countdown to the end of the Ebola outbreak in Guinea, which is the last country that was still reporting cases after nearly two years and more than 11,000 deaths worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) declares that Ebola disease transmission has ended when the country goes through two incubation periods, 21 days each, without a new case emerging. The other two countries hardest hit by the outbreak, Liberia and Sierra Leone, have already been declared free of the deadly disease, however in Guinea, authorities have reported that they continued to face resistance in fearful communities, where people initially blamed international health workers for bringing the virus to their region.

Ebola remains in Guinea as Liberia and Sierra Leone Remain Free of Virus

After killing more than 11,000 people, the world’s worst outbreak of Ebola is now down to a few cases, however they all remain in Guinea, where the disease first emerged nearly two years ago and where health workers continue to battle community resistance in their bid to end the outbreak.

According to officials, Guinea’s fight against Ebola has been hampered by residents who have abandoned preventive measures, which helped halt the spread of the deadly virus. According to Guinea task force spokesman Fode Tass Sylla, people shake hands, don’t was their hands and continue to consult with traditional healers instead of medics. Minister of Health Col. Remy Lama has disclosed that the recent reporting of new cases in the district of Forecariah “have taken us all by surprise,” adding that the district had been free of the disease for nearly forty days.

Sierra Leone Due to be Declared Ebola Free Tomorrow

The Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone is expected to be officially declared over on Saturday, when the West African nation will have gone 42 days without any new infections. However jubilation over the ending of the outbreak in Sierra Leone, where almost 4,000 deaths have been reported, has been tempered by caution as neighboring Guinea continues to battle the deadly virus.

Speaking at a news conference in Freetown on Wednesday, Palo Conteh, the head of Sierra Leone’s Ebola response, indicated that there were no plans for “an elaborate celebration,” adding that instead, the World Health organization (WHO) will deliver a formal declaration in the capital city on Saturday of the end of the epidemic. He warned however that “we have to be vigilant as it is not the end of Ebola, but the end of the current outbreak. We have fought the disease and we have won.” Since emerging in December 2013, the worst outbreak of Ebola on record has infected a reported 28,500 people, with 11,300 deaths registered, however officials believe that the real toll is significantly higher than the official data. This is largely due to under-reporting of probable cases during the early stages of the outbreak. Saturday’s announcement marks the official end of a battle, which was prematurely thought to have been nearing its end on previous occasions. On 24 August, President Ernest Bai Koroma led a festive ceremony, celebrating the discharge of the country’s last known patient. Optimism however was quickly shattered by the deaths of a 67-year-old woman and, two weeks later, a 16-year-old girl. While the primary cost of the outbreak has been in human life, the crisis has also wiped out development gains in Sierra Leone. The World Bank estimates that the West African country will lose at least US $1.4 billion in economic growth in 2015 as a result, which will lead to an “unprecedented” GDP contraction of 23.5 percent.

Guinea Records Two New Ebola Cases After Two Weeks of No New Cases

The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that there are two new cases of Ebola that have been recorded in Guinea this week, effectively ending two consecutive weeks in West Africa when no cases of the disease were reported.

Officials have indicated that the two new patients were not previously identified contacts being tracked by health authorities. This suggests that officials are still unable to monitor everyone exposed to Ebola. On Friday, WHO spokeswoman Dr Margaret Harris disclosed that the UN health agency had expected to see more cases despite the recent lull in the epidemic, adding that the cases were in areas where scientists knew Ebola was spreading.

In its weekly update, WHO officials disclosed that there was a “near-term risk of further cases among both registered and untraced contacts.” To date, Ebola has killed more than 11,000 people in West Africa, mainly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Sierra Leone Approaches Being Declared Ebola-Free

According to officials, Sierra Leone has not recorded a single new case of Ebola in the past four weeks, which effectively keeps the West African country on course to being declared free of the virus next month.

At a press conference, the head of the government’s National Ebola Response Centre, Palo Conteh, disclosed that “Sierra Leone has no Ebola-positive case recorded in the country for the fourth consecutive week,” adding that there were no more people in quarantine either.

The last known Ebola patients were discharged from hospital in late September, which allowed Sierra Leone to begin the standard 42-day countdown towards becoming Ebola-free. If no further cases are recorded, the World Health Organization (WHO) will declare Sierra Leone Ebola-free on 8 November.