Monrovia – Liberian health officials are asking for calm amid reports of a suspected case of the deadly Ebola virus, which originated in neighboring Guinea.
An official from the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare confirmed to FrontPageAfrica on Thursday morning that tests are being conducted on a suspected case of the killer virus. This result, the source said, should be ready by the end of Thursday’s business day.
The patient, a woman, allegedly came from Guinea on Wednesday night and is currently at Hospital da Redenção awaiting laboratory work.
The potential patient in the index case reportedly returned from Nzerkoure, one of the pain points in Guinea, a few days ago with a high fever and a running stomach and was on medication at a local clinic around the FDA Community in Paynesville for about three days before go to the MEDICOVER Clinic.
The patient, according to the official, speaking on condition of anonymity for not having received the green light to comment publicly on the case, said the patient is being treated at the MEDICOVER Clinic, Branch Clinic da Alma and is currently in isolation. The clinic is also under surveillance awaiting the results of the Redemption Hospital laboratory.
Authorities confirmed that the patient’s family members who accompanied her to the clinic are being kept in isolation.
The potential patient in the index case reportedly returned from Nzerkoure, one of the pain points in Guinea, a few days ago with a high fever and a running stomach and was on medication at a local clinic around the FDA Community in Paynesville for about three days before go to the MEDICOVER Clinic.
Dr. Wilhemina Jallah, Minister of Health and Social Welfare, was reportedly informed about the matter and was making efforts to control the situation.
The suspicious case report comes amid growing calls to the government led by George Weah to close the border with Guinea and Sierra Leone, which have reported positive cases of the deadly virus in recent days.
Neighboring Guinea of Liberia, on February 14, 2021, informed the World Health Organization (WHO) of a group of cases of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in the Gouécké sub-prefecture, Nzérékoré Region, Guinea between January 18 and February 13, 2021. The cases showed symptoms of diarrhea, vomiting and bleeding after attending the funeral of another relative (a 51-year-old nurse) on February 1, 2021.
The cluster case index was a nurse who originally came to a health center in Gouécké on January 18, 2021 with headache, physical weakness, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, abdominal pain and fever. She was diagnosed with typhoid fever. She sought a second appointment at a health facility in Nzérékoré on January 23, 2021 because of fever, vomiting, watery stools and physical weakness, and she was diagnosed with malaria. On January 24, she consulted a traditional practitioner in Nzérékoré and died on January 28, 2021. She was unsafely buried on February 1 in Gouécké. The other six cases are the five family members and the traditional doctor she visited.
The Nzérékoré region of Guinea borders Sierra Leone and Liberia, where EVD outbreaks have occurred previously.
Despite some restrictions on movement across official borders due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, a significant proportion of movement across the border continues to occur and represents a risk of spreading EVD. Therefore, it is essential that neighboring countries assess their preparedness capacities and implement readiness / response measures.
Among the seven cases in Guinea, five died (4 probable and 1 confirmed). The other two confirmed cases are currently isolated in dedicated health centers in Conakry and Gouécké, in the Nzérékoré region.
As of February 15, Guinea has identified one hundred and ninety-two (192) contacts, including 164 contacts in the N’Zérékoré Health District and 28 in the Ratoma Health District, Conakry. To date, no contact has been reported as having traveled in neighboring countries. However, Nzérékoré is the second largest city in Guinea and lies at the crossroads of the roads of Ganta (in Liberia), Danané (Côte d’Ivoire) and roads to other important centers in Guinea, such as Kankan and Macenta in (Guinea). Therefore, there is a concern about exporting EVD cases to neighboring countries.
Neighboring Sierra Leone also reported a suspected case of the virus, but the result was negative.
A statement from the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health reported Wednesday that the case of a man is currently in the Battalion Clinic. The patient was admitted with fever, anorexia, vomiting, diarrhea, but has no history of travel outside Sierra Leone. The patient, however, traveled to Freetown on January 2, 2021 and stayed until February 9 where he attended a friend’s 40th birthday.
Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone have activated the Health Emergency Response System for level II (Enhanced Surveillance, Active Case Location and robust Community Involvement).
Ebola is a serious and often fatal disease in humans. The virus is suspected to be transmitted to people from wild animals and to spread in the human population through transmission from person to person. It can be transmitted by human contact with body fluids from a person infected with the virus.
The main symptoms of the disease can include some of the following: fever, sometimes unexplained bleeding tendencies from the nose, gums, vagina, skin or eyes, as well as vomiting and diarrhea.
The World Health Organization (WHO) considers the risk of spreading in the country very high due to the unknown size, duration and origin of the outbreak; potentially large number of contacts; potential spread to other parts of Guinea and neighboring countries; limited response capacity currently on the ground; and unknown virus strain. In addition, there are ongoing challenges for the public health system due to the COVID-19 epidemic and the recent outbreaks of yellow fever and measles.
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