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| While the epidemic has come under control, experts have warned of the risk of new flare-ups, as Ebola can linger in the eyes, central nervous system and bodily fluids of survivors. Credit: AP Photo/Aurelie Marrier d'Unienville |
There are fears by
residents of Conakry, Guinea that the current “flare up” of Ebola could spiral.
Breibart.com/CCTV
Africa report continues:
The
government of Guinea has confirmed four cases of Ebola and five deaths, the
first in months following the official conclusion of the 2014 outbreak in that
country that took the lives of over 11,000 people.
Officials
in Guinea confirmed that a married couple had died of Ebola after exhibiting
the telltale symptoms of the disease: excessive bleeding, vomiting, and
diarrhea. The two living Ebola patients have been identified as “a mother and
her 5-year-old son, relatives of the deceased” by World Health Organization
(WHO) health workers. Before confirming the two new cases, Guinean officials
noted that three suspected cases of Ebola were under surveillance.
The
2014 West African Ebola outbreak began in Guinea in February 2014 and
officially ended in December 2015. Officials have not indicated whether they
have evidence that the new cases are related to that outbreak — that the
patients contracted the virus from others carrying it — or are new
patients zero, having ingested the virus from natural sources of it, such as bush
meat. They have noted, however, that they believe Guinea’s medical
infrastructure is significantly more prepared to contain the virus than two
years ago and do not expect a similar outbreak as that of 2014.
The
WHO is addressing the Guinea situation as a “flare-up” and sending in medical
experts to help local officials curb the potential for another outbreak.
Other international aid groups are also deploying resources to the
region. “We are doing all we can to be ready to receive more
cases,” Augustin Augier, a representative of the Alliance for
International Medical Action (ALIMA), said of his organization, adding that,
generally, “there has been a very professional and experienced response across
the board.”
The
news arrives hours after the WHO announced that a resurgence of Ebola in Sierra
Leone had been contained, and no more cases were known in the last country to
be declared Ebola-free in the region. “Our response… was prompt and
effective and it reaffirmed the local capacity that was built during the
previous encounter with the disease, to manage public health events and to say
never again shall we be overtaken by any public emergency,” Minister of
Health and Sanitation Dr. Abu Bakarr Fofana assured.
While
the governments of the affected nations — Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia
above all — have seen very limited cases of the disease in the past four
months, they remain deeply affected by the damage the outbreak caused on civil
society. In Liberia, officials are investigating scandalous accusations of
embezzlement of funds donated to the Red Cross for Ebola treatment
centers. The government shut down Monrovia’s local Red Cross chapter entirely
Thursday to fully investigate its bookkeeping after evidence surfaced that up
to US$1.8 million in Ebola funding could have been mismanaged.
Such
a shutdown will likely affect Liberians looking to the organization for other
health services outside of Ebola patients, as well. And those in need of
doctors who did not contract Ebola are some of the most negatively affected by
the outbreak. According to Liberian Health Minister Dr. Bernice Dahn, pregnant
women and girls have suffered the most from limited medical resources.
Even those with access to doctors fear entering medical facilities for fear of
encountering Ebola patients and putting their child’s life in danger. “The
Ebola outbreak did not only cripple an already devastated system in our country
health care delivery system it also eroded the confidence in the health care
delivery system,” Dr. Dahn told the Front Page Africa. “So, up to today,
there are many pregnant women and girls who are still reluctant to seek care in
the health care delivery system.” She laments that World Bank estimates see a
111 percent spike in maternal mortality rates due to this reluctance to seek
medical care.
Psychologically,
Liberians also carry the scars of Ebola, none mores o than those called upon to
work directly with the bodies of Ebola victims. There are more than 30 men in
Liberia hired to cremate the bodies of victims to prevent the virus from
spreading further, most who report abandonment by families, friends, and an
inability to find work. Cremating bodies is considered a sin in Liberian
society, and those who commit it are considered criminals.
“When we walk in the
community, people point at us and remark that we are Ebola body burners. As a
result, people won’t give us contracts to help us make a living,” cremation
worker Franklin McCathy told the Liberian Observer. He notes that his
wife left him over his work helping contain the Ebola outbreak, and his
daughters must be home-schooled to avoid bullying from students and teachers,
who prevent them from playing with other children. Others like McCathy have
reported being “hounded out” of their communities, forced to face homelessness,
due to their work with the government.
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