Pick Your Poison

This morning someone brought in a black baby goat into the compound of Bai-Suba, he was grazing not far from Shakira which stayed in the shade.  For some reason she did not befriend him but did stay close by.

Fatmata K died shortly past midnight, we could not help her.  It was a small consolation that she had a caretaker with her.  This morning, Joseph, the patient with possible incarcerated hernia was thankfully transferred to a hospital in Freetown where there is an Italian surgeon. Lucee who was tested negative for Ebola is still ill so she was transferred to Port Loko Hospital and last but not least, the long-awaited discharge of the Ebola-free Augusta with her new hair-do.  I was not there to witness it but by all accounts it was a joyous occasion for all.

When I arrived for my afternoon shift, 2 patients were brought in through triage.  There were two patients in the Confirmed Ward and 4 in the Suspected Ward with the new admissions.  Before we went into the ETC, we circled on the outside to see the patients who were hanging outside of the wards in the backyard.  The two patients who were admitted yesterday were tested positive, Doris and Fatmata K, the mute four-year-old.  Doris remained asymptomatic so her result surprised us. There would be contact tracing in that quarantined area.  Transmission in the communities continues.  Fatmata K was still weak, drank but refused to eat.  She continued to be terrified of us.  Doris has been worried about Fatmata K, now she will be moving with her to the Confirmed Ward.

WHO reported total weekly case incidence increased for the second consecutive week, with 144 new confirmed cases reported in the week to 8 February in the three countries. Transmission remains widespread in Sierra Leone, with 76 new confirmed cases.  The resurgence in cases in the western district of Port Loko continued for a second week. It means that there are still continued pockets of transmission in these countries.  

The two patients that were brought in had Ebola exposure, they are from Ktonbana.  Abubakar is a 17-year-old man, febrile, with body ache and Adamssay is a 48-year-old woman with similar symptoms.  For the moment they are stable.

There are now only 2 patients in the Confirmed Ward, Sullieu and Gabriel, both spending their time outside, getting better.  Sullieu asked for an orange and an ice cream while Gabriel, a raw cassava root which contains cyanogenic glycosides and these convert to the poisonous hydrogen cyanide after chewing. The kitchen staff did not blink when we conveyed his request.  I ate quite a bit of uncooked cassava roots when I was young thankfully with no ill-effects.  We assumed Gabriel knew what he was doing.

The sun had set as we were leaving the ETC.  Twilight descended.  We seem to have between 6 to 8 patients a day with admissions coming in dribs and drabs.  The road to zero cases of Ebola plainly will not be a smooth one.