National ‘Zero Ebola’ Campaign

Today marks a year since the World Health Organization confirmed that the haemorrhagic fever killing people in remote parts of Guinea was being caused by the Ebola virus.  Since then Ebola has infected 24,701people and killed 10,194, in West Africa. 

Sign for Zero Cases of Ebola in Freetown

On Saturday March 21^st, 2015, the day after Sierra Leone recorded its first day of “Zero Number” of cases since May 25^th, 2014, President Ernest Bai Koroma is launching a 4-week national ‘Zero Ebola’ campaign. This campaign is a national lockdown calling on all Sierra Leoneans to stay home for three days from 27th to 29th March 2015 and for three consecutive Saturdays; 4th April, 11th April and 18th April. There will be no markets or gathering of crowds but there will be a window for people to attend church on Palm Sunday.  During the lockdown surveillance teams will look for symptomatic individuals and there would probably be a surge of patients referring to the ETC for admission. 

Ebola Signs in Freetown

Guinea still has a significant number of new Ebola cases and the distrust of healthcare personnel persists.  Sierra Leone still struggles with continued transmission.  Liberia has a recent set-back with a new case of Ebola in a 44-year-old woman who had no contact other than with her husband who is an Ebola survivor.

April 15^th is the original date for getting to zero cases for all three countries but that seems to be impossible to achieve considering the current situation.  The West African Ebola-affected nations may have to move the date further along and it may be more realistic to wait till the end of summer.

Breast-feeding her Baby

But life goes on.  The starving infant is looking more alert and suckling eagerly.  She is very pale and her hemoglobin is 6.8 mg/dl.  She will receive transfusion today.  One of the babies whose mother refused to let the ambulance take him to the ETC is being treated in the hospital for malaria, looking rather well.