Updates on the Ebola epidemic have largely faded from the news. Unfortunately, the fight to contain the lethal virus is not over. The AFP reported that an new Ebola outbreak hit Sierra Leone, quashing hopes that the deadly epidemic had finally been contained.
Three new cases of Ebola have been identified in the past week in Freetown, Sierra Leone’s densely populated capital of 1.2 million. The affected people come from an overcrowded community that faces outbreaks of malaria and cholera, which have led authorities to fear another outbreak of the disease.
The World Health Organization (WHO) had warned earlier this month that the progress in containing the virus had “stalled.” The number of new Ebola cases in Guinea and Sierra Leone have been about 20 to 25 people per week in June.
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More than a year has passed since the world’s largest Ebola epidemic hit West Africa. The WHO has counted 27,443 confirmed, probable and suspected cases of Ebola in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, of which 11,207 were fatal.
Liberia was declared free from Ebola in May, once several weeks had passed from the last death on March 27. The country had instituted assertive measures for quarantine and containment, which yielded positive results. Sierra Leone and Guinea have not achieved the same level of infection control.
Sierra Leone has been embattled by the deadly virus who has claimed more than 3,900 lives, which has caused civil unrest. The public health system is overwhelmed by containing the virus. Any new Ebola outbreak means large scale efforts of containment.
While Ebola is feared because it has a high mortality rate, the virus is only spread by direct contact with the body fluids of an infected person who is symptomatic or has died. Symptoms of Ebola resemble influenza or other viral infections with fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Unexplained bleeding is a tell-tale symptom of Ebola disease.
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Travel advisories in the United States strongly caution travelers from visiting Sierra Leone and Guinea.
