Sierra Leone quarantines Ebola-hit orphanage
More than 20 children have been quarantined at a British-run
orphanage in Sierra Leone after one of its staff was diagnosed with Ebola.
St George Foundation orphanage, on the outskirts of the
capital Freetown, said Sierra Leonean employee Augustin Baker collapsed during
a meeting last week, reports APF.
"Augustin transferred to Kerry Town Ebola treatment
centre and Ebola is confirmed. Four staff (were) exposed while assisting
Augustin to hospital," said a statement dated Sunday on the charity's
website.
The orphanage has placed itself under voluntary quarantine,
with 10 staff and 25 children confined to the centre for 21 days.
The charity added that Baker, who is being treated at a
British run and funded clinic, was "as well as can be expected at this
stage".
The organisation, which has been in Sierra Leone for 11
years, says it has helped 175 Ebola orphans since the outbreak began in May
last year.
One of the deadliest viruses known to man, Ebola is spread
through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person showing
symptoms such as fever or vomiting or the recently deceased.
The United Nations children's fund said in January more than
16,000 children had lost at least one parent or main carer to the west African
epidemic.
The outbreak has killed almost 9,500 people in Sierra Leone,
Liberia and Guinea but the leaders of the three countries have vowed to achieve
zero Ebola infections by mid-April.
Sierra Leone has seen a cumulative total of more than 11,000
cases during the epidemic which has raged in the region for more than a year.
The rate of infection has greatly reduced in recent months,
and the focus of the response is the western area, including Freetown, where
the crisis has yet to be brought under control.
The government launched a door-to-door search last week for
Ebola patients and bodies it suspects are being hidden from the authorities.
Dozens of healthcare workers fanned out across remote parts
of Port Loko district, east of Freetown, after a spike in cases attributed to
unsafe burials.
The country placed 700 homes in the capital Freetown in
quarantine earlier this month following the death of a fisherman who tested
positive for Ebola.
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