Sierra Leone quarantines 500 over fresh Ebola outbreak
Authorities in Sierra Leone said Thursday they had
quarantined 500 people after a man died from Ebola in an area where the deadly
virus had been gone for months, in another setback for the fight against the
disease.
Hassan Abdul Sesay, a member of parliament from the region,
said that the victim had contracted Ebola in the capital, Freetown, and then
traveled to his home village to mark the end of the Muslim holy month of
Ramadan, reports AP
Northern Tonkolili District had not had a single case of
Ebola in five months, and the World Health Organization said earlier this week
that the lowest number of new cases in a year had been reported in West Africa.
The new case shows, however, how just one sick person can
change that. The man was treated for fever at a local hospital but authorities
did not call the Ebola emergency number.
Ebola's main symptom is fever, which is also found in more
common illnesses such as malaria and typhoid.
Now the 30 nurses who treated him and his entire home
village are being quarantined. Authorities are also concerned because the man's
father is a taxi driver who brought his son to at least two hospitals.
His family and friends buried him without following the
special procedures required for Ebola victims to avoid spreading the disease
after death.
Authorities still expressed optimism that the disease would
soon be contained.
"Sierra Leone is on the last lap to get to zero number
of cases, and we are bringing in the Sierra Leone police and military to
enforce the Ebola by-laws and get people to comply with the restrictions,"
said retired Maj. Alfred Palo Conteh, head of the Ebola response center.
Ebola has killed more than 11,000 people worldwide with
nearly all deaths in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
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