News

Fears that the Ebola virus would spread
with migrant workers crossing Sierra Leone and Liberia’s frontiers with
neighbouring Guinea seem most regretfully to have been justified.  The
number of confirmed cases in Sierra Leone is now comparable to those in Guinea
at between 300 and 400.  Another 84 cases have been confirmed in Liberia.

 

On 23 July, the World Health Organisation (WHO)
published the following figures based on the what they described as the “best
available information reported by Ministries of Health” with the proviso that Ebola figures vary from day to day as data is reclassified,
retrospective investigations are completed, cases are consolidated and new
information is provided from laboratory data and enhanced surveillance. 
The incubation period for Ebola is 21 days and laboratory testing is required
to confirm diagnosis, so time is required to verify suspected cases.

 

Confirmed, probable, and
suspect cases and deaths from Ebola virus disease in Guinea, Liberia, and
Sierra Leone, as of 23 July 2014

 

	New (1)	Confirmed	Probable	Suspect	Totals by country
Guinea
Cases	12	311	99	17	427
Deaths	5	208	99	12	319
Liberia
Cases	25	84	84	81	249
Deaths	2	60	50	19	129
Sierra Leone
Cases	71	419	56	50	525
Deaths	5	188	33	3	224
Totals
Cases	108	814	239	148	1 201
Deaths	12	456	182	34	672
1. Cases reported between 21 and 23 July 2014.

 

 

Concerns about possible contagion to other
countries have been amplified by the recent suspected Ebola case in
Nigeria.  A man with Ebola-type symptoms arrived at Lagos airport on 20
July on an Arik Air flight from Liberia to Lagos flight via Lome (Togo). 
He was hospitalised on arrival but died a few days later.  Initial
laboratory tests proved positive for Ebola but confirmation is awaited from the
Institut Pasteur in Dakar.

 

The media have also reported that a
prominent Liberian doctor died from Ebola a few days ago and that two US aid
workers in Liberia are currently being treated for Ebola.

 

The principal NGO’s (WHO, CDC, Médecins
sans Frontières) are working with local governments to fight the disease and
prevent its spread.  To counter the distrust which often meets government
or international aid announcements, it has been suggested that the main
religious bodies and traditional community leaders should be asked to issue
advice to the local populations.

 

As mentioned in previous bulletins, there is no vaccine for Ebola and no specific treatment exists.  It is thought that the
disease originates in fruit bats and can infect most primates.  As a
result, it generally originates in remote jungle areas.  Death in humans
occurs in approximately 90% of cases.  Prevention is therefore primordial
and people travelling to these countries should:

 

• Practice careful
  hygiene. Avoid contact with blood and body fluids of severely ill people. Do
  not handle items that may have come in contact with an infected person’s blood
  or body fluids.
• Avoid funeral or burial rituals
  that require handling the body of someone who has died from Ebola.
• Avoid contact with animals or with
  raw meat.
• Avoid hospitals where Ebola
  patients are being treated.  Embassies may be able to provide advice
  on facilities that are suitable for your needs.
• Seek medical care if you develop
  fever, headache, achiness, sore throat, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain,
  rash, or red eyes.

 

The manager of our Guinea, Sierra Leone and
Liberia offices (fode-mario.camara@budd-pni.com) recommends that vessels set up sanitation check points with buckets of
disinfectant to ensure that all crew and non-crew the boarding the vessel
disinfect their hands.

 

Affected Areas
and Travel Restrictions

 

 

Guinea

 

Guinea was the first West African country
to be affected by the present outbreak.  After a temporary lull, WHO
reports that new cases of infection seem to be increasing once again. 
Active surveillance for the disease now continues in the Conakry, Guéckédou,
Kissidougou, Macenta, Dabola, Djingaraye, Boffa, Dubreka and Fria Districts.

 

The port is functioning normally.

 

Liberia

 

The Liberian President has announced that
“communities that are seriously affected will be quarantined and travels in and
out of such communities restricted” and that the major border crossing points
were being closed.

 

According to the US Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC), Ebola cases have been reported in the following
areas of Liberia:  Lofa, Montserado, Margibi, Bomi, Bong and Nimba
Counties.

 

The port is functioning normally.

 

Sierra Leone

 

Cases have been reported in the following
districts:  Kailahun, Kenema, Kambia, Port Loko, Western and Bo.

 

The Government of Sierra Leone closed all
schools and banned public gatherings in the Kailahun district due to the Ebola
outbreak.  Weekly markets on the Sierra Leone side of the Guinean border have been
closed down until further notice.

 

All vehicles and their passengers entering
and leaving Kailahun district must undergo screening by the authorities at
checkpoints.  Demonstrations and local disturbances were reported in
Kenema and Freetown where the port is still working.

 

Nigeria

 

Following the incident described above,
the Nigerian airline, Air Arik, has suspended all flights into Ebola-affected
countries and called for the suspension of all inbound flights to Nigeria from
Ebola-affected countries.

 

In the meantime, the Nigerian government
has announced that all its entry points have been put on red alert.

 

The ports are functioning normally.

 

Senegal