Health & Medicine
Ebola Virus Outbreak Continues in West Africa: 12 New Cases in Sierra Leone
Thomas Carannante
First Posted: May 30, 2014 11:20 AM EDT
Sierra Leone's health minister confirmed 12 new cases and two deaths as a result of the Ebola virus. News broke earlier this week that the country confirmed five cases and two deaths after many believed the outbreaks were stabilized and subsiding.
On Monday, the World Health Organization declared the Ebola situation in West Africa as still "serious," especially after Guinea documented more cases in their capital of Conakry. Two cases and one death were reported between May 25 and 27, which were the first of any such cases documented since April 26. Additionally, twelve cases and four deaths were reported between May 23 and 26 in Telimele and Boffa - two districts north of the capital that hadn't recorded any cases of the virus during the two-month outbreak.
Sierra Leone, which recorded no cases during the multi-month outbreak, recorded their first laboratory-confirmed Ebola virus deaths on Monday. As the outbreak was raging in Guinea, Sierra Leone recorded 14 suspected cases of the virus, but the blood samples revealed negative tests for Ebola. On May 27, the WHO posted an update on the situation in Sierra Leone, which recorded seven aboratory-confirmed cases with five deaths in the Kailahun district.
The latest numbers come after six suspected Ebola patients were taken out of local hospitals by their families, defying orders issued by doctors. Those in West Africa are skeptical of the disease as well as the presence of medical staff in the region, which has been apparent ever since young members of a local community in Guinea threatened health care volunteers and accusing them of bringing Ebola to their country. The volunteers from the international organization Doctors Without Borders said that similar reactions have happened in the past with those unfamiliar with diseases.
International medical teams arrived in Sierra Leone late on Thursday to provide medical assistance to those who have been infected. The efforts in Guinea were to prevent the virus from spreading across borders, but the outbreak in Sierra Leone has already reported more cases and deaths than any other country in West Africa besides Guinea since December.
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First Posted: May 30, 2014 11:20 AM EDT
Sierra Leone's health minister confirmed 12 new cases and two deaths as a result of the Ebola virus. News broke earlier this week that the country confirmed five cases and two deaths after many believed the outbreaks were stabilized and subsiding.
On Monday, the World Health Organization declared the Ebola situation in West Africa as still "serious," especially after Guinea documented more cases in their capital of Conakry. Two cases and one death were reported between May 25 and 27, which were the first of any such cases documented since April 26. Additionally, twelve cases and four deaths were reported between May 23 and 26 in Telimele and Boffa - two districts north of the capital that hadn't recorded any cases of the virus during the two-month outbreak.
Sierra Leone, which recorded no cases during the multi-month outbreak, recorded their first laboratory-confirmed Ebola virus deaths on Monday. As the outbreak was raging in Guinea, Sierra Leone recorded 14 suspected cases of the virus, but the blood samples revealed negative tests for Ebola. On May 27, the WHO posted an update on the situation in Sierra Leone, which recorded seven aboratory-confirmed cases with five deaths in the Kailahun district.
The latest numbers come after six suspected Ebola patients were taken out of local hospitals by their families, defying orders issued by doctors. Those in West Africa are skeptical of the disease as well as the presence of medical staff in the region, which has been apparent ever since young members of a local community in Guinea threatened health care volunteers and accusing them of bringing Ebola to their country. The volunteers from the international organization Doctors Without Borders said that similar reactions have happened in the past with those unfamiliar with diseases.
International medical teams arrived in Sierra Leone late on Thursday to provide medical assistance to those who have been infected. The efforts in Guinea were to prevent the virus from spreading across borders, but the outbreak in Sierra Leone has already reported more cases and deaths than any other country in West Africa besides Guinea since December.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone