CDC refutes “dead dog” story

The Central for Disease Control or CDC has reported that the death of a 17 years old lad recently in Margibi County was not as a result of allegedly eating a dead dog, as claimed by a local civil society group here.

The Ministry of Health in Monrovia had announced that the 17-year-old victim from Nedowein community died of the Ebola Virus Disease, after the authorities took two samples of the body – one body swab and one blood sample.

A report issued by the CDC says tests were subsequently conducted by the Liberian Institute for Biomedical Research or LIBR, the United States Army Medical Research Institutes of Infectious disease or USAMRIDD and the Liberian Ministry of Health, which confirmed the victim of Ebola.

The tests results show that the boy did not get infected by eating a dead dog or bush meat but got infected with the Ebola virus in Liberia. He did not get infected with the virus by traveling from Sierra Leone or Guinea to Liberia. He also did not get the virus by coming in contact with an Ebola patient from Guinea or Sierra Leone.

Meanwhile, the CDC and the Ministry of Health are still investigating what the above results actually mean in terms of how the boy got infected. Authorities at the Ministry of Health say they are investigating all possible situations.

According to the ministry, reason why the 17 year-old-boy got infected with the virus and not the other four confirmed Ebola cases, is because he was the first to get sick. The victim has been referred to as an index case, while the four others got infected thru close contact.  By Ethel A. Tweh – Editing by Jonathan Browne