Ebola causes hell in River Cess

Health authorities in River Cess County say they are making efforts to move scores of Eblola contacts to Montserrado County for additional tests, after four tests conducted in the county showed positive from a chain of more than 80 contacts being traced to “a major source from Monrovia.”

On Tuesday, November 11, 2014, the Ministry of Health’s National Technical Assistant in River Cess, Mr. Augustine Nirah, told UNMIL Radio’s Coffee Break that “today, we were able to move a total of 13 probable cases, two confirmed cases.”

The Health Ministry official said on a daily basis, the burial team or the infection prevention and control team in the county “was able to at least bury on average two bodies a day for the period” (November 3-6, 2014).

He attributed the case load in the county, particularly in Dugbor village to the closeness and inter-relationship of residents, and recalled that “a single lady, who left Monrovia sometimes back in October” became a major source to infect the villagers, with more than 80 persons listed as contacts.

“Tests were conducted on some of those contacts, and we were told that four of those return positive and the rest of them negative. And efforts are being made to move them to the Virginia Holding Center in Montserrado County, where again they will be retested and if our test continue to prove negative, then we can arrange to get them back into the county,” he told Coffee Break on Tuesday.

Notwithstanding, Mr. Nirah said residents demanding evacuation hijacked and “to some extent,” stoned ambulances. He however said the entire Dugbor village was evacuated and residents were moved to a nearby town, Gbozhon, where all the contacts were placed in a church compound.

For the past few weeks, health officials in Liberia, including international partners have acknowledged decline in Ebola infection, but continue to urge the public to keep applying preventive tips to avoid a further outbreak.