Italian Mobile Laboratory Arrives in Lofa

The Italian Government has dispatched a mobile laboratory team, homeopathic Ebola treatment drugs and food to enhance the fight against the Ebola virus. According to a Foreign Ministry release, the aid followed a series of frantic diplomatic efforts between the Liberian Ambassador to Italy, His Excellency (Dr) Mohamed Sheriff and the Italian Government and other multinational organizations.

The National Institute for Infectious Disease “Lazzaro Spollanzani”  or IRCCS of Italy, in collaboration with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation is quoted by the Foreign Ministry release as saying the mobile laboratory team has already been dispatched to the MSF Treatment Center in Foya, Lofa County- the epicenter of the deadly Ebola disease, adding that the team of four medical experts headed by Dr. Antonino Dicaro, Director of the Microbiology Laboratory and Infectious Disease Biorepository, arrived in the country last Friday, September 5, 2014. Other members of the team include Dr. Frances Colavita, Dr. Angela Cannas, and Ms. Serena Quartu, (a laboratory technician).

A box containing some homeopathic Ebola treatment drugs has been sent to the Liberian Embassy in Rome, Italy by Dr. Alessandra Manini of the International Emergency Management Organization to be sent to Health Minister, Dr. Walter Gwenigale.

At the same time, the World Food Program or WFP in Rome has increased its Emergency Assistance and Logistical Support in the fight against the deadly Ebola epidemic in Liberia for quarantined communities in Bomi, Bong, Cape Mount, Grand Bassa, Lofa, Margibi, Montserrado, Nimba and RiverCess Counties for about 39,000 affected persons, including 13,500 people in West Point and Dolo Town respectively, according to the Foreign Ministry.

More than 71 metric tons of food have been delivered to the country’s various health teams in eight counties, including Bomi, Bong, Cape Mount, Grand Bassa, Lofa, Margibi, Nimba and RiverCess for distribution to some 4,600 people in holding and isolation centers.

Additionally, the International Fund for Agricultural Development  or IFAD in Rome, Italy has also responded warmly to the Liberian Embassy’s request for support to the Government of Liberia. The organization will shortly make clear its assistance to Liberia. A dispatch from the Liberian Embassy in Rome is quoted as saying the humanitarian assistance from the Sovereign Orders of MC or SMOM in Rome is expected in Liberia shortly for a humanitarian mission in the country.