Half of Ebola cases located on Sierra Leone-Guinea border

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that almost half of all Ebola infections in West Africa have been recorded in two districts located in the border region between Sierra Leone and Guinea. Winnie Romeril, WHO Sierra Leone Spokeswoman, said in Freetown efforts were being made to contain the disease in the two worst affected areas of Kambia , western Sierra Leone and Forecariah, eastern Guinea.

“Almost 50 per cent of all Ebola cases in West Africa are currently coming from the region between Kambia and Forecariah,” she said. Romeril said the two districts were “the most active areas, adding that investigation was on going in the areas. She said the exercise became necessary because people were still dying at home, adding that there was very high likelihood of infections.

The official said the shift in focus came after Sierra Leone gave the all-clear for the eastern district of Kailahun, where the health department last weekend ‘mistakenly’ reported a new Ebola case. “Kailahun district, a former epicentre of the epidemic, has been Ebola-free for 112 days,” she said. She said a nine month-old boy was said to have died from the virus, but it was later found that there was a mix in the result of his test.

The spokeswoman said WHO was train and retraining health workers with a view to addressing the gap in the response system. With no fewer than 11,800 reported infections and over 3,700 deaths Sierra Leone is one of the countries hardest hit by the Ebola epidemic. The worst Ebola outbreak so far has killed nearly 10,500 people, mainly in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.