DISTRICT MEDICAL OFFICER DISMISSES RUMOURS OF RECORDED EBOLA CASES IN KAMBIA By Hassan Bruz Northern Bureau Chief The Kambia District Medical Officer- Dr. Tom Sesay says, there has been no recorded case of the Ebola Disease either at the Referral Government Hospital in the Headquarter Town of Kambia, or in any of the Peripheral Health Units as it is widely rumoured. Dr. Sesay made a particular reference to Gbolon- a village in the Briamaia Chiefdom, where a total of 4 People are said to have died of the disease. He said even though the rumours were baseless, he personally had to lead a special team to the village, and that the Villagers were very much surprised as they could not tell of any death case in their community for the past several weeks. On the current status of the District with reference to the Ebola and its level of preparedness in case of an outbreak, Dr. Tom Sesay said Kambia is stable but that he has heightened the alertness and intensified surveillance in the entire District. Speaking in an interview with the Sierra Leone News Agency [SLENA] he said the whole thing started with a report from CNN which spoke of an outbreak of this mysterious Ebola virus in neighbouring Guinea and the possibility that it might spread to Sierra Leone through the Northern District of Kambia. The District Medical Officer said he has conducted a series of meetings with the inhabitants of most of the towns along the border between Guinea and Sierra Leon. He said the District Health Management Team has formed a Rapid Response Task Force which is now collating reports from the various Health Facilities on a daily basis. Dr. Tom Sesay said E bola is a killer disease which can be transmitted by coming in contact with an infected person. He said the initial symptom of this disease resembles those of common flu infection, including fever, headache, sore throat, diarrhoea, vomiting, redness in eyes and swelling of the genitals. He said some Patients may have blood coming from their eyes, nose, mouth ears or rectum .He said People should therefore be aware of those they come in contact with especially if they are in high fever. He said there is no known cure for Ebola and that the only way of lowering the risk of becoming infected, is by avoiding locations where it is found. He said any case of high fever should be thoroughly investigated. The Kambia District Medical Officer said people should regularly wash their hands with soap and water especially after contacting a person with a high fever. Below is the Photo of Dr. Tom Sesay, a Cross Section of the District Health Management Team and some Volunteer Nurses on a cleaning exercise at the Kambia Government Hospital.....
Posted on: Fri, 28 Mar 2014 22:04:51 +0000
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