WHO team vaccinates Ebola contacts
September 10, 2015 By Victoria Saffa
As the country recorded four new Ebola cases in recent weeks, a World Health Organization (WHO) vaccination team from Guinea and Sierra Leone are hard at work vaccinating Ebola close contacts in the Kambia District.
According to Chief Executive Officer of the National Ebola Response Centre (NERC), Rtd. Major Alfred Palo Conteh, the Kambia District Ebola Response Centre and partners have moved in swiftly and have setup the structures to interrupt and stop the transmission of the disease in the villages of Sella and Kafta.
“We will not win if families continue to hide their sick and care for them in their homes instead of calling 117,” said the NERC boss. “We will not win if families continue to wash dead bodies before calling the 117 for safe and dignified burials.”
Mr. Conteh added that the Standard Operating Procedure for burials is negotiated for family members, including cemeteries of choice for burials, dress code for corpses, burial using coffins and prayer conducted on corpses.
“I have highlighted these areas because I have received complaints from the public either directly or through members of my staff that families have been denied some of these services by burial team members,” he told pressmen yesterday.
He said Operation Safeguard in the Western Area is still in force and has been very successful, adding that the team members continue to engage communities through social mobilisation and active case research, and that a holding centre is almost full because of the exercise.
He also called on institutions, restaurants, nightclubs and shops to continue to adhere to Ebola precautions and Infections Prevention and Control (IPC) measures, noting that NERC teams are in the field monitoring compliance of IPC requirements.
“We will work with law enforcement agencies to close down businesses that are repeated offenders and violators,” he said.