Liberia: Bushrod Island Infested With Ebola

The authorities at the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare have revealed that the Ebola virus infection is now highly concentrated in Caldwell, New Kru Town, New Georgia, Logan Town and West Point, while Montserrado County accounts for more Ebola deaths across the country. But in the wake of the massive increase in the number of Ebola Virus in the country, the newly open Island Clinic Ebola Center, which is expected to help reduce cases in the various communities and carry on social mobilization is rejecting Ebola patients due to insufficient capacities to host more victims.

The head of the clinic told a news conference yesterday that since the reopening of the facility on Saturday, it now hosts 176 Ebola patients while over twenty Ebola patients have died between this gone Saturday to Monday. The Uganda doctor said it is not intentional to turn back Ebola patients but said the center is overwhelmed and cannot over stress its capacities.

According to the doctor, it is painful to see people affected by Ebola returning to their various communities due to lack of spaces, something she highly regretted. The denied Ebola patients at the Island Clinic Ebola Center situation was sorrowful, as the patients are usually seemed roaming at the entrance of the facility, vomiting, urinating and sleeping near the facility’s entrance.

With more and more patients popping up by the day, many Liberians who have been advocating for the international community to take over the management of the crisis in Liberia fear time may be running out to stop the numbers from rising. But some help may be on the way as the United States government announced Thursday that it would donate $75 million to fund 1,000 more beds in Ebola treatment centers in Liberia and buy 130,000 more protective suits for health care workers.

Meanwhile, the Assistant Health Minister for Preventive Health Services Tolbert Nyenswah told journalists last Monday that the sudden twist in the infection per gender is being g medically investigated to establish why more males are currently being infected than females.

According to him, about 70% of the current Ebola infections are occurred among males while 30% registered for their female counterparts, adding that ages between 25-34 years are highly affected by Ebola followed by females 35-44 years proceeded by ages 45-54 years, with children constituting less affected especially those ages between one to five.

Mr. Nyenswah also disclosed that the 300 Ebola survivors came from treatment centers at the JFK, ELWA unit one, two and three, among others, as areas where the cases were treated. She said things were "gradually improving with what they do in ending the outbreak", expressing confidence that the WHO's prediction could be disproved if such positive response continues.

He noted that in Lofa County's Ebola Treatment Unit where weeks ago, 100 positive cases were being admitted, emerging report is now indicating that cases have reduced between five and ten as a result of the community engagement. In Liberia, which has been hit hardest by the outbreak, 1,459 have died, 54 percent of the 2,710 people infected.

In Guinea, where the outbreak began at the start of the year, Ebola has killed 601 people, representing 64 percent of the 942 people infected. In Sierra Leone, 562 people have died, 34 percent of the 1,673 people infected. In Nigeria, eight people have died, 38 percent of the 21 people infected.

In Senegal, there's been only one confirmed Ebola case - a Guinean student who crossed the border just before it was closed on August 21 and has since recovered - but the country will not be declared transmission-free before 42 days have passed since the case was recorded.

While residents of the ELWA Community, adjacent the MSF runs Ebola treatment Center have expressed their frustration and disappointment over the mass rejection and abandonment of Ebola’s persons and other suspected of carrying the deathly virus.

The Center has been open since Monday 18 August 2014 and cared for 378 patients say unless there is an expansion, it would not be able to take in more patients. “We currently have 160 beds, and our team is trying to expand as fast as we can but the number of patients who are coming to see us is overwhelming,” said the organization which has been a relief to the patients since its opening.

According to the residents, the rejected Ebola patients have to force their ways into the center in anticipation of receiving treatment but have ended up of being abandoned by the center operators on grounds that the center lack sufficient mattresses, spaces and better diets for the patients.

Our reporter who managed to enter the compound observes that some of the rejected Ebola patients, forced their ways into the center were being abandoned. The few of the abandoned ones were seemed lying on the cold grounds, while some the lucky ones at the treatment center due to lack of adequate mattresses have been forced to lie down on blanket and plastic sheets spread on the floor.

MSF says in the coming week it will have enough beds to care for 200 people, and hopes to have enough room for 400, but stresses that even then it will not be large enough to care for every Ebola patient. The organization is estimating that it needs 1000 beds for Ebola patients in Monrovia alone, but there are currently only 240 places.

But even with that, the patients are unhappy with the food, a source has said, adding that caterers have not sat down with doctors to discuss nutritional options and what food is best for the patients. Thus, the patients are unhappy. In the past week alone, several reports surfaced of suspected patients fleeing isolation centers, with at least one death recorded.

The latest WHO figures put the number of cases at more than 5,800, with at least 2,800 deaths. Professor of Statistical Epidemiology at Imperial College and co-author of the report, Christl Donnelly said the number of cases is projected to quadruple by the end of October.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday that if no significant action were taken, the cumulative number of confirmed and probable Ebola cases in Liberia by November 2 would hit 10,000 follow by 6,000 in Guinea, and 5,000 in Sierra Leone, respectively.

A new study by the World Health Organization, carried out with Imperial College London, has forecast that the number of people believed to have killed is now more than 3000, an increase of roughly 200 from the last estimate, WHO said Thursday. Most deaths have been in Liberia. Just under half of the 5,300 cases of infection were recorded in the last three weeks, according to the WHO. Officials said 318 health care workers have been sickened, and about half have died.

At least 3,000 people have died in the worst outbreak of Ebola virus in history, which has so far infected at least over 20,000 people in in November this year with about 10,000 expected in Liberia if the world fail to act decisively to halt the wild spread of the deadly virus, WHO latest studies have shown. The WHO said more than 700 more Ebola cases emerged in West Africa in one week, a statistic that shows the outbreak is accelerating. Just three weeks ago the number of new cases was around 500 for a one-week period.