Sierra Leone says Ebola spreading nine times faster than two months ago

While the World Health Organization and UN ask international agencies, doctors and Governments to assist in the fight against Ebola, officials in Sierra Leone have said that the killer virus is spreading nine times faster than it did just two months ago. In the frightening revelation, one is reminded of the prediction of the WHO when they said that without urgent attention there could be as many as 10 000 cases per week and up to 1.4 million cases by January 2015.
In contrast, the disease seems to be on the decline in Monrovia with some spread of infection in other areas of Liberia but infection is still considered to be generally on the decline. This is according to the international group, Africa Governance Initiative (AGI) which says the rural Sierra Leone is hardest hit. AGI was founded by former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.
AGI says that while the rural areas are showing the largest hike in cases, this does not augur well for well for Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone which is also seeing an increase of cases by as many as six times the normal rate of infection per day.
The WHO has said that Liberia is levelling off but cases in Bombali in the north of Sierra Leone were only now beginning to realize some decrease in Ebola cases with spikes in other areas.
The UN Ebola coordinator Dr David Nabarro said that timely data and the full production of data was not always readily available.
He further indicated that “reduction in the rate of increase does not mean that the outbreak is under control.” AGI said it was still unsure as to why cases in Liberia were levelling off while cases in Sierra Leone were spiking.
Burial management
In a cultural practice which has been found to have contributed to the increase in deadly Ebola cases, AGI indicated that information about burial and its management and the handling of bodies had improved somewhat in Sierra Leone and Liberia.
According to reports, half of all Ebola infections are thought to have been related to the handling of bodies for burial or handling of the corpses of those who had died from Ebola virus.
“The picture is certainly changing but that’s all we can say for sure at the moment. The pace of the spread in rural Sierra Leone shows we still have no time to lose,” said AGI Chief Executive Nick Thompson.
More than 5,000 people have died from Ebola in the current outbreak in West Africa with WHO declaring the situation an international emergency calling on all nations to contribute by way of human resources, building hospitals and medical equipment. The majority of those who died have died in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Nigeria was recently declared Ebola free.
One man who flew from Liberia to the United States died of Ebola while in the US and two nurses had since recovered from Ebola after contracting the disease while caring for the now deceased Liberian native who flew to Dallas. Other cases include two deaths in Spain with deaths in Mali, Senegal and Nigeria.
Some countries have since imposed travel bans to ensure that Ebola does not hit their shores while some airlines had temporarily suspended flights to Ebola-stricken nations in West Africa.