Report: Three Soldiers in Liberia Infected With Ebola

Report: Three Soldiers in Liberia Infected With Ebola

FrontPageAfrica learned Ebola recently hit the Armed Forces of Liberia. Unidentified sources told the news publication that three soldiers died of Ebola and others are in quarantine at the Edward Binyah Kesselley (EBK) Military Barracks.

“All necessary precautions have taken to protect the soldiers,” said the source. “Those soldiers and family members were outside the Barracks when they got sick, but the Barrack is being quarantined and the following measures taken: That no soldiers leave the barracks, constant hand washing, no visitation from family members.”

The disease struck the army after a female soldier returned after a vacation in Tubmanburg, Bomi County. She infected the nurse who treated her, which led to the infection of two other soldiers. Those soldiers are being treated at the ELWA Ebola Treatment Center (ETU) in Paynesville.

On September 25, CNN reported there are only two doctors to treat the 85,000 people in Bomi County. Dr. Gorbee Logan said the first Ebola case occurred in June. Since then, “he’s been working around the clock” and would like an actual Ebola treatment center. The holding facility contains only twelve beds, but the majority of the time there are double the patients. He cannot send the patients to other Ebola centers because those places are completely full. This means a lot of patients die at home, which infects their family.

CNN’s Elizabeth Cohen saw exactly why Logan needs a hospital. A family of five was brought to the facility in an ambulance. These members washed the bodies of a mother and daughter who died of Ebola. Their community kicked them out after the washing since more than likely the people received the disease. Ebola is transferred through bodily fluids, which is why Ebola victims must be handled in a special way. Logan could not bring in the people because they could infect the facility and could not transfer them to a government building until the next morning. The family members had to spend the night in the ambulance since Logan does not have a proper hospital, Ebola center, or holding center.

FrontPageAfrica did not report how the female soldier was infected in Bomi County.

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