Sierra Leone

Families Steal Ebola Patients from Hospital in DR Congo

International public health authorities confirmed 52 cases and 22 deaths in the ongoing outbreak of Ebola virus in Democratic Republic of Congo this week, where locals’ fear that medical professionals are intentionally spreading the disease has triggered at least two cases of families stealing patients out of hospitals.

Ebola patients flee hospital in DR Congo, says MSF

Brazil Calls In American Experts as Zika Panic Grows

The Health Ministry of Brazil has requested that American virologists travel to Zika-affected areas and hold high-level meetings with their medical experts, as they collaborate to find a vaccine to prevent the disease from spreading further.

AP Photo/Felipe Dana

Sierra Leone Officially Declared Ebola-Free

Cheers erupted and people danced in the streets Saturday as Sierra Leone marked the end of the Ebola outbreak within its borders, although neighboring Guinea still struggles to stamp out the deadly virus that has killed more than 11,000 mostly in West Africa.

The Associated Press

Study: Male Survivors Can Carry Ebola for up to Nine Months

A new study by the World Health Organization has found that the Ebola virus can live in the semen of survivors for at least nine months, dramatically increasing the risk of sexual transmission of the disease in west Africa, where an outbreak that began in March 2014 has not yet been fully contained.

ebola-victim Abbas DullehAP

The Last Frontier in Africa’s Ebola War: Sex Among Survivors

The World Health Organization is warning that the time frame in which male Ebola survivors can spread the virus through their semen may be longer than previously anticipated, keeping an outbreak that began in February 2014 alive as those who are considered free of the disease engage in sexual activity.

AFP PHOTO / ZOOM DOSSO

Ebola: 500+ Quarantined in Once-Cured Sierra Leone Village

The government of Sierra Leone has quarantined 624 people in the past week following the death by Ebola of a man in a town that had not experienced any cases of the deadly virus in months. While the outbreak continues with little natural end in sight, however, scientists have announced a breakthrough vaccine development that could eradicate Ebola for good.

Ebola Case in Sierra Leone AP Photo

UN: 30 ‘Surprise Cases’ of Ebola a Week Mean Outbreak Far from Over

The United Nations special envoy for Ebola warned today that the outbreak that has taken more than 11,000 lives in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea is far from over, with 30 people a week being diagnosed with the disease on average. The UN warned that, while the figure appears low compared to the number this time last year, the fact that most cases are people not on watch lists indicates the threat is much larger than it appears.

The Associated Press

WHO Baffled as Source of New Ebola Outbreak in Liberia Still a Mystery

A new “cluster” of Ebola cases in a coastal region of Liberia has been identified, after a 17-year-old boy, initially misdiagnosed with malaria, was confirmed dead of the virus. Experts have failed to find the source of this new outbreak and are treating it as a separate set of incidents from the massive outbreak that has taken more than 10,000 lives in West Africa since February 2014.

REUTERS/BAZ RATNER

Ebola Returns: Liberia Confirms First Death in 49 Days

The Liberian government announced on Monday that two separate tests had confirmed a 17-year-old boy had died of Ebola on June 28, the first Ebola death in that country in 49 days. The government has quarantined the town where the boy died and announced emergency measures to contain the disease.

The Associated Press

Sierra Leone: Mothers Refuse to Vaccinate Children for Fear of Resurgent Ebola

Doctors in Port Loko, a northwestern region of Sierra Leone outside Freetown, are reporting a significant drop in the number of mothers bringing their children to hospitals for routine vaccinations. The mothers, they say, fear exposing their children to a resurgent Ebola virus, and in keeping them from hospitals are risking triggering the spread of polio or measles.

The Associated Press

Ebola Resurgent: African States Report Alarming Rise in Cases

Medical workers in Guinea and Sierra Leone reported 31 new cases of Ebola in the pass week, a significant increase following two months of relative decline that had the United Nations close to declaring the outbreak over. Lax monitoring rules and potential smuggling of Ebola patients past medical officials may be to blame, journalists report.

The Associated Press

After Ebola, Rabies: Sierra Leone Stray Dog Population Up to Half a Million

Sierra Leone has experienced a dramatic fall in the number of Ebola cases in the nation over the past month, prompting the government to reopen schools and attempt to return civilians to normal daily life. Much has changed in the past year due to the outbreak, including the population of stray dogs, which has doubled to an estimated half a million.

Jose Luis Gonzalez /Reuters

Sierra Leone’s Women Falling Victim to Kuwaiti Slave Trade

The Guardian published a damning report on recruitment agencies selling women as slaves in Kuwait. These agencies lure women to the tiny country with promises of work, but are “sold like slaves” and resold numerous times. The publication interviewed women from Sierra Leone, but research suggests this is a long-term problem in Kuwait affecting women from other countries, as well.

AP Photo

WHO and African Governments Blasted for Spread of Ebola

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), the medical charity that first alerted the world of the spread of Ebola, has now faulted some national governments as well as the World Health organization for ignoring the warning and throwing roadblocks in the way of eradicating the disease before it grew.

Reuters