Skip to main content

Liberia's deadest ends: Liberia officially declared Ebola-free




The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that there has been no new cases of Ebola in Liberia in 42 days, officially clearing the way for WHO to declare it Ebola-free. However, vigilance and cautious should still be maintained.

In Liberia there were more than 4,716 deaths from Ebola (out of about 10,500 cases) since its outbreak in early 2014, which included 189 health workers. It was estimated that almost 3,300 children lost one or both parents during the epidemic.

The number of cases in Liberia was more than its neighbouring countries in West Africa. Guinea and Sierra Leone continue to record new cases, taking the toll across West Africa to 11,022 lives lost. Recently five new cases were diagnosed, but only after their deaths, thereby reducing the critical time to identify people who may have come into contact with them. A limited number of cases occurred in Nigeria, Mali and Senegal.

The incubation period is about 24 days (2-3 weeks in general), so at 42 days Liberia has passed a critical stage. WHO has praised Liberia’s efforts to mitigate the spread of Ebola, largely due to a “collective effort” of hand-washing stations, care-centres, billboards advertizing health precautions, and strict government controls including the cremation of bodies.

It was the deadliest outbreak of the illness in history. Ebola is a viral illness. The initial symptoms are sudden fever, intense weakness, muscle pain and sore throat. The next stage includes vomiting, diarrhoea and internal bleeding. It is spread by direct contact with infected blood, bodily fluids or organs, or indirectly through contact with contaminated environments. It was first detected in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1976. Other countries have had cases, such as South Sudan, Gabon, Uganda, and South Africa, from 1976 to 2013, but the 2014 cases stemmed from West Africa.

The United Nations called Liberia’s control of Ebola a “monumental” achievement. For a country to report the highest number of cases, and subsequently limit the contagion within a short time – the “interruption of transmission” – was a remarkable achievement for the longest, largest, and most complex outbreak in history.

For a community scared by such a virulent illness and the sight of masked protective-clothed workers, the greatest fight back was due to the trust of the nation. The fact that family members trusted responders and health authorities – instead of attacking or blaming them – enabled the first wave of treatment. The government also established emergency measures such as cremation, which communities accepted. Hence, community strength was a vital component in mitigating the epidemic.

tttttttttt

Martina Nicolls is the author of “Liberia’s Deadest Ends” (2012), which describes the rise of Liberia’s recovery and reconstruction after years of civil conflict.


The author Graham Greene (1904-1991) first coined the phrase “deadest ends” in his 1935 novel Journey Without Maps about his travels in Liberia.




MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pir-E-Kamil - The Perfect Mentor by Umera Ahmed: book review

The Perfect Mentor pbuh  (2011) is set in Lahore and Islamabad in Pakistan. The novel commences with Imama Mubeen in medical university. She wants to be an eye specialist. Her parents have arranged for her to marry her first cousin Asjad. Salar Sikander, her neighbour, is 18 years old with an IQ of 150+ and a photographic memory. He has long hair tied in a ponytail. He imbibes alcohol, treats women disrespectfully and is generally a “weird chap” and a rude, belligerent teenager. In the past three years he has tried to commit suicide three times. He tries again. Imama and her brother, Waseem, answer the servant’s call to help Salar. They stop the bleeding from his wrist and save his life. Imama and Asjad have been engaged for three years, because she wants to finish her studies first. Imama is really delaying her marriage to Asjad because she loves Jalal Ansar. She proposes to him and he says yes. But he knows his parents won’t agree, nor will Imama’s parents. ...
1 comment
Read more

Flaws in the Glass, a self-portrait by Patrick White: book review

The manuscript, Flaws in the Glass (1981), is Patrick Victor Martindale White’s autobiography. White, born in 1912 in England, migrated to Sydney, Australia, when he was six months old. For three years, at the age of 20, he studied French and German literature at King’s College at the University of Cambridge in England. Throughout his life, he published 12 novels. In 1957 he won the inaugural Miles Franklin Literary Award for Voss, published in 1956. In 1961, Riders in the Chariot became a best-seller, winning the Miles Franklin Literary Award. In 1973, he was the first Australian author to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for The Eye of the Storm, despite many critics describing his works as ‘un-Australian’ and himself as ‘Australia’s most unreadable novelist.’ In 1979, The Twyborn Affair was short-listed for the Booker Prize, but he withdrew it from the competition to give younger writers the opportunity to win the award. His autobiography, Flaws in the Glass...
Post a Comment
Read more

Sister cities discussed: Canberra and Islamabad

Two months ago, in March 2015, Australia and Pakistan agreed to explore ways to deepen ties. The relationship between Australia and Pakistan has been strong for decades, and the two countries continue to keep dialogues open. The annual bilateral discussions were held in Australia in March to continue engagements on a wide range of matters of mutual interest. The Pakistan delegation discussed points of interest will include sports, agriculture, economic growth, trade, border protection, business, and education. The possible twinning of the cities of Canberra, the capital of Australia, and Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, were also on the agenda (i.e. called twin towns or sister cities). Sister City relationships are twinning arrangements that build friendships as well as government, business, culture, and community linkages. Canberra currently has international Sister City relationships with Beijing in China and Nara in Japan. One example of existing...
1 comment
Read more