It was already the worst Ebola outbreak in history. Now it’s moving into Africa’s cities. FREETOWN, Sierra Leone — Ebola is now spreading from the remote provinces and into the teeming cities such as Freetown, where 1.2 million people jostle for space. Previous outbreaks had been limited to remote villages, where containment was aided by geography. The thought of Ebola taking hold in a major city such as Freetown or Monrovia, Liberia’s capital, is a virological nightmare. Last week, the World Health Organization warned that the number of cases could hit 20,000 in West Africa. “We have never had this kind of experience with Ebola before,” David Nabarro, coordinator of the new U.N. Ebola effort, said as he toured Freetown last week. “When it gets into the cities, then it takes on another dimension.” The worst Ebola outbreak in history is sweeping through West Africa and has killed more than 1,500 people. Medical workers at the Doctors Without Borders treatment center in Kailahun, Sierra Leone, say at least 64 Ebola patients have recovered there. (Pete Muller and Jason Aldag/The Washington Post) The city’s hospitals are empty, too. People avoid them over worries about catching Ebola. They would rather suffer at home and hope that what they have is just a mild case of malaria. It is not an unreasonable concern. The Kenema government hospital in the provinces has seen 40 staff members die of Ebola. At Connaught Hospital in Freetown, the doctor running the Ebola ward died two weeks ago. Shortly before that, the government issued a public alert for a 32-year-old hairdresser with an Ebola diagnosis who was pulled from Connaught by her family. They wanted her to be treated by a faith healer. All of them subsequently died of Ebola. (Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost/world/africa/it-was-already-the-worst-ebola-outbreak-in-history-now-its-moving-into-africas-cities/2014/08/30/31816ff2-2ed6-11e4-bb9b-997ae96fad33_story.html
Posted on: Sun, 31 Aug 2014 14:41:44 +0000
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