
Sierra Leone now has the means to curb the Ebola epidemic, the new head of the UN mission for the fight against the disease and a senior World Health Organization official said Friday (Jan 9), according to media reports.
"Sierra Leone is in much better shape today to control Ebola than it was a few weeks ago," UN Ebola mission chief Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said at a press conference in the capital Freetown Friday, on his first visit to the west African countries ravaged by the outbreak. "From everything I've seen so far, I am optimistic that Sierra Leone can get by," he said, though he warned it would require "considerable effort by all".
WHO deputy head Bruce Aylward said it was his fifth trip to the country and that on the previous four it was clear that Sierra Leone could not stop Ebola. He said there had been a huge change since his last visit, with beds available and burial teams, but stressed the need to use the new resources effectively.
The officials spoke as the government said Pujehun district in the south had become the first in the country to have no new cases registered for 42 days, twice the incubation period of the virus.
The Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the worst since the virus was identified in 1976, has left nearly 8,300 people dead with more than 21,000 cases identified since December of last year, according to WHO figures. The vast majority of the cases have been confined to Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.
GMT 14:01 2018 Thursday ,30 August
Expat with rare heart disorder gets life-saving surgeryGMT 00:18 2018 Tuesday ,23 January
Boy with 10-pound tumour on face diesGMT 21:23 2018 Monday ,22 January
All set for first global medical tourism conference in DubaiGMT 22:46 2018 Sunday ,21 January
Second face transplant for FrenchmanGMT 07:51 2018 Saturday ,20 January
Trio aquitted of negligence in Canada railway disasterGMT 10:57 2018 Thursday ,18 January
Breastfeeding for 6 months cuts diabetes risk in half: studyGMT 16:10 2018 Wednesday ,17 January
Child mummy in Italy had hepatitis, not smallpoxGMT 18:36 2018 Tuesday ,16 January
Greece strikes cause transport chaos, healthcare delays

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©
Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©
Send your comments
Your comment as a visitor