EducAid today: 23rd October 2014

Continuing on from last week’s update, here is a fresh one for today. To begin with, we have an update from Sierra Leone today, it reads:

Due to the number of new Ebola cases in Western Area, Western Area is now considered an Ebola High Transmission Area. This means that certain measures have been put in place.

Below are the key points:

1.             CDC have reported that 70-80% of all new Ebola cases nationally are caused by people having contact with the bodies of those who have died from Ebola, and this % is increasing.

2.            In order to reduce new infections we have to reduce the number of people who have contact with the bodies of the deceased.

3.            Now that Western Area is considered a High Transmission Area:

a.             All deaths have to be treated as suspected Ebola deaths (even if the family know the death was caused by old-age or another illness).

b.             All bodies of the deceased must be removed from the community by the burial teams, ASAP, and always within 24 hours.

c.              It is not possible to do a swab test on all bodies to learn whether the cause of death was Ebola or not before a body is removed from the home. It takes between 1-3 days to get the test results back from the labs, and 1-3 days is too long to leave the body in the house.          

This is a dramatic, but important, step forward in the containment of Ebola. With the medical services operating at absolute maximum, too often family members of the deceased do not have the necessary support once their loved ones have passed. It must be extremely upsetting for a family to be forced to keep the corpse of their deceased family member, potentially toxic and deadly, so close in the home and without being able to touch them. It is an awful scene.

This is a big move from the Freetown government officials, but one that we accept is necessary. Of course there will be families that are unable to prepare their relations for burial, or even to bury their dead, but at this stage it is most important that safety comes first so that we can contain this ferocious disease.

The update also states that the gravediggers have been re-trained in the medically hygienic practice of burial. These are safe, medical, and dignified burials that most importantly do not include the washing of the bodies; this method will also enable a priest or imam to read the final prayers, and for a small number of family members, under 10, to watch from a safe distance.

We hope that the people of Sierra Leone, most importantly the Western District around Freetown, adopt these measures wholeheartedly and without any resistance.

To put this in to perspective, we have collected some figures for you to understand the rate of growth. These figures are accurate of 20^th October, and the new cases only pertain to that day.

New Cases on 20th Oct	Kailahun	0
	Kenema	0
	Kono	0
	Bombali	0
	Kambia	0
	Koinadugu	0
	Port Loko	9
	Tonkolili	4
	Bo	4
	Bonthe	0
	Mayamba	2
	Pujehun	0
	Western Urban Areas	30
	Western Rural Areas	19
	New Suspected New Cases	137
Total New Cases on 20th Oct	New Confirmed Cases	69
Cumulative Cases	Kailahun	545
	Kenema	467
	Kono	34
	Bombali	441
	Kambia	26
	Koinadugu	2
	Port Loko	444
	Tonkolili	150
	Bo	153
	Bonthe	2
	Mayamba	85
	Pujehun	25
	Western Urban Areas	492
	Western Rural Areas	359
Total Cumulative Cases	Total Confirmed Ebola Cases	3225
Total Discharged Cases	Total Survived & Released Patients	652
Total Cumulative Deaths	Total Confirmed Deaths	986

	New Cases	Cumulative Cases	Growth Rate per day	Discharged	Deaths	Mortality Rate
Total	137	3225	4.24%	652	986	60.2%

The growth rate is an alarming figure, and one that will grow with the virus itself.

We have had some disappointing news from the EducAid sites in Sierra Leone. 7 students in total have left the sites over the past week, the numbers that have changed are highlighted in red below.

	Lumley	Magbeni	Rolal	Rogbere	Maronka	4 M schools
Number of Students & Staff Week Ending 19/10/2014
Male Staff	32	10	28	14	13	19
Female Staff	8	2	3	5	6	5
Male Students	19	20	35	33	23	0
Female Students	21	12	11	15	21	0
Number of Students & Staff Week Ending 12/10/2014
Male Staff	32	10	26	14	13	19
Female Staff	8	2	3	5	6	5
Male Students	19	20	36	36	23	0
Female Students	21	12	12	17	21	0

There is a reduction in the number of students in Rogbere and Rolal.  In Rogbere, 5 students, 3 female and 2 male, were asked to leave the home. These students went to Waterloo, the local town that is rife with disease, without permission. They were not allowed back in.  In Rolal, two students left the site, 1 male and 1 female. Mariama Jalloh, a female student, left the home to attend her uncle’s funeral without obtaining permission. Ibrahim Jalloh [Rasta] went to Port Loko town, and even stayed out for the night, without obtaining permission.  Both of these students were also asked to leave the home.

Restricting the movement of both staff and students is one of our preventive policies for the control of Ebola, so if this is violated by any students, he or she will be asked out of the home. However harsh it may come across, our responsibility is for the whole and not the individual. If these students are short-sighted enough to be tempted away from our safe sites, we cannot risk allowing them back in. These are rules that they are fully aware of; it is harsh, but it is fair.

In addition to the 7 students leaving the 2 sites, we have also welcomed back 2 of the educational audio program recording staff, AK and Cobra. They have bneen working hard on our distance-learning project, phase 2 of our #AfterEbola campaign, but they are temporarily back on the staff lists.

Aside from the continuation of the audio programs, our tasks for next week include sending 4 coordinators around all of the school sites to check on our food, medical, and power supplies. We are in need of greater resources, particularly considering the increasing costs within the country, Anything that you can do to help support us is hugely appreciated. We only ever spend your money directly here in Sierra Leone.

Read last week’s post here, follow us on Twitter, like us on facebook, or Donate to our campaign #AfterEbola now.

All of your support helps us in ways you can’t even imagine. £15, the price of a bottle of wine, will feed, house, medicate and educate a vulnerable child in Sierra Leone.

Think about how much you can afford…and please keep giving.

Are you still confused about how one might contract Ebola? Read this.