Pathfinder
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Ebola: Guinea admits its powerlessness
By Soline Roy - the 07/11/2014
" None of us expected this disease, and the weakness of our means of sanitary surveillance prevented us from reacting faster ", granted on Tuesday Pr Aboubacar Sidiki Diakit?, general inspector to the Guinean Ministry of Health. Invited in France by the Academy(Regional education authority) of medicine, the president of the national committee of sanitary crisis told the confusion of his country in front of the fit of fever Ebola virus.
" The disease began at our home(with us) at the end of 2013, but we declared it only on March 21st, 2014 to the WHO when the laboratory P4 of Lyon identified the virus, explained Pr Diakit?. The disease was doubtless already present at our neighbor, but had gone unnoticed there. "
Reflex of withdrawal
Guinea, he admitted, made a mistake at first in the delivered message. " We said that there was no medicine against this disease. The African reflex is then the withdrawal: we prefer to die within our families. " Since then, the government tries hard to explain that care centers are there at first to look after the sick, and not only to isolate the dying.
It was necessary, also, to learn to adapt its strategies to the diverse communities which populate Guinea. The secret, according to Pr Diakit?: lean on the local leaders. " The press and the radio are not enough. Messages must be delivered by the good people, whom people trust. " Of so much, he says, that a big part of the population is an illiterate. " The inhabitants do not understand the sanitary measures. "
The difficult follow-up of the cases contacts
Follow, during 21 days when the incubation can last, people having been in touch with a sick person is a major challenge. " We had more than 16.000 cases contacts all in all, it makes 3000 to 4 000 people follow every day! We need ways, vehicles and men. If you miss a case contact, you create a risk. At a moment, we believed that we got through the epidemic and M?decins Sans Fronti?res(Doctors Without Borders) almost closed a treatment center. But cases contacts and suspected cases escaped us, and of new outbreaks built up themselves. "
Three countries affected (Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone) are, according to Pr Diakit?, inseparable. " Our populations are constituted by the same communities and our three countries are connected): the evolution of the epidemic is made on the same curve. "
Insufficient mobilization
As for the international mobilization, it is " not in line with " with the reality, he whispers modestly . A reality the international authorities are far from measuring the scale: the World Health Organization repeated on Wednesday, by broadcasting its last assessment (4818 deaths for 13.042 cases), that it was far below the truth. " There are many deaths who miss ", declared to AFP a person in charge of the WHO, according to whom the deaths could be more numerous in fact twice ? " M?decins Sans Fronti?res(Doctors Without Borders) was there from the first hour, but gets out of breath in time. We are thus delighted at the French mobilization ", added Pr Diakit?.
Because the consequences of such an epidemic, he reminded, can be dramatic. " A family with a case of Ebola risks to lose its work and becomes practically without resources. " These economic difficulties, and the erring ways of the authorities, can lead the resentments. The equation is thus simple, according to the Guinean person in charge: from the sanitary risk could arise political unrest. With, for the three countries affected, risk of diving back into wars which they have already too much known.
http://sante.lefigaro.fr/actualite/2014/11/07/23024-ebola-guinee-avoue-son-impuissance#
Ebola: Guinea admits its powerlessness
By Soline Roy - the 07/11/2014
" None of us expected this disease, and the weakness of our means of sanitary surveillance prevented us from reacting faster ", granted on Tuesday Pr Aboubacar Sidiki Diakit?, general inspector to the Guinean Ministry of Health. Invited in France by the Academy(Regional education authority) of medicine, the president of the national committee of sanitary crisis told the confusion of his country in front of the fit of fever Ebola virus.
" The disease began at our home(with us) at the end of 2013, but we declared it only on March 21st, 2014 to the WHO when the laboratory P4 of Lyon identified the virus, explained Pr Diakit?. The disease was doubtless already present at our neighbor, but had gone unnoticed there. "
Reflex of withdrawal
Guinea, he admitted, made a mistake at first in the delivered message. " We said that there was no medicine against this disease. The African reflex is then the withdrawal: we prefer to die within our families. " Since then, the government tries hard to explain that care centers are there at first to look after the sick, and not only to isolate the dying.
It was necessary, also, to learn to adapt its strategies to the diverse communities which populate Guinea. The secret, according to Pr Diakit?: lean on the local leaders. " The press and the radio are not enough. Messages must be delivered by the good people, whom people trust. " Of so much, he says, that a big part of the population is an illiterate. " The inhabitants do not understand the sanitary measures. "
The difficult follow-up of the cases contacts
Follow, during 21 days when the incubation can last, people having been in touch with a sick person is a major challenge. " We had more than 16.000 cases contacts all in all, it makes 3000 to 4 000 people follow every day! We need ways, vehicles and men. If you miss a case contact, you create a risk. At a moment, we believed that we got through the epidemic and M?decins Sans Fronti?res(Doctors Without Borders) almost closed a treatment center. But cases contacts and suspected cases escaped us, and of new outbreaks built up themselves. "
Three countries affected (Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone) are, according to Pr Diakit?, inseparable. " Our populations are constituted by the same communities and our three countries are connected): the evolution of the epidemic is made on the same curve. "
Insufficient mobilization
As for the international mobilization, it is " not in line with " with the reality, he whispers modestly . A reality the international authorities are far from measuring the scale: the World Health Organization repeated on Wednesday, by broadcasting its last assessment (4818 deaths for 13.042 cases), that it was far below the truth. " There are many deaths who miss ", declared to AFP a person in charge of the WHO, according to whom the deaths could be more numerous in fact twice ? " M?decins Sans Fronti?res(Doctors Without Borders) was there from the first hour, but gets out of breath in time. We are thus delighted at the French mobilization ", added Pr Diakit?.
Because the consequences of such an epidemic, he reminded, can be dramatic. " A family with a case of Ebola risks to lose its work and becomes practically without resources. " These economic difficulties, and the erring ways of the authorities, can lead the resentments. The equation is thus simple, according to the Guinean person in charge: from the sanitary risk could arise political unrest. With, for the three countries affected, risk of diving back into wars which they have already too much known.
http://sante.lefigaro.fr/actualite/2014/11/07/23024-ebola-guinee-avoue-son-impuissance#