Pathfinder
Editor, Senior Moderator
Medecins Sans Frontieres (Geneva)
10 December 2014
Sierra Leone: 1.5 Million People in a Country Affected By Ebola Receive Drugs to Prevent Malaria
press release
As part of its ongoing emergency response to Ebola in West Africa, M?decins Sans Fronti?res (MSF) has carried out the largest-ever distribution of antimalarials in Sierra Leone, alongside the Ministry of Health.
Teams distributed 1.5 million antimalarial treatments to residents of Freetown and five districts in the surrounding Western Area over four days, with the aim of protecting people from malaria during the disease's peak season.
"In the context of Ebola, malaria is a major concern, because people who are sick with malaria have the same symptoms as people sick with Ebola," said Patrick Robataille, MSF field coordinator in Freetown.
"As a result, most people turn up at Ebola treatment centres thinking that they have Ebola, when actually they have malaria. It's a huge load on the system, as well as being a huge stress on patients and their families."
Sierra Leone has the fifth highest prevalence of malaria globally, and the disease is the biggest killer of children under five in the country. Malaria symptoms include high fever, dizziness, headaches, muscle aches and fatigue, many of which are similar to the symptoms of early stage Ebola.
The antimalarial drug artesunate amodiaquine can be used both to prevent and to treat malaria. Its widescale use is recommended in the context of an Ebola outbreak by the World Health Organization (WHO).
...
http://allafrica.com/stories/201412110994.html
10 December 2014
Sierra Leone: 1.5 Million People in a Country Affected By Ebola Receive Drugs to Prevent Malaria
press release
As part of its ongoing emergency response to Ebola in West Africa, M?decins Sans Fronti?res (MSF) has carried out the largest-ever distribution of antimalarials in Sierra Leone, alongside the Ministry of Health.
Teams distributed 1.5 million antimalarial treatments to residents of Freetown and five districts in the surrounding Western Area over four days, with the aim of protecting people from malaria during the disease's peak season.
"In the context of Ebola, malaria is a major concern, because people who are sick with malaria have the same symptoms as people sick with Ebola," said Patrick Robataille, MSF field coordinator in Freetown.
"As a result, most people turn up at Ebola treatment centres thinking that they have Ebola, when actually they have malaria. It's a huge load on the system, as well as being a huge stress on patients and their families."
Sierra Leone has the fifth highest prevalence of malaria globally, and the disease is the biggest killer of children under five in the country. Malaria symptoms include high fever, dizziness, headaches, muscle aches and fatigue, many of which are similar to the symptoms of early stage Ebola.
The antimalarial drug artesunate amodiaquine can be used both to prevent and to treat malaria. Its widescale use is recommended in the context of an Ebola outbreak by the World Health Organization (WHO).
...
http://allafrica.com/stories/201412110994.html