Thursday, July 31, 2014

Peace Corps Ebola Update

Here's an e-mail that was sent to our Peace Corps staff and then forwarded to us:


"There has been a resurgence of cases in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. Peace Corps HQ made the decision to evacuate all the volunteers in those countries as of July 30th. Two volunteers are isolated after being in contact with a person who reportedly died from ebola but are not showing any signs or symptoms of the disease. 

There have been no cases in Burkina Faso reported.


Remember - Transmission is through bodily fluids: urine, sweat, blood, stool, semen. Prevention is to not touch anyone who looks ill (not just sniffles, they will look very ill) AND do not handle or help with deceased persons. If you are a health care volunteer you should never be participating in clinical activities that involve touching any patient - this includes weighing babies (a major activity in Burkinabe villages)


The initial symptoms of ebola are fever, diarrhea and vomiting. Although you may experience these symptoms with many diseases, they key in ebola is that it will not occur in isolation; many others in your village will also be sick. Be aware of your surroundings and let the [Peace Corps Burkina doctor] know if you notice any trends in your communities.

For more information on ebola, please visit http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/


This outbreak is something that we, Peace Corps HQ, the US State Department, and CDC are closely monitoring and having regular discussions about. There are still no confirmed cases in any countries that border Burkina Faso, and the present risk for us here is still low."

"WHO Director-General Margaret Chan will meet in Conakry, Guinea on Friday with the presidents of affected West African nations, the United Nations health agency said in a statement."
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/ebola-outbreak-who-launching-100m-plan-as-death-toll-tops-700-1.2723455

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