Freetown/ Brazzaville, 24 August 2015 – Ongoing efforts to get to zero Ebola cases in Sierra Leone are yielding good results. This follows a massive deployment of experts by the World Health Organization and partners, to track and break each and every transmission chain of Ebola virus disease (EVD) through linking intensive community engagement and social mobilization efforts with surveillance and contact tracing. The tracking and breaking of transmission chains requires tremendous numbers of qualified staff to work with the communities to identify if a person has been in contact with someone infected with EVD, monitor them for symptoms for up to 21 days, and to quickly isolate and treat them in a treatment centre if symptoms develop. “Stopping Ebola transmission chains has required rapid mobilization of human and financial resources; this has been my top priority since my appointment,” says Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “Over 530 highly-...
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