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Sierra Leone + 2 more

UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) External Situation Report, 22 April 2015

Attachments

KEY POINTS

• Following a month without cases, a new case is confirmed in Koinadugu, Sierra Leone.

• The next phase of the sensitisation campaign in Guinea will be rolled out to Coyah on 24 April.

• UNMEER and UN Women alongside the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists are carrying out a campaign to bring women into the mainstream of EVD Response in Sierra Leone.

• Over 500 healthcare persons have volunteered for the Ebola vaccines trial that started last week.

Key Political and Economic Developments

1 . NSTR

Response Efforts and Health

2 . In total, 25,872 confirmed, probable, and suspected cases of EVD have been reported in the three most affected countries. There have been 10,721 reported deaths.

3 . In the week up to 19 April there were 21 confirmed cases in Guinea of which there was one case each in Conakry, Fria, and Coyah, and 18 cases in Forécariah. Over the same period there were 10 cases in Sierra Leone of which two were in Kambia, one was in Koinadugu, one was in Port Loko and six were in Western Urban (Freetown). Koinadugu’s case follows over a month of no cases. Liberia continued to have no new cases, bringing it to 34 days without a case.

4 . In response to the new case in Koinadugu district, confirmed by NERC last week, more social mobilisation experts, surveillance officers and epidemiologists have been sent to the district to support response efforts. The officials will conduct an assessment of the transmission and establish if more human resource support is required. Preliminary investigations indicate that the patient had not travelled out of the village for the past 10 years before presenting symptoms. Authorities are investigating possible links between the patient and her daughter who resides in Waterloo, near Freetown.

5 . The next phase of Guinea’s campaign of sensitisation and early detection of EVD cases will be carried out in Coyah from 24 April. The National Coordination visited Coyah on 20 April to plan for, and train staff involved in, the campaign. The campaign plan is being prepared by the Prefectural Coordination in conjunction with international and national partners and should be finalised tomorrow.

6 . In Liberia work to strengthen surveillance is continuing with a session in Buchanan on 20-24 April, to seek consensus on key surveillance documents including Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) version II guidelines, IDSR training modules and the five year surveillance road map, all of which are key documents for further development of a comprehensive surveillance system in Liberia. This session is supported with technical assistance from WHO.

7 . In response to outbreaks of measles in Nimba and Sinoe counties in Liberia, a measles vaccination campaign will be carried out throughout Sinoe County and WHO plans to support the County Health Team (CHT) on developing next steps in Nimba.