A four days lockout will be observed by Sierra Leone to control the worst hit epidemic Ebola which has taken 2,100 lives in Western African countries, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and Nigeria in the past few months.
By confining people to their homes from 18 to 21 September the health workers will be able to isolate cases and prevent further spread of Ebola.
Health workers who are also under threat will be given vaccine after November when safety tests are complete said the World Health Organization.
20 workers have already lost their lives in Sierra Leone since the Ebola virus broke out in March.
A large slum in Liberia in the capital Monrovia was closed down last month for a week to contain the virus. Close contact with infected animals like chimpanzees, fruit bats and forest antelopes was responsible in spreading the disease.
Human contamination occurs with direct blood, body fluid or organ contact and contact with contaminated environment spreads the disease rapidly.
Symptoms and fallout of the disease:
- High fever, bleeding and central nervous system damage
- Spread by body fluids, such as blood and saliva
- Fatality rate can reach 90% – but current outbreak has
- Mortality rate of about 55%
- Incubation period is two to 21 days
- There is no proven vaccine or cure
- Supportive care such as rehydrating patients who have
- Diarrhoea and vomiting can help recovery
- Fruit bats, a delicacy for some West Africans, are considered to be virus’s natural host
