Liberia and Guinea step up coordination to stem new cases of Ebola

WHO and Ministry of Health teams in Guinea and Liberia have established epidemiological links between new Ebola cases in Liberia and a current flare-up of Ebola in neighbouring Guinea following intensified case investigations and contact tracing.

Investigation teams in Guinea had been searching for the wife and three young children of a man who died of Ebola last month in the southern prefecture of Macenta. The family members were considered high-risk contacts. It is now believed that the wife travelled to Liberia with her children after her husband’s death to join relatives who live in the capital, Monrovia. It is there that she reportedly developed symptoms. She initially sought care in local clinics and died en route to a Monrovia hospital on 31 March. Two of her sons, a five-year old and a two-year old, have since tested positive for Ebola and are being treated at an Ebola care facility in Monrovia.

Rapid response in Liberia

Liberian health authorities immediately reactivated the country’s emergency response mechanisms, and with support from WHO, CDC and other partners, set to work identifying, isolating and monitoring contacts of the confirmed cases, strengthening infection prevention and disease control measures and stepping up community outreach.

More than 100 contacts of the confirmed cases have been identified in Liberia and placed under voluntary medical observation. Affected households have been offered food, water, hygiene supplies and counselling. Preparations are underway for vaccination of contacts with the Ebola vaccine to prevent potential spread of the virus.

Liberian and Guinean authorities, with support from WHO, are organizing a meeting in the coming days to share information and more closely coordinate emergency response efforts and cross-border surveillance.