With 630 people now quarantined in Sierra Leone following the death of a man with Ebola in Tonkolili District, International Medical Corps immediately prepared for a possible influx of patients at its nearby Makeni Ebola treatment center in Bombali District. Working with local government officials and the World Health Organization, any person currently quarantined in Tonkolili District who shows symptoms of Ebola will be immediately transferred to Makeni for testing and, if needed, treatment.
“The International Medical Corps team at Makeni are ready to take patients from this recent exposure,” said Dr. Vanessa Wolfman, International Medical Corps’ Medical Director in Sierra Leone. “This incident is a stark reminder that even a single case of Ebola has the potential to cause a major setback in our efforts to bring this crisis under control in Sierra Leone. The fight against Ebola is still not won.”
The Makeni Ebola treatment center, which was opened on December 19, 2014, has screened over 800 people for Ebola and has discharged 43 survivors to date. Makeni is one of three ETCs in Sierra Leone operated by International Medical Corps, which also has two Ebola treatment units in Liberia.
With Emergency Response Teams in Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali and Sierra Leone, International Medical Corps’ comprehensive Ebola response in West Africa is focused on not only treating patients but also investing in people, fostering community recovery, training local health care workers and helping rebuild health care systems across the region.