Ebola: Vaccinations in quarantined village

Experimental vaccinations coordinated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) are underway in a village in northern Sierra Leone, where a person died from Ebola at the end of August and a new case was confirmed over the weekend.

In Sellu Kafta, in the Kambia district, the vaccination campaign began Friday. The village, which counts around a thousand inhabitants situated near the border with Guinea, was placed under quarantine after the death of an elderly woman on August 28. A second case, the woman's niece, was confirmed last week.

After almost a month without any cases, President Ernest Koroma stated: “The incident is a reminder that Ebola is still here so we must continue to adhere to the precautionary measures made by the health authorities”.

The West African outbreak of Ebola has killed over 11,300 people since first emerging in December 2013, with most cases in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

(Misna)