Finding Ebola
Visiting every village, knocking on every door, finding every case — until it’s gone.
Forecariah, Guinea — Up at sunrise to start another day looking for Ebola throughout one of the remaining active prefectures, a joint UNICEF and WHO team know what is ahead of them. Long drives, longer conversations with people on their lists of contacts and the constant risk of exposure. On this day the team headed to Mafereyady, where a recent Ebola patient spent two days hiding from health authorities due to his fear of treatment.
Upon arrival, the UN colleagues speak with one head of a household to locate some of the contacts on their list. Another team splits off and begins talking to the people about Ebola, showing them flip charts with illustrations of hand washing and other Ebola prevention measures. Because this village has many contact cases, the messages are well received. Young women ask questions. It becomes a dialogue. No resistance here like they have seen in many places throughout the country.
A government official, also part of the team, demonstrates to the gathering children how to wash their hands and proceeds to make every girl and boy take soap and water and act out what they have just learned. The chief of village tells the team that the nearest source of water is over one kilometer away. The team takes note. UNICEF has supported the construction or rehabilitation of 209 wells during the outbreak and plans to complete many more. Clean water is essential to improved hygiene.
One member of the team suddenly looks very concerned. Through their discussions they have discovered that a sick woman is being hidden in a hut nearby. Since there is an epidemiological link, they are pretty certain she has Ebola.
The team tries to get the family to agree to have the woman tested. One hour later, they receive the husband’s consent and call the ambulance to take her to the treatment centre. Her mother and her children start wailing. The cries can be heard several houses away by the rest of the team who has been asked to stay back during the discussion. A UNICEF colleague calms the family. “It is better that Mama is tested. If she doesn’t have Ebola, she will come back. If she does, she will get treatment early which increases her chances.”
In this remote village with bad roads, it takes some time before the ambulance can arrive. The team stays with the family, consoling and explaining what will happen next. The Red Cross arrives driving a UNICEF/World Bank ambulance along with a second vehicle containing the essential protection equipment and chlorine.
The responders dress in their Personal Protection Equipment (PPEs) and prepare the woman for the ride. She calmly accepts the help from the team. As the doors of the ambulance close, the family again breaks down in tears.
The end of Ebola will look like this. Finding each case — -each person who has fallen ill in every village and taking them for treatment. But, the tireless work of contact tracers and sensitization teams will find the final hiding places of Ebola and bring this outbreak to an end.
The next day, the teams, out in another village, hear the news. Sadly, the woman has tested positive. But she was able to get treatment early which will greatly improve her chances for survival. Upon learning of their mother’s fate, several members of the family, now contact cases themselves fled the village. And the process of finding Ebola continues.
