Via Guinéenews.org: Advice Julie Damond, responsible communication Doctors Without Borders Ebola outbreak in Guinea. Excerpt from a Google translation:
Ebola hemorrhagic fever is raging in Guinea for more than three months with a disastrous record of 112 infected 72 dead. The non-governmental organization Médecins Sans Frontières is a leader in the fight against the pandemic in Guinea. It is his regional manager in that Guinéenews © Julie Damond had this Sunday for a telephone interview communication. Here's the point that it makes the situation.
© Guinéenews: Make us an update on the evolution of Ebola fever in Guinea?
Julie Damond: It is difficult today to say something about the evolution of the epidemic. It is disturbing to have cases in Conakry is a densely populated city. The arrival of such an epidemic in the capital Conakry seems extremely serious. What to do urgently is to isolate suspected cases to reduce the risk of contamination. Isolated case, it seems simple a priori, but it is complicated because it takes place in a place where we can see them.
This means that you must have a lot of equipment because it must go to a place where there is a patient who may have contracted the Ebola virus. Have a completely airtight combination and have protective equipment because Ebola is transmitted through blood, urine, tears, sweat, feces. Isolate the case, it is done with a lot of material and make being aware until it can be a place where we can not go without protection.
The second thing is to follow all the people who have been in contact closely with these infected people. These are people who knew him and the patient who may have been infected individual. Should be followed clinically for 21 days since the incubation is twenty-one days. These are family members or who have had a fairly intimate contact with the sick person.
The third important thing to do is to explain to people, communities and journalists are the megaphone, how the disease is transmitted at a time not to create a generalized psychosis in the population, but so that if If you have a sick person who has the symptoms of the disease, that people are sufficiently informed to protect themselves.
This is actually the challenge we will have to have in Conakry get to isolate patients, trace all the people who have been in contact with these patients and in addition we need to explain to the population that 'What is it that this disease and the priority now is to break the chain of transmission. Therefore we have a case, it must at all costs be isolated.
© Guinéenews: Officially since Friday, we talk about eight (8) cases in Conakry. Do we know how many people, these eight people came into contact?
Julie Damond: I do not know, I can not tell you a number but each infected person, sick person comes into contact with his family is already his wife, husband, children ...
© Guinéenews: When do you become contagious and dangerous? This is before or after incubation?
Julie Damond: You become contagious when you have the first symptoms.
© Guinéenews: When one becomes sick, you become contagious?
Julie Damond: Yes. When you're contagious, you are the first symptoms, you are sick. You have fever, diarrhea, you vomit, you're tired and then it depends on people, you can even have bleeding in the urine, nose, etc.
© Guinéenews: When one becomes contagious and dangerous, is that you can move, go to the market, at school, in a public place?
Julie Damond: No. You are sick, you should not normally move. You're weak, you could not move.
© Guinéenews: The question today is whether is it necessary to close schools, avoid combinations, banning concerts, go to the market ...?
Julie Damond: Yes. There is a public health decision. These are the health authorities of Guinea who must take appropriate measures. And again, people feel sick and it takes a lot to pay attention to this fact before disseminating wrong messages to the population.
