Liberian Ebola patients 'found'

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 19 Agustus 2014 | 18.19

19 August 2014 Last updated at 11:50

Seventeen suspected Ebola patients who went missing in Liberia after a health centre in the capital was attacked have been found, a minister has said.

"They were traced and finally they turned themselves in" at a treatment centre, Lewis Brown told the BBC.

The government had previously denied they were missing.

New UN figures show that 1,229 people have now died since the beginning of this year in the outbreak that has also hit Sierra Leone, Guinea and Nigeria.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says there were 84 deaths reported between 14 and 16 August.

Ebola has no known cure, but the WHO has ruled that untested drugs can be used to treat patients in light of the scale of the current outbreak - the deadliest to date.

It is transmitted by direct contact with the body fluids of an infected person. Initial flu-like symptoms can lead to external haemorrhaging from areas such as eyes and gums, and internal bleeding which can cause organ failure.

'A hoax'

The Liberian health minister said the missing patients were now at the newly expanded treatment unit opened over the weekend at the John F Kennedy Memorial Medical Center in the capital, Monrovia.

Mr Brown also said the health of three Liberian doctors infected with Ebola had improved after they receiving the experimental drug Zmapp.

Two US missionaries, who were flown home from treatment from Liberia, are reportedly recovering from the virus after taking doses of the same medicine.

The drug was also given to a 75-year-old Spanish priest who contracted Ebola in Liberia, but he died in Spain last week.

The attack on the quarantine centre, where 37 people were being held in Monrovia's densely populated West Point township, took place on Saturday evening.

There are conflicting reports over what sparked the riot, in which medical supplies were also stolen.

Officials said the protesters were unhappy that patients were being taken there from other parts of the capital. Other reports suggested the protesters had believed Ebola was a hoax and wanted to force the centre to close.

The BBC's Jonathan Paye-Layleh in Monrovia says there are also reports that the mattresses and linen being used by patients were taken during the attack.

Ebola Virus Disease (EVD)
  • Symptoms include high fever, bleeding and central nervous system damage
  • Fatality rate can reach 90% - but current outbreak has about 55%
  • Incubation period is two to 21 days
  • There is no vaccine or cure
  • Supportive care such as rehydrating patients who have diarrhoea and vomiting can help recovery
  • Fruit bats, a delicacy for some West Africans, are considered to be virus' natural host

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