Lockdown in Sierra Leone to fight Ebola

The three day lockdown began in Sierra Leone to fight Ebola. During the lockdown, 30000 volunteers will look for people infected with Ebola, or bodies, which are especially contagious.

They will hand out bars of soap and information on preventing infection.

The teams will not enter people's homes but will call emergency services to deal with patients or bodies.

Volunteers will mark each house with a sticker after they have visited it.

Many people have been reluctant to seek medical treatment for Ebola. People feared that diagnosis might mean death as there is no proven cure.

Sierra Leone is one of the countries worst hit by West Africa's Ebola outbreak, with more than 550 victims among the 2600 deaths so far recorded.

Background

On 18 September 2014, the UN Security Council declared the outbreak a threat to international peace and called on states to provide more resources to combat it.

Meanwhile, the US military has started work in the Liberian capital Monrovia to establish an air bridge. Air Bridge will take health workers and supplies to affected countries.
 
Ebola Virus Disease (EVD)

•    Symptoms include high fever, bleeding and central nervous system damage
•    Spread by body fluids, such as blood and saliva
•    Current outbreak has mortality rate of about 55%
•    Incubation period is two to 21 days
•    There is no proven vaccine or cure
•    Supportive care such as rehydrating patients who have diarrhoea and vomiting can help recovery.