A quarantine centre for suspected Ebola
patients in the Liberian capital Monrovia
has been attacked and looted by
protesters, police say.
The incident happened in the densely
populated West Point township on
Saturday evening.
At least 20 patients who were being
monitored for signs of the illness have
left the centre.
Officials said blood-stained bedding
looted from the centre posed a serious
infection risk.
The protesters were unhappy that
patients were being brought in from
other parts of the capital, the assistant
health minister said.
Other reports suggested the protesters
believed Ebola was a hoax and wanted to
force the quarantine centre to close.
The centre was set up to observe
suspected Ebola patients and then
transfer them to a main treatment
centre if they prove positive, assistant
health minister Tolbert Nyenswah told the
BBC.
It is not known if those at the centre
were infected with the virus, though one
report suggested they had proved
positive.
'Stupidest thing'
A senior police officer said blood-stained
mattresses, beddings and medical
equipment were taken from the centre.
"This is one of the stupidest things I
have ever seen in my life", he said.
The crowd were reportedly angry that an
Ebola isolation centre had been set up in
their neighbourhood
He said the looting spree could threaten
to spread the virus to the whole of the
West Point area.
Described as a slum, there are an
estimated 50,000 people in the West Point
neighbourhood.
The Ebola epidemic began in Guinea in
February and has since spread to Liberia,
Sierra Leone and Nigeria.
On Friday, the death toll rose to 1,145
after the WHO said 76 new deaths had
been reported in the two days to 13
August. There have been 2,127 cases
reported in total.
The attack at the Monrovia centre is
seen as a major setback in the struggle
to halt the outbreak, says the BBC's Will
Ross, reporting from Lagos.
Health experts say that the key to
ending the Ebola outbreak is to stop it
spreading in Liberia, where ignorance
about the virus is high and many people
are reluctant to cooperate with medical
staff.
Symptoms include high fever,
bleeding and central nervous system
damage
Fatality rate can reach 90% - but
the current outbreak is 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 are considered to be
virus' natural host


http://m.bbc.com/news/world-africa-28827091

Africans! who will save us from this ignorance of elephantine proportion?

So does this mean awareness is not on-going? In Nigeria,one can't even go close to the vicinity where they have this quarantine centers,talk more of invading the place!

Only God knows d kind of disaster that awaits them. Enlightenment is a blessing indeed.

Africa is far too backward