Some of Those Who Fled Quarantine Center Are Back Under Observation at Another Hospital
Updated Aug. 18, 2014 10:26 a.m. ET
Liberian officials fear Ebola could possibly spread through the capital's largest slum after residents raided a quarantine center for suspected patients and took items including bloody sheets and mattresses. Photo: Getty Images
MONROVIA, Liberia—Some of the people who fled an Ebola quarantine center in a Liberian slum when it was looted over the weekend are again under observation at a hospital Monday, a health official said.
Late Saturday, residents of Monrovia's West Point slum attacked a quarantine center, where people were being monitored for possible infection with Ebola. The residents were angry that patients were brought to the holding center from other parts of Monrovia.
During the raid, as many as 30 suspected Ebola patients fled, but some have now been brought to another hospital, Assistant Health Minister Tolbert Nyenswah said late Sunday. It wasn't clear how many of those who fled had been tracked down or how authorities were identifying them.
None of those who fled had been confirmed with Ebola and the process of screening them is continuing, Mr. Nyenswah said.
A Liberian health worker disinfects a corpse after a man died in a classroom now used as Ebola isolation ward on Aug. 15 in Monrovia, Liberia. Getty Images
There are concerns that the raid could fuel the spread of Ebola in a slum where at least 50,000 people live. Police said the looters stole bloody sheets and mattresses, which could carry the infection.
Authorities have struggled to contain the spread of an Ebola outbreak in West Africa. So far, it has killed 1,145 of the more than 2,000 people sickened in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.
Ebola is spread through direct contact with bodily fluids and there is no licensed treatment. The only way to contain the disease is to isolate the sick and closely watch those they have come into contact with for signs of infection.
Source: http://online.wsj.com
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