![]() ![]() We also needed to ensure that hospitals’ health systems functioned normally. Our daily routine included reviewing the number of cases reported, assessing the investigations and conducting field visits. Together with the local health teams, we established a monitoring system to detect infected people early and provide them with an effective response. We needed to address complex challenges such as the coordination of many actors in health and the way the disease was spreading through the community. I was a member of the response team as a consultant epidemiologist with the World Health Organisation during the third phase using my training on surveillance for diseases and management of outbreaks. In the third phase, the focus was on accurately defining and rapidly eliminating all new chains of Ebola transmission while restoring health services to normal. Communicating with the community groups built trust and confidence in the response efforts. In the second phase health workers engaged and worked in communities to identify infected people and those in close contact with them. In the first the government increased the treatment beds and encouraged behaviour changes like handwashing to prevent the spread of the disease. The public health response to the outbreak was structured in three phases. This was seen in the active participation of ordinary citizens in reporting the suspected cases. The country’s commitment to public health awareness about the disease was critical in disease prevention and control. The importance of engaging communities in outbreak response is one of the most important. But there are valuable lessons learnt from the outbreak. It will take time for Sierra Leone to rebuild. And its economy which was growing rapidly before the outbreak was devastated. ![]() In the small nation with a population of just 7 million many lost relatives and friends to the disease. While the outbreak might be over, its effects will persist for many years. It’s 18 months since Sierra Leone was declared Ebola free after a two-year outbreak that left 4,000 people dead. Eric Osoro, Medical Epidemiologist, Washington State University ![]()
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