KWEE: Liberian Literary Magazine AUGUST 1, 2015 ISSUE | Page 4

Liberian Literary Magazine

Editorial

Knock Out Round 2
Ebola vs Liberia
D. Othniel Forte
Boxing is exciting for quite a lot
of people. The rounds are loaded
with anticipation and the fighters
are armed with experience,
gloves, protective gear and of
course, their punches.
In an expected twist, Ebola
resurfaced in Liberia. The disease
returned from a last minute KO in
the first match to launch a new
challenge this time, intent on
taking home the title. However,
the government of Liberia,
embolden by her bounce back
from the sucker punches in the
early rounds of that match and her
eventual win, feels invincible. She
took the latest attack head-on and
is being proactive. Judging from
the early response and other
factors enumerated below, we are
convinced that this fight is already
lost to the challenger-Ebola.
There are many reasons for this
fight to go the way of the
government of Liberia. For
starters, the conditions that
ensued about a year ago are no
longer present now. Here is how:
Unfamiliarity- people are quite
acquainted with the disease and
its signs. Many people know the
signs of all stages of the disease.
In fact, they are so suspicious that
any other illness that exhibits
similar
signs
are
treated

July 15, 2015 ISSUE # 0715
cautiously, yet they are not
paranoid about this, which is a
good thing. It is a plus for us in this
round. This means that the
situation where many people died
from other treatable diseases or
ailments will not occur, at least
not at the level of the past.
Hence,
where
unfamiliarity
hindered, familiarity prevents to
some extent.
Misdiagnosis- post Ebola, many
people
reported
cases
of
misdiagnosis during the hay days
of EBV. Misdiagnosis meant
possible death one way or
another. Those that had Ebola and
were
sent
home
believing
themselves to be safe, infected
their loved ones, relatives and
community. They were walking
death traps. On the other hand,
those that did not have Ebola but
were told they had it, were most
likely quarantined and got
infected. We will never know the
precise number of people that
suffered this fate, but now, we are
better prepared. The methods in
place for early testing and
discharge or treatment have
reduced this risk vastly. Will
people be misdiagnosed, most
likely, but the number would be
far lower than in the past.
Clusters- Ebola hit the poorest
communities with large clusters.
These slums, with bad sanitary
conditions and many people who
believed that Ebola was some
hoax, also encouraged the spread
of the disease. They were perfect
breeding grounds for Ebola. This
time however, it hit an isolated
area outside of the city. The
ministry’s
early
quarantine
measure is not only proactive but
better
suited
for
such
environments unlike in the case
with West Point.

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Traditional Practices- in the
first outbreak, Ebola hit largely
Muslim communities in Lofa.
Then, unawares of the deadly
nature of the disease, some
people still performed the
traditional practice of body
washing. This is a respectful,
personal act, however, it puts at
risk those who perform it since
they wore no protective gear and
were touching bodies that were at
the
most
risky
stage
of
transmission-just before and or
after death. We remain doubtful
of the full effect this had on the
spread, but it did contribute. Also,
many in these communities prefer
getting treatment from local
herbalist or traditional healers. It
is not as if they have better
options laid out before them and
they refused. Therefore, as
healers got infected, the spread
increased. Again, this is not the
same situation.
Awareness- One of the ways
Liberia beat Ebola was to develop
community-based approaches of
defense. This included detection,
isolation,
reporting
and
monitoring. Communities owned
their responses. If they detected
an outbreak, they rallied around
and on many occasions, provided
food and water for the infected
until the Ebola team arrived to
take them away. This was a form
of containment. With the high
level of awareness, it is unlikely
that Ebola will spread like before.
People are concerned but not
panic. They have reactivated their
preventive measures and are going
about their businesses as much as
is possible. Unlike before, it took
a long time and only out of
necessity did people leave home.
Schools have not closed yet nor
have mass public gatherings been

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