Highlights
IOM supported the International Health Regulations (IHR) assessment of four airports and sea ports to evaluate the core capacities needed for detecting and responding to specified human health hazards and events.
In April, IOM trained an additional 80 screeners who were deployed to checkpoints and points of entry along the Guinea-Liberia border to strengthen surveillance measures to detect and prevent cross-border transmission of Ebola.
In April, IOM trained an additional 80 screeners who were deployed to checkpoints and points of entry along the Guinea-Liberia border to strengthen surveillance measures to detect and prevent cross-border transmission of Ebola.
Situation Overview
Liberia remains under heightened surveillance for Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) due to the recent flare-up affecting both Liberia and Guinea. The heightened surveillance period began 29 April 2016 and will continue for 42 days. In Monrovia, two brothers (2 year-old and 5 year-old) with EVD received healthcare in an Ebola Treatment Unit and were released after testing negative several times.
Their mother died of EVD en route to a hospital in Monrovia on 31 March 2016.
The rapid response to the flare-up in Liberia has included contact tracing, case finding and investigations, social mobilization efforts, and vaccination with the experimental EVD vaccine. Since 6 April 2016, 223 contacts and ‘contacts of contacts’ have been vaccinated. IOM is contributing to the rapid response by increasing its surveillance coverage in the three border counties with Guinea and supporting county health teams with case investigations.
On 20 April 2016, delegations from Liberia and Guinea conducted a cross-border meeting in N’Zérékoré, Guinea. The objective of the cross-border meeting was to strengthen surveillance and contact tracing to interrupt the chain of transmission of the EVD outbreak in the two countries. As part of the Liberia delegation led by the Ministry of Health, IOM and other partners discussed the current EVD response in both countries and specific objectives including: establishing an early alert system for case detection, management, investigation and contact tracing; establishing a strategy for information exchange in case of alert or outbreak-related event; and strengthening cross border surveillance. In three months, the next cross-border meeting will be held in Liberia. No new cases have been reported since 5 April 2016. However, efforts to detect, prevent, and respond will continue to be paramount throughout the surveillance period and afterwards.