Authorities in Senegal are trying to contact everyone who has come into contact with a 21-year-old student who lost three family members to Ebola in neighbouring Guinea.
The student contracted Viral Haemorrhagic Fever, which killed his brother three weeks ago, while staying with his family. He nevertheless breached border closures by travelling by road to Senegal to resume his studies, since which time his mother and sister have also succumbed to the disease. Two further brothers are also infected and are being treated in Guinea.
The student attended a medical facility soon after arriving in Senegal complaining of fever, stomach cramps, headaches and diarrhoea, but withheld the fact that he had been in contact with the killer virus. Doctors treated him for malaria, an ailment that can present similar symptoms, unaware that he had come from outside Ebola-free Senegal.
Senegal’s health ministry believes it has traced everyone the student has come into contact with since he entered the country on August 20, but is appealing to anyone else who might have encountered him to submit themselves for twice daily monitoring.
President Macky Sall said on Monday (September 1) that everything is being done to prevent any further cases of the disease in Senegal, including public awareness campaigns and television programs aimed at encouraging good hygiene practices.
