Want China Times, Xinhua 2015-03-01
"But for the treatment I received from the Chinese, I should not be alive today," said Memunatu Fofanah when recalling the experience at a Chinese treatment center in Sierra Leone after testing positive for Ebola.
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| China's medical team at a treatment center in Freetown, Sierra Leone, Feb. 21. (Photo/Xinhua) |
"But for the treatment I received from the Chinese, I should not be alive today," said Memunatu Fofanah when recalling the experience at a Chinese treatment center in Sierra Leone after testing positive for Ebola.
Fofanah, a
community health nurse in Sierra Leone's capital Freetown, was one of the Ebola
survivors thanks to China's aid in consonance with the government and other
development partners.
Fofanah
said she contracted the Ebola virus through her father, who was very ill when
he was brought from the northern part of the country. As a nurse she decided to
receive some medical care and was later taken to her health clinic at Upper
Allen about 30 km from the city where her father passed away.
A few days
later she started feeling sick and developed a high fever, then decided to
consult medical attention but was advised to call 117, the Ebola Emergency
Response Center.
"I
listened to the advice and promptly the command center dispatched an ambulance
that conveyed me to the Chinese treatment center at Jui on the outskirts of the
city, where I was diagnosed with the Ebola virus," said Fofanah.
"My
first week in the hospital was not easy. I lost hope because I had lost considerable
weight, was vomiting and could hardly walk. The Chinese started to give me
intravenous fluids as well as treatment for the high fever, coupled with words
of consolation that I would not die, that 'I would survive," she said.
Fofanah
recalled that within two weeks "I must say that I owe my survival to the
care and treatment I got at the center, for which I am very grateful."
Like
Memunatu Fofanah, all the survivors that spoke to Xinhua had similar stories of
harrowing experiences with the dreaded disease and the support from the Chinese
treatment center.
Maseray
Kamara, Another Ebola survivor who lost her five-month-old child, said it was
through this confused state of mind that she probably might have contracted the
disease.
Like her
compatriots, Kamara got her healing through support and treatment from the
Chinese medical team. She explained that she manifested the symptoms a week
afterher child's death and was rushed to the Jui treatment center where she was
handled with care, noting that they were visited at least two times a day by
the Chinese doctors and nurses to administer medicines and psychosocial
support.
According
to the figures available from the Chinese embassy, the center has treated about
671 patients, among which there are 151 Ebola-positive.
Since the
Ebola outbreak, about 8,000 Sierra Leoneans have been infected, of which some
2,000 have survived whilst some 2,859 have succumbed to the dreaded disease,
including hundreds of medical personnel.
When the
president of the west African state of Sierra Leone reported the first case of
the Ebola virus about nine months ago, China was one of the first countries to
respond to the call of the west African state by dispatching a plane load of
medical supplies including personal protective equipment, medical personnel as
well as drugs.
The
equipment was also supplemented with two mobile laboratories. The Sierra
Leone-Chinese Friendship hospital was immediately transformed into a holding
center and later to a treatment center, especially when the disease became
endemic.
Duan
Xuezhang, a Chinese expert at the treatment center, explained that though Ebola
has no known cure, early diagnosis at the treatment center will increase the
chances of a patient's survival.
According
to him the main problem is "dehydration and infection." Duan noted
that when a person is very weak "he or she is susceptible to
infection." In this case "the main therapy is fluid resuscitation
with supportive treatment."
The Chinese
medical team comprises 41 staff members, including 8 doctors, 16 nurses and
other supporting staff. They visit the patients two times a day to administer
drugs as well as give them psychological and social support for their hope and
confidence.
As the
country is now recording single digit figures, he advised that "we should
not be complacent and ensure all suspected cases are isolated to prevent
further spread and ensure that those with the virus are taken to the treatment
centers as soon as possible".
He
maintained that "the Chinese will be here until Ebola is kicked out of
Sierra Leone."
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