The worst Ebola epidemic in history remains out of the control in West Africa; to date there have been almost 5,000 deaths in the three most affected countries (Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone).
The international response continues to be patchy and the lack of both human and material resources is paralysing the health and financial systems in the region.
More treatment centres with trained health staff are needed, as well as filling the gaps in key activities to control the outbreak, such as the monitoring of people who have come into contact with patients, community awareness and safe burial protocol.
Despite living with this delicate situation every day, Médecins Sans Frontières are able to show us an extraordinary case which gives hope for the future:
The child who tricked Ebola
Mamadee, a boy of eleven years old, dances “Azonto” while a crowd watches. Mamadee jumps, crouches, steps the side, first to the left, then to the right, he jumps again, turns, moves his hips and shakes his arms. He doesn’t stop or get tired.
It is difficult to believe, but Mamadee is a patient; a confirmed Ebola patient.
On August 15th Mamadee showed various symptoms typical of Ebola: nausea, a fever, muscular aches and pains, extreme fatigue, abdominal pain and diarrhoea. Doctors treated him with multivitamins, paracetamol, oral rehydration solution, antibiotics and antimalarial drugs, because he had also tested positive for malaria and was admitted to a treatment center of Medecins Sans Frontieres.
On August 20th, the second test turned out as expected, positive for the Ebola virus. The only thing which did not fit was that young Mamadee already felt better and was running around. This meant that although Mamadee didn’t appear to have any symptoms he could, in theory, infect others.
Every day Mamadee’s sunny nature infected the other patients and staff. He was always smiling and happy. On September 4th, his fourth test came back from the laboratory in neighbouring Gueckedou in Guinea. At long last it was negative. Mamadee ran straight out of the centre. “I’m really happy today”, said the young survivor, unaware of the deadly game he had just won.
Mamadee may have overcome the illness but Ebola is rapidly defeating many others. At Roberlo, we recommend watching the video of his surprising story to see how with the right help it is possible to overcome this illness. We also encourage you to collaborate with MSF.
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