Monrovia-As the Partnership for Research on the Ebola Virus Disease in Liberia (PREVAIL) continues its Community Engagement awareness in communities across the country, the representative of the Liberia Crusaders for Peace (LCP) Mr. Daniel Bumie has disclosed that Ebola Survivors are immune to the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) and can help in saving lives of people who may come in contact with the disease.
Speaking June 21, 2016 at a Community Engagement meeting in Banjor, Brewerville, outside Monrovia, Mr. Bumie whose boss Amb. Juli Endee serves as Pillar Lead for PREVAIL on Community Engagement explained that having survived the Ebola Virus Disease, the body system of Ebola Survivors’ are protected from the EVD and more besides, they are no more carriers of the disease.
Addressing a sizable number of participants that included Ebola survivors, local, traditional and religious leaders as well as members of women, youth groups and other prominent citizens in the area, Mr. Bumie renewed calls for people including health workers to stop discrimination and stigmatization against Ebola survivors. He stressed that stigmatizing Ebola survivors was not only unhealthy for the national post Ebola integration and recover process but could make them to shy away from public activities.
Mr. Bumie reiterated that Ebola survivors are EVD fighters, saying in case of any future outbreak of the EVD, community people will rely on Ebola survivors in their area to serve as first line life savers by conveying such EVD suspected patients to local health facilities for appropriate treatment.
For this part, PREVAIL Lead on Social Mobilization and Communication Mr. Bartholomew Wilson called on Ebola survivors and their close contacts to make periodic return visits to health centers including the JFK and Duport Road Hospitals in Monrovia, and the CH Rennie Hospital in Kakata, Margibi County for updated medical check-up. He explained that during the periodic medical visits, Ebola survivors and their close contacts will benefit from free medical treatment just in case they are diagnosed of any illness.
Mr. Wilson further told the participants that Periodic return medical visits were necessary to ensure the success of the on-going Medical Research on Ebola survivors and close contacts. He at the same admonished community leaders to urge Ebola survivors and their close contacts that are yet to enroll in the Ebola Natural History Study (ENHS) to do so, noting that the process has a time frame and that only those who enroll will be followed up on by PREVAIL during the five years medical research.
For his part, an Executive of PREVAIL Dr. Khalifa Bility explained the reason for the PREVAIL Medical Study on Ebola and that it hopes to develop permanent treatment for the EVD at the end of the five- year medical research. He encouraged Ebola survivors and their close contacts not to get tired doing their periodic medical visits saying, today you may be feeling well in your body but you cannot predict what your health condition may be like in weeks ahead, warning that the EVD is unpredictable and could cause relapses anytime.