Fighting Ebola, and the Mud

NEW YORK TIMES                         Oct. 21, 2014

Op-ed in Today's New York Times by Karen Huster, a nurse working in Liberia for Last Mile Health says that Liberia’s dysfunctional transportation system is standing in the way of fighting the Ebola epidemic and suggests some solutions
 

"Patients have died on grueling journeys to treatment units. Blood samples have sat waiting for days, eventually becoming invalid....

 "The best solution is removing the need to travel altogether by building more easily accessible treatment centers all over the country, where patients with confirmed or suspected cases of Ebola can be housed and treated. The United States military is building these structures, but it is taking time. Nimbler nongovernmental organizations must also step in. Save the Children has already done so and is also building smaller community care centers — sort of homes away from home, where families can continue to care for their sick loved ones safely removed from the community. A makeshift center with tents instead of permanent structures could be set up within a week.

"We must also decentralize laboratory testing of Ebola blood samples and make more portable laboratories available in all counties in Liberia. It is unacceptable that a test that should take four to six hours to process becomes a terrifying four-to-six day wait. Quarantined patients who will test positive are mixed with those who won’t, inevitably increasing infections. Until then, we have to find a way to fly blood samples to Monrovia."

See full article. also see previous article on supplies arriving but transportation needed.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/21/opinion/fighting-ebola-and-the-mud-.html?ref=opinion