Gouecke, Guinea – Guinean authorities are in a race against time to limit the spread of an Ebola outbreak after several deadly infections were detected in the country’s southern region last week.
The West African country declared an Ebola epidemic on February 14, two weeks after the patients attended the funeral of a nurse in the city of Gouecke and subsequently showed symptoms of the disease, including fever, diarrhea and vomiting.
Of the confirmed and suspected cases – the nurse, five of her family members and a traditional healer she consulted – five died and two are currently being treated in isolation.
Despite a ban on gatherings of more than five people, including weddings and weekly markets, the people of Gouecke appeared skeptical of government directives and the recurrence of a disease that killed about 2,500 Guineans during a previous outbreak that broke West Africa between 2014 and 2016..
“We are not afraid or worried,” said Paul Lamah, who was among the residents who defied the ban and showed up at Gouecke’s weekly market on Saturday.
“We know that God is with us. If the authorities want to lie to get money from their partners [aid organisations], shouldn’t say that. But as far as we are concerned, there is no Ebola. “
Echoing his sentiments, Fatoumata Diabate, a red oil salesman in N’Zerekore, said the government’s announced containment measures posed a threat to people already struggling to survive.
“Our husbands have finished their studies, but they have not found jobs. We are responsible for our families, which is why we came to sell our products, to find something to eat “, said Diabate on the market.
“We must stop getting tired of this Ebola outbreak story. In addition, we do not believe in this disease. These are just rumors because I have never seen a patient or a person who died of this disease. ”
Community engagement is “vital”
In this context, the Guinean authorities, in partnership with international experts, are trying to establish the full extent of the outbreak.
Efforts include finding people who may come into contact with Ebola patients to monitor their health and stop the chain of transmission. Security forces have also set up checkpoints to pick up temperatures and isolate those who appear ill.
Neighboring countries are also on high alert to avoid a repeat of the previous outbreak that killed more than 11,300 people in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
Sierra Leone authorities have sent workers to entry points across its border with Guinea to assist border patrols and health workers, while Liberia has raised its threat and “increased surveillance and preventive action.”
A resurgence of Ebola could paralyze the already tense health systems of countries in the region at a time when they are also fighting the coronavirus pandemic.
Health experts point out that providing clear and good information on health education is essential at the beginning of a response to Ebola, but in Gouecke some residents argued that the seemingly confusing messages played a role in people’s reluctance to heed the authorities’ directives. .
“Why do they want to stop the market when the kids are still in school, three or four sit on the same bench all week,” said Foromo, a Gouecke resident.
A prefecture official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Al Jazeera that authorities had weighed in with security forces to enforce the ban, but ultimately ruled against the measure.
The source said a major factor in the decision was the fear of escalating tensions and potential clashes between security forces and traders, something that had happened in 2014.
This was corroborated by a gendarmerie commander who said security forces had not received any orders to enforce the ban.
“Community engagement is particularly vital,” said Anja Wolz, the Ebola emergency coordinator who monitors the response of doctors without borders, also known as Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF). “You have to invest time and energy in speaking – and listening – to the communities in the affected areas. You have to adapt the answer to what I say and you have to adapt to the risks of Ebola. It must be a two-way conversation. ”
Listening and engaging with locals is also key to successfully launching a successful vaccination campaign to help fight the hemorrhagic fever epidemic, experts say, citing the current existence of Ebola vaccines as one of the main differences from the latest outbreak.
The expected arrival in the country of about 11,000 doses of vaccine developed by Merck has been delayed due to bad weather on Sunday, with vaccinations set to begin on Tuesday instead of Monday.
But even then, authorities fear that the local population may not enroll in the inoculation program.
“People do not want to believe [in Ebola] and associate the disease with something else. Nobody intends to get the vaccines “, said a prefecture official, quoted by the local press.
“Citizens do not want to hear from us and this worries us about vaccination.”
Health Minister Remy Lamah, who is originally from Gouecke, arrived in his hometown on Saturday to convince people of the merits of administering the vaccine, the source said.
“Everything is back to the commitment of the community,” said Wolz of MSF. “I have seen this many times in the past. If a community feels involved, heard and empowered, then an Ebola response will likely work, with or without vaccines. But if a community feels aligned, unheard of and becomes nervous or distrustful, then an Ebola response will face multiple difficulties, with or without vaccines.
Facely Konate reported from Gouecke and Ramy Allahoum from Doha