Sierra Leone Joins Liberia in Sweeping Measures to Contain Deadly Virus
Sierra Leone's president called in the army Thursday to quarantine Ebola-stricken neighborhoods and conduct house-to-house searches for people exposed to the virus. WSJ's Drew Hinshaw reports on the latest from Lagos, Nigeria.
LAGOS, Nigeria—Sierra Leone joined Liberia on Thursday in taking sweeping measures to try to contain an outbreak of the Ebola virus that has killed at least 729 people across West Africa, in a sign that governments are starting to speed up their response to the epidemic.
Ernest Bai Koroma, the president of Sierra Leone, deployed the army to quarantine Ebola-stricken neighborhoods and banned public meetings for at least 60 days, except for those dedicated to education about the virus.
Mr. Koroma also canceled overseas trips for top officials, including his planned visit to Washington next week for a three-day summit of about 50 African leaders with U.S. "Extraordinary challenges require extraordinary measures," Mr. Koroma said in a televised address. "The disease is beyond the scope of any one country or community to defeat."
LAGOS, Nigeria—Sierra Leone joined Liberia on Thursday in taking sweeping measures to try to contain an outbreak of the Ebola virus that has killed at least 729 people across West Africa, in a sign that governments are starting to speed up their response to the epidemic.
Ernest Bai Koroma, the president of Sierra Leone, deployed the army to quarantine Ebola-stricken neighborhoods and banned public meetings for at least 60 days, except for those dedicated to education about the virus.
Mr. Koroma also canceled overseas trips for top officials, including his planned visit to Washington next week for a three-day summit of about 50 African leaders with U.S. "Extraordinary challenges require extraordinary measures," Mr. Koroma said in a televised address. "The disease is beyond the scope of any one country or community to defeat."
The measures introduced by Sierra Leone came less than a day after the Liberian government said it was closing schools and putting government employees on leave. Earlier this week, Liberia closed most border crossings, banning public gatherings and said it was considering using troops to quarantine some neighborhoods to stop the spread of said the disease.
In another sign of the spreading danger, Nigerian officials on Thursday said they had identified 14 hospital workers at high risk of contracting Ebola. The workers had helped treat a visiting Liberian official who died of the disease last week in Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital.
The workers have yet to show a fever, said Lagos State Health Commissioner Dr. Jide Idris. Ebola's incubation period varies between two and 21 days, and its symptoms can be confused with those of malaria.
The Ebola outbreak, which began in Guinea in February, is believed to be the worst ever. As of Sunday, 729 people had died from the virus in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, the World Health Organization said Thursday. Another 1,323 people are confirmed or suspected of having the disease, it said. Ebola can kill victims within days, causing severe fever and muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhea and, in some cases, organ failure and unstoppable bleeding.
On Tuesday, Dr. Sheik Umar Khan, who had been praised as a national hero in Sierra Leone for treating dozens of Ebola patients, died of the disease, less than a week after his diagnosis was announced.
Mr. Koroma is expected to travel soon to Conakry for meetings with government officials from Guinea and Liberia.
All three West African nations are reeling as some of world's most threadbare health care systems try to stop one of its most deadly viruses.
—Gbenga Akingbule in Abuja, Nigeria, contributed to this article.
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