Somalia: Puntland on High alert to Combat Ebola

Published: October 19, 2014
Getty images
Getty images

Puntland Health Ministry has said that government remains on high alert and precautions are being taken to prevent the deadly Ebola virus from entering the state. 

The highly infectious deadly disease has claimed more than 4,000 lives in West Africa so far, and countries like Somalia worries that cross-border travel may bring the disease there too.

Director of the Ministry, Dr Abdirizak Hirsi, said during a Press Briefing in Garowe that authorities were making every effort to prevent the infection from reaching the state.

Some of the signs of Ebola include Flu like symptoms with high temperature.

He added that the ministry has stepped up surveillance at all points of entry into the state.

Last week, a battalion of 800 Sierra Leone Peacekeepers waiting to be deployed to Somalia were quarantined after one of the soldiers tested Ebola Positive.

Ravaged by civil war for more than two decades, it is unsurprising that Somalia has one of the worst health-worker shortages in Africa. A poor road network and limited number of health facilities compounds the lack of access to healthcare.

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