By Krista Armstrong | Communications Officer
Save the Children has discharged the 60th cured Ebola patient from its Sierra Leone treatment center, as survival rates at its health facility continue to rise.
Six-year-old Lamine* was discharged back to the care of his family on Monday, four days after he was admitted to the Save the Children-run treatment facility. Lamine, whose father passed away from Ebola a week ago, tested positive for Ebola on Friday but responded well to treatment and, thanks to the care of the medical teams, quashed the disease quickly.
"Children can be particularly vulnerable to Ebola, and their condition can either improve or deteriorate very rapidly," said Save the Children's Oliver Behn. "Our teams, which include medical teams from Sierra Leone, Save the Children, Cuba and the UK, provide high quality care 24 hours a day, and are making a real difference in increasing Ebola patients' chances of survival, and ensuring more children like Lamine recover."
"The center also ensures dignity and comfort for all patients, namely those who arrive in the terminal stages of the disease," Behn continued.
Lamine* was picked up at Kerry Town by his maternal aunt and uncle on Monday, and reunited with his mother and baby brother that afternoon. On Monday and Wednesday, five other survivors, including six-year-old Aminata* who was critically ill with Ebola and malaria when she was admitted, were also discharged from the center. Six others are currently being discharged today, on Christmas eve.
These successes brought the total number of Ebola survivors at Save the Children's treatment center, so far, to 61. Each survivor receives some money to help them replace the furniture and items they may have had to destroy or have lost, a set of fresh clothes, food rations, and some hygiene items.
It remains vital that patients with symptoms consistent with Ebola be tested and, if confirmed as positive, start treatment as early as possible. The earlier this can be started, the better the chances of defeating the disease.
Mr. Behn said: "Kerry Town has the capacity to test and treat many more patients, and is working closely with the National Ebola Coordination Center and the Ministry of Health to ensure patients who need our medical care are referred as soon and as early as possible."
Survivors are accompanied home by Save the Children staff, who liaise closely with families and communities to ensure they do not face stigma upon their return and instead are given support.
*Names have been changed to protect identity and patient privacy.
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