Yaounde Ebola isolation centre ready

Preparations for any eventual Ebola outbreak in the country are on good footing. The Minister of Public Health, André Mama Fouda, yesterday November 13, 2014, paid a working visit to the newly constructed Isolation and Treatment Centre in Mimetala, situated some 20 km from Yaounde.

Speaking at the occasion, André Mama Fouda, said there was no case of Ebola in Cameroon, but the country had to prepare in the event of any outbreak. André Mama Fouda said the most important thing was to train health workers on how to receive patients, handle them and take off their protective gear after.

The Resident Representative for WHO, Charlotte Faty Ndiaye, said the simulation exercise at the event showed what kind of assistance partners can now offer Cameroon. She promised that international organisations will finalise the operational plans and continue to provide equipment for the protection of health workers.

During the visit, the Minister of Public Health, in collaboration with the World Health Organisation, CDC, UNICEF and other international partners, watched a simulation exercise on the reception and treatment of an Ebola case.

The exercise started at the Yaounde Central Hospital where the health workers received a suspected ‘patient’, carried out diagnosis, managed the case, and later transferred the woman to the Ebola Isolation Centre in Mimetala.

The Ebola Isolation Centre in Mimetala is placed under the Yaounde Central Hospital. Another has been constructed at the Laquintini Hospital in Doula, while more centres will be constructed in all border areas near regional hospitals.