Tuesday 7 July 2015

Whispers and rumours

It's a human-eat-dog world

About two weeks ago, one of my colleagues at Mercy Corps told me that he'd heard ebola was back. He'd heard from someone at JFK. 

True enough in a week or so, the story broke of a teenage boy who died of ebola in Margibi County. Two more confirmed cases were identified and 100 contacts were also established. 

How was this possible? Liberia was declared ebola free! Did the boy visit Guinea or Sierra Leone? Or did a visitor from Sierra Leone or Guinea bring ebola withim or her? Do we still have undetected pockets of ebola?

As we all discussed the story in the office, another colleague of mine said he'd heard that the family had eaten dog meat and, that is how they contracted the virus. 

This was confirmed again by media. See "Liberia investigating animal link after Ebola re-emerges."

The possibility that dogs could also transmit ebola was suggested last year after a Spanish nurse went home sick with ebola and her dog was euthanised. See "Dogs Can Get Ebola, Study Suggests."

Good will rejected 

A friend from the Lebanese business community told us that the Lebanese community went to the government offering to pool resources to build a hospital. The President told them to stay away from the health sector. 

UNMIL's utility bills

Apparently UNMIL's monthly rent for its headquarters - the Pan African Plaza - is USD 3 million. The Pan African Plaza is supposedly owned by Qaddafi's family.

Although UNMIL is currently downsizing and preparing to leave Liberia next year, they are spending money left and right on red carpets, gym equipment and machine parts. 

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