Kiwi doctor: Ebola outbreak's long-lasting effects

Dr Clair Mills. Photo / Michael Cunningham

A Northland doctor who joined the response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa says there will be long-lasting repercussions for the countries affected.

Northland DHB medical officer of health Clair Mills, who spent three month in Sierra Leone with Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders) as a medical coordinator, and she was sad to leave as there was so much still to be done.

Dr Mills arrived in Freetown in November, during the peak of the crisis. By December the number of cases had begun to fall and in February, make-shift clinics could close.

"There has been a lot of energy put into improving co-ordination in the last few months and, as cases fall, everything works better," she said.

"There is less stress and demand. As soon as a new case is identified, health workers can get on top of it straight away."

However the repercussions for Sierra Leone would be long-lasting, she said.

"Managing the transition back to some kind of normal is the next challenge. Sierra Leone had only just over 100 doctors and has lost ten per cent of them to Ebola, plus hundreds of nurses.

"Some health centres have closed because health staff have died, so it's a very difficult situation. Most health facilities have no running water, less than 20 per cent of health facilities we visited had working vaccine fridges, and waste management is appalling, so infection control is a major issue. Even now, health staff are continuing to get infected."

At the peak of the epidemic, Sierra Leone had 450-600 reported cases a week. To date, 3831 people have died from 12,000 confirmed and suspected cases.

Overall more than 25,000 people were infected in West Africa, with more than 10,000 deaths reported.

Dr Mills said her role was busy and challenging, but "overall very satisfying and energising too".

"For my colleagues working shifts in the Ebola treatment centres, it was very physically and emotionally exhausting. The high death rate, the overwhelming numbers of patients, the lack of effective treatment - and obviously the personal risks of being infected yourself - made it extremely challenging."

Dr Mills was monitored for three weeks on her return to New Zealand. She said returning home had taken some adjustment.

"It's reinforced for me how privileged we are in New Zealand," she said.

"We have a fantastic health system but we too could have been born in West Africa. I feel the only way to stop these epidemics is to go there and stop it.

"Had international organisations like WHO and CDC reacted more quickly, many deaths could have been prevented and the outcome would have been much better."

Ebola is a viral infectious disease with a high mortality rate and no specific treatment, marked by fever, vomiting and diarrhoea and bleeding.

It is spread through contact with infected body fluids, so looking after sick family members or carrying out traditional funeral rites place people at high risk of infection.