By Abigail W. Adams
From left: The Rev. Torli Krua with son Mahn II, Alfrida Barr with daughter Pearl, Dr. Daniel Bates, and Krua’s wife, Saawile, in Boothbay Saturday, Nov. 8. Bates, Krua, and Barr shed light on the harsh realities of the Ebola epidemic in West Africa and offered solutions to prevent its spread in the United States at a lecture hosted by the Boothbay Memorial Library. (Abigail W. Adams photo) |
The Ebola epidemic that has been declared an international emergency by the World Health Organization and President Barack Obama has special significance for Maine. The media firestorm that erupted when a medical worker from Fort Kent refused to submit to quarantine upon returning from West Africa spread fear of an Ebola outbreak throughout the state.
In a lecture hosted by the Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library Saturday, Nov. 8, a rare window was given into the real-life devastation Ebola has caused in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea, in addition to the real-world solutions that are preventing the spread of the virus.
Dr. Daniel Bates, an attending physician at LincolnHealth who is leading the charge for Ebola prevention at local medical facilities; the Rev. Torli Krua, founder of Universal Human Rights International and co-founder of YOUNG-Africa; and Alfrida Barr, a Liberian citizen who has been stranded in Boston since August due to the epidemic, shared facts, figures, and their efforts to combat the global Ebola outbreak with the small crowd in attendance.
“This is a hot topic for us because the emergency department is on the front line,” Bates said. “It’s our job to identify cases as soon as possible if and when they arrive here in the U.S.”
There have been 20 Ebola outbreaks since the virus was first identified in 1976; however, the current epidemic is the deadliest in history with a reported 13,676 cases and 4,910 deaths.
“Unfortunately, since we were so slow to respond in this case, there are many more cases,” Bates said. “It’s starting to reach that point where it takes off with exponential growth.”
If left unchecked, the Center for Disease Control has predicted Ebola cases could reach 1.4 million worldwide by January 2015.
Krua, pastor of the Boston-based Ziah Mission Baptist Church, which has worked with the Boothbay Baptist Church for over a decade, is a Liberian refugee who fled to the United States after narrowly escaping execution in Liberia’s civil war.
He has since devoted himself to refugee issues and post-conflict reconstruction in Africa. His work brought him to Sierra Leone early in 2014, long before Ebola had become a household name.
Upon hearing reports that Ebola was spreading through the villages of West Africa, Krua returned to Boston and sent out a flurry of letters warning Massachusetts’ governor, state legislators, and public health officials about the deadly virus. He was ignored.
“For some reason, when something happens on the other side of the globe,” Krua said, “people think it could never happen here, it could never happen to us. This Ebola outbreak could not have reached America if the world had responded in time.”
“As long as Ebola is in any human being,” Krua said, “I think it’s my responsibility to make sure that people don’t die because of it.”
Krua has been influential not only in raising awareness of Ebola in the U.S., but also in educating Liberian communities in preventing the spread of the disease. Traditional funeral practices in West Africa involve touching the body of the deceased. For an extremely infectious virus such as Ebola, these customs are a major cause of transmission.
Krua has worked with religious leaders in Liberia to halt those funeral practices until the Ebola outbreak is eliminated. “It’s a huge cultural shift,” Krua said, “but it’s an emergency and we need to take emergency action. We look at it that Ebola is temporary and it will pass away. For now those regiments and procedures and protocols need to be observed”
His efforts, he said, have been well received by Liberia’s community leaders. “If Ebola is stopped, it’s not going to be because of WHO or the CDC,” Krua said. “We need them, but it’s going to be stopped because of the community, because of community awareness, and community prevention.”
In addition to the medical and humanitarian crisis caused by Ebola in West Africa, an unrecognized crisis of individuals stuck in the U.S. due to flight cancellations, border closures, and other extraordinary circumstances is emerging, Krua said.
Krua estimates approximately 7,000 people visiting the U.S. from West Africa have been unable to return home due to the Ebola epidemic.
Alfrida Barr is one of them. Barr left her son in Liberia and came with her daughter to New England in August for what she thought would be a short visit. She has yet to be able to return home.
“I’m here with my 2-year-old daughter,” Barr said. “I’m stranded. I was not expecting what I’m going through. I don’t know what to say. It’s been too hard.” Tears streamed down her face when she returned to her seat.
Granting Temporary Protective Status to West African citizens stranded in the U.S. is one of the many initiatives Krua is spearheading. Obama granted immigration relief to those stuck in the U.S. from West Africa in August, absolving them from deportation.
However, immigration relief provides none of the services or assistance given to citizens from countries with a Temporary Protective Status designation, which Obama has extended to citizens of Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Haiti, Sudan, and Somalia, amongst others.
Krua is circulating a petition to get the 100,000 signatures needed to bring the plight of West African citizens stranded in the U.S. to the president’s attention.
Despite the media frenzy and widespread fear of an Ebola outbreak in the U.S., influenza remains a larger public health concern, with an average 36,000 deaths each year compared to the one death caused by Ebola, Bates said. He is confident, however, that if the need arises, medical facilities in Lincoln County will be prepared to effectively respond and contain the virus.
Due to the similarity in symptoms between the flu and Ebola, Bates explained that medical facilities will use travel history to determine a potential Ebola case. If an individual who recently traveled to West Africa begins to experience flu-like symptoms they will be treated as if they have Ebola until proven otherwise, Bates said.
The key to preventing an Ebola outbreak in the United States, however, is stopping it where it started – in the West African nations of Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea.
“Imagine if your child or your mother was in an Ebola ward,” Krua said. “We need to be moved by love and compassion, not fear, so that we can stop this epidemic in its tracks, in Africa.”
For more information about Krua’s Ebola education and prevention efforts, visit http://stopebola.us.
