Liberia is now the nation reporting the highest number of new Ebola cases...........

It seems that the people of Liberia just cannot get a break, after almost two decades of devastating civil war, we all thought we have turn the darkest corner of our Country's history and that the country was once again on the path to reclaim its former glory and rejoin the community of nations, but out of nowhere we got thrown another curve ball, this time in the form of the deadly Ebola virus.

 Of all the Countries battling the deadly outbreak, Liberia is now the nation reporting the highest number of new cases in the region, it has become the epicenter of the whole Ebola fight. And because Liberia is the Country suffering the most it is important that our people understand how Important it is to take this deadly disease seriously.Its been reported that some communities believe the outbreak is a lie, and that health care workers have been sent to kill them. In multiple locations around the Country, health care workers spraying chlorine – a cheap and effective counter to the spread of the disease - were attacked.

 I found a wonderful article on Australia's ABC.net.au news site that really explain what Ebola is.....

There are five strains of Ebola: Zaire, Sudan, Tai Forest, Bundibugyo and Reston. The Zaire strain, which is involved in the latest outbreak, is the most lethal with a fatality rate of up to 90 per cent. Humans can catch the virus from animals through close contact with infected animals' blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids. The virus is thought to reside within the region's fruit bat population. The bushmeat trade (the catching and eating of wild animals, including primates such as gorillas and chimpanzees), is thought to play a role in outbreaks of the disease. While cooking infected meat kills the virus, handling of the meat beforehand can cause infection.

Once in the human population, the virus continues spreading through direct contact with blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids. The World Health Organisation has specifically noted traditional healing and burial practices in rural regions as a factor in the spread of the disease.

Please my fellow Liberians,if you suspect someone you know is sick or is showing symptoms of the virus, it is very important that you not only take every precaution to protect yourself but you should also immediately notify the authorities. Remember your chances of survival is high if you are treated early.

President Sirleaf ordered third county under Ebola quarantine ......

The Liberian army has put a third County under quarantine to check the spread of the deadly Ebola virus, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf announced Monday.

"Lofa county in the north has been quarantined by the army," Sirleaf said after similar measures were taken in the counties of Bomie and Grand Cape Mount.

"So from now on, no one will be allowed to go to Lofa, no one will come out of there," Sirleaf said in a message to the nation broadcast over the radio.

"We want to protect areas that have not been yet affected," according to the president.

"We have given instructions to the army and we will try our best so that food will be provided to the county constantly, especially when we know that Lofa is one of (the) biggest counties."

In an effort to contain an epidemic that has cost nearly 1,000 lives throughout west Africa, the Liberian government earlier quarantined Bomie and Grand Cape Mount.

It cut off access with military roadblocks and restrictions on travel.

The quarantine has meant that traders have been unable to travel to buy food and farmers cannot harvest their crop, which has in turn caused shortages and sent prices soaring, raising fears people could go hungry.