Battling Ebola - Jamaican Doctor, Louisa Baxter On Front Line Of Deadly Crisis..."It is a worrying issue for the international community," stressed Baxter, who had just returned to London, England, from Sierra Leone and Liberia, where she came face to face with the suffering of Ebola victims....which has already claimed at least 961 lives from 1,779 recorded cases on the African continent

Gary Spaulding, Senior Gleaner Writer  Published: Sunday | August 10, 2014

Dr. Louisa Baxter

A gutsy Jamaican doctor living in the United Kingdom, who has added her expertise to the gamut of international medical teams combating the Ebola crisis in West Africa, has given the islandhigh marks for taking the necessary precautionary measures to stave off a local outbreak of the disease.

Dr Louisa Baxter, who spent her early years in St Mary and once worked at the Kingston Public Hospital, told The Sunday Gleaner yesterday that vigilance must remain the order of the day to avoid a Caribbeanoutbreak of Ebola, which has already claimed at least 961 lives from 1,779 recorded cases on the African continent - a death rate of just more than 50 per cent.

"It is a worrying issue for the international community," stressed Baxter, who had just returned to London, England, from Sierra Leone and Liberia, where she came face to face with the suffering of Ebola victims.

"Jamaica is doing what it is supposed to, but the gravity of the situation (in Africa) must not be lost on anyone because the international community is so closely connected these days."

Ministry keeping informed

Last Thursday, Jamaica's Health Minister Dr Fenton Ferguson indicated that the ministry has been keeping itself informed of developments with respect to the Ebola outbreak through reports issued by the World Health Organisation.

The image of Liberia President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (left)
 appears on a banner warning people about the Ebola virus
in the city of Monrovia, Liberia, on Friday. Over the decades, Ebola
cases have been confirmed in 10 African countries, including Congo
where the disease was first reported in 1976.
 But until this year, Ebola had never come to West Africa. - AP photo

According to Ferguson, surveillance at the nation's points of entry is already in place and "we will be continuing with training and sensitisation of our health workers, as part of measures to increase our vigilance and preparedness for this disease".

He added: "I would like to assure that we continue to enjoy the support of the University of the West Indies Virology Lab, the United States Centres for Disease and Control and Prevention and the Caribbean Public Health Agency, for testing if needed." more