Health professionals and other stakeholders from the Cayman Islands and 12 other regional countries recently took part in a table top exercise on Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) on 13-14 July 2015.

Local participants included 24 members of the multi -disciplinary Ebola Response Committee. During the exercise the participants outlined the protocols that their respective agencies would follow in the event of an imported Ebola case.

Acting Medical Officer of Health, Dr Samuel Williams, said it was important for countries to routinely review national public health emergency preparedness and response plans, as well as national command and coordination systems.

“As such, we are grateful to have the opportunity to participate, in order to solidify our existing national emergency preparedness and response plans for Ebola,” Dr Williams remarked.

Acting Chief Medical Officer, Dr Elizabeth McLaughlin, noted that the exercise allowed participants to practice collaboration and teamwork, and on a larger scale facilitated information sharing between countries and agencies.

Dr McLaughlin added: “We are confident that the multi-sectoral teams will prove invaluable in effectively handling and containing an emergency of this nature.”

Led by the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), in association with the Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS), the exercise was among the steps that CARPHA has committed to take to help countries strengthen their preparedness for potential cases of Ebola.

These actions by the regional public health agency are focused on ensuring that member countries are able to detect, contain, and prevent local transmission of imported Ebola cases. They are also part of larger efforts of CARPHA to help members prevent and respond to public health risks that threaten populations across borders.

Officials noted that all such actions take place within the framework of the International Health Regulations (IHR), an international legal instrument that has been signed by World Health Organisation (WHO) Member States.

As at 12 July, the World Health Organization had reported 27,642 confirmed, probable, and suspected cases of EVD in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, with 11,261 reported deaths (this total includes reported deaths among probable and suspected cases, although outcomes for many cases are unknown).

In the week ending 12 July, a total of 13 new confirmed cases were reported in Guinea, three in Liberia, and 14 in Sierra Leone. The Ebola outbreak in West Africa therefore remains a public health emergency of international concern.

For more information, contact the Public Health Department on 244-2621.

Ebola virus is transmitted through direct contact with the blood or body fluids of a person who is sick with Ebola that means if bodily fluids such as blood, saliva, mucus, vomit, urine or faeces from an infected persons (dead or alive) have touched someone’s eyes, nose or mouth or an open cut, wound or abrasion can transmit the virus. Any exposed person without symptoms cannot transmit the virus.

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