ALERT Weekly Report – March 15-21, 2015

Orientations on Community Event Based Surveillance were held in Nimba County, with more planned for Gbarpolu and Bong Counties. Part of the Global Communities Team in Nimba will attend a cross-border surveillance meeting in Lola, Guinea to discuss international cooperation between the two countries. Burial and disinfection teams remained active in all counties, with disinfection teams scaling down significantly. Global Communities expected to take responsibility for all Montserrado County burials, as the details of IFRC's burial team scale-down were still being discussed with IMS. Social mobilization activities continued in Bong, Nimba, Lofa, and Grand Cape Mount Counties. The Global Communities Monrovia Office M&E Team worked closely with the Ministry of Health and other Global Communities County Offices to improve data collection and reporting, particularly on burial statistics. In Bong County, no new cases were reported, and border surveillance and social mobilization remained the focus of Global Communities activities. Three clan meetings were held in Zota and Panta, bringing together community leaders, clan chiefs, general town chiefs, and town chiefs. The County Health Team resolved to withdraw all county-level supervisors from the active case search list, which was presented to Global Communities for incentive consideration. An updated version of the list will be presented during the next period, consisting only of district health workers. In Gbarpolu County, no new cases were reported, and contact tracers continued conducting active case search. Contact tracers visited 630 households in 79 Gbarpolu communities and referred 75 other cases to various County clinics. Follow-up of the cases referred to clinics is ongoing in the county. Three burial teams continued to operate in Gbarpolu, with most burials done by family members. Global Communities plans to conduct an orientation session on Community Event Based Surveillance (CEBS) in Gbarpolu during the next reporting period. In Grand Cape Mount County, no new cases were reported, and Global Communities continued to support active case search and border surveillance planning activities. An evaluation meeting was held to look at the work of the active case finders, and it was discovered that some were underreporting. Social mobilization activities continued, with the GC Grand Cape Mount Field Team holding its last CMDS meeting in Garwular district. Attendees from 28 communities were present, including 112 people and 28 CHWs. Safe and dignified burials continued to be supported, but burial teams were to be scaled back. In Lofa County, no new cases were reported, but a reported measles case was announced in Voinjama district. The case is being investigated, and results should be provided during the next coordination meeting. Border surveillance continued to be the focus, with GC staff participating in regular coordination meetings conducted in the county. Two bordering communities with Guinea in Kolahun district received border surveillance monitoring materials, which were given to gCHVs identified in the communities to record relevant data and monitor people entering the communities from across the border in Guinea. In Margibi County, active case search activities were ongoing in the communities and at the various gates that GC had gCHVs assigned. GC provided incentive for 240 gCHVs working as Active Case Searchers in the two districts in Margibi County. The incentive paid last week was for the Month of February 2015. Due to challenges and resistance that case investigators face within the Communities, the Margibi CHT and Ministry of Internal Affairs are currently planning a meeting with traditional leaders, the EVD taskforce, and all decision-makers at the District and Clan level to plan strategies for community involvement in active case searching. In Maryland County, active case search and follow-ups, including safe and dignified burials, were some of the major activities currently implemented in the County by the CHT and partners as a means of responding to the prevention of Ebola. No new cases have been reported, but results from specimens collected from four Ebola-suspected persons are still pending. Maryland County is preparing for the upcoming immunization campaign targeting children across the county in response to the whooping cough outbreak in the Barrobo and Karluway district regions. In Nimba County, the Nimba Team carried out various activities to meet the target of ZERO Ebola, including participating in the County EVD technical meeting, conducting border district meetings, supporting GCHVs, local structures, and EHTs for community surveillance, providing EVD supplies in bordering communities and officials check points, constructing screening and triage stations at three official border check points, and supporting safe and dignified burials. GC supports border surveillance activities in 23 communities and two official check points, with 46 community volunteers working to ensure proper screening and monitoring in and out of the border communities.