"Maman Lucie", 51, the first victim of the Ebola resurgence in Guinea
Audio 01:28
On his phone, Dr Aboudlaye Koli, chief physician of Gouecké, points to the portrait of "Mama Lucie".
© Carol Valade / RFI
Text by: RFI Follow
4 min
Almost 5 years after the end of the first Ebola epidemic in West Africa, the virus resurfaced in the forest region in the south of the country.
At least 8 people have died out of around fifteen recorded cases.
Lucie, a 51-year-old nurse, died on January 27 at the Nzérékoré regional hospital.
She is the index patient, that is to say the first known case of the current resurgence.
At the Gouecké medical center where she worked, she was a very popular personality that everyone called “mum”.
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With our special correspondent in Gouecké,
Carol Valade
On his phone, Doctor Aboudlaye Koli, chief medical officer of Gouecké, points to the portrait of “Maman Lucie” adorned with the words “RIP”.
"
She liked to say,
'I make myself available to the community as long as the community needs me
.'
She was playing the role of mom.
She approached everyone like a mother.
"
Cecile Loua, technical health assistant.
“She
was a colleague but we called her mom.
She was giving birth, she was planning the women.
She loved everyone.
Cecile Loua starts to cry.
Figure of the parish, Lucie was a pious woman indicates the vicar of Gouecké, Father Gabriel Lamah.
“
The way of treating, of helping, of helping others can give the title of mother to such a woman.
On the day of her funeral, her husband testified that even at midnight, his wife was obliged to tell him: they have just called me, I must leave to take care of a sick person.
She dedicated her whole life to the cause of others.
"
Ebola is transmitted through the fluids of patients and the advice it gave still resonates today.
“
I think washing your hands is interesting: those were her words on Tuesday and Friday, and she always said it with a smile.
"
As in the previous epidemic, caregivers are paying the heaviest price.
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Guinea
Ebola