Liberia: Three Ebola Scares, One Question - Who Will Investigate the Truth?

27 May 2026
Liberian Observer (Monrovia)
By Dr. Dougbeh Chris Nyan

Amidst Nurse Bedell's in-service information, which was termed as "Rumor" by the Health Officials in Liberia, this is:

A call for a Comprehensive Independent Investigation of all Documented "False" VHF (e.g. Ebola, Marburg) Outbreaks Alarm over the past 18 months so as to ascertain the truth and avoid Panic.

1. The First (1st) was the false VHF alarm on 9th December 2024 when the John F. Kennedy Hospital (JFK) Chief Medical Officer, Dr. John Tamba issued a memo entitled, "Suspected Outbreak of Hemorrhagic Fever in Sierra Leone" thus rallying its employees for active outbreak response. There was no Outbreak in this case!

2. The Second (2nd) was an official public memo issued by Minister of Health Louise Kpoto on 10th September 2025, widely circulated on social media and entitled: "MEMORANDUM -- Urgent Guidance On Suspected Viral Hemorrhagic Fever (VHF) Case -- to All County Health Officers and County Health Teams (Maryland, River Gee, Grand Gedeh and Nimba Counties)." The entire Southeast was on edge and in panic, with about 20 Healthcare workers ordered quarantined by the Minister. This turned out to be false when NPHIL detected No VHF!

Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn

3. The Third (3rd) concerns the current Ebola outbreak precautions (which was termed as false by health authorities) emanating from an in-service training conducted at the JFK Hospital. This involves Nurse Paola Bedell and Mrs. Joana Joekai, the JFK Nursing Services Director. Nurse Paola Bedell precautionary voice-note to colleagues was quickly transformed termed a "false" Ebola suspected case and triggered panic and concern among citizens in and out of the country.

Nurse Bedell was arested, interrogated and berated, but the sources of the information may not have been called in for questioning.

If fairness must be applied in public health safety, then the pendulum of justice should not be tilted to the advantage of those in the corridors of power but must be blind and balanced.

As I stated this morning on Spoon FM, public health authorities are under obligation to be Transparent, Ethical, Timely and Accountable with Accurate Diagnosis for effective Institutional Response.

Hence, with or without confirmed Ebola case from the health authorities, please continue to follow all health safety practices.

1. Wash and Sanitize your Hands Regularly

2. No Handshaking

3. No Hugging; Keep your Distance

4. Avoid crowded events/places

5. Report symptoms to health facility

An Independent Comprehensive Investigation is needed to assure Trust and Confidence from the public that is fast eroding.

#PublicHealthSafety #StopEbola #DiseasePrevention #ScienceInnovation

Read the original article on Liberian Observer.

Tagged:
Copyright © 2026 Liberian Observer. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica publishes around 600 reports a day from more than 90 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.