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Blood samples at Sierra Leone's airport "safe": authority

Xinhua, February 27, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Office of the President in Ebola-hit west African state of Sierra Leone on Friday issued a statement ensuring general public of the safety and security following interception of about 250 kilograms of serum samples at the Lungi international airport Thursday.

According to the release the consignment of 2,592 serum samples in 72 boxes were bound for South Africa for safe storage and follow-up diagnostic research and investigation in the BSL-4 laboratory, the only maximum containment lab in Africa.

The State House released further that "the shipment is done with an agreement between the Ministry of Health and the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) at Lakkah, one of the Ebola treatment center in the west of the capital Freetown, to ship the samples to the lab in South Africa for safe keeping and further research."

A report from the international airport's security agencies Thursday intercepted about 8 people attempting to transport the more than 250 kilograms of the blood samples. Endi