| Welcome to Natural Hazards Forum. We hope you enjoy your visit. You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. Join our community! If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features: |
| Ebola Crisis | |
|---|---|
| Tweet Topic Started: 23 Mar 2014, 12:52 AM (2,808 Views) | |
| skibboy | 23 Mar 2014, 12:52 AM Post #1 |
|
22 March 2014 Guinea deaths: Ebola blamed for deadly fever outbreak ![]() Ebola was first identified in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1976 The Ebola virus has been identified as the cause of an outbreak of haemorrhagic fever now believed to have killed nearly 60 people in southern Guinea, government officials say. Scores of cases have been recorded since the outbreak began early last month. There is no known cure or vaccine for the highly contagious Ebola virus. It is spread by close personal contact with people who are infected and kills between 25% and 90% of victims. Symptoms include internal and external bleeding, diarrhoea and vomiting. Outbreaks of Ebola occur primarily in remote villages in Central and West Africa, near tropical rainforests, the World Health Organization says. Analysts suggest it has never been recorded in Guinea before. Recent years have seen outbreaks in Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo. 'Overwhelmed' "We got the first results from Lyon yesterday (Friday) which informed us of the presence of the Ebola virus as the cause of this outbreak," Guinean health ministry official Sakoba Keita told AFP. "The Ebola fever epidemic raging in southern Guinea since 9 February has left at least 59 dead out of 80 cases identified by our services on the ground." "We are overwhelmed in the field, we are fighting against this epidemic with all the means we have at our disposal with the help of our partners but it is difficult." Medical aid charity Medecins sans Frontieres said on Saturday it would strengthen its team in Guinea and fly some 33 tonnes of drugs and isolation equipment in from Belgium and France. Dr Armand Sprecher, an emergency physician and epidemiologist working with MSF in Guinea, told the BBC that doctors had to identify all patients with the disease and monitor anyone they had been in contact with during their illness. The latest outbreak could be brought under control if people acted quickly, he said. "Based on our history with these sorts of outbreaks it will happen. Ideally, sooner rather than later," said Dr Sprecher. "The more quickly we can contain this the fewer cases we'll have, then the smaller the scale of the epidemic. That's the idea of going in as strong as we can early on." Source:
|
![]() |
|
| Replies: | |
|---|---|
| skibboy | 2 Jul 2014, 12:15 AM Post #26 |
|
1 July 2014 Ebola death toll in West Africa rise to 467, WHO says The number of people killed by the deadly Ebola virus in West Africa has risen to 467, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said. Sixty-eight of the deaths had been recorded since 23 June, the WHO said. The number of cases had risen from 635 on 23 June to 759, a 20% increase, the WHO added. It is the largest outbreak - in terms of cases, deaths and geographical spread - to affect Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. Ebola, a haemorrhagic fever, has no cure and is spread by contact with the fluids of infected people or animals, such as urine, sweat and blood. Most of the deaths have been centred in the southern Guekedou region of Guinea, where the outbreak was first reported in February. The rise in infections will increase pressure on the health ministers of 11 West African countries when they meet in Ghana on Wednesday and Thursday to discuss the growing crisis, correspondents say. The WHO has called for "drastic action" to tackle the outbreak. "Containment of this outbreak requires a strong response in the countries and especially along their shared border areas," it said in a statement. Source:
|
![]() |
|
| skibboy | 5 Jul 2014, 12:07 AM Post #27 |
|
4 July 2014 Ebola outbreak: West African states agree strategy ![]() Health workers, like these in Kenema, Sierra Leone, are taking blood samples to screen for the virus Health ministers from 11 West African countries have adopted a common strategy to fight a deadly Ebola outbreak in the region. At an emergency meeting in Ghana, ministers promised better collaboration to fight what has become the world's deadliest outbreak to date. So far, 759 people have been infected with the virus in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone and 467 of them have died. The two-day meeting was called by the World Health Organization (WHO). Under the new strategy, the WHO will open a sub-regional control centre in Guinea to co-ordinate technical support. Keiji Fukuda, the WHO's assistant director-general of health security, said it was "impossible to give a clear answer" on how far the epidemic could spread. "I certainly expect that we are going to be dealing with this outbreak, minimum, for a few months to several months," he told AFP news agency. "I really hope to see a turnaround where we begin to see a decrease in cases in the next several weeks." BBC West Africa correspondent Thomas Fessy says educating people rather than closing borders is seen as the most effective way to contain the outbreak. Cultural practices and traditional beliefs in some areas have hampered public health measures, contributing to the spread of the disease, he adds. In some cases, mobs have attacked health workers forcing emergency centres to close. The WHO has already sent more than 150 experts into West Africa over the past few months to try to contain the outbreak. But it says political commitment is needed from the region itself to ensure this outbreak is stopped soon. Most of the deaths have been centred in the southern Guekedou region of Guinea, where the outbreak was first reported in February. But health officials say the region's porous borders have allowed infected people to carry the disease into other countries. Ebola spreads through contact with an infected person's bodily fluids and there is no vaccine or cure. It kills up to 90% of those infected. Source:
|
![]() |
|
| skibboy | 8 Jul 2014, 01:03 AM Post #28 |
|
7 July 2014 Ebola outbreak: Ghana tests US man ![]() Ebola spreads through contact with an infected person's bodily fluids A US citizen is being tested for the Ebola virus in Ghana, which has had no confirmed cases of the virus in the current West African outbreak. The man has been quarantined at the private Nyaho Clinic in the capital, Accra, health officials say. The virus has so far killed more than 460 people since it broke out in Guinea in February and spread to neighbouring Liberia and Sierra Leone. It is the world's deadliest outbreak to date and there is no cure for Ebola. The US embassy in Accra said it had been informed that a US citizen was being tested but would not give any more details, Reuters news agency reports. 'Under control' The man was believed to have visited Guinea and Sierra Leone in recent weeks. Ghana's health ministry said it had put in place "precautionary measures" and people should stay calm. Staff at the clinic had also been quarantined and provided with protective clothing, it added in a statement. Source:
|
![]() |
|
| skibboy | 9 Jul 2014, 01:21 AM Post #29 |
|
8 July 2014 Ebola outbreak: 25 more deaths confirmed in West Africa ![]() A WHO statement said that Sierra Leone accounted for 14 deaths and 34 of the 50 new cases Health officials in West Africa say 25 more people have died from Ebola since 3 July, taking the total number of deaths to 518. The World Health Organization (WHO) said 50 new cases of the deadly disease had also been reported. A WHO spokesman said health workers were struggling to contain the outbreak in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea. On Monday, a doctor in Ghana said preliminary tests on a US citizen showed he did not have the disease. But further tests are now being carried out. The man had recently visited Sierra Leone and Guinea and was quarantined after showing signs of the virus. 'A mixed picture' In a statement on Tuesday, the WHO said the latest figures from health ministries in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea showed a total of 844 cases since the epidemic began in February. Guinea's ministry reported two deaths since 3 July but no new cases in the past week, the WHO said, calling the situation in the affected region of West Africa a "mixed picture". It said Sierra Leone had accounted for 34 of the new cases and 14 deaths, while Liberia reported 16 new cases and 9 deaths. "These numbers indicate that active viral transmission continues in the community," the statement said. WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib said the two main modes of transmission were people caring for sick relatives at home and people attending funerals of victims. "If we don't stop the transmission in the several hotspots in the three countries we will not be able to say that we control the outbreak," she said. The BBC's Tulip Mazumdar says experts believe the key to stopping the spread of the virus is making sure affected communities understand it better. Last week, health ministers from 11 West African countries adopted a common strategy to fight the outbreak. At an emergency meeting in Ghana last Thursday, ministers promised better collaboration to fight what has become the world's deadliest outbreak to date. Under the new strategy, the WHO will open a sub-regional control centre in Guinea to co-ordinate technical support. Source...
|
![]() |
|
| skibboy | 24 Jul 2014, 01:04 AM Post #30 |
|
23 July 2014 Sierra Leone chief Ebola doctor infected The doctor leading the fight against Ebola in Sierra Leone is now being treated for the deadly virus, a statement from the presidency has said. Sheik Umar Khan tested positive and has been admitted to hospital in Kailahun, the epicentre of the outbreak. More than 630 people have died of Ebola in the three West African states since the outbreak began in Guinea in February, United Nations figures show. It is the world's deadliest outbreak to date and there is no cure for Ebola. It kills up to 90% of those infected but if patients receive early treatment, they have a better chance of survival. It spreads through contact with an infected person's bodily fluids. 'National hero' The statement from State House said that the minister of health was in tears when she heard the news about Dr Khan. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ WHO: Latest West Africa Ebola outbreak figures ![]() Guinea - 310 deaths, 410 cases Liberia - 116 deaths, 196 cases Sierra Leone - 206 deaths, 442 cases ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Health Minister Miatta Kargbo called him a "national hero" and said she would "do anything and everything in my power to ensure he survives", Reuters news agency reports. The Ebola cases in Sierra Leone are centred in the country's eastern districts of Kailahun and Kenema. The BBC's Umaru Fofana in the capital, Freetown, says dozens of nurses at the government hospital in Kenema town - which treats all Ebola cases in the district - went on strike on Monday following the death of three of their colleagues of suspected Ebola. But they have since suspended their sit-down strike as the government looks into their demands, which include the relocation of the Ebola ward from the hospital and the takeover of its operations by the medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres. On Saturday, the World Health Organization said that of the 632 deadly Ebola cases, 206 people had died in Sierra Leone. Source...
|
![]() |
|
| skibboy | 26 Jul 2014, 12:07 AM Post #31 |
|
25 July 2014 Sierra Leone hunts Ebola patient kidnapped in Freetown A hunt has been launched in Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, for a woman with Ebola who was forcibly removed from hospital by her relatives. Radio stations around the country are appealing for help to find the 32-year-old who is being described as a "risk to all". She is the first Freetown resident to have tested positive for the virus. Meanwhile, Nigeria's health minister has confirmed that a Liberian man has died of Ebola in Lagos. According to the Reuters news agency, he collapsed on arrival in Lagos on Sunday and was taken from the airport and put in quarantine at a hospital in the Nigerian city. Since February, more than 660 people have died of Ebola in West Africa - the world's deadliest outbreak to date. It began in southern Guinea and spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone. The case in Nigeria is the first in Africa's most populous country. Angry protesters The virus kills up to 90% of those infected but if patients receive early treatment, they have a better chance of survival. It spreads through contact with an infected person's bodily fluids. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ WHO: Latest West Africa Ebola outbreak figures ![]() Guinea - 314 deaths, 415 cases Liberia - 127 deaths, 224 cases Sierra Leone - 219 deaths, 454 cases ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Sidi Yahya Tunis, a spokesperson for Sierra Leone's ministry of health, said the King Harman Road Hospital was stormed by the Ebola patient's family on Thursday. The BBC's Umaru Fofona in Freetown said the woman, who is an apprentice hairdresser, is a resident of the densely populated area of Wellington in the east of the city. The Ebola cases in Sierra Leone are centred in the country's eastern districts of Kenema and Kailahun, just over the border from the Guekedou region of Guinea where the outbreak started. Our reporter says there is increasing anger and confusion over the handling of the outbreak. Police say thousands of people have taken to the streets of Kenema to protest - thronging to the town's hospital, which treats all Ebola cases in the district. The father of a nine-year-old boy has told the BBC that his son was shot and injured by police as they tried to put down the angry demonstration, in which he says his son was not involved. Our reporter says the police have not been able to confirm this as they say they are still busy with operational matters. Nurses at Kenema hospital went on strike for a day on Monday after three of their colleagues died of suspected Ebola. Earlier this week, it was announced that the doctor leading Sierra Leone's fight against Ebola was being treated for the virus. On Thursday, the World Health Organization said that 219 people had died of Ebola in Sierra Leone. Source...
|
![]() |
|
| skibboy | 26 Jul 2014, 11:13 PM Post #32 |
|
26 July 2014 Ebola outbreak: Sierra Leone escaped patient dies ![]() The Ebola virus has killed hundreds in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone A Sierra Leone woman who fled hospital after testing positive for the Ebola virus has died after turning herself in, health officials have told the BBC. Her family had forcibly removed her from a public hospital on Thursday. Since February, more than 660 people have died of Ebola in West Africa - the world's deadliest outbreak to date. Nigeria has put all its entry points on red alert after confirming the death there of a Liberian man who was carrying the highly contagious virus. The man died after arriving at Lagos airport on Tuesday, in the first Ebola case in Africa's most populous country. The outbreak began in southern Guinea and spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone. Street protest The virus, which kills up to 90% of those infected, spreads through contact with an infected person's bodily fluids. Patients have a better chance of survival if they receive treatment early. The Sierra Leone woman was the first registered Ebola case in the capital Freetown. Both she and her parents - who are suspected of having the virus - had been taken to Ebola treatment centres in the east of the country, health ministry spokesman Sidi Yahya Tunis told the BBC. The woman had been one of dozens of people who tested positive but were unaccounted for, the BBC's Umaru Fofana reports from the capital, Freetown. The Ebola cases in Sierra Leone are centred in the country's eastern districts of Kenema and Kailahun, just over the border from the Guekedou region of Guinea where the outbreak started. Police said thousands of people joined a street protest in Kenema on Friday over the government's handling of the outbreak. Earlier this week, it was announced that the doctor leading Sierra Leone's fight against Ebola was being treated for the virus. On Thursday, the World Health Organization said that 219 people had died of Ebola in Sierra Leone. ![]() There is no vaccine or cure for Ebola, which spreads via bodily fluids including sweat Meanwhile, in Nigeria, the health minister Onyebuchi Chukwu said that all other passengers on board the flight with the infected man had been traced and were being monitored. The patient had "avoided contact with the general public" between the airport and the hospital, he said. "All ports of entry to Nigeria, including airports, sea ports and land borders have been placed on red alert," he added. Source...
|
![]() |
|
| skibboy | 28 Jul 2014, 12:19 AM Post #33 |
|
Second American infected with Ebola By Joe Sutton and Holly Yan, CNN July 27, 2014 (CNN) -- A second American aid worker in Liberia has tested positive for Ebola, according to the Christian humanitarian group she works for. Nancy Writebol is employed by Serving in Mission, or SIM, in Liberia and was helping the joint SIM/Samaritan's Purse team that is treating Ebola patients in Monrovia, according to a Samaritan's Purse statement. ![]() Nancy Writebol Writebol, who serves as SIM's personnel coordinator, has been living in Monrovia with her husband, David, according to SIM's website. The Charlotte, North Carolina, residents have been in Liberia since August 2013, according to the blog Writebols2Liberia. They have two adult children. On Saturday, Samaritan's Purse announced that American doctor Kent Brantly had become infected. The 33-year-old former Indianapolis resident had been treating Ebola patients in Monrovia and started feeling ill, spokeswoman Melissa Strickland said. Once he started noticing the symptoms last week, Brantly isolated himself. Brantly, the medical director for Samaritan Purse's Ebola Consolidated Case Management Center in Monrovia, has been in the country since October, Strickland said. "When the Ebola outbreak hit, he took on responsibilities with our Ebola direct clinical treatment response, but he was serving in a missionary hospital in Liberia prior to his work with Ebola patients," she said. Deadliest Ebola outbreak Health officials say the Ebola outbreak, centered in West Africa, is the deadliest ever. As of July 20, some 1,093 people in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia are thought to have been infected by Ebola since its symptoms were first observed four months ago, according to the World Health Organization. Testing confirmed the Ebola virus in 786 of those cases; 442 of those people died. Of the 1,093 confirmed, probable and suspected cases, 660 people have died. There also are fears the virus could spread to Africa's most populous country, Nigeria. Last week, a Liberian man hospitalized with Ebola in Lagos died, Nigerian Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu said. Lagos, the largest city in Nigeria, has a population of more than 20 million. The man arrived at Lagos airport on July 20 and was isolated in a local hospital after showing symptoms associated with the virus. He told officials he had no direct contact with anyone with the virus nor had he attended the burial of anyone who died of Ebola. Another doctor infected Confirmation of the death in Lagos came after news that a doctor who has played a key role in fighting the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone is infected with the disease, according to that country's Ministry of Health. Dr. Sheik Humarr Khan is being treated by the French aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres -- also known as Doctors Without Borders -- in Kailahun, Sierra Leone, agency spokesman Tim Shenk said. Before falling ill, Khan had been overseeing Ebola treatment and isolation units at Kenema Government Hospital, about 185 miles east of the capital, Freetown. Ebola typically kills 90% of those infected, but the death rate in this outbreak has dropped to roughly 60% because of early treatment. Spread by bodily fluids Officials believe the Ebola outbreak has taken such a strong hold in West Africa because of the proximity of the jungle -- where the virus originated -- to Conakry, Guinea, which has a population of 2 million. Because symptoms don't immediately appear, the virus can easily spread as people travel around the region. Once infected with the virus, many people die in an average of 10 days as the blood fails to clot and hemorrhaging occurs. The disease isn't contagious until symptoms appear. Symptoms include fever, headache and fatigue. At that point, the Ebola virus is spread via bodily fluids. Health workers are at especially high risk, because they are in close contact with infected people and their bodily fluids. Adding to the danger, doctors may mistake the initial stages of an Ebola infection for another, milder illness. CNN's Jeremy Grisham, Carma Hassan, Laura Smith-Spark and journalist Aminu Abubakar in Nigeria contributed to this report. Source...
|
![]() |
|
| skibboy | 29 Jul 2014, 12:05 AM Post #34 |
|
28 July 2014 Ebola outbreak: Liberia shuts most border points Most border crossings in Liberia have been closed and communities hit by an Ebola outbreak face quarantine to try to halt the spread of the virus. Screening centres are also being set up at the few major entry points that will remain open, such as the main airport. Meanwhile, Nigeria largest's airline, Arik Air, has suspended all flights to Liberia and Sierra Leone after a man with Ebola flew to Nigeria last week. The virus has killed at least 660 people in West Africa since February. The outbreak began in southern Guinea and spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone. It is the world's deadliest so far. Nigeria has put all its entry points on red alert after confirming that a Liberian man died of Ebola after arriving at Lagos airport on Tuesday. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Ebola since 1976 ![]() ![]() Latest WHO update on West Africa outbreak... http://www.who.int/csr/don/2014_07_24_ebola/en/ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Ebola kills up to 90% of those infected, but patients have a better chance of survival if they receive early treatment. It spreads through contact with an infected person's bodily fluids. Arik Air said it took the decision to halt flights as a precautionary measure and called for all inbound flights to Nigeria from Ebola-affected countries to be suspended. "We feel especially compelled to take the business decision to immediately suspend flight services into the two Ebola affected countries due to our interest in the well-being of Nigerians," the airline, which operates routes across West Africa, said in a statement. ![]() There are to be more areas for people to wash their hands to help stop the spread of the virus In a statement on Sunday night, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said the special Ebola task force she was heading would ensure that "communities that are seriously affected will be quarantined and travels in and out of such communities restricted". The BBC's Jonathan Paye-Layleh in the capital, Monrovia, says her new orders include strict observation at the international airport of all outgoing and incoming passengers, who are now liable for inspection and testing. All government facilities and public places are to install public access for washing of hands and all hotels, restaurants, and film centres are to play five-minute information clips on Ebola awareness and prevention. Over the weekend prominent Liberian doctor Samuel Brisbane died after a three-week battle with the virus. Two US aid workers are also being treated for Ebola in Liberia, including Dr Kent Brantly, who was the medical director at one of the country's two treatment centres run by the group the Samaritan's Purse. The other American, Nancy Writebol, works for the Serving in Mission (SIM) as part of the same team. "It's been a shock to everyone on our team to have two of our players get pounded with the disease," Ken Isaacs, from the Samaritan's Purse in the US, told the Associated Press news agency. President Johnson Sirleaf urged people to co-operate with health workers and Ebola awareness campaigners. Last month she warned that anyone caught hiding suspected Ebola patients would be prosecuted. Experts say the disease creates fear within communities and sick people are often stigmatised. Liberian Senator Peter Coleman, a doctor and former health minister, told the BBC authorities needed to approach religious leaders to spread the message about Ebola as "people don't seem to believe anything the government now says". Source...
|
![]() |
|
| skibboy | 30 Jul 2014, 12:35 AM Post #35 |
|
29 July 2014 Ebola outbreak: Asky bans flights in West Africa ![]() Health workers are battling to contain the deadliest outbreak of Ebola A major West African airline has stopped flying to Liberia and Sierra Leone amid growing concern about the spread of the deadly Ebola virus. Asky said it took the decision to keep "its passengers and staff safe during this unsettling time". The number of people killed by the virus in West Africa has now reached 672, according to new UN figures. In Sierra Leone, the doctor who led the fight against Ebola, Sheik Umar Khan, has died of the disease. Government officials hailed Dr Khan, 39, as a "national hero". The government disclosed last week that he was being treated for Ebola and had been quarantined. His death follows that of prominent Liberian doctor Samuel Brisbane at the weekend. Police deployed Ebola kills up to 90% of those infected, but patients have a better chance of survival if they receive early treatment. It spreads through contact with an infected person's bodily fluids. The outbreak - the world's deadliest to date - was first reported in Guinea in February. It then spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone. ![]() Liberia tied Independence Day celebrations on 26 July to efforts to create more awareness around Ebola ![]() People have also been urged to wear protective gloves Asky is the second airline, after Nigeria's largest airline, Arik Air, to ban flights to Liberia and Sierra Leone. It had not halted flights to Guinea, but passengers departing from there would be "screened for signs of the virus", Asky said. Last week, Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, reported its first case - that of Liberian finance ministry official Patrick Sawyer who flew to the main city, Lagos, in an Asky flight. Liberia has deployed police officers at the international airport in the capital, Monrovia, to ensure passengers are screened for symptoms of Ebola. Football ban "We have a presence of the police at the airport to enforce what we're doing,'' said Binyah Kesselly, chairman of the Liberia Airport Authority. "So if you have a flight and you are not complying with the rules, we will not allow you to board.'' Most border crossings in Liberia have been closed to contain the outbreak and affected communities are being quarantined. Liberia has also suspended all football activities in an effort to control the spread of Ebola. "Football being a contact sport - people are sweating - they do contact each other, and that could result in contracting the disease," the president of its football association, Musa Hassan Bility, told the BBC. "It also has to do with the fans because whenever there is a game, a lot of people come together and we want to discourage gathering at this point," he said. The association had also told football governing body Fifa to cancel trips to Liberia scheduled for August and September because "we do not want the life of the Fifa president [Sepp Blatter] to be exposed to this disease", Mr Bility said. In a statement, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said that 1,201 Ebola cases had been reported in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Of the 672 deaths, the highest number was in Guinea with 319, followed by Sierra Leone with 224 and Liberia with 129, it said. The BBC's Jonathan Paye Layleh in Monrovia says that public awareness campaigns around Ebola have been stepped up in the city. Many people are worried about the outbreak, and fewer people are going to restaurants and entertainment centres, he says. Source...
|
![]() |
|
| skibboy | 30 Jul 2014, 11:24 PM Post #36 |
|
30 July 2014 Ebola: Liberia shuts schools to tackle outbreak Liberia's government has announced that is is closing down all schools across the country to stop the spread of the deadly Ebola virus. Some communities would be placed under quarantine as well, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said. Non-essential government workers will be sent home for 20 days and the army deployed to enforce the measures. The number of people killed by the virus in West Africa has now reached 672, according to new UN figures. The BBC's West Africa correspondent Thomas Fessy says treatment facilities have reportedly been overwhelmed in the Liberian capital Monrovia. Some wards have already filled up, forcing health workers to treat some patients at their homes. President Sirleaf said that Friday 1 August would be a non-working day in Liberia to allow for the disinfection of all public facilities. "All non-essential staff - to be determined by the heads of ministries and agencies - are to be placed on 30 days' compulsory leave" she added. Rapid spread The US humanitarian organisation Peace Corps said it was withdrawing 340 volunteers from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea because of the spread of the virus. Ebola kills up to 90% of those infected, but patients have a better chance of survival if they receive early treatment. It spreads through contact with an infected person's bodily fluids. The outbreak - the world's deadliest to date - was first reported in Guinea in February. It then spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone. Source...
|
![]() |
|
| skibboy | 31 Jul 2014, 11:20 PM Post #37 |
|
31 July 2014 Ebola crisis: WHO to announce $100m emergency response The head of the World Health Organization and leaders of West African nations affected by the Ebola outbreak are to announce a joint $100m (£59m; 75m euro) response plan. They will meet in Guinea on Friday to launch the initiative aimed at tackling a virus which has claimed 729 lives. Sierra Leone's president has declared a public health emergency over the outbreak after 233 people died there. Ebola spreads through human contact with a sufferer's bodily fluids. Initial flu-like symptoms can lead to external haemorrhaging from areas like eyes and gums, and internal bleeding which can lead to organ failure. Ebola kills up to 90% of those infected, with patients having a better chance of survival if they receive early treatment. 'A new level' WHO Director General Margaret Chan will meet West African presidents in the Guinean capital Conakry. "The scale of the Ebola outbreak, and the persistent threat it poses, requires WHO and Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone to take the response to a new level, and this will require increased resources, in-country medical expertise, regional preparedness and coordination," she said in a statement released on the WHO website on Thursday. "The countries have identified what they need, and WHO is reaching out to the international community to drive the response plan forward." Key elements of the WHO's new plan are: -Stopping transmission in the affected countries through "scaling up effective, evidence-based outbreak control measures" -Preventing the spread of Ebola to "the neighbouring at-risk countries through strengthening epidemic preparedness and response measures" The WHO says that the scale of the ongoing outbreak is "unprecedented", with about 1,323 confirmed and suspected cases reported in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone since March 2014. A Samaritan's Purse medical worker demonstrates personal protective equipment to educate team members on the Ebola virus in Liberia ![]() Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has ordered all schools to be closed and put non-essential government workers on leave as part of a series of emergency measures to curtail the Ebola crisis ![]() Office workers in Liberia have been advised to wear gloves as a protective measure to avoid the deadly Ebola virus It says that improving prevention, detecting and reporting suspected cases, referring people infected with the disease for medical care, as well as psychosocial support, are of paramount importance in battling the illness. The WHO is also deploying two survivors of the outbreak in Guinea as informal Ebola ambassadors, working with community groups to show that the disease can be prevented if people take recommended precautions. The US health authorities have warned against travelling to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone as they strive to tackle the Ebola outbreak. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention "recommends against non-essential travel [to these countries]," director Tom Frieden said. ![]() The WHO says that more emphasis need to be put on strengthening epidemic preparedness and response measures The US sending is sending 50 extra specialists to affected areas. An American doctor with Ebola in Liberia has taken a "slight turn for the worse", the Samaritan's Purse aid agency said on Thursday. Kent Brantly and another American worker, Nancy Writebol, "are in stable but grave condition", the agency said in a statement. The statement said that Dr Brantly had been offered experimental serum - using blood form a child whose life he saved - but he had insisted that Ms Writebol should receive it instead. In other developments: -President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia - one of the worst hit countries - told the BBC the Ebola outbreak was catastrophic, and more help was needed to contain its spread -Seychelles have cancelled Saturday's 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Sierra Leone because of fears over the Ebola virus -Nigeria has ordered the temperature screening of passengers arriving from places at risk from Ebola while simultaneously suspending pan-African airline Asky for bringing the first Ebola case to Lagos In London, the ActionAid charity said that the battle against Ebola was being hampered because of the spiralling price of hand sanitisers. A spokesman said that the cost of some hygiene products had gone up sevenfold, making them too expensive for many people in the region. Sierra Leone's President Ernest Bai Koroma announced earlier that the epicentres of the outbreak in the east would be quarantined and he asked the security forces to enforce the measures. Source...
|
![]() |
|
| skibboy | 1 Aug 2014, 11:49 PM Post #38 |
|
1 August 2014 Ebola crisis: Virus spreading too fast, says WHO ![]() Medical workers have been deployed to explain to residents how to protect themselves The Ebola outbreak in West Africa is spreading faster than efforts to control it, World Health Organization (WHO) head Margaret Chan has said. She told a summit of regional leaders that failure to contain Ebola could be "catastrophic" in terms of lives lost. But she said the virus, which has claimed 728 lives in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone since February, could be stopped if well managed. Ebola kills up to 90% of those infected. It spreads by contact with infected blood, bodily fluids, organs - or contaminated environments. Patients have a better chance of survival if they receive early treatment. Initial flu-like symptoms can lead to external haemorrhaging from the eyes and gums, and internal bleeding that can lead to organ failure. A US relief agency says will repatriate two of its American staff who have contracted the virus in Liberia. They are believed to be the first Ebola patients ever to be treated in the US. Hundreds of US Peace Corps volunteers have already been evacuated from the West African countries. Separately, US President Barack Obama announced that delegates from affected countries attending a US-Africa conference in Washington next week would be screened. "Folks who are coming from these countries that have even a marginal risk, or an infinitesimal risk of having been exposed in some fashion, we're making sure we're doing screening," he said. ![]() Offices are being sprayed with disinfectant in the Liberian capital Monrovia to prevent the spread of the Ebola virus ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Analysis: David Shukman, BBC science editor Friday's summit should provide the kind of international co-operation needed to fight Ebola but the battle against the virus will be won or lost at the local level. An over-attentive family member, a careless moment while burying a victim, a slip-up by medical staff coping with stress and heat - a single small mistake in basic hygiene can allow the virus to slip from one human host to another. The basic techniques for stopping Ebola are well known. The problem is applying them. Since the virus was first identified in 1976, there have been dozens of outbreaks and all of them have been contained. Experts point to these successes as evidence that this latest threat can be overcome too. But working against them are suspicions among local people and the unavoidable fact that this is an extremely poor part of the world, much of it still reeling from conflict. Deploying the right equipment in properly trained hands is always going to be a struggle, one that is now extremely urgent. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Dr Chan met the leaders of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone to launch a new $100m (£59m) Ebola response plan. The plan includes funding the deployment of hundreds more health care workers to affected countries. "This meeting must mark a turning point in the outbreak response," Dr Chan said at the summit in Guinea's capital, Conakry. "Cases are occurring in rural areas which are difficult to access, but also in densely populated capital cities." She said the outbreak was the deadliest and most widely spread, and had also demonstrated an ability to spread through air travel, unlike past outbreaks. ![]() The spread of the virus is dominating the headlines in Liberia ![]() Military vehicles in Liberia are displaying warnings and advice about Ebola to prevent panic over the spread of the virus Separately, the Liberian government declared Friday a holiday to allow a huge sanitisation and chlorination exercise in government ministries and places of public gathering. Information Minister Lewis Brown said "the intent is to let us come to the realisation that something is wrong and what is wrong is serious". Up to 30 Commonwealth Games athletes from Sierra Leone, meanwhile, are considering extending their stay in Glasgow amid fears over the Ebola virus. Source...
|
![]() |
|
| skibboy | 2 Aug 2014, 11:11 PM Post #39 |
|
2 August 2014 Ebola crisis: Infected doctor Kent Brantly lands in US A US doctor infected with the deadly Ebola virus in Liberia has arrived in the US for treatment at a specialised unit in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr Kent Brantly arrived in a specially equipped private plane at a military base before being whisked away to Emory University Hospital. Fellow infected US aid worker Nancy Writebol is expected to follow shortly. Ebola has claimed 728 lives in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone this year, killing up to 90% of sufferers. The virus spreads through human contact with a sufferer's bodily fluids. Initial flu-like symptoms can lead to external haemorrhaging from areas like eyes and gums, and internal bleeding which can lead to organ failure. The US health authorities have warned against travelling to the African states affected and 50 extra American specialists are being sent to affected areas. ![]() The ambulance carrying Dr Kent Brantly arrives at Emory University Hospital Gloved hands The plane carrying Dr Brantly was outfitted with a special portable tent designed for transporting patients with highly infectious diseases. After it touched down at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, the patient was collected by an ambulance which drove him to Emory, 15 miles (24km) away. At the hospital a person in protective clothing could be seen climbing down from the back of the ambulance and a second person in protective clothing appeared to take his gloved hands and guide him toward a building, the Associated Press report. US officials say they are confident the patients can be treated without putting the public in any danger. The specialised unit was opened 12 years ago to care for federal health workers exposed to some of the world's most dangerous germs. While it has an isolation unit, health experts say it is not needed for treating a patient with Ebola, as the virus does not spread through the air. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is unaware of any Ebola patient ever being treated in the US before. ![]() Kent Brantly (right) insisted the only serum available go to a colleague Dr Brantly's employer, the aid group Samaritan's Purse, said in a statement that it was evacuating 60 non-essential staff who were healthy back to the US. An earlier statement said that Dr Brantly had been offered experimental serum - using blood from a child whose life he saved - but he had insisted that Ms Writebol should receive it instead. Amber Brantly, his wife, said in a statement she remained "hopeful and believing that Kent" would be "healed from this dreadful disease". "There is a little bit of worry," Jenny Kendrix, 46, told Reuters news agency when asked about having the Ebola virus patient brought to the same hospital where her husband was being treated for cancer. "There is worry about it getting out." But Ernie Surunis, 52, at the hospital for a pharmacy conference, said he was not bothered at all. "This is a good hospital," he said. "I'm glad [the patients] are coming. We can't leave them [in Africa] to die. They went over to help other people." The National Institutes of Health in the US has said it will begin testing a possible Ebola vaccine in September. Source...
|
![]() |
|
| skibboy | 3 Aug 2014, 11:44 PM Post #40 |
|
3 August 2014 Ebola outbreak: US experts to head to West Africa The US has announced plans to send at least 50 public health experts to West Africa to help fight the worst-ever outbreak of Ebola. A senior US health official said the outbreak was out of control but insisted it could be stopped. Ebola has claimed 728 lives in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone this year. The current mortality rate is about 55%. Meanwhile, an American doctor infected with the virus is improving in hospital after returning to the US from Liberia. Dr Kent Brantly arrived at a military base in Georgia on Saturday before being driven to Emory University Hospital. ![]() The aircraft chartered to transport the infected Americans can only carry one patient at a time Another infected American, aid worker Nancy Writebol, is expected to arrive in the US soon. The virus spreads through human contact with a sufferer's bodily fluids. Initial flu-like symptoms can lead to external haemorrhaging from areas like eyes and gums, and internal bleeding which can lead to organ failure. 'Scary' disease Dr Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, announced the new US measures in an interview with ABC's This Week. "We do know how to stop Ebola. It's old-fashioned plain and simple public health: find the patients, make sure they get treated, find their contacts, track them, educate people, do infection control in hospitals." The experts would arrive in West Africa within 30 days to fight what he called the "scary" disease. He rejected fears that this would put more US citizens in harms way. "The single most important thing we can do to protect Americans is to stop this disease at the source in Africa" he said. Special plane The plane carrying Dr Brantly was outfitted with a special portable tent designed for transporting patients with highly infectious diseases. The same aircraft is due to bring missionary Nancy Writebol from West Africa. The hospital facility which will treat both patients is one of four in the US able to handle Ebola patients. US officials say they are confident the patients can be treated without putting the public in any danger. The National Institutes of Health in the US has said it will begin testing a possible Ebola vaccine in September. Source...
|
![]() |
|
| skibboy | 4 Aug 2014, 11:49 PM Post #41 |
|
4 August 2014 Ebola crisis: Nigeria records second case in Lagos Nigeria has recorded its second Ebola case - that of one of the doctors who treated a man who died from the virus after his arrival from Liberia. The health minister said a further eight people who came into contact with him have been placed in quarantine. This year's outbreak, the worst ever, has centred on Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, killing 887 people. New figures from the UN show that between 31 July and 1 August, 61 deaths were reported. Meanwhile, Liberia has ordered that the bodies of people killed by the Ebola virus must be cremated following the refusal of some communities to allow the burial of Ebola victims on their land. ![]() Airports in Nigeria are now screening passengers for Ebola on their arrival The virus spreads by contact with infected blood and bodily fluids - and touching the body of someone who has died of Ebola is particularly dangerous. Health experts say burial ceremonies have played a role in the transmission of the virus. The evacuation of the second US health worker to become infected in Liberia is expected early on Tuesday morning. Nancy Writebol will be flown to Atlanta in the US to a special isolation ward at Emory University Hospital, where Dr Kent Brantly, who arrived from Liberia on Saturday, is being treated by infectious disease specialists. Operation Octopus Nigeria's Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu said that in total 70 people were traced who had come into contact with the man who died there, Patrick Sawyer. Sawyer, an employee of the Liberian finance ministry, had arrived by plane in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, from Monrovia after changing planes in Togo's capital, Lome, on 20 July. He was immediately taken to hospital in Lagos and died five days later in quarantine. On Friday, Margaret Chan, head of the World Health Organization, met the leaders of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone to launch a new $100m (£59m) Ebola response plan. According to the UN, more than 60 of the Ebola deaths so far have been health care workers. There is no cure or vaccine for Ebola - but patients have a better chance of survival if they receive early treatment. The current outbreak is killing between 50% and 60% of people infected. Initial flu-like symptoms can lead to external haemorrhaging from areas like eyes and gums, and internal bleeding which can lead to organ failure. In Sierra Leone, the army is in the process of deploying about 750 troops to the east of the country to help health officials quarantine areas affected by Ebola. Code-named Operation Octopus, the deployment, which includes military doctors and nurses, began on Sunday and is expected to take three days. Meanwhile, Sierra Leoneans did not go to work on Monday and the capital, Freetown, is eerily quiet, the BBC's Umara Fofana reports from the city. They are observing a "national stay-at-home day" called by the president so that all citizens can pray to help end the crisis and educate one another about the disease, he says. And the country's football association has suspended all football matches because of the outbreak until further notice. According to new UN figures on the West Africa Ebola outbreak, over two days last week, there were 13 new cases reported in Guinea, 77 in Liberia, and 72 cases in Sierra Leone. Source...
|
![]() |
|
| skibboy | 6 Aug 2014, 11:50 PM Post #42 |
|
6 August 2014 Suspected Ebola victim dies in Saudi Arabia A Saudi man who was being treated for Ebola-like symptoms has died at a hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia's health ministry says. If confirmed, this would be the first Ebola-related death outside Africa in an outbreak that has killed more than 900 people this year. The man recently visited Sierra Leone, one of four countries in the outbreak. World Health Organization (WHO) experts are meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, to discuss a response to the outbreak. The two-day meeting will decide whether to declare a global health emergency. Ebola, a viral haemorrhagic fever, is one of the deadliest diseases known to humans, with a fatality rate of up to 90%. ![]() Health workers have to wear protective suits to ensure they do not catch the virus A WHO statement on Wednesday said 932 patients had died of the disease in West Africa so far, with most of the latest fatalities reported in Liberia. A man who attended Mt Sinai hospital in New York on Monday, after returning from West Africa and suffering from a fever, has tested negative for ebola, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Visa block Concern has also been growing over a number of new cases in Nigeria, the region's most populous nation. On Wednesday, a nurse who treated an Ebola patient became the second person to die of the disease there. Nigeria's Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu described the outbreak as a national emergency, adding that "everyone in the world is at risk" because of air travel. The Saudi man who was suspected of contracting the disease died of cardiac arrest, according to the website of the country's health ministry. The 40-year-old is said to have returned from a recent business trip to Sierra Leone. The ministry's website said he was being tested for Ebola, but did not say if the tests had concluded that he had the disease. The website said the man had been treated in an isolation ward and would be buried according to Islamic tradition, while following precautions set out by world health authorities. Earlier this year, Saudi Arabia stopped issuing visas to Muslims from several West African countries, amid concerns that visiting pilgrims could spread the disease. Meanwhile, two US aid workers who contracted Ebola in Liberia appear to be improving after receiving an unapproved medicine ahead of their evacuation back to the US. But it is not clear if the ZMapp drug, which has only been tested on monkeys, can be credited with their improvement. WHO response In a surprise move, the WHO said on Wednesday it would convene a meeting of medical ethics specialists next week to decide whether to approve experimental treatment for Ebola. "We need to ask the medical ethicists to give us guidance on what the responsible thing to do is," WHO Assistant Director General Marie-Paule Kieny said in a statement. Some leading infectious disease experts have been calling for experimental treatments to be offered more widely to treat the disease. The aim of the WHO's emergency committee meeting is to focus solely on how to respond to the Ebola outbreak. If a public health emergency is declared, it could involve detailed plans to identify, isolate and treat cases, as well as impose travel restrictions on affected areas. ![]() Most of the latest fatalities have come from Liberia A WHO spokesman said: "We can't speculate in advance what the committee members are going to decide in advance." The World Bank is allocating $200m (£120m) in emergency assistance for countries battling to contain Ebola. The virus spreads by contact with infected blood and bodily fluids. The current outbreak is killing between 50% and 60% of people infected. There is no cure or vaccine for Ebola - but patients have a better chance of survival if they receive early treatment. Ebola has initial flu-like symptoms that can lead to external haemorrhaging from areas like eyes and gums, and internal bleeding which can lead to organ failure. Source...
|
![]() |
|
| skibboy | 7 Aug 2014, 01:22 AM Post #43 |
|
Spanish missionary repatriated after contracting Ebola![]() © AFP, archive photo Text by FRANCE 24 2014-08-06 A Spanish air force plane departed Wednesday for Liberia to fly home a 75-year-old Spanish missionary infected with Ebola, the first patient to be returned to Europe in a fast-spreading outbreak of the deadly disease. The military Airbus A310, equipped overnight for a medical evacuation, took off for the west African country from Madrid's Torrejon military air base at around 1:30pm (1130 GMT), the defence ministry said in a Twitter message. Miguel Pajares, a Roman Catholic priest, tested positive for Ebola at the Saint Joseph Hospital in Monrovia where he was employed, according to the Spanish aid organisation he works for, Juan Ciudad ONGD. The outbreak of the deadly haemorrhagic fever has overwhelmed rudimentary healthcare systems and prompted the deployment of troops to quarantine the worst-hit areas in the remote border region of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported 45 new deaths in the three days to August 4, and its experts began an emergency meeting in Geneva on Wednesday to discuss whether the outbreak constitutes a "Public Health Emergency of International Concern" and to discuss new measures to prevent it from spreading. At least 932 dead International alarm at the spread of the disease increased when a US citizen died in Nigeria late last month after flying there from Liberia. The health minister said on Wednesday that a Nigerian nurse who had treated the deceased Patrick Sawyer had herself died of Ebola, and five other people were being treated in an isolation ward in Lagos, Africa's largest city. In Saudi Arabia, a man suspected of contracting Ebola during a recent business trip to Sierra Leone also died early on Wednesday in Jeddah, the Health Ministry said. Saudi Arabia has already suspended pilgrimage visas from West African countries, which could prevent those hoping to visit Mecca for the Haj in early October. Since breaking out earlier this year, the disease has claimed 932 lives and infected more than 1,700 people across West Africa, according to the World Health Organization. Other cases have been reported in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Nigeria. The Spanish priest will be the first person infected in the African outbreak to be repatriated to Europe for treatment. Two Americans who worked for Christian aid agencies in Liberia and were infected with Ebola while taking care of patients in Monrovia were brought back to the United States for treatment in recent days. The Spanish patient, who has worked in Liberia for more than five decades, welcomed the news that he would be repatriated. "This news has lifted my spirits, it is great, I am very happy. It is worth fighting on," he told the online edition of daily Spanish newspaper ABC by telephone. Source... (FRANCE 24 with AFP and REUTERS)
|
![]() |
|
| skibboy | 7 Aug 2014, 11:41 PM Post #44 |
|
7 August 2014 Ebola crisis: Liberia and Sierra Leone blockades go up ![]() A Liberian woman weeps over the death of a relative from Ebola on the outskirts of Monrovia Liberian soldiers have set up a blockade stopping people from western regions affected by the Ebola outbreak from entering the capital, Monrovia. It follows the president's declaration of a state of emergency to tackle the outbreak that has killed more than 930 people in West Africa this year. In Sierra Leone the security forces have now imposed a complete blockade of eastern areas hit by Ebola. Health experts in Switzerland are discussing a response to the outbreak. It is the world's deadliest outbreak and the two-day World Health Organization (WHO) meeting will decide whether to declare a global health emergency. Ebola, a viral haemorrhagic fever, is one of the deadliest diseases known to humans, with a fatality rate in this outbreak of between 50% and 60%. It is spread through contact with the bodily fluids of Ebola patients showing symptoms. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Analysis: Jonathan Paye-Layleh, BBC News, Monrovia ![]() Most of the latest Ebola fatalities have come from Liberia The military blockade is stopping people from western regions of Grand Cape Mount and Bomi, where Ebola is prevalent, from entering the capital. These counties largely rely on Monrovia for their goods - and the blockade means that the cities of Robertsport and Tubmanburg are now cut off. One Tubmanburg resident phoned into a radio show to complain that rice, the national staple, was already in short supply in the market. The head of the National Health Workers Association said while the state of emergency was necessary, people should have been given time to prepare. Fear has prompted hospital workers to abandon clinics - meaning many are now shut. President Sirleaf said this meant many diseases prevalent during the rainy season, such as malaria and typhoid, were going untreated and there could be unnecessary and preventable deaths as a result. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Announcing a state of emergency for 90 days, President Sirleaf said the government and people of Liberia required "extraordinary measures for the very survival of our state and for the protection of the lives of our people". Speaking from a crossroads 37km (23 miles) west of Monrovia, the BBC's Jonathan Paye-Layleh said soldiers had been deployed to stop the movement of people - many of whom are traders. In neighbouring Sierra Leone, the head of the police in the east of the country said police and soldiers had imposed a "complete blockade" of the Kenema and Kailahun districts. "No vehicles or persons will be allowed in or out of the districts" except those with essential food and medicines, he said. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Dr Tabeh Freeman at Liberia's Bong Mines Hospital told the BBC: There has been carelessness on the president's part: she declared a state of emergency very late. It is very scary; some of my colleagues have died. We have not had a confirmed case at my facility, but about 24km away, a patient tested positive. Twelve nurses have been coming down with symptoms and have been quarantined. When there is a suspected case, protocol demands that the Ebola surveillance team should be contacted so blood samples can be collected. That is not happening. Because of the high number of cases and very limited resources, the hospital's own laboratory technicians are asked to draw samples, which is very risky. As a result, some of them have been infected. When the specimen finally reaches the testing centre, it takes two to three days before the results come back. That is too long, especially when the patient is still in the community. The longer the results take to come back, the faster the patient spreads the virus. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ In other developments: -A Spanish priest who contracted Ebola while working in a hospital in Liberia was flown back to Spain for treatment, along with a nun who is to be isolated in case of infection -The UK announced it would provide £3m ($5m) to strengthen health systems in Liberia and Sierra Leone and support aid agencies in limiting the spread of Ebola, taking the UK's total contribution to £5m -The WHO said it would convene a meeting of medical ethics specialists next week to decide whether to approve experimental treatment for Ebola -There is confusion in Nigeria about whether a doctors' strike over pay, which began more than a month ago, has been suspended over the outbreak If a public health emergency is declared by the WHO, it could involve detailed plans to identify, isolate and treat cases, as well as impose travel restrictions on affected areas. There is no cure or vaccine for Ebola - but patients have a better chance of survival if they receive early treatment. Ebola has initial flu-like symptoms that can lead to external haemorrhaging from areas like eyes and gums, and internal bleeding which can lead to organ failure. Source...
|
![]() |
|
| skibboy | 8 Aug 2014, 11:41 PM Post #45 |
|
8 August 2014 Ebola outbreak: Nigeria declares national emergency ![]() A health official in Abidjan, Nigeria, displays a leaflet about the Ebola outbreak Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has declared the outbreak of Ebola "a national emergency" and approved more than $11m (£6.5m) to help contain it. The move comes after the World Health Organization (WHO) said the spread of the virus in West Africa was an international health emergency. WHO says 961 people have died from Ebola in West Africa this year, two of them in Nigeria. The total number of cases stands at 1,779, the UN health agency said. In a statement, President Jonathan called on Nigerians to report any suspected Ebola cases to the nearest medical authorities. He also urged the public not to spread "false information about Ebola which can lead to mass hysteria". Nigeria became the fourth West African country involved in the outbreak when a dual US-Liberian citizen infected with Ebola arrived in Lagos after flying from Liberia via Togo on 20 July. He died five days later and eight people who came into contact with him were also later diagnosed with Ebola. One of them, a nurse, died on Tuesday. Nigeria's state oil company said on Friday it had shut down one of its clinics in Lagos following a suspected case. US health authorities said on Friday they were sending extra personnel and resources to Nigeria. "We are starting to ramp up our staffing in Lagos," US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spokesman Tom Skinner told AFP news agency. "We are really concerned about Lagos and the potential for spread there, given the fact that Lagos - and Nigeria for that matter - has never seen Ebola." International companies are also taking protective measures and the world's largest steelmaker, ArcelorMittal, says it has begun evacuating some workers at its iron ore mines in Liberia. Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia have already declared national emergencies over the spread of the virus. WHO said on Friday that 68 new cases and 29 deaths were reported over the course of two days this week. They included 26 new cases in Sierra Leone and 38 in Liberia, but no new cases in Guinea, where the outbreak began. The agency said a co-ordinated response was essential to reverse the spread of the virus. "The possible consequences of further international spread are particularly serious in view of the virulence of the virus," WHO said after a meeting on Friday. The Ebola virus was first discovered in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1976. Experts say this outbreak is unusual because it started in Guinea, which has never before been affected, and is spreading to urban areas. Two US citizens infected with Ebola while working in West Africa are currently being treated at a hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr Kent Brantly said in a statement on Friday that he was getting better every day. The husband of aid worker Nancy Writebol said she also appears to be improving. Both have been treated with an experimental drug. Source...
|
![]() |
|
| skibboy | 9 Aug 2014, 01:23 AM Post #46 |
|
WHO declares Ebola epidemic an international emergency Text by FRANCE 24 2014-08-08 The World Health Organization on Friday declared the Ebola outbreak in West Africa to be an international public health emergency that requires an extraordinary response to stop its spread. The WHO announced the Ebola outbreak -- the largest and longest in history -- is worrying enough to merit being declared an international health emergency. WHO declared similar emergencies for the swine flu pandemic in 2009 and for polio in May. The WHO chief, Dr. Margaret Chan, said the announcement is “a clear call for international solidarity” but acknowledged that many countries would probably not have any Ebola cases. “Countries affected to date simply do not have the capacity to manage an outbreak of this size and complexity on their own,” Chan said. “I urge the international community to provide this support on the most urgent basis possible.” The agency had convened an expert committee this week to assess the severity of the ongoing epidemic. The current outbreak of Ebola began in Guinea in March and has since spread to Sierra Leone and Liberia. There is no licensed treatment or vaccine for Ebola and the death rate has been about 50 percent. The impact of the WHO declaration is unclear; a similar announcement made about polio doesn’t yet seem to have slowed the spread of virus. During a WHO meeting last week to reconsider the status of polio, experts noted countries hadn’t yet fully applied the recommendations made in May, there have been more instances of international spread and that outbreaks have worsened in Pakistan and Cameroon. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have already elevated its Ebola response to the highest level and it has recommended against traveling to West Africa. On Thursday, CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden told a Congressional hearing that the current outbreak is set to sicken more people than all previous outbreaks of the disease combined. “I don’t know what the advantage is of declaring an international emergency,” said Dr. David Heymann, who directed WHO’s response to the SARS outbreak and is now a professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. “This could bring in more foreign aid but we don’t know that yet,” he said. (AP) ![]() Source...
|
![]() |
|
| skibboy | 9 Aug 2014, 11:15 PM Post #47 |
|
9 August 2014 Ebola virus: Guinea shuts Liberia and S Leone borders ![]() Health workers are carrying out awareness campaigns around the region Guinea has closed its borders with Liberia and Sierra Leone to contain the spread of Ebola, which has killed 959 people in the three countries. The latest outbreak is thought to have begun in Guinea, but Liberia and Sierra Leone are currently facing the highest frequency of new cases. The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday the spread of the virus was a global health emergency. The Ebola virus is transmitted between humans through bodily fluids. Animals such as fruit bats carry the virus, which can be transmitted to humans through contact with blood or consumption of bushmeat. In recent weeks, countries around the world have advised their citizens not to travel to the affected countries. The infections have spread to Nigeria, which has recorded two deaths and several more cases. The total number of cases in the current outbreak stands at 1,779, the WHO said on Friday. The most recent figures from 5 and 6 August showed 68 new cases and 29 deaths. They included 26 new cases in Sierra Leone and 38 in Liberia, but no new cases in Guinea, where the outbreak began. Guinea said it was closing its borders in order to stop people from entering the country. "We have provisionally closed the frontier between Guinea and Sierra Leone because of all the news that we have received from there recently," Health Minister Remy Lamah told a news conference. He added that Guinea had also closed its border with Liberia. Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia have already declared varying levels of emergency over the spread of the virus. The most intense outbreak in Guinea was located in the region along the border with Liberia and Sierra Leone. The WHO had said the worst-affected area, which straddles the borders between the three countries, would be isolated and treated as a "unified zone". It is not clear what effect Guinea's announcement will have on the strategy. In other developments: -Nigeria allocates more than $11m (£6.5m) for isolation centres and treatment facilities -Zambia bars travellers from affected countries from entering its territory -Two Americans being treated with an experimental drug in Atlanta are apparently improving -Canada isolates a patient in Brampton, Ontario, suffering flu-like symptoms, as a precaution. -The WHO said a co-ordinated response was essential. "The possible consequences of further international spread are particularly serious in view of the virulence of the virus," WHO said after a meeting on Friday. The Ebola virus was first discovered in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1976. Experts say the current outbreak is unusual because it started in Guinea, which has never before been affected, and is spreading to urban areas. Source...
|
![]() |
|
| skibboy | 10 Aug 2014, 11:32 PM Post #48 |
|
10 August 2014 Ebola virus: Liberia health system 'overtaxed' ![]() Many in Liberia say the government's response to the crisis has been inadequate Liberia's information minister has admitted that the country's health care system has been overwhelmed by the spread of the deadly Ebola virus. Lewis Brown told the BBC the system had been "overtaxed" by the outbreak, but that authorities were doing their best in the face of an unprecedented crisis. The medical charity MSF said officials underestimated the outbreak and that the health system was "falling apart". Nearly 1,000 people have died and 1,800 have become infected in West Africa. The Ebola outbreak - the worst-ever - is centred on Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, but has spread to other countries in recent months. Mr Lewis told the BBC that the outbreak was affecting Liberia's most populated areas, and that people there were "in denial". "There are religious practices and beliefs, long-held traditional values that are being challenged by the procedures... to cure or at least prevent the spread of disease," he said. He said Liberia's health care system was "not the best in the wold", but rejected accusations that it had not responded quickly enough. The crisis, Mr Lewis added, would have "overstretched and overtaxed" any health system. "The bottom line is we are at the frontline of a deadly outbreak," Mr Lewis said. ![]() The outbreak has killed almost 1,000 people Earlier, the co-ordinator for Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) in Liberia, Lindis Hurum, told the BBC: "Our capacity is stretched beyond anything that we ever done before in regards to Ebola response." She said five of the biggest hospitals in the capital Monrovia had closed for more than a week. "Some of them have now started to re-open but there are other hospitals in other counties that are just abandoned by the staff." 'Inaccurate' information On Saturday demonstrators in Liberia blocked a highway, saying authorities had not been collecting the bodies of some victims. The army was then deployed to restrict movement, particularly from the worst-affected provinces to the capital. Meanwhile Guinea has denied earlier reports that the government had sealed borders with Liberia and Sierra Leone. State TV said the initial announcement - made by the health minister on Saturday - had been mistaken "Guinea has not closed its borders with Sierra Leone or with Liberia. It's rather that we have taken health measures at the border posts," it said. The Spanish government says a Roman Catholic priest, infected with Ebola in Liberia, will be treated with an experimental drug, Zmapp, in a hospital in Madrid. The drug has been used in the US on two aid workers who have shown signs of improvement. In Canada, test results on a patient being treated near Toronto after returning from Nigeria with flu-like symptoms have shown he does not have the virus, officials said on Sunday. The Ebola virus is transmitted between humans through bodily fluids. Source...
|
![]() |
|
| skibboy | 11 Aug 2014, 12:55 AM Post #49 |
|
10 August 2014 Hong Kong tests Nigerian man for Ebola AFP ![]() A hospital guard wearing a mask walks past the infectious disease centre at the Princess Margaret Hospital in Hong Kong on May 17, 2009 A Nigerian man is being tested for the deadly Ebola virus in Hong Kong, amid global fears over the potential spread of a disease which has claimed nearly 1,000 lives in west Africa this year. A city government spokesman confirmed that the 31-year-old man is currently quarantined at a hospital and is being tested to determine whether he had been infected. "So far as we know this is a suspected Ebola case. There will be results of the preliminary testing tonight," the government spokeswoman told AFP, adding the man is being treated at the city's Princess Margaret Hospital. A densely populated city of some seven million people, Hong Kong is particularly alert to the spread of viruses after Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome killed almost 300 people eleven years ago. On July 30 the Hong Kong government said it would quarantine as a precaution all people from Ebola infected areas who showed any symptom of the disease such as fever, vomiting or diarrhoea. Last week a woman who showed Ebola-like symptoms after returning from a holiday in Kenya tested negative for the virus. Local broadcaster RTHK reported that the Nigerian man had arrived at the southern Chinese city from his home country on Thursday and was vomiting before he was hospitalised Sunday morning. Nigeria along with Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia have been hardest hit by the latest epidemic, which the WHO has called the worst outbreak of its kind in four decades. Nigeria -- the most populous nation in Africa -- confirmed two new cases Friday of the often fatal hemorrhagic disease, bringing the total number of infections to nine, including two deaths. The World Health Organization has declared the epidemic an international health emergency, as countries scramble to impose measures to prevent any spread of a contagion that has claimed almost 1,000 lives. Source...
|
![]() |
|
| skibboy | 11 Aug 2014, 11:14 PM Post #50 |
|
11 August 2014 Ebola outbreak: Ivory Coast bans flight from three states ![]() Health checks have been stepped up at airports across West Africa Ivory Coast has banned all passenger flights from three countries hit by Ebola in an attempt to prevent the spread of the deadly virus. It is the only country, after Saudi Arabia, to impose such a ban, amid mounting concern about the outbreak which has killed nearly 1,000 people. The ban covers Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, which are worst affected by Ebola, Ivorian officials said. It excludes Nigeria, where a tenth Ebola case has been confirmed. There is no cure for Ebola, which has infected at least 1,779 people since the outbreak was first reported in Guinea in February. Initial flu-like symptoms can lead to external haemorrhaging from areas like eyes and gums, and internal bleeding which can lead to organ failure; patients have a better chance of survival if they receive early treatment. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared it a global health emergency and is hosting a meeting of medical experts in Geneva to discuss the ethics of using experimental drugs on patients. ![]() The Spanish priest who was infected with Ebola in Liberia was flown home for treatment A Roman Catholic priest, infected with Ebola in Liberia, is being treated with the experimental drug, Zmapp, in a hospital in Madrid. The drug has also been used in the US on two aid workers who are said to have shown signs of improvement. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Analysis: Will Ross, BBC News, Lagos Nigeria has been an example of how controversial a clinical trial can become. In 1996 the US-based pharmaceutical company, Pfizer, carried out a drug trial during a meningitis outbreak in which about 12,000 people died from the disease in the northern state of Kano over six months. Pfizer gave 100 children an experimental oral antibiotic called Trovan which it said had already been tested on more than 5,000 patients. Pfizer was sued by the government as well as by affected families after 11 children died and dozens were left disabled during the trial - some with brain damage. The firm argued that meningitis had harmed the children and not the drug. But after lengthy legal battles a multi-million dollar settlement was made with Kano state and in 2011 four families received the first compensation payments. One key difference between this Ebola outbreak and the 1996 case is that when Pfizer conducted the Trovan trials another meningitis drug was already widely used. A trial gone wrong can have long-term effects: it is no coincidence that northern Nigeria is one of the few areas in the world where polio remains endemic as the Trovan trial added to suspicion of Western medicine. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The Ivorian government said in a statement that it had forbidden all "carriers from transporting passengers" from countries grappling with the outbreak, the AFP news agency reports. The statement did not name the countries, but a health ministry official confirmed to the BBC that it covered Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone - not Nigeria. Ivory Coast borders Liberia and Guinea to the west. Preventive measures at the international airport in Ivory Coast's main city, Abidjan, would be stepped up and "all passengers on arrival will have to have their temperatures taken with an infrared thermometer", the AFP news agency reports. Nigeria's Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu said a nurse was the latest person to be diagnosed with Ebola in Africa's most populous state. She contracted the virus from Liberian government employee Patrick Sawyer, who died of Ebola in Nigeria last month. British Airways, Pan-African airline Asky and Nigeria's Arik Air have suspended flights to Liberia and Sierra Leone and Emirates Airlines has suspended flights to Guinea. Saudi Arabia's travel ban is aimed at preventing Liberians, Sierra Leoneans and Guineans from visiting Islam's holy sites until the virus is contained. Source...
|
![]() |
|
| 1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous) | |
| Go to Next Page | |
| « Previous Topic · Disease · Next Topic » |














































3:24 PM Jul 11