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UN predicts end of Ebola outbreak in 2015
UN predicts end of Ebola outbreak in 2015
The outgoing chief of the United Nations’ anti-Ebola mission has voiced hope that global efforts would put an end to the outbreak of the deadly virus in West Africa by the end of 2015, but said that months of tough work remain.
Anthony Banbury told reporters on Friday that 2015 could see the eradication of the epidemic that has struck six West African nations, with Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia bearing the brunt of the 20,000 infections and nearly 8,000 deaths.
Faced with criticism the world was not doing enough, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon set up the UN Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) mission in September to coordinate global efforts against the outbreak, first identified in Guinea’s remote southeast in early 2014.
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UK passengers on Ebola flights traced.
UK passengers on Ebola flights traced.
All the UK-based passengers and crew on two flights taken by a British nurse who contracted Ebola have now received health advice, officials say.
Pauline Cafferkey was diagnosed with Ebola after returning from Sierra Leone and is receiving specialist treatment at London’s Royal Free Hospital.
She flew from Casablanca to Heathrow, where she boarded a flight to Glasgow.
Passengers and crews on the flights were given “advice and reassurance”, a Public Health England spokeswoman said.
Officials from Health Protection Scotland had spoken to all 71 passengers and members of crew aboard the British Airways flight from Heathrow to Glasgow, a PHE spokeswoman said.
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Weaponized Ebola? ISIS Militants Said To Contract Deadly Virus | Zero Hedge
Weaponized Ebola? ISIS Militants Said To Contract Deadly Virus | Zero Hedge.
Forget targeted US airstrikes, ISIS faces a new existential threat. Citing an unnamed source in a Mosul hospital, Iraq’s official pro-government newspaper, al Sabaah, said Ebola arrived in Mosul from “terrorists” who came “from several countries” and Africa. Mashable further confirms, three outlets reported that Ebola showed up at a hospital in Mosul. For now, it’s unclear if any disease experts or doctors in Mosul are even able to test for the Ebola virus; but it would mark the first time the virus had been detected in an area controlled by ISIS, a group that doesn’t embrace science and modern medicine.
Reports that Islamic State militants in Mosul have contracted Ebola swirled though Iraqi media sources on Wednesday. World Health Organization officials said they haven’t confirmed the cases, but the organization has reached out to offer assistance.
…
“We have no official notification from [the Iraqi government] that it is Ebola,” Christy Feig, WHO’s director of communications told Mashable.
Feig added that WHO is in the process of reaching out to government officials in Iraq to see if they need help investigating the cases, a task that could be a challenge, given the restrictions that would come with operating in ISIS-controlled territory.
BBC News – First Ebola boy likely infected by playing with bats
BBC News – First Ebola boy likely infected by playing with bats.
The Ebola victim who is believed to have triggered the current outbreak – a two-year-old boy called Emile Ouamouno from Guinea – may have been infected by playing in a hollow tree housing a colony of bats, say scientists.
They made the connection on an expedition to the boy’s village, Meliandou.
They took samples and chatted to locals to find out more about Ebola’s source.
The team’s findings are published in EMBO Molecular Medicine.
Ebola trail
Meliandou is a small village of 31 houses.
It sits deep within the Guinean forest region, surrounded by towering reeds and oil palm cultivations – these are believed to have attracted the fruit bats carrying the virus passed on to Emile.
During their four-week field trip in April 2014, Dr Fabian Leendertz and colleagues found a large tree stump situated about 50m from Emile’s home.
Villagers reported that children used to play frequently in the hollow tree.
Emile – who died of Ebola in December 2013 – used to play there, according to his friends.
Scottish Government Confirms Ebola Diagnosed In Glasgow Patient | Zero Hedge
Scottish Government Confirms Ebola Diagnosed In Glasgow Patient | Zero Hedge.
We wonder if England will be reconsidering the secession vote?
- *SCOTTISH GOVT: CONFIRMED EBOLA CASE DIAGNOSED IN GLASGOW
- *SCOTLAND: PATIENT IS A HEALTH CARE WORKER, RETURNED FROM SIERRA LEONE DEC. 28
After Japan’s stock market slid overnight following reports of Ebola in Tokyo, one wonders what a recurrence of Ebola headlines will do to risk complacency this time? Perhaps, since the Ebola Tzar’s work is done in America, they can lend him out to The Scots?
Bloomberg notes
- *SCOTTISH GOVT: NHS SCOTLAND PROCEDURES PUT INTO EFFECT
- *SCOTLAND: PATIENT IS A HEALTH CARE WORKER IN WEST AFRICA
- *SCOTLAND:PATIENT RETURNED FROM SIERRA LEONE DEC. 28
As The BBC reports,
The Scottish government confirmed the case being investigated was at Glasgow’s Gartnavel Hospital.
This follows news from Japan overnight of a possible Ebola case…
Ebola death toll rises to 7,588 globally, WHO says – Business – CBC News
Ebola death toll rises to 7,588 globally, WHO says – Business – CBC News.
The global death toll from Ebola has risen to 7,588 out of 19,497 confirmed cases recorded in the year-old epidemic raging in West Africa, the World Health Organization (WHO) says.
The virus is still spreading intensely in Sierra Leone, especially in the north and west, with 315 new confirmed cases reported in the former British colony in the week to December 21, it said. These included 115 cases in the capital Freetown.
“The neighbouring district of Port Loko experienced a surge in new cases, reporting 92 confirmed cases compared with 56 the previous week,” the WHO said.
In Sierra Leone, information about how to prevent and treat Ebola was provided to more than 5,000 households between 10 and 17 December as part of a major awareness campaign, it said.
In Guinea, 156 confirmed cases were recorded during the same period, “the highest weekly case incidence reported by the country in this outbreak”, the WHO said.
“This largely due to a surge in cases in the south-eastern district of Kissidougou, which reported 58 confirmed cases – one-third of cases reported in the country in the past week.”
Ebola death toll in three African countries hits 7,373: WHO | Reuters
Ebola death toll in three African countries hits 7,373: WHO | Reuters.
The death toll from Ebola in the three worst-affected countries in West Africa has risen to 7,373 among 19,031 cases known to date there, the World Health Organization said on Saturday.
The latest data, posted overnight on the WHO website, reflected nearly 500 new deaths from the worst ever outbreak of the hemorrhagic fever in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone since previous WHO figures were issued on Dec. 17.
Sierra Leone accounts for the most cases, 8,759, against 7,819 for Liberia. But Sierra Leone’s death toll of 2,477 is far less than 3,346 recorded in Liberia, leading some experts to question the credibility of the figures reported by Freetown.
Sierra Leone’s government this week launched a major operation to contain the epidemic in West Africa’s worst-hit country.
President Ernest Bai Koroma said on national television that travel between all parts of the country had been restricted as part of “Operation Western Area Surge”, and public gatherings would be strictly controlled in the run-up to Christmas.
Top Sierra Leone doctor dies of Ebola – Africa – Al Jazeera English
Top Sierra Leone doctor dies of Ebola – Africa – Al Jazeera English.
One of Sierra Leone’s most senior physicians has died from Ebola, the 11th doctor in the country to succumb to the disease, a health official said.
Dr. Victor Willoughby, who tested positive for Ebola on Saturday, died on Thursday, Dr. Brima Kargbo, the country’s chief medical officer said.
“Dr. Victor Willoughby was a mentor to us physicians and a big loss to the medical profession,” said Kargbo.
“He has always been available to help junior colleagues.”
The 67-year-old died just hours after an experimental drug arrived in the country for him.
The arrival of ZMAb, developed in Canada, had raised hopes for Willoughby’s survival. But he died before a dose could be administered, said Kargbo.
UN says Ebola-hit nations at risk of hunger – Africa – Al Jazeera English
UN says Ebola-hit nations at risk of hunger – Africa – Al Jazeera English.
Up to one million people are at risk of going hungry in West African nations battling the Ebola virus due to border closures, quarantines and crop losses, UN food agencies have said.
The deadly haemorrhagic fever that has killed 6,800 people has severely disrupted daily life in the worst-hit nations of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. Guinea and Sierra Leone have gone so far as to ban Christmas celebrations.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation and the World Food Programme said on Wednesday the disease and the resulting restrictions had “caused a significant shock to the food and agriculture sectors in the affected countries”.
“The loss of productivity and household income due to Ebola-related deaths and illness as well as people staying away from work, for fear of contagion, is compounding an economic slowdown in the three countries,” the agencies said in a joint statement.
Restrictions put in place to curb the disease were also “seriously hindering people’s access to food, threatening their livelihoods, disrupting food markets and processing chains, and exacerbating shortages stemming from crop losses”.
Ebola outbreak: Sierra Leone to search house-to-house for patients – World – CBC News
Ebola outbreak: Sierra Leone to search house-to-house for patients – World – CBC News.
Sierra Leone said it would start house-to-house searches for Ebola patients on Wednesday and impose internal travel restrictions as part of a new push to combat the epidemic.
Health workers will seek Ebola victims and anyone with whom they have had contact, transporting those infected to new British-built treatment centres, according to a government plan announced this week.
Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia are at the heart of the world’s worst recorded outbreak of Ebola. Rates of infection are rising fastest in Sierra Leone and the country has more than half of the 18,000 confirmed cases of the virus.
- CBC’s Ebola coverage
- Ebola outbreak: Mali’s last known case released
- Canadian-developed Ebola vaccine trial suspended
President Ernest Bai Koroma said that under the measures, worshippers on Christmas Day must return home after services, and other festivities are banned. New Year’s Eve services must stop by 5 p.m. local time, while New Year’s Day festivities are prohibited.
“This is the festive season where Sierra Leoneans often celebrate with families in a flamboyant and joyous manner, but all must be reminded that our country is at war with a vicious enemy,” he said in a nationwide address.
Sierra Leone district faces Ebola lockdown – Africa – Al Jazeera English
Sierra Leone district faces Ebola lockdown – Africa – Al Jazeera English.
Authorities in Sierra Leone have imposed a two-week lockdown in the eastern district of Kono after health workers uncovered a surge of Ebola infections in the area where the epidemic was thought to be largely under control.
The worst outbreak of Ebola on record has killed 6,533 people in the three West African countries most hit by the disease – Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea – and infected 18,118 people, the World Health Organization [WHO] said on Thursday.
Sierra Leone, with a shortage of treatment centres and trained staff, has overtaken Liberia as the worst affected nation, and until now, the recent spread was believed to be centred on western areas around the capital Freetown.
However, the WHO said on Wednesday that it had found bodies piled up at the only hospital in Kono, a district of about 350,000 people bordering Guinea.
Officials from the WHO, health ministry and US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) discovered 87 bodies had been buried in 11 days.
Night-time curfew
Kono District Ebola Response Centre said it was placing the area on lockdown, allowing only essential vehicles in and out and introducing a night-time curfew.
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BBC News – Ebola crisis: Sierra Leone bodies found piled up in Kono
BBC News – Ebola crisis: Sierra Leone bodies found piled up in Kono.
Health officials in Sierra Leone have discovered scores of bodies in a remote diamond-mining area, raising fears that the scale of the Ebola outbreak may have been underreported.
The World Health Organization said they uncovered a “grim scene” in the eastern district of Kono.
A WHO response team had been sent to Kono to investigate a sharp rise in Ebola cases.
Ebola has killed 6,346 people in West Africa, with more than 17,800 infected.
Sierra Leone has the highest number of Ebola cases in West Africa, with 7,897 cases since the beginning of the outbreak.
Continue reading the main story
Ebola deaths in West Africa
Up to 3 – 6 December
6,346
Deaths – probable, confirmed and suspected
(Includes one in the US and six in Mali)
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3,177 Liberia
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1,742 Sierra Leone
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1,412 Guinea
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8 Nigeria
The WHO said in a statement on Wednesday that over 11 days in Kono, “two teams buried 87 bodies, including a nurse, an ambulance driver, and a janitor drafted into removing bodies as they piled up”.
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BBC News – Ebola outbreak: Virus still ‘running ahead of us’, says WHO
BBC News – Ebola outbreak: Virus still ‘running ahead of us’, says WHO.
The Ebola virus that has killed thousands in West Africa is still “running ahead” of efforts to contain it, the head of the World Health Organization has said.
Director general Margaret Chan said the situation had improved in some parts of the worst-affected countries, but she warned against complacency.
The risk to the world “is always there” while the outbreak continues, she said.
She said the WHO and the international community failed to act quickly enough.
The death toll in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone stands at 6,331. More than 17,800 people have been infected, according to the WHO.
“In Liberia we are beginning to see some good progress, especially in Lofa county [close to where the outbreak first started] and the capital,” said Dr Chan.
Cases in Guinea and Sierra Leone were “less severe” than a couple of months ago, but she said “we are still seeing large numbers of cases”.
‘Hunting the virus’
Dr Chan said: “It’s not as bad as it was in September. But going forward we are now hunting the virus, chasing after the virus. Hopefully we can bring [the number of cases] down to zero.”
The official figures do not show the entire picture of the outbreak. In August, the WHO said the numbers were “vastly under-estimated”, due to people not reporting illnesses and deaths from Ebola.
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Ebola Fight Sees Canadian Forces Medical Team Deployed To Sierra Leone
Ebola Fight Sees Canadian Forces Medical Team Deployed To Sierra Leone.
A Canadian Forces medical team left CFB Trenton in Ontario on Saturday en route to Britain, where they’ll undergo training before deploying to Sierra Leone as part of the effort to combat the Ebola outbreak, the military said.
The Forces said about 40 nurses, doctors, physicians’ assistants, medics and support are to train alongside U.K. military personnel, and most of them will continue on to Sierra Leone by later this month.
“There’s no question it’s a little scary, but we also have very good training and we’re a team. We’ll be working with the British and will be there to help people,” said Cpl. Lisa Ouellette before departing for the U.K.
Lt. Melanie Espina, a physician, said contagion risks are minimal “when proper equipment is worn.”
Treating health workers
The Canadian Forces team will be working at a British-built clinic in Sierra Leone treating local and international health care workers, who themselves have become infected in the course of treating Ebola patients from the general population.
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Belgian expert: WHO messed up Ebola response – Africa – Al Jazeera English
Belgian expert: WHO messed up Ebola response – Africa – Al Jazeera English.
A Belgian scientist who helped discover Ebola in 1976 has accused the World Health Organisation (WHO) of mismanaging the current outbreak response.
Peter Piot, an award-winning microbiologist, told Al Jazeera that “we wasted too much precious time”.
“It took three months for the WHO to find out there was an Ebola outbreak. That I understand. Guinea had a poor laboratory infrastructure,” said Piot in an interview due to be aired on Saturday.
“I have much more of a problem with the fact that it took five months for WHO, for the international health regulations committee, for that’s what it is, to declare this a state of emergency.
“It took a thousand dead Africans and two Americans who were repatriated to the US because they were infected. There’s no excuse for that… It took too long.”
Tarik Jasarevic, a spokesman for WHO, told Al Jazeera by email that “declaring a public health emergency of international cncern is not a measure of WHO’s operational response”.
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