West Africa: Concrete coordinated action is needed now to stop the spread of Ebola virus disease

Published: 4 July 2014

Geneva/Accra 4 July 2014 - The Red Cross joins ministers of health from eleven West African countries and other partners in calling for an all-out assault on the Ebola virus disease outbreak. It is a commitment needed at all levels, including governments, stakeholders, communities, and religious and opinion leaders if the largest Ebola outbreak in history in terms of number of cases and affected countries is to be stopped.

This commitment was made at the end of a special ministerial meeting on the Ebola virus disease in West Africa convened by the World Health Organization (WHO) in Accra, Ghana, this week.

Participants believe that no one should be left behind in the fight against Ebola, one of the most contagious diseases which has already claimed the lives of hundreds of people in West Africa. As of 3 July, the cumulative total of Ebola cases in the three affected countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone stands at more than 750, with nearly 500 deaths.

They also warned that this deadly disease could spread beyond the already affected countries if urgent action is not taken.

Participants adopted a common inter-country strategy, calling for an accelerated response to the Ebola virus disease outbreak. The strategy stresses the urgent need to scale up communication efforts, social mobilization, surveillance, contact tracing, case management and cross-border collaboration while calling for more research, especially from African researchers, to pay special attention to the epidemic. Community, religious and opinion leaders also need to be involved to break through the resistance that many humanitarian actors are encountering on the ground.

“This is the first time Ebola has surfaced in West Africa and many people are showing their fears by refusing to admit the existence of the disease and by preventing some aid organizations from entering their communities,” says Dr Ben Adinoyi Adeiza, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) health coordinator in Africa.

This community resistance is exacerbated by rumours and myths about Ebola which can hinder the work of individuals and organisations working to contain the disease.

“We, and other humanitarian organisations, have had several security incident since the beginning of the response,” says Aliou Boly, Ebola operations manager for IFRC in Guinea. “There has been an increasing number of incidents in the last weeks which is hampering the response of our volunteers and staff on the ground. We need to be ensured of their security and safety so they can carry on their humanitarian duties in the best possible way. Education and social mobilization to change behavior are vital to stopping this disease in its tracks and to allay fear and stigma attached to it.”

Participants also called on African governments, ECOWAS (the regional network of 16 countries), and other partners to mobilize and dedicate special funds to the response.

Since the outbreak was first announced, the Red Cross has launched emergency operations in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, through which more than 2,000 volunteers are being trained and mobilized to share key messages of prevention and protection. In neighbouring Cote d’Ivoire, Mali and Senegal, a further 686 volunteers have been sharing similar messages for the past two months, to prepare communities should the virus spread further across the region. Money from the IFRC’s Disaster Relief Emergency Fund has been released to support these preparedness efforts.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the world’s largest volunteer-based humanitarian network, reaching 150 million people each year through its 189 member National Societies. Together, IFRC acts before, during and after disasters and health emergencies to meet the needs and improve the lives of vulnerable people. It does so with impartiality as to nationality, race, gender, religious beliefs, class and political opinions. For more information, please visit www.ifrc.org. You can also connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr.


For further information, please contact:

In Dakar:
·         Moustapha Diallo, senior regional communications officer, IFRC
Mobile: + 221 631 13 486 E-mail: moustapha.diallo@ifrc.org

In Sierra Leone:
·         Katherine Mueller, communications manager, IFRC Africa
Mobile: +251 930 03 3413 E-mail: katherine.mueller@ifrc.org

In Geneva:
·        Benoit Carpentier, senior officer, public communications, IFRC
Mobile : +41 79 213 24 13 E-mail : benoit.carpentier@ifrc.org

http://www.ifrc.org/en/news-and-media/press-releases/africa/ghana/west-africa-concrete-coordinated-action-is-needed-now-to-stop-the-spread-of-ebola-virus-disease/

Ebola Shattering lives in Sierra Leone

Africa: Islam contribute to the spread of the Ebola virus

CNN report on the unprecedented spread uncontrolled and for the first time the Ebola virus in West Africa including Guinea and Sierra Leone. The man who discovered the Ebola virus in 1976, Dr. Peter Piot said that the rapid spread would, among other things due to the superstition of ignorance and poverty: 85% of Muslims in Guinea , 71% of Muslims in Sierra Leone . http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Frevoltes-en-europe.over-blog.com%2Farticle-afrique-l-islam-contribuerait-a-la-propagation-du-virus-ebola-124066110.html

Sierra Leone president, cabinet take salary cut for anti-Ebola fund

Friday, July 4, 2014

Freetown

Sierra Leone’s President Ernest Bai Koroma and his Vice-President and all ministers will forfeit part of their salary for July.
This will be a contribution to a basket fund to fight the deadly Ebola epidemic in the country, the government announced.

The President, his deputy and the cabinet will have 50 per cent of their pay sliced, while deputy ministers will contribute 25 per cent of their salaries to a scheme the government is using as an example to shore up support for the cause from within the public but also to demonstrate political commitment to the fight.

A statement from the Office of the President, signed by Secretary to Cabinet Dr Ernest Surrur, said the “voluntary decision” was taken at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

It comes a day after President Koroma’s first ever public pronouncement on the epidemic on Tuesday calling for a ‘national fight’ against the disease which is also ravaging Guinea, where it was first confirmed in West Africa back in February, and Liberia.

As of Wednesday, there were 67 deaths and 211 cases of Ebola, according to Ministry of Health Sanitation figures.  http://www.nation.co.ke/news/africa/Sierra-Leone-president-cabinet-take-salary-cut-for-Ebola-fund/-/1066/2372600/-/sac9pn/-/index.html

said Liberian deputy health minister Bernice Dahn

There is no plan to close borders in a bid to prevent the spread of the disease but instead efforts at the border to educate people about risks should be stepped up, said Liberian deputy health minister Bernice Dahn.
"We believe that closing borders is not an option because we believe it would not work," Dahn said on the sidelines of the conference.
"We urge all parties present at this meeting to turn their promises into immediate concrete action on the ground," Marie-Christine Ferir, emergency desk manager for health charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), said in a statement.. http://news.sudanvisiondaily.com/details.html?rsnpid=237810

OFWs banned from Ebola-affected countries

By Manolo B. Jara July 05, 2014
MANILA: A senior cabinet official announced that overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have been banned from seeking deployment in the three West African countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone due to the Ebola virus scourge. Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz of the Department of Labour and Employment disclosed the ban was imposed by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration as recommended by the Department of Foreign Affairs, which raised Alert Level 2 after the three countries declared an Ebola outbreak. Baldoz clarified the ban covered only newly hired OFWs but those who have existing contracts would still be allowed to enter the three countries.. http://gulftoday.ae/portal/e31ecfec-b9e5-49c8-a1cb-d83654edfdb7.aspx Nevertheless, Baldoz appealed to the OFWs deployed there to take all the necessary precautions against the Ebola virus.

..The coordinator of MSF also recognizes that in some sub-prefectures as Tekoulo where the prefect was recently for awareness sessions, there are reservations. There a few weeks ago, he said, people have cut a bridge that leads in some villages to keep us going..http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fguineenews.org%2F2014%2F07%2Fmarc-poncin-coordinateur-msf-urgence-ebola-reagit%2F%3Futm_source%3DGuinee1%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter

UN: Ebola Outbreak Will Probably Last For Months

    Jul. 3, 2014, 5:18 PM 
  ...The United Nations health agency said on Thursday it expected the worst Ebola outbreak in history to continue its deadly rampage through west Africa for at least "several months".  The highly-contagious tropical bug has infected hundreds of people in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, with the latest World Health Organization (WHO) figures showing that confirmed or suspected cases had left 467 people dead and experts fearing it could spread throughout the region.
 Keiji Fukuda, the UN agency's assistant director-general of health security, said at the close of a regional summit of health ministers on the crisis it was "impossible to give a clear answer" on how far the epidemic could spread or when it might begin to retreat.  "I certainly expect that we are going to be dealing with this outbreak minimum for a few months to several months," he told AFP.  "I really hope for us to see a turnaround where we begin to see a decrease in cases in the next several weeks."
 Marie-Christine Ferir, of medical aid agency Doctors Without Borders (MSF), echoed the assessment, saying the outbreak could "continue for about a few weeks, or perhaps months in certain parts".
 The warning came as health ministers from 12 nations wrapped up two days of talks in Accra with global experts in communicable diseases, with debate raging over the measures required to stop Ebola in its tracks.  They were expected to make a raft of recommendations to regional governments and to WHO on containing the disease, including the launch of a $10 million war chest to boost medical aid in the worst hit regions....

 The death rate for Ebola has been widely but incorrectly reported as "90 percent" by global media and some scientists, probably because around that percentage died in the original outbreak and a subsequent epidemic in neighbouring Congo-Brazzaville in 2003. 'Out of control'  The mortality rate in the west African epidemic is slightly lower than the average, at 61.5 percent, but it dwarves every other outbreak in terms of the geographical spread and the number of cases and deaths.
  MSF said last week the outbreak was "out of control", with more than 60 hotspots.  However, experts say those who receive correct care -- paracetamol to contain fevers, rehydration for diarrhoea and antibiotics for secondary infections -- have a greatly improved chance of survival....
   http://www.businessinsider.com/un-ebola-outbreak-is-likely-to-last-for-months-2014-7

West African Authorities Adopt Common Strategy To Fight Ebola

Published on Jul 3, 2014

West African countries and international health organizations adopted a fresh strategy on Thursday to fight the world's deadliest Ebola epidemic, which has killed hundreds of people in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. At a two-day meeting in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, officials committed to better surveillance to detect cases of the virus, enhance cross-border collaboration, better engagement with local communities and closer cooperation with the U.N. Ministers. Ministers also recommended setting up a sub-regional control center in Guinea to coordinate technical support. The decisions involve governments, the United Nations, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, aid agencies and the private sector. According to the World Health Organization, at least 467 people have died of the virus since February. The meeting's final communique made no reference to increased financial support for the effort and there was little detail about how the measures would be implemented.

http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/Reuters/w...
http://www.wochit.com

Tekmira tumbles after FDA puts Ebola drug on clinical hold

10:05 am by Mourad Haroutunian

  The Vancouver, British Colombia-based company said in a statement today that it has received verbal notice from the FDA that the TKM-Ebola Phase I healthy volunteer clinical study has been placed on clinical hold.

Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corp. (TSE:TKM), a developer of RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics, crumbled in morning trade after the U. S. Food and Drug Administration  (FDA)Puts its Ebola drug study on hold.
Shares fell 12.4 percent to C$12.81 at 9:33 a.m. in Toronto, paring this year's rally to 52 percent.
The Vancouver, British Colombia-based company said in a statement today that it has received verbal notice from the FDA that the TKM-Ebola Phase I healthy volunteer clinical study has been placed on clinical hold.
This notice applies only to this study, it said.
"We have completed the single ascending dose portion of this study in healthy volunteers without the use of steroid pre-medication," Chief Executive Officer Dr. Mark Murray said in the statement.
"The FDA has requested additional data related to the mechanism of cytokine release, observed at higher doses, which we believe is well understood, and a protocol modification designed to ensure the safety of healthy volunteer subjects, before we proceed with the multiple ascending dose portion of our TKM-Ebola Phase I trial."
"We will continue our dialogue with the FDA, provided for under our Fast Track status, in order to advance the development of this important therapeutic agent."
The TKM-Ebola Phase I clinical trial is a randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled study and involves single ascending doses and multiple ascending doses of TKM-Ebola. The study is assessing the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of administering TKM-Ebola to healthy adult volunteers without administering any steroid pre-medications. http://www.proactiveinvestors.com/companies/news/55171/tekmira-tumbles-after-fda-puts-ebola-drug-on-clinical-hold-55171.html

Fear and ignorance as ebola 'out of control' in parts of west Africa

As death toll from latest outbreak of world’s deadliest virus climbs to 467, health workers battle misinformation and mistrust in effort to contain the disease

Monica Mark in Lagos

Wednesday 2 July 2014 08.34 EDT

When ebola first struck Pujeh, a village deep in Sierra Leone’s forested interior region, residents did what they always do when a mysterious illness brings death: they consulted the traditional healer. But the elderly herbalist soon caught one of the world’s most contagious diseases, and then became a source for spreading it as visitors streamed in.
By the time officials had pinpointed Pujeh as a hotspot for the disease months later, dozens had died. “The people living in these areas said there’s no such thing as ebola,” said a district doctor who spoke on condition of anonymity. “They have their traditional beliefs and their traditional cures and they look up to their traditional leaders. Until we can bring the traditional leaders onside, it will be very difficult to convince them that ebola even exists.”

Advertisement

As the death toll from the latest outbreak of the world’s deadliest virus climbed to 467 – far exceeding the previous most lethal outbreak which killed 254 people in Congo – officials and health workers are battling a surge of infections propelled by misinformation and doubt about the disease’s existence on one side, and mistrust of scandal-hit governments on the other.
Following a World Health Organisation warning that the illness is “out of control” in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, west African health ministers on Wednesday began a two-day summit in Ghana’s capital of Accra to discuss ways to strengthen regional co-operation. The global health body has also warned four other west African countries – Ivory Coast, Senegal, Mali and Guinea Bissau – to prepare for the possible arrival of travellers carrying the virus.
Some government officials have disputed the WHO’s statement, saying the increasing death toll is a sign of better surveillance. “We are not saying everything is okay but there are fewer people dying in silence now, which is a good thing – the more we can identify when and where there are fatalities, the better we can prevent further cases,” health ministry official Sakouba Keita said from Guinea’s capital of Conakry.
The country has been the hardest hit by the virus, which first appeared there in February, before spreading through the tropical forests that sprawl into Liberia and Sierra Leone. More disturbingly, it has also jumped to all three countries’ densely-populated capitals.
“This is different from other cases just by the fact it’s a cross-border epidemic. Previous outbreaks have been very localised, which makes them easier to isolate and contain. Now for the first time, it’s also affecting urban areas,” said Dr Nestor Ndayimirije, Liberia’s WHO representative who has handled epidemics in several other countries.
Ebola was first identified in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan in 1976, which suffered simultaneous outbreaks of different strains miles apart.
It was named after Congo’s Ebola river, where its most lethal mutation – the Zaire strain – infected 318 people and killed 280.
.....
Daily reports from Liberia’s ministry of health provide a glimpse of just how big the hurdles are. On the eve of the regional summit, two suspected cases from Voinjama had travelled to the capital Monrovia – but specimens hadn’t been collected because “the county laboratory supervisor could not be found,” internal notes said.
The report also warned of an acute shortage of thermometers among a team dispatched to trace those who might have been in contact with suspects. Many of them feared taking temperatures in case they were exposed to the disease or attacked by locals, it added.

But an alarmingly wide spread is partly down to geography. “The deaths have been increasing because of traditional burial rites in that region,” said Tolbert Nyenswah, Liberia’s deputy chief medical officer. The Kissi ethnicity, found in all three countries, traditionally keep their dead at home for several days, and mourners touch the deceased’s head frequently before burial.
Ebola has a fatality rate of up to 90% and is transmitted through contact with fluids of infected people or animals, like urine, sweat, blood and saliva, even after death.
A doctor in Sierra Leone said patients’ families often attempted to break them out of treatment centres – often successfully. “Some of them are in denial and that it is something they can treat at home, and faith healers are one of the problems for us. When you have patients disappearing like that, you don’t know where the virus will appear next.”

When trader Fiya Lasana was diagnosed with suspected ebola in a clinic in Sierra Leone’s Kailahun district, he was put under quarantine. But convinced he had only malaria, he slipped out. Days later he returned, weak and dazed, for treatment. “My family tried prayers, but that didn’t work, so I returned,” said Lasana, who was declared ebola-free after eleven days.

Liberia’s president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, on Monday issued a warning on state radio that anyone suspected of holding ebola patients in homes or churches would be prosecuted.
The disease has also revealed alarming mistrust between citizens and public office holders in a region with shocking corruption levels.
Ebola was initially viewed as a government conspiracy to depopulate Sierra Leone’s Kailahun district, and fierce resistance to the arrival of health workers culminated in the stoning of a Doctors Without Borders vehicle. In Liberia, many remain adamant the outbreak is a hoax from government officials seeking to distract from a series of recent scandals, or for health officials to rake in public funds.
“I will say this loud, the government of Liberia has come up with a new strategy to divert the Liberian people’s mind,” student Alfred Randall said. “We understand the issue of ebola, ebola is real, we agree the virus is a very terrible virus, but ebola is not in Liberia,” he said.
Health workers at the frontline of the battle – often the first to die – face other challenges. Last week, riots broke out and an ambulance was attacked as family members fought to reclaim a victim’s corpse from a hospital in Kenema, Sierra Leone’s third largest city. On the same day, a three-man burial team was chased out of the Liberian town of Banjol where they went to bury a victim. “We need to find a special place to bury these corpses, if not, the bodies will keep piling up on us,” a member of the team said, adding that families often refused to come forward to identify dead relatives for fear of catching it.
Officials and several hundred researchers who have poured into all three countries have scrambled to disseminate public information, seen as key to containment.
But when the outbreak first began, popular text messages circulating in Guinea said an antidote could be found in a concoction of hot chocolate, coffee, milk, raw onions and sugar.
“Ebola, ebola, ebola. I hear it everywhere,” said Adama Sherry from behind her market stall in Sierra Leone’s Tombo, a fishing village as yet unaffected by the virus. Sherry admitted she couldn’t list the symptoms, causes or precautions.
Nearby, a local school had recently emptied out when word spread of routine blood tests being carried out – rumour had it that the needles would infect children with ebola.
Liberia’s health ministry has begun putting images of ebola-ravaged corpses in newspapers and on television. “They are very graphic but it is working – people are starting to see that ebola is not just a spiritual thing that you can cure through going to church,” Nyenswah, the deputy chief medical officer, said.
Ironically, survivors often face a “second disease” of stigmatisation. Aissata Bangoura’s family have refused to speak to her since her husband died in March, even though she has been declared virus-free.
“During my husband’s wake, I was left standing by myself. People I have known my whole life didn’t want to approach me. As far as they’re concerned, I’m a widow and a leper,” she said.
• Donal MacCrann in Tombo, Sierra Leone and Wade Williams in Monrovia, Liberia contributed to this report http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/02/-sp-ebola-out-of-control-west-africa

Ugandan doctor dies of Ebola in Liberia

Publish Date: Jul 02, 2014

Dr. Samuel Muhumuza Mutoro and his wife and baby during happier days.

 PHOTO/Fred Turyakira

newvision

By Clare Muhindo & Taddeo Bwambale

A Ugandan senior surgeon has succumbed to the Ebola virus in Liberia where he had been working for three years as a health specialist.
Dr. Samuel Muhumuza Mutoro died on Tuesday at the John F. Kennedy Medical Centre, Liberia’s biggest hospital in Monrovia where he was being treated.
Muhumuza was a surgeon assigned to Redemption Hospital in New Kru Town on a contract with the Liberian government and the World Health Organisation (WHO).
At the time of his death, Muhumuza is said to have volunteered to treat a colleague who was infected with Ebola, thereby exposing himself to the deadly disease.
His wife, Diana Namusoke, a mother of three, told New Vision that the family was notified about his death by an official from Liberia’s government

Rev Jehoida Mutoro of South Rwenzori Diocese, the only brother of the deceased said the bereaved family have been advised against travelling to Liberia as earlier planned.
A requiem mass is scheduled this morning at 9:00am at Mbarara University of Science and Technology.

Costa Bwambale, a brother-in-law of the deceased, described the Muhumuza as a ‘very determined’ person, who even repeated class in order to achieve his dream of becoming a medical doctor

It is believed that yesterday Muhumuza’s remains were disposed of immediately since World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines recommend the immediate disposal of Ebola victims.

At his home in Mbaguta cell, Ruharo, in Mbarara neighbours gathered and held a wake to commiserate with the relatives.

With his earnings from Liberia, he had started the construction of a storeyed residential structure in Ruharo town suburbs. http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/657141-ugandan-doctor-dies-of-ebola-in-liberia.html

Liberia: Ebola - Who Calls Emergency Talks On Outbreak

By Press Release, 3 July 2014

 Health ministers from 11 African countries are meeting in Accra, Ghana, in an attempt to "get a grip" on the deadly and worsening Ebola outbreak.
So far, 763 people have been infected with the virus - and 468 of these have died.
Most of the cases have been in Guinea where the outbreak started.
But it has since spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone and is now the biggest and most deadly Ebola outbreak the world has seen, say officials.

Health officials from those countries, as well as Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Senegal, and Uganda will attend the meeting.
"We're hoping to take decisions about how to enhance collaboration and responses [of these countries] so we can get a grip and halt this outbreak," said WHO spokesman Daniel Epstein
"We need a strong response, especially along the shared border areas where commercial and social activities continue between Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. That's unlikely to stop."
As a virologist at Public Health England, I spent a month at the epicentre of the Ebola outbreak in April.
I was working for the WHO in south-east Guinea as part of the EU mobile laboratory team testing blood samples for the Ebola virus and confirming whether patients were infected or not.
When patients come into the MSF isolation facility, some walk in if they are in the early stage of the disease; others are more seriously ill and need an ambulance.
I also went out into the remote villages to help trace people who might be ill and help inform communities about the virus.
It is very challenging work. There is a lot of misunderstanding and mistrust of foreign nationals coming in and trying to help.
The biggest problem we had was people were not forthcoming about sick members of the community and getting them to the isolation centre. Some families were even hiding sick relatives and bodies.
The WHO says travel restrictions are highly unlikely, and in any case unenforceable. These are porous borders where people travel freely to see family and friends.
Ebola kills up to 90% of those infected. There is no vaccine or cure. It spreads through contact with an infected person's bodily fluids.
The way to stop an outbreak is to isolate those who have it and ensure no-one else is exposed. Medical staff are following up on hundreds of people who have had contact with infected patients. They have to be closely monitored for 21 days before they can be given the all clear.
Ebola is a haemorrhagic fever, which can start suddenly with the onset of high temperature, diarrhoea and vomiting. Some people fight the virus and survive, but most do not. They start bleeding internally and externally and eventually their organs shut down.
Increasing hostility.
Understandably, there is a great deal of fear in these communities and that is hindering the international effort to bring the virus under control, say experts.
The medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) is working with the World Health Organization and the Guinea Ministry of Health. It has four isolation facilities in Guinea and more than 300 international and local staff.

Tulip Mazumdar: "It is the worst Ebola outbreak in history"
"We are seeing an increasing level of hostility borne out of fear in some communities," said Dr Bart Janssens, MSF director of operations.
"We can no longer go into a number of villages any more to follow up on people who have been in contact with Ebola patients."
The charity says health ministers from affected countries need to urgently improve public understanding of the disease.
"This requires an important mobilisation of all possible community leaders from bottom to top, because we cannot do this alone"
"We are now dealing with an extraordinary situation so we need more resources to fight the epidemic and we need extra help to convince communities to change their attitudes towards the virus." http://allafrica.com/stories/201407031208.html?viewall=1

Ebola: Gov’t warns Ugandans on West Africa travels

Publish Date: Jul 03, 2014
 hakana Rugunda

newvision

By Taddeo Bwambale

Government has advised Ugandans to limit their travels to Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone which have been hit by Ebola epidemic.

At least 467 people have died from the epidemic out of 759 reported cases, according to the World Health Organisation.

“The public is advised to limit their travel to any of the affected countries until the situation is contained,” health minister, Dr Ruhakana said at a press briefing on the threat on Thursday.

He, however, said Uganda has not issued a travel ban to three countries. He advised travellers to observe precautionary measures instituted by the respective countries.

The minister cautioned Ugandans with relatives living in the affected countries to ‘keep on the alert in case their relatives return to the country’ during this period.

Government has stepped up disease surveillance checks at border points, especially for people coming from the affected countries.

No single case of Ebola has been reported in Uganda since the last outbreak in 2012 in which four at least four people died. http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/657181-ebola-gov-t-warns-ugandans-on-west-africa-travels.html

Liberia: U.S. Government Donates Personal Protective Equipment to Support the Response to the Ebola Outbreak

3 July 2014

press release

Monrovia — The U.S. Government has donated another supply of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to the World Health Organization to support the international response to the Ebola outbreak which is affecting Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone.
The donation, including aprons, face masks, gowns, caps and cadaver bags, are in addition to a previous donation by the U.S. Government. Last week, the U.S. Government made a similar donation, including rubber boots, coveralls and gloves, which will protect health workers who are at the forefront of providing essential care to patients who are suspected or confirmed to have the Ebola virus. Health workers who use the protective equipment as recommended are protected from exposure to blood or body fluids from infected patients.
In presenting the items, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Liberia Mission Director, John Mark Winfield, said the U.S. Government is committed to helping in the fight against the spread of the Ebola virus.
World Health Organization Representative to Liberia Dr. Nestor Ndayimirije, who received the donations, immediately passed the essential equipment to the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, and thanked the U.S. Government for the donations, which he said will help boost Liberia’s response to the Ebola virus.
Dr. Ndayimirije said partnership was important in the fight against the outbreak, and urged stakeholders to unite to improve the response by making sure no health worker is infected and dies because of the lack of protective gear.
In receiving the PPE, Liberia’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Bernice Dahn, warned that communities and religious institutions should not try to serve as health facilities. She said Liberians are still in the denial stage, which is fuelling a deterioration of the situation. “At this point, you do not know what you are dealing with,” Dr. Dahn said. “So, don’t keep sick people in your homes or facilities. “
Three weeks ago, Liberia experienced a second wave of the outbreak. Since that time, more than 30 persons have died of the disease.
The U.S. Government has provided additional support to Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone to mitigate the Ebola outbreak, which includes supplying materials and messaging in communities to prevent the spread of Ebola, training environmental health technicians, financial support for deployment of field teams to the WHO Africa Regional Office and WHO's Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN), training of health workers in contact tracing, and the provision of essential supplies for collection, preservation, transport and analysis of blood specimens.  http://allafrica.com/stories/201407031354.html?aa_source=slideout

Debate rages on action to halt W African Ebola

2014-07-03 19:00

Accra - Emergency talks on containing the worst Ebola outbreak in history were due to wrap up on Thursday, with ministers hoping to halt the virus' deadly rampage in west Africa after a jump in the number of deaths.

The highly-contagious tropical bug has infected hundreds of people in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, with the latest World Health Organisation (WHO) figures showing that confirmed or suspected cases had left 467 people dead and experts fearing it could spread throughout the region.

Health ministers from 11 nations were due to finalise two days of talks in Accra with global experts in communicable diseases, with debate raging over the measures required to stop Ebola in its tracks.

Jeremy Farrar, a professor of tropical medicine and director of The Wellcome Trust charity, caused controversy as the talks opened as he was widely quoted in global media calling on health authorities to offer experimental medicines, not yet fully tested, to patients.

"Tragic as these deaths and suffering are, humans are not Guinea pigs," virologist Ian Mackay, associate professor at the University of Queensland, told AFP, rejecting the suggestion.

"It's a very difficult situation made worse by the urgency of it."

Several biotech companies and US universities are developing potential vaccines for Ebola, at various stages of testing, but none anywhere in the world is close to being licensed for distribution to the public.

"The question is: would these drugs be allowed to be used on UK citizens?" Mackay said.

"If the outbreak occurred there, or in the US, or Australia, would this be ethically acceptable in these countries?"

'Out of control'

Ebola can fell its victims within days, causing severe fever and muscle pain, weakness, vomiting and diarrhoea -- in some cases shutting down organs and causing unstoppable bleeding.

Medical charity Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, said last week that the spread of the virus, which has had a mortality rate of up to 90 percent in previous outbreaks, was "out of control", with more than 60 outbreak hotspots.

Ministers from Guinea, where 413 confirmed, suspected and probable cases have surfaced so far including 303 deaths, and Liberia, which has seen 107 cases and 65 deaths, are at the meeting.

Sierra Leone, which has recorded 239 cases and 99 deaths, is also represented.

In addition, officials from Ivory Coast, Mali, Senegal, Gambia and Guinea-Bissau, along with Ghana and countries as far afield as Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo are attending.

They have been joined by a host of UN agencies and other aid organisations, including MSF and the Red Cross, as well as personnel from disease control centres in western Africa, the United States, Britain and the European Union.

One of the biggest obstacles to combatting the epidemic, say health experts, has been traditional practices - such as touching the bodies of victims at their funerals - which are causing the virus to spread.

Ministers and experts have set out a strategy placing traditional village elders - who are often more influential than foreign medical experts among the traditional forest-dwelling populations at the epicentre of the outbreak - at the forefront of an education drive, a delegate told AFP.

"We have agreed to mobilise community leaders to be active participants in the efforts to curb the spread of the disease by building their confidence to trust the health workers who are in their communities," said Abdulsalami Nasidi, of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control. http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/Debate-rages-on-action-to-halt-W-African-Ebola-20140703-2

Ebola 'out of control' in West Africa as health workers rush to trace 1,500 possible victims

Fear, mistrust of Western medicine and difficulties reaching remote areas mean hundreds of potentially infected people have not yet been found

Health workers carry the body of an Ebola virus victim in Kenema, Sierra Leone Photo: REUTERS

By Mike Pflanz, West Africa Correspondent

9:18AM BST 03 Jul 2014

Hundreds of West Africans could be carrying the deadly Ebola virus and not know it, potentially infecting hundreds more, as cash-strapped governments and overwhelmed aid agencies struggle to contain the virus's spread.

At least 1,500 people have not yet been traced who are known to have come into contact with others confirmed or suspected to be infected with the haemorrhagic fever, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) told The Telegraph.

Many more could be moving freely in the three countries battling the virus, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, but fear of the illness and mistrust of Western medicine means they refuse to come forward to speak to doctors.

The current outbreak is the worst ever. So far 467 people have died and health staff have identified at least 292 other suspected or confirmed cases.

Ebola is transmitted by coming into contact with bodily fluids of an infected person. It has no cure and as many as 90 per cent of its victims die, often from uncontrollable internal and external bleeding.

Health authorities in Glasgow and organisers of the Commonwealth Games, which start in the city on July 23, said they were "monitoring the situation on a daily basis" because a team from Sierra Leone was coming to compete."Based on current advice from the World Health Organisation, we estimate the risk to the delegates from Sierra Leone is extremely low," the statement said.
The outbreak was now "out of control" in the three affected countries and could quickly spread across West Africa, according to MSF, which is leading efforts to deal with cases.
The virus's spread appeared to have been cut off in late April, when 74 people had died and Alpha Conde, Guinea's president, said the situation was "well in hand" and "touch wood there won't be any new cases".
But a rare mix of highly mobile populations, mistrust of outsiders, a fear of being diagnosed and treated, traditional burial practices, and a lack of funding all mean Ebola flared again.
The number of cases jumped by 129, or 38 per cent, in the week from June 25 to July 2, the WHO said.
 Health staff have even been attacked.
The Red Cross in Guinea said it had been forced to temporarily suspend some operations in the country's southeast after staff working on Ebola were threatened on Wednesday.
"Locals wielding knives surrounded a marked Red Cross vehicle," a Red Cross official said, asking not to be named. An MSF centre elsewhere in Guinea was attacked in April by youths saying the charity brought Ebola into their country.

"I have covered six previous Ebola outbreaks and this is unprecedented," said Michel Van Herp, an epidemiologist with MSF in Belgium, who spent two months in the region in March and April and is returning again shortly.
"It is unique in terms of the number of cases, where they are and how they are spread, the difficulty of putting enough treatment centres where they are needed, and the fact that these people move about so much."
MSF and other organisations including the British Red Cross are focused on treating those cases that come to their specialised isolation wards, but more needed to be done to reach out to the rest of the population, Mr Van Herp said.
West African health ministers on Wednesday began a two-day emergency summit in Accra, the Ghanaian capital, to improve co-ordination of their responses to Ebola.
Money was needed urgently for drugs, basic protective gear and staff pay, said Abubakarr Fofanah, Sierra Leone's deputy health minister.
"In Liberia, our biggest challenge is denial, fear and panic. Our people are very much afraid of the disease," Bernice Dahn, Liberia's deputy health minister, told Reuters on the sidelines of the Accra meeting.
"People are afraid but do not believe that the disease exists and because of that people get sick and the community members hide them and bury them, against all the norms we have put in place," she said.
The virus remains contagious even if the person it infected dies. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/guinea/10942598/Ebola-out-of-control-in-West-Africa-as-health-workers-rush-to-trace-1500-possible-victims.html

Australia- Travel Bulletin -Ebola outbreak in West Africa

Ebola outbreak in West Africa

Latest update

This Bulletin was last issued on Tuesday, 01 July 2014.  

The outbreak of Ebola virus in West Africa continues to be of significant concern. The World Health Organization (WHO) initially identified the outbreak in forested areas of south eastern Guinea in March 2014. There has been a significant number of confirmed cases in Guinea and a smaller number in Sierra Leone and Liberia. The outbreak has resulted in over 300 deaths.
The Ebola virus causes Ebola virus disease (EVD) in humans, with a fatality rate of up to 90%. The symptoms of Ebola virus disease are severe and can include high fever, muscle pain and weakness, headache and sore throat, followed by vomiting, diarrhoea and internal and external bleeding. There is no known vaccine or cure for Ebola. The virus can be transmitted to humans from wild animals or between humans through bodily fluids, including blood, faeces and sweat. Transmission can also occur through direct contact with the body of a deceased Ebola patient.
Where possible, Australians should avoid travel to areas affected by Ebola virus. Closely monitor the advice provided by local health authorities and the WHO. Australians in West Africa are advised to maintain strict standards of hygiene and avoid direct contact with patients with Ebola or unknown illnesses. Avoid contact with any objects that could have been contaminated with bodily fluids. Travellers should avoid contact with wild animals and should not eat or handle raw or undercooked animal products, such as blood and meat.
Know the symptoms of Ebola virus disease and see a healthcare provider if they develop before or after travel. Be sure to tell your healthcare provider that you have travelled to a region where Ebola was present.
Australians are also advised that borders in the region may be closed at short notice to contain the outbreak. Travellers should seek local advice about border closures before travelling in the region.
For more information about the Ebola virus, see the WHO Ebola factsheet. For information about the current outbreak in West Africa, see the WHO disease outbreak news page. http://smartraveller.gov.au/zw-cgi/view/TravelBulletins/Ebola

In pictures: Battling Ebola in West Africa

30 June 2014 Last updated at 19:50 ET

11 pics

http://www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-28086185

The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for "drastic action" to contain the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, which has killed almost 400 people. It is the world's largest outbreak in terms of cases, deaths and geographical spread.

Next image |

Previous image |

|

Spread of Ebola virus raises risk of business disruption and protests against perceived inadequate government responses

IHS Jane's Intelligence Weekly

29 June 2014

Graphic explaining the Ebola virus, showing the location of the Marampa mine in Sierra Leone, where British company London Mining has evacuated non-essential workers after an outbreak of the virus. Source: PA

EVENT

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is convening a sub-regional meeting of health ministers from 11 West African countries in Accra, Ghana on 2-3 July in a bid to contain the spread of Ebola, a viral haemorrhagic fever.
The WHO warned that the Ebola outbreak is developing into a sub-regional epidemic already affecting Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone with a possible contagion into other neighbouring countries including Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea Bissau, Mali, and Senegal.
As of 23 June, 635 cases had been reported with almost 400 patients dying of the virus. In Guinea, the committee on Ebola said that since the outbreak began 277 cases had been confirmed and 174 have died, with the majority of the victims located in Gueckedou, a southern town close to the border with Sierra Leone and Liberia. In Sierra Leone, the Health Ministry has raised concerns over patients who are self-discharging from hospitals in Kenema district, a key diamond mining area, and seeking refuge with family members. London Mining has already ordered the evacuation of non-essential personnel.
Affected people are increasingly likely to stay away from hospital to seek traditional treatments as well as refuge from the stigma associated with the disease, undermining efforts to contain the virus.
The increasing death toll raises the risk of further protests by the community against the government health departments, hospitals, and international agencies working in the health sector mainly in southern Guinea and eastern Sierra Leone. In April, a mob attacked the medical store of non-governmental humanitarian aid organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Macenta, southern Guinea, disrupting operations and vandalising the store.

FORECAST

The number of confirmed cases and fatalities in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone is rapidly increasing, posing elevated risk of suspension of mining operations and border closures, which in turn will result in protracted disruption to cross-border cargo and movement of business travellers across the region.http://www.janes.com/article/40152/spread-of-ebola-virus-raises-risk-of-business-disruption-and-protests-against-perceived-inadequate-government-responses

Ebola, snakes and witchcraft: stopping the deadly disease in its tracks

Jun 30, 2014

©IFRC/IdrissaSoumaré

They call him by his surname, Konneh. His manners are gentle and his voice calm. He’s a volunteer with the Sierra Leone Red Cross Society, always willing to help.
The 21-year-old lives in Kenema, one of the largest cities in Sierra Leone. It’s a two-hour drive from his hometown of Daru, in the eastern district of Kailahun, which has been most affected by the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone.
As of 16 June, there were 92 confirmed cases of Ebola and 44 deaths in Kailahun, according to the World Health Organisation, while several cases have also been confirmed in the west of the country.
Konneh’s aunt and uncle, from Daru, both died from the disease.

First, they took his uncle to the treatment centre for Ebola in Kenema. Two days later, they brought his aunt.
“His wife was a nurse. My uncle got it from his wife,” Konneh says calmly. His cousin also died from the virus.
“When health workers start dying from Ebola, the entire health care system is affected,” says Amanda McClelland, an emergency health officer at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
“Doctors and nurses are afraid to go to work or to treat patients, which is what we are seeing in Sierra Leone at the moment.”
But with proper training and by taking adequate precautions, health care workers can safely treat Ebola patients. And the sooner treatment can start, the greater the chances of survival.

Konneh has lost three family members to Ebola – ©IFRC/Cristina Estrada

Most of the people affected by Ebola in Sierra Leone are women as they are the ones who take care of sick family members and relatives.
Women also care for the body of a person who has died, which can be highly infectious if not properly handled.
Fear and fable
There is a lot of fear, denial and stigma attached to the highly contagious disease, as it’s the first time it’s appeared in Sierra Leone.
“I’m scared. Ebola, it’s dangerous. People are saying Ebola does not exist but I’ve seen it,” Konneh says.
Some communities are denying entry to government and aid workers, while many of those who may have come into contact with the virus and need to be watched disappear and cannot be monitored.
Some believe that Ebola is caused by witchcraft. One of the most widespread stories related to the Ebola outbreak is this: a woman in a village went on a journey and left a box at home, instructing her husband not to open it.
The husband opens the box and finds a snake inside, which tells the husband not to reveal his presence or else the snake will kill everyone in the village.
The husband does not heed the warning and spreads the word about the snake’s presence. The snake goes on a killing spree.

The Red Cross is using radio to reach people in Sierra Leone with messages on how to protect themselves from Ebola – ©IFRC/Cristina Estrada

Another story that has been spread around Kenema is that of the doctors in the isolation ward administering lethal injections to people. In the eyes of villagers, this explains why people never come back from the isolation centre.
“If people believe Ebola is real, we can control it,” Konneh explains.
But a lack of understanding means people will often only believe what they see. 
And for those who accept that Ebola is a real disease, many believe it’s always fatal and therefore don’t seek medical help when they have the symptoms.

Fighting Ebola
However, to date, ten people have survived Ebola and have been discharged from the hospital in Kenema and are back home with their families.
“An increase in awareness raising and outreach to communities will be effective in dispelling erroneous stories and beliefs,” explains Amanda.
“Fighting stigma, changing behaviour and seeking hospital care as soon as possible are the key elements to fighting Ebola.”

Guinea Red Cross volunteers disinfect a hospital in Conakry – ©IFRC/IdrissaSoumare

As for Konneh, he knows what it’s like to receive help from the Red Cross. His path into the Sierra Leone Red Cross Society, which he joined four years ago, was born out of tragedy. His father was taken and killed during a time of conflict, along with his grandfather.
“The Red Cross came to my village and took care of us. When they asked who wanted to be a volunteer, I said yes,” he recalls. Today, it’s his turn to help take care of others.
This blog is an edited piece by Cristina Estrada, IFRC

• The IFRC is supporting the Sierra Leone Red Cross Society’s response to the Ebola outbreak, educating people about how to protect themselves from the virus and help prevent it spreading.
• Similar emergency operations have been launched in Guinea and Liberia. Preparedness operations are underway in the Ivory Coast, Mali and Senegal in case the virus spreads even further.
• The British Red Cross has sent a number of health workers to the region since the outbreak began – find out more.
• Read more: Awareness campaigns the key to halting outbreak.
• Read more: Ebola, a threatening disease for health workers.
• http://blogs.redcross.org.uk/emergencies/2014/06/ebola-snakes-and-witchcraft-stopping-the-deadly-disease-in-its-tracks/ 

182 died of Ebola in Guinea -Official

June 30, 2014 by nan

Guinean Health Minister, Remy Lamah, has said the number of confirmed Ebola cases in Guinea has reached 286 out of which 182 people have died.
The number of Ebola cases has been increasing in spite of efforts by the government and its health partners such as the World Health Organisation and Doctors Without Borders.
So far MSF has disbursed $3m to help in the fight against Ebola in Guinea and in some other treatment centres created in neighbouring Sierra Leone.
“We must organise and mobilise more resources to fight against this disease which has caused many deaths in the affected countries,” Marc Poncin, MSF’s national emergency coordinator said.
The head of disease prevention unit in Guinea’s health ministry, Sakoba Keita, said 27 health workers had been affected by Ebola and 20 of them had died from the disease.
Keita said, “This is why transportation and handling of bodies of Ebola victims is now exclusively being done by special Red Cross teams that have been well trained.
“To sensitise the population about the disease, government has funded about 15 non-governmental organisations to develop communication strategies.
“Also by moving from door-to-door advising the population on how to prevent themselves against the disease.”http://www.punchng.com/news/182-died-from-ebola-in-guinea-official/

Fear, suspicion undermine West Africa's battle against Ebola

Mon Jun 30, 2014 1:19pm EDT

* Mistrustful of doctors, dozens flee treatment
* Guinea, S.Leone, Liberia face world's worst Ebola outbreak
* As doctors struggle, locals resort to herbal bracelets
* Regional states to meet to coordinate response
By Umaru Fofana
KENEMA, Sierra Leone, June 30 (Reuters) - When Mohamed Swarray contracted the deadly Ebola disease in June, he was confined to a tented isolation ward at Kenema in eastern Sierra Leone. But he didn't stay there long.
Suspicious of the doctors in their masks and body-length protective suits, he slipped out and fled to the capital Freetown 300 km (185 miles) away. There, he was nursed in a private home for a week before being traced by officials and hurriedly returned, weak and frightened, to the Kenema unit.
With West Africa facing the deadliest Ebola outbreak ever, with 400 dead so far, this kind of fear and mistrust is driving dozens of victims to evade treatment, frustrating foreign and local doctors trying to contain the epidemic.
The outbreak in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia has left some of the world's poorest states, with porous borders and weak health systems undermined by war and misrule, grappling with one of the most lethal and contagious diseases on the planet.
Dr. Amara Jambai, Sierra Leone's director of disease prevention and control, said at least 57 suspected and confirmed Ebola cases were "missing", the victims having fled or gone into hiding.
"When you lose cases that way, you will not know where the next case will appear," he told Reuters.
Ebola causes fever, vomiting, bleeding and diarrhoea, and can kill up to 90 percent of those it infects. Highly contagious, it is transmitted through contact with the blood or other fluids of infected people or animals.
"My biggest problem, as it stands, is getting people to accept the disease," said Sheik Umar Khan, the doctor tasked with leading the fight against Ebola in Kenema's hospital.
"These escapes, emanating from fear and misunderstanding, make our work even more difficult," he added.
Medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) says Ebola is "out of control", located in at least 60 places across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Guinea has rejected this warning, saying it has its epidemic under control. But governments' reluctance to fully admit and report the scale of outbreaks can also hamper containment.
The World Health Organization has called on other West African States to prepare to tackle the disease and is co-hosting a meeting of West African health ministers in Ghana this week to try to strengthen the region's response.
Swarray was tracked down in Freetown after messages about his escape were broadcast on local radio. The nurse friend treating him believed he had typhoid and is now being monitored for Ebola. His mother, who travelled with him, is still missing.
The outbreak has spread since it first started killing victims in Guinea's remote southeast in February. It reached the capital Conakry and moved into neighbouring Liberia.
For months, Sierra Leone said its own suspected cases tested negative. Then, late last month, it confirmed Ebola in its remote northeast. Since then, there have been 191 laboratory confirmed cases, including 63 deaths, with many more suspected.
here

>HERBAL BRACELETS
Kenema, now on the frontline of Sierra Leone's fight against Ebola, is located in the diamond-rich east. Attacked by rebels during the 1991-2002 civil war, it has since become a bustling regional hub, the West African nation's third largest city.
Sierra Leone's first Ebola case was a so-called 'sowei', a traditional women's leader and healer who treated the sick crossing over from Guinea, according to Dr Mohamed Vandi, the chief medical officer for Kenema district.
By tradition, only women were allowed to touch or wash her dead body, so the majority of the next cases were also women.
Sierra Leone officials have since banned traditional funerals and the bodies of Ebola victims must now be buried by health workers clad in green protective suits and face masks.
Schools in the Kenema area are closed and travel restricted.
At the Moala checkpoint on the road to Liberia, masked health workers take the temperature of all travellers to monitor for anyone who might be carrying a fever.
But many still put faith in traditional methods.
At the same Moala checkpoint, police and soldiers tied herbal rope bracelets around travellers' wrists, telling them a local traditional healer had been told in a dream that doing so could ward off Ebola.
TERRIFYING RUMOURS
Posters on walls warn of Ebola symptoms, urging sufferers to go to hospital. But Sierra Leone's health system is weak - the country has the highest rate of maternal and infant deaths in the world, according to U.N. figures.
The Kenema isolation unit consists of two tents erected just metres away from the main hospital, where two doctors and two ambulances are based to cover a district of 800,000 people.
Donors and international health organisations have rushed specialised equipment to the zone but staff complain about shortages, even of basic items like gloves.
A local population with little knowledge of the disease can be easily spooked by rumours.
Vandi said stories were circulating that doctors were removing limbs of Ebola victims before burying them. Police have been deployed and last week fired tear gas at the hospital to prevent relatives from trying to retrieve bodies.
Terrified by such reports, Isata Momoh, who came down with symptoms of the disease, initially fled the ambulance sent to take her to the hospital. "When I thought I had the sickness I ran away into the bushes and hid," she told Reuters.
Momoh only emerged from hiding when the diarrhoea and vomiting became too bad to bear. She was treated and recovered.
Khan rejected MSF's statement that the disease was out of control in the region. He said more cases were coming to light because of improved official surveillance. "People are coming to terms with the fact Ebola is a reality," he said.
Vandi, the Kenema medical officer, said if the diamond town could beat the disease, the rest of Sierra Leone could do so.
Local people were wary of government reassurances, recalling similar statements during the civil war years when rebel raids, rather than disease, had traumatised the town.
"One day the government would say the rebels had advanced to within touching distance. The next it would say they had been repelled, and you'd see them entering the town," said Karmoh Kajue, an unemployed man nursing a beer at the Kenema Plaza bar.
(Writing by David Lewis; Editing by Pascal Fletcher and Peter Graff)
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/30/health-ebola-leone-idUSL6N0PB4G120140630?rpc=401&feedType=RSS&feedName=rbssHealthcareNews&rpc=401

Liberians face jail over Ebola

June 30 2014 at 06:23pm
By JONATHAN PAYE-LAYLEH

Comment on this story

---

Associated Press

Health workers inform people about the Ebola virus and how to prevent infection in Conakry, Guinea. File picture: Youssouf Bah

Monrovia, Liberia - Liberia's president warned Monday that anyone caught hiding suspected Ebola patients will be prosecuted.

In an interview with state radio, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf expressed concern that some patients had been kept in homes and churches instead of receiving medical attention.

“Let this warning go out: Anyone found or reported to be holding suspected Ebola cases in homes or prayer houses can be prosecuted under the law of Liberia,” Sirleaf said.

Her comments came just days after Sierra Leone issued a similar warning, saying some patients had discharged themselves from the hospital and had gone into hiding.

Health workers have encountered resistance throughout the region ever since Ebola cases were first confirmed in March, and some have even been attacked.

The outbreak of the disease in West Africa is already the deadliest on record, with 635 cases and 367 fatalities, according to the latest World Health Organization numbers. A majority of the deaths - 280 - have been in Guinea where cases were first reported.

In an update released Monday, Liberia's health ministry said the country had recorded 49 deaths as a result of Ebola, 26 of which were confirmed by laboratory tests.

Sierra Leone has tallied 46 deaths, according to numbers released last week. That number was revised downward from 78, however, after Sierra Leone's government requested that the World Health Organization only report laboratory-confirmed fatalities.

Laboratory testing is the only way to definitively confirm the presence of Ebola, though not all patients are tested because some don't receive medical treatment and some die before samples can be taken, especially in the early stages of an outbreak.

There is no cure for the deadly disease caused by the Ebola virus which has an incubation period of two to 21 days and starts with fever and fatigue before descending into headaches, vomiting, violent diarrhea and then multiple organ failure and massive internal bleeding.

Some symptoms of the disease can be treated, however, and health workers also stress the importance of submitting patients for medical care so they can be isolated. Ebola spreads through contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, including blood and sweat.

Liberia's health ministry has set up treatment centers and started a public service campaign to slow the spread of the disease, including training health professionals to use protective clothing while forbidding hospitals to turn away patients with Ebola symptoms.

Sirleaf's comments on Monday seemed partly intended to dispel rumors in Liberia that the outbreak isn't real.

“It is, as I speak, taking the lives of our citizens,” she said. “The disease is real and is in our country and can kill a lot of people.” http://www.iol.co.za/news/africa/liberians-face-jail-over-ebola-1.1712043

AFRICANEWSWIRE.NET (June 30 2014)
Sylvain Baize, Director of the National Reference Centre for hemorrhagic fevers of the Institut Pasteur de Lyon, responded to questions from Brazzaville News epidemic of Ebola virus currently affecting eleven countries of West Africa. Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone are the countries most affected by the epidemichttp://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.africanewswire.net%2Fstory.php%3Ftitle%3Depidemie-d039ebola-la-menace-la-plus-importante-en-ce-moment-est-la-propagation

Liberia will observe Ramadan as of Sunday.

MONROVIA (AA) – Grand Mufti Sheikh Abu Bakar Sumaworo said Muslim in Liberia will observe the holy fasting month of Ramadan as of Sunday...
..
This year’s observance is putting special attention on sharing with the less fortunate, including offering prayers for the nation which has been plagued by the deadly Ebola virus.
Mufti Sumaworo is still hopeful that the outbreak would not prevent Liberian Muslims from travelling to the holy sites in Saudi Arabia.
“We pray that the Almighty Allah grants us mercy to travel to Mecca in the midst of Ebola in our country,” he said.
“We hope to send about five hundred people by the grace of Allah,” added the mufti.
Since the outbreak of the Ebola Virus in Liberia and neighboring Guinea, traveling to other countries has become a nightmare amid worries of taking the virus to other countries. http://www.newstimeafrica.com/archives/34564

Sierra Leone Ebola refugees putting others at risk

  There are fears that people who are escaping an Ebola outbreak in the eastern provinces of Sierra Leone are putting others at risk because they aren't being checked for the deadly virus.  Isata Sanoh ran away from Daru, a small town in the Kailahun district in the Eastern province of Sierra Leone, where there is an ebola outbreak.  She is now living in the capital Freetown, where she is staying with family members.  But Sanoh hasn't been checked for Ebola and so could potentially pass Ebola to the people around her. 

There is no cure for the deadly disease caused by the Ebola virus which has an incubation period of two to 21 days and starts with fever and fatigue before descending into headaches, vomiting, violent diarrhoea and then multiple organ failure and massive internal bleeding.  The virus can be transmitted through direct contact with the blood or secretions of an infected person, or objects that have been contaminated with infected secretions.  Ebola kills more than half of its victims and treatment largely consists of keeping the patient hydrated as the disease runs its course. 

Combating Ebola is a matter of stopping its spread by educating people about how to protect themselves and isolating the sick and dead since corpses are still contagious - and finding out who the infected have been in contact with to isolate them as well.  "I ran away from Daru because of the Ebola outbreak," Sanoh said. "A lot of people have died there and a lot of my family have died. A medical nurse who was with the dead body of her mother died. The men who buried her also died on Monday."

  Ebola was identified in Sierra Leone in late May just as it was hoped that the outbreak in Guinea and Liberia was winding down.  It has since spread to at least two districts with 176 cases claiming at least 46 lives.  Like the other countries, Sierra Leone formed a national task force with daily meetings and set up treatment centres in the affected areas.
  One of the main obstacles to stemming the disease has been combating popular fears which treated the disease as a "demonic" affair.  In one recent case in the village of Sadialu, residents burned down the treatment centre over fears that the drugs being administered to victims were actually causing the disease. 
The Health Ministry has also warned people that sheltering the infected is a crime and lamented that people were escaping from hospitals and hiding.  The local media has also highlighted that for the first month of the outbreak, the government was reporting a substantially lower death toll than the World Health Organisation (WHO) because it was only listing confirmed Ebola fatalities, rather than suspected cases, as had been the usual practice. 
 On Wednesday, the WHO announced that it was changing its methodology for reporting Ebola fatalities - just in Sierra Leone - at the government's request, reducing the death toll by 32.  The Ebola outbreak in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone is already the deadliest to date, with 635 cases and 367 fatalities, and is expected to be the longest on record, as some of the poorest countries in the world scramble to confront the fatal disease.  The WHO says there is an "urgent need" to coordinate the response across the borders and is convening a meeting in Accra, Ghana, on July 1 with the three countries involved, as well as other nations that have experienced outbreaks in the past. -http://www.tvcnews.tv/article/sierra-leone-ebola-refugees-putting-others-risk

Sierra Leone Ebola refugees putting others at risk

There are fears that people who are escaping an Ebola outbreak in the eastern provinces of Sierra Leone are putting others at risk because they aren't being checked for the deadly virus.
Isata Sanoh ran away from Daru, a small town in the Kailahun district in the Eastern province of Sierra Leone, where there is an ebola outbreak.
She is now living in the capital Freetown, where she is staying with family members.
But Sanoh hasn't been checked for Ebola and so could potentially pass Ebola to the people around her.
There is no cure for the deadly disease caused by the Ebola virus which has an incubation period of two to 21 days and starts with fever and fatigue before descending into headaches, vomiting, violent diarrhoea and then multiple organ failure and massive internal bleeding.
The virus can be transmitted through direct contact with the blood or secretions of an infected person, or objects that have been contaminated with infected secretions.
Ebola kills more than half of its victims and treatment largely consists of keeping the patient hydrated as the disease runs its course.
Combating Ebola is a matter of stopping its spread by educating people about how to protect themselves and isolating the sick and dead since corpses are still contagious - and finding out who the infected have been in contact with to isolate them as well.
"I ran away from Daru because of the Ebola outbreak," Sanoh said. "A lot of people have died there and a lot of my family have died. A medical nurse who was with the dead body of her mother died. The men who buried her also died on Monday."
Ebola was identified in Sierra Leone in late May just as it was hoped that the outbreak in Guinea and Liberia was winding down.
It has since spread to at least two districts with 176 cases claiming at least 46 lives.
Like the other countries, Sierra Leone formed a national task force with daily meetings and set up treatment centres in the affected areas.
One of the main obstacles to stemming the disease has been combating popular fears which treated the disease as a "demonic" affair.
In one recent case in the village of Sadialu, residents burned down the treatment centre over fears that the drugs being administered to victims were actually causing the disease.
The Health Ministry has also warned people that sheltering the infected is a crime and lamented that people were escaping from hospitals and hiding.
The local media has also highlighted that for the first month of the outbreak, the government was reporting a substantially lower death toll than the World Health Organisation (WHO) because it was only listing confirmed Ebola fatalities, rather than suspected cases, as had been the usual practice.
On Wednesday, the WHO announced that it was changing its methodology for reporting Ebola fatalities - just in Sierra Leone - at the government's request, reducing the death toll by 32.
The Ebola outbreak in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone is already the deadliest to date, with 635 cases and 367 fatalities, and is expected to be the longest on record, as some of the poorest countries in the world scramble to confront the fatal disease.
The WHO says there is an "urgent need" to coordinate the response across the borders and is convening a meeting in Accra, Ghana, on July 1 with the three countries involved, as well as other nations that have experienced outbreaks in the past.

- See more at: http://www.tvcnews.tv/article/sierra-leone-ebola-refugees-putting-others-risk#sthash.BqNeZy9R.ydJ9O0Mt.dpuf