In Pictures: The deadly Ebola virus

Ebola's effects go far beyond the death toll - in Sierra Leone it has spread fear and left whole families ostracized. Tommy Trenchard Last updated: 03 Jul 2014 10:35

Kenema, Sierra Leone - The current outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in West Africa was recently branded the worst on record, having killed over 400 in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. But the effect of the disease goes far beyond the death toll. In Sierra Leone it has spread fear and division, destroyed livelihoods and left whole families ostracised. Last Friday, Hawa Daboh lost her stepfather to the disease. He had been a working in the laboratory of the local hospital in Kenema. The rest of the family was tested and shown to be Ebola negative. But medical staff refused to give them proof of their negative status. Without it, they have been ostracised by the community. Life is tough for the children, who have been asked to leave school and are unable to visit their friends. The family says anyone who tries to visit neighbouring compounds is kicked out. The women in the family used to garner some income trading at the market. But now that they carry the stigma of Ebola, nobody will buy from them. Health workers like Hawa's stepfather are particularly at risk. Seven workers at the Kenema government hospital have already died from the disease. When Al Jazeera visited on Monday, workers from the Ebola ward were on strike, demanding better financial compensation for the risks they take. Staff here face discrimination from both sides. They are treated with fear by many, because of their association with the disease. Many others, however, still do not believe Ebola exists, often citing theories that it is part of a plot to raise money or even steal body parts. From these people, they have received open hostility. The government is trying hard to change perceptions about Ebola. Too many are avoiding treatment, fearing the rumours, and dozens of patients have escaped from hospitals and clinics. The UN is spreading the message that the disease is not a death sentence. Early diagnosis and treatment offer the best chance of survival. Without it, says survivor Adikali Kamara, he would almost certainly be dead.

View As Slideshow >> /Tommy Trenchard/Al Jazeera Hawa Daboh, who lives with her large family in a suburb of Kenema, lost her stepfather to Ebola. /Tommy Trenchard/Al Jazeera The one death has impacted the entire family, leaving them stigmatised and alone. /Tommy Trenchard/Al Jazeera The entire family was tested for the disease, but the results were negative. /Tommy Trenchard/Al Jazeera Despite this, the children were ordered to leave school, while nobody will buy the women's products at the market. /Tommy Trenchard/Al Jazeera The disease spreads easily - a neighbouring household has seen seven people infected. /Tommy Trenchard/Al Jazeera Health workers, who regularly are in close contact with the disease, have been hit particularly hard. /Tommy Trenchard/Al Jazeera When Al Jazeera visited the hospital in Kenema, the workers from the Ebola ward were on strike over pay and bonuses. /Tommy Trenchard/Al Jazeera They health workers say the 100,000 leones ($23) they receive as a bonus is not sufficient compensation for the risks they face. /Tommy Trenchard/Al Jazeera Despite taking precautions, seven health workers at the Kenema hospital have already died from the disease. /Tommy Trenchard/Al Jazeera Health workers, too, face the stigma of being associated with the disease. This woman said she had been kicked out by her husband as a result of her work. /Tommy Trenchard/Al Jazeera Nurse Sheku stands by the empty ward for men. All non-Ebola patients fled three days ago. /Tommy Trenchard/Al Jazeera Many people still do not believe the disease is real. Rumours abound that it is a cover for a cult that steals body parts. "They think we kill people," says Rachael Musa (R). /Tommy Trenchard/Al Jazeera Everyone is trying to spread the same message: Ebola is real but it is not necessarily a death sentence. Adikali Kamara believed the disease was real and got tested early. He survived, and was discharged a week later.  http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/inpictures/2014/07/pictures-deadly-ebola-virus-2014729177174711.html

Ebola epidemic unlikely to spread beyond Africa..he says

Deadliest outbreak of the disease still a challenge to contain

By Daniel Schwartz, CBC News Posted: Jul 04, 2014 5:00 AM ET

"Because we take common sense measures when we see someone who is ill — we keep our distance, we try not to touch them, we avoid contact — even before anybody knows what was wrong with that particular person, they would probably take these common sense approaches to avoid contact with them," explains Jagatic...  What if we don't know they are ill??? http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/ebola-epidemic-unlikely-to-spread-beyond-africa-1.2695879

Celebrating those on the front lines of the Ebola outbreak this 4th of July

Posted by Pardis Sabeti of National Geographic Emerging Explorers in Explorers Journal on July 4, 2014

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It is July 4th, and Stephen Gire and Nathan Yozwiak from my team are observing America’s holiday in Sierra Leone, bringing supplies and aid to our partners fighting the spread of Ebola virus in their country (Image 1). My thoughts are with them, with the patients and their families, and with all of the individuals on the front line of this battle against one of the most dangerous pathogens humanity has ever seen.
Despite so much press coverage on the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, little has been told of the extraordinary bravery, sacrifice and of the truly outstanding work of the men and women fighting this deadly disease. This is as brilliant, dedicated, and prepared a team as you will find anywhere on the planet. And while they do need our help and resources as global partners fighting a virus that is ‘out of control’, they also deserve our praise for their outstanding and heroic effort.
Over our blogs to come we hope to tell their stories. To begin, I want to highlight just a few institutions and individuals:

•  The Kenema Government Hospital (KGH) in Sierra Leone, one of the only centers in the world that has diagnosis and treatment on-site for Bio-safety Level 4 (BL-4) viruses. The team there has been combatting another devastating BL-4 disease, Lassa fever, for the last 40 years, beginning well before the Civil War. They have developed clinical and high-tech research facilities and practices to diagnose, treat, and research BL-4 agents (Image 2).
•  
• Members of our team from Sierra Leone, Nigeria, and the US, who all jumped into action when the outbreak of Ebola was first reported in West Africa, setting up diagnostic capacity on site, well before the outbreak reached Sierra Leone.
•  
• Augustine Goba and the diagnostic team at KGH. Augustine, a native Sierra Leonean and brilliant scientist, diagnosed the first case of Ebola in Sierra Leone on May 25, (Image 3) using an assay designed by Dr. Kristian Andersen on our team (used alongside standard-of-care assays) allowing scientists at KGH to catch the outbreak at its inception. Members of Augustine’s team, working in partnership with the WHO, USAMRIID, and Metabiota, have diagnosed 176 Ebola cases in country and tested hundreds more.
•  
• Lansanna Kanneh and the exceptional outreach team that led the immediate response. There is no better outreach team in the world, and I have witnessed first hand how they masterfully engage villages throughout the country and educate the populations about Lassa virus and ways to combat its spread (Image 4). They are working now to reach individuals throughout Sierra Leone to educate them about the devastating new virus Ebola in their country.
•  
• The people of Sierra Leone. While great praise should be given to the outreach team, the people they are working with deserve praise too. Their level of engagement in outreach efforts is unlike anything I have seen in the United States. They are amazing and warm, and deeply interested in learning (Image 5). I had the great fortune of being welcomed into these villages where I shared a tent with the brilliant ecologist Dr. Lina Moses (Image 6); Lina has been working in Sierra Leone for many years and has been on site since the epidemic broke to support efforts.
• Dr. Humarr Kahn and the clinical team at KGH. These fearless and tireless individuals have been working around the clock since May 25th, converting spaces to house ~50 Ebola patients at a time, and risking their own lives at every stage to help others.
•  
• The Sierra Leone Ministry of Health and Sanitation and government leadership, which has shown exceptional support at every stage. I am personally grateful to Professor Sahr Gevao and Dr. Brima Kargbo, who supported our efforts in country and abroad. Thanks to their leadership we were able to rapidly sequence virus from the first 14 Ebola cases and 35 suspected cases at high depth and have already made this available to the global community. The longest part of this process was sending the samples to the US, and with the support of the NIH and World Bank, and the leadership of Dr. Christian Happi of Nigeria, we will be soon shifting this effort to West Africa.

There are many more heroes that can be named here, but we hope to share their stories with you all soon.

• 

  Image 1. Nathan Yozwiak and Stephen Gire with trunks packed in preparation for their trip to Sierra Leone

  

  Image 2. The high-tech research lab at Kenema Government Hospital where they have been routinely diagnosing and characterizing another Bio-safety level 4 virus, Lassa virus, and are now diagnosing Ebola.

  

  Image 3. Augustine Goba, director of the Kenema Government Hospital diagnostic lab, in the process of performing the Ebola diagnostic test.

  

  Image 4. Lansanneh Kanneh of the outreach team leading an educational talk on Lassa fever in village in Sierra Leone.

  

  Image 5. The amazing warm and friendly people of Sierra Leone who welcome the outreach team and us into their villages for outreach and education on these devasting viruses.

  

  Image 6. Lina Moses and I in a tent, staying overnight in a village in Sierra Leone with the outreach team.  http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2014/07/04/celebrating-those-on-the-front-lines-of-the-ebola-outbreak-this-4th-of-july/

UN seeks to calm Ebola fears in W.Africa

By Nana Boakye-Yiadom July 2, 2014 4:27 PM

 Accra (AFP) - The United Nations reassured west Africa on Wednesday that the world's deadliest-ever Ebola epidemic could be stopped in its tracks, telling the region's health ministers: "We can handle this."

 ...

"These kinds of outbreaks, these diseases, can be stopped," Keiji Fukuda, assistant director-general for health security at the WHO, told AFP, as 11 west African health ministers gathered for a two-day conference in Accra on combatting the killer pathogen.

"This is not a unique situation -- we have faced it many times -- so I'm quite confident that we can handle this.

"This is, however, the most complicated Ebola outbreak ever because it is spreading so fast in both urban and rural areas."...

.. Despite the efforts of the UN agency and other health workers, there has been a "significant increase" in the rate of new cases and deaths in recent weeks, the organisation added...  http://news.yahoo.com/w-african-nations-crisis-talks-ebola-spreads-040642690.html

 Joseph Milton Lebbie on July 4, 2014.
 The outbreak of the notorious and much dreaded Ebola killer disease has spread fear right across Sierra Leone and almost everybody is now concerned.  Latest report states that yesterday, 3rd July, thousands of people from all the eleven chiefdoms in the southern district of Bo, marched through the principal streets of Bo City to raise awareness on the Ebola outbreak.  What was described as a five-thousand-man-Anti-Ebola-March reportedly attracted all the Members of Parliament, Paramount Chiefs and other traditional authorities, school pupils, drivers and other people from all works of life all of whom processed from the Bo City Centre to the historic Coronation Field where various stakeholders delivered anti-Ebola messages aimed at raising the awareness of the people on the disease. - http://www.sierraexpressmedia.com/archives/68719

Thousands march against Ebola in Sierra Leone

By: Joseph Milton Lebbie on July 4, 2014.

The outbreak of the notorious and much dreaded Ebola killer disease has spread fear right across Sierra Leone and almost everybody is now concerned.

Latest report states that yesterday, 3^rd July, thousands of people from all the eleven chiefdoms in the southern district of Bo, marched through the principal streets of Bo City to raise awareness on the Ebola outbreak.

What was described as a five-thousand-man-Anti-Ebola-March reportedly attracted all the Members of Parliament, Paramount Chiefs and other traditional authorities, school pupils, drivers and other people from all works of life all of whom processed from the Bo City Centre to the historic Coronation Field where various stakeholders delivered anti-Ebolamessages aimed at raising the awareness of the people on the disease.

- See more at: http://www.sierraexpressmedia.com/archives/68719#sthash.Brff1kvc.dpuf

Thousands march against Ebola in Sierra Leone

By: Joseph Milton Lebbie on July 4, 2014.

The outbreak of the notorious and much dreaded Ebola killer disease has spread fear right across Sierra Leone and almost everybody is now concerned.

Latest report states that yesterday, 3^rd July, thousands of people from all the eleven chiefdoms in the southern district of Bo, marched through the principal streets of Bo City to raise awareness on the Ebola outbreak.

What was described as a five-thousand-man-Anti-Ebola-March reportedly attracted all the Members of Parliament, Paramount Chiefs and other traditional authorities, school pupils, drivers and other people from all works of life all of whom processed from the Bo City Centre to the historic Coronation Field where various stakeholders delivered anti-Ebolamessages aimed at raising the awareness of the people on the disease.

- See more at: http://www.sierraexpressmedia.com/archives/68719#sthash.Brff1kvc.dpuf

Return of Pinoys eyed amid Ebola outbreak

By Vito Barcelo | Jul. 05, 2014 at 12:01am

THE Labor Department on Friday advised the Filipino workers in South Africa to prepare for evacuation following an Ebola outbreak there that has claimed 467 lives.
 The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration also suspended the deployment of newly-hired Filipino workers bound for Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone after the Department of Foreign Affairs  raised the Crisis Alert Level to Alert Level 2 following the Ebola outbreak in those countries.
“I urge [the Filipino workers] in those countries to limit their movements and avoid public places to prevent their exposure to the disease,” Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said.
“It will also be wise for them to prepare for  evacuation. The [Labor Department} is working closely with [Foreign Affairs] in ensuring the safety and well-being of [the Filipinos in those countries.”
POEA records showed that from January 2012 to May 2014, there were 880 Filipino workers in Guinea, 632 in Liberia and 1,979 in Sierra Leone, but no Filipino has been afflicted with the disease...
http://manilastandardtoday.com/2014/07/05/return-of-pinoys-eyed-amid-ebola-outbreak/ 

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.”

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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.

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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