INSPECTOR GENERAL SANCTIONS POLICE EFFORTS TO FIGHT EBOLA VIRUS IN SIERRA LEONE

Inspector General of Police, Francis Munu has sanctioned the Sierra Leone Police as an integral part of the effort to fight the Ebola Virus. His statements came in support of the affirmation given to the Police by His Excellency the President in his address to the nation on Tuesday 1^st July 2014. In his address, His Excellency recognized the role of the Police as an integral part of the fight against the spread of the Ebola virus in Sierra Leone.

He mentioned specifically that while tracing suspected cases and taking them to observation and treatment centres are integral to the fight against the disease, the main way to stop the spread of the virus is by preventing contact with persons with the virus. In the event, the Police force together with health personnel is expected to be at the fore front of combating this scourge in Sierra Leone. President Koroma went on to stress that he had instructed the police to “ensure that all vehicles and their passengers entering and leaving Kailahun and Kenema Districts subject themselves to screening.”

In supporting Government’s efforts to combat the disease, IG Munu has instructed that adequate and appropriate information be released to all rank and file police officers and more specifically for chlorine to be made available at all frontline stations and police posts in the affected areas. He also stressed the need for vigilance within the force and for personnel who are apprised of any suspect situation or casualty to report such cases immediately to local health experts and not to touch or attempt to move such fatalities without proper protective apparel. He noted that this directive is necessary because it has been declared that the virus is at its most vicious stage within a dead body.

Senior members of the Sierra Leone Police also rendered their support to the IGP in a meeting of the police Executive Board Meeting held to discuss the outbreak and the police strategic response. AIG Kalia Sesay, Director of Peacekeeping indicated that the matter of containment should be given a priority and that the Sierra Leone Police must use their best endeavors to support health officials in containing the disease and help in tracing and surrendering of suspected cases for treatment.

Inspector General Munu informed his senior staff that their mandate is now guided by the President’s call for national action and that all stakeholders should not relent in this fight against the deadly disease. He noted particularly that His Excellency has buttressed police powers to uphold the law, specifically in relation to the provisions of the Public Health Order Act of 1960. This law states that anyone who obstructs or interferes with the performance of the medical team in relation to an outbreak such as Ebola is guilty of an offence and liable to punishment.

IG Munu also reiterated the police duty to protect life and their mandate to uphold the law by drawing senior staff attention to the President’s ban on all Lumas or trade fairs until the virus has been effectively contained. This task, he told his senior staff is to be disseminated to all local police units across the country. The police, he added are central to this battle against Ebola and he encouraged all rank and file of the sierra Leone police to adhere to medical and public health guidelines at all times

Inspector General Munu also confirmed that the Sierra Leone Police is sending one police support unit to Kenema to increase the number of police necessary to operationalize the President’s directives. The Sierra Leone Police will also deploy two additional police vehicles to Daru and Kailahun to support medical staff and to deal with any incidence of public disorder that may occur. These measures the Inspector General of Police added are in addition to putting together an operational plan for any ensuing public disorder. 
Finally, the IG confirmed that in complementing government’s efforts across the country, the police is carrying out its own internal sensitization on how to handle the disease and prevent police personnel from getting infected by the virus. http://standardtimespress.org/?p=5251

Sierra Leone News: Ebola wahala…Man jailed for obstruction of Ebola staff

A-55 year old businessman, Sani Mohamed of Mano Junction in Nongowa Chiefdom in Kenema District was on Wednesday, 2nd July 2014 convicted for behaving in a “disorderly manner” thereby obstructing the work of a medical personnel working on Ebola.
The accused man was sentenced to one month imprisonment or pay a fine of Le 10, 000 (one hundred and fifty thousand Leones) at his first and last appearance before presiding Magistrate, Alhaji S. Koroma in the Kenema Magistrate Court
According to the particulars of offence, the accused on Wednesday 25th June, 2014 at Mano Junction checkpoint did behave in a disorderly manner there by obstructing the work of a medical personnel working on Ebola.
He was arrested for his misbehaviour and charged to court on two counts charges to wit: behaving disorderly contrary to Section 12 of the Public Order Act No.46 of 1965 as amended by Section 15 of Act No. 2 of 1973, count two for obstruction contrary to Section 39 (1) of Police Act No. 7 of 1964. He was found guilty of the offence and he pleaded for mercy. The matter was prosecuted by Assistant Superintendent of Police, Sahr Didi Lahai of the Legal and Justice Support Department of the Kenema Police Division.
By Saffa Moriba
Friday July 04, 2014 http://awoko.org/2014/07/04/sierra-leone-news-ebola-wahalaman-jailed-for-obstruction-of-ebola-staff/

Kenya Health officials on high alert over Ebola

Saturday, July 5, 2014

In Summary

• Kenya Airways has regular weekly flights to and from West African countries, which are currently at the epicentre of the deadly outbreak.
• About 759 people have been infected with the virus in Guinea, Liberia and Sierre Leone and 467 of them have since died.

By MIKE MWANIKI

Public health officials and nurses at the Eldoret, Kisumu, Moi and Jomo Kenyatta international airports are on high alert following the outbreak of the deadly Ebola that has so far killed 467 people in West Africa.

Ministry of Health Directorate of Preventive and Promotive Diseases Head William Maina on Saturday said the airport health officials were carrying out random sampling of passengers who were arriving from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone to guard against what has become the world’s deadliest disease outbreak.

“They are asking the travellers some questions and checking if they had any fever. At the same time, we have acquired the necessary protective gear as a precaution,” Dr Maina said in a telephone interview.

Currently, Kenya Airways has regular weekly flights to and from West African countries, which are currently at the epicentre of the deadly outbreak.

At the same time, Dr Maina announced that a joint response team comprising of officials from the World Health Organisation, Centre for Disease Control, Kenya Medical Research Institute and Ministry of Health was on stand-by.

The team is led by an Epidemiologist in the Ministry of Health’s disease control unit, Dr Ian Njeru.

On Friday, health ministers from 11 West African countries adopted a common strategy to fight the deadly disease.

At an emergency meeting in Ghana, the ministers promised to better collaboration to fight what has become the world’s deadliest outbreak, killing people in a short time.

About 759 people have been infected with the virus in Guinea, Liberia and Sierre Leone and 467 of them have since died.

The two-day meeting was convened by WHO, among other stake holders. http://www.nation.co.ke/news/Health-officials-on-high-alert-over-Ebola/-/1056/2373630/-/veelqd/-/index.html

Africa Battles To Stop Deadly Spread Of Ebola

Sky News is given exclusive access as medics in West Africa battle to contain the worst ever outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus.

6:27pm UK, Wednesday 02 July 2014

Video: Africa Battles To Stop Ebola Virus

By Alex Crawford, Special Correspondent, In Liberia

The worst Ebola outbreak ever is spreading and will almost certainly extend across West Africa unless there is cross-country co-operation and urgent international assistance.

The porous borders between Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone has meant the disease is not being contained and now risks spreading even further.
Health workers at the epicentre, where the borders of the three countries meet, have made an urgent appeal through Sky News for immediate international help to try to control the virus.

The latest outbreak has spread to three countries

Philip Azumah, the Foya district health officer, said: "We need help now, or the virus will spread and kill more people."
It is difficult to determine exactly how many people have already died from the disease given the cross-border contamination and lack of accounting.
But it is already clear there are many more deaths than any previous outbreak.
Aid organisation Doctors Without Borders has already said it is the largest outbreak on record, with the highest number of deaths.
Across the three countries, more than 400 have died in this latest outbreak, with no sign of the disease being halted.
And for the first time the disease has spread to highly populated areas including cities such as Guinea's capital, Conakry.
At one of the high-risk infection centres set up in Foya, in Liberia, the medics insisted we, like them, took extreme precautions.
This included wearing two layers of protective head-to-toe clothing featuring one waterproof all-in-one outfit, face and head masks, double gloves, thick plastic aprons, sturdy goggles and rubber boots.
Among the victims was a nurse who contracted Ebola after caring for a person who later died from the virus.
Nurse Elizabeth Smith was lying on a bed next to another nurse who had contracted Ebola from the same patient they had both treated.

Elizabeth Smith was too weak to raise her head

But Ms Smith was significantly weaker than her co-worker. She did not raise her head as we entered and her bed was soaked in blood.
Neither woman had realised they were treating a patient with Ebola, so had taken none of the precautions their colleagues were now taking.
Two of them sprayed Ms Smith with disinfectant, down her legs, her feet, her hands and arms as they stood arms-length away in their head-to-toe protective clothing and visors. Gingerly, they took her arms and helped her to her feet, before escorting her down the tent corridor to the high-risk area.
Here, every patient is a confirmed Ebola case and the odds are that 90% of them will die.
The frightening deadliness of Ebola, plus the ignorance around it and the lack of a cure, has thrown the medical staff in this area into a panic.
Francis Forndia, administrator for Foya-Borma Hospital, where medical staff have died after treating victims, told us his workers simply fled after nurses began dying.
"It is hard to get them to return, but we have managed to persuade some to come back by explaining to them how needed they are," he said.
Mr Azumah is co-ordinating the health battle against Ebola in this area. He tells me the first recent outbreak in Liberia was in March, when an infected woman travelled to Foya from Guinea.
She died two days after being admitted to the sole and tiny hospital in Foya. By the time of her death, she had infected eleven people in hospital alone.
Two of them were nurses who went on to die. The remaining nine somehow managed to survive.

Officials say cultural traditions have helped spread the virus

Then Liberia went a solid three weeks without an incident and believed they were clear - until the end of May.
This time, a woman from Sierra Leone, probably out of fear, gave misleading information about where she had come from.
She told investigators she was local, which was true, but did not mention she had in fact spent some time in an infected area of Sierra Leone.
This time the consequences were much more widespread. She had infected a stream of people, six of whom died.
They are still trying to trace all those she may have been in contact with.
There have since been other outbreaks in Voinjamma and the Liberian capital, Monrovia, while Guinea and Sierra Leone continue to register deaths, too.
Mr Azumah said: "In our culture, it is the habit to wash the dead body, look after it for a week in the home, kiss and touch it, even eat meals with the dead body - and we believe this has led to the virus spreading.
"Also people are keeping the illnesses and deaths secret if they suspect Ebola."
By alerting the authorities to possible Ebola, people risk being ostracised by their communities.
There is even a fear among these poverty stricken communities that the visiting health workers are spreading the virus.
But what seems significant is that, in Liberia at least, one of the poorest countries in the world, they are largely coping with this virulent disease on their own - with very little outside help evident.
http://news.sky.com/story/1293312/africa-battles-to-stop-deadly-spread-of-ebola 

Ebola outbreak is 'out of control' in parts of Africa, warns MSF

07.05.2014 9:10 a.m. - 9:10 a.m. Updated on 07/05/2014

Only humanitarian organization operating in hazardous areas in the west of the continent, MSF tries to avoid regional epidemic.

With the exponential increase in the number of cases of Ebola in West Africa, the international medical organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) warns against the risk of a regional epidemic.
"The outbreak is out of control," said the BBC Brazil Mariano Lugli, MSF director of operations in Switzerland.
The team leads Lugli humanitarian assistance in the region since February. With nearly 300 professionals in the field, the organization has helped approximately 500 patients and is at the limit of its operational capacity.

Ebola outbreak is the largest in history has killed nearly 500 people in three countries in West Africa (Photo: BBC)

In four months, the Ebola outbreak which originated in Guinea has spread to two neighboring countries, Liberia and Sierra Leone .
"There is a constant and intense movement of people across borders in this region and the cases are rapidly spreading to other provinces and countries," said Lugli.
The disease has spread to more than 60 different locations in West Africa and has not yet reached its peak.
"In general, this should have happened between two and five months, but it is impossible to predict especially because now there is a variant of the virus that causes hemorrhagic fever and is very dangerous," said Lugli...
 It is estimated that each infected person keep in touch with at least 20 other individuals, which should also be isolated and monitored for control of Ebola. Another common situation is complicated by the careless handling of bodies of victims of the disease...  http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fg1.globo.com%2Fciencia-e-saude%2Fnoticia%2F2014%2F07%2Fsurto-de-ebola-esta-fora-de-controle-em-partes-da-africa-alerta-msf.html

• 

  Aid Coordinator Lindis Hurum MSF is concerned that you have no system to identify who they Ebola sufferers have been in contact with Monrovia in Liberia. It makes it very difficult to stop the epidemic.

  PHOTO: Christian Nestler / MSF

Ebola spread in large cities threatens millions

Ebola infection is confirmed in a million towns of Conakry and Monrovia. - We do not control and I'm very worried, says Lindis Hurum in MSF.

Tor Arne Andreassen

Updated: 04.jul. 2014 11:16

Aid Coordinator Lindis Hurum of Norway visited two days ago a hospital in Monrovia where three people were isolated because they assume they are infected with Ebola. Two of them are health professionals who have been infected in their work. Statistically, they have only 10 to 30 percent chance of survival.
- They have very tough. The only contact they have with people with health professionals wearing full protective clothing, Hurum said by telephone from Liberia's capital, with a population of 1 million people.

• Read more about the threat from Ebola infection: Fear and prejudice. Too few hospitals. Like who kissed.

Many health workers are dead

Her colleague, nurse Sissel Overvoll, returned home yesterday to Norway after his second a month long stay in the three countries. She has provided health care to Ebola sick people, and have found that many of the patients have died. In some cases, entire families.
She confirms that many health workers have become ill and died.

Very many health professionals have been killed, says nurse Sissel Overvoll in MSF. She came back Thursday from Africa. She has worked with Ebola victims in both Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

PHOTO: MSF

- I have no numbers, but I can confirm that many health professionals have lost their lives in all three countries, says Overvoll. The main reason is that the symptoms of Ebola are similar to the symptoms associated with other diseases, such as malaria. This does not take health professionals the necessary precautions.

Have not control

Ebola infection which first appeared in Liberia's neighboring Guinea in February, is now threatening the population in both Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The outbreak is the worst in history, with 763 cases and 468 dead so far.
Hurum said she is very concerned about the situation in Monrovia.
- We are definitely not the situation under control. We see new suspected cases every day, she says.
It is very important to get an overview of who the sick have been in contact with after they were infected, so that you can monitor them, but in Monrovia, this system is not good enough, according to Hurum.

To see ebola virus out.

- It is brand new that something like this pops up in a capital city. We need help from the WHO and from other organizations and must be mobilized even more the next day. A spokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO) claims there is a system in Monrovia to identify who the sick have been in contact with, but admits that it's hard to get a good overview.
- When people move when it is difficult to follow all contacts, said Fadel Chaib, spokeswoman for WHO.

Crisis Meeting

WHO concluded yesterday a two-day emergency meeting about the Ebola epidemic in Accra, Ghana. Delegates from 11 countries in the region were invited to put a game plan on how to assist the sick and infect vulnerable, not to mention prevent a further spread.
WHO points out four reasons why the epidemic has become so serious:
1 infection has occurred in a border area where it is common for people traveling between countries.
2 Health professionals have met resistance in some communities. Thus, they have not been isolated potential disease carriers, and the infection is passed on.
3 The symptoms reminiscent of other diseases. The sick remain at home and are treated by the family, which can be infected by Ebola.
4 Local tradition dictates that grieving relatives and other kisses and hugs the body during funerals. Thus, they can even become infected.

Serious Threat

Health ministers from the 11 countries that were at the WHO meeting agreed that they faced "a serious threat" that required immediate action. Therefore, countries must now work together more closely. Local leaders, both religious and political will is mobilized to get out the message about how people should relate to the disease.
More will be done to identify the sick and the people they have infected. More health professionals should be inserted in the fight against the epidemic. More money should be put into fighting infection.
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aftenposten.no%2Fnyheter%2Furiks%2FEbola-spredning-i-storbyer-truer-millioner-7626472.html%23.U7flvLH3eSo 

Ebola virus in West Africa has reached 481

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Friday (July 4) that the death toll from an outbreak of the Ebola virus in West Africa has reached 481.
The outbreak of the disease in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone is the most widespread and deadliest since the disease first appeared in 1976.
WHO spokesman Dan Epstein made the announcement at a news conference in Geneva.
"There are now a total of 779 cases of Ebola, in the three countries involved which are Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Of which 481 people have died," said Epstein.
- See more at: http://www.tvcnews.tv/article/ebola-death-toll-reaches-481-world-health-organization#sthash.yoy6h3Gj.07JPa6yg.dpuf

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Friday (July 4) that the death toll from an outbreak of the Ebola virus in West Africa has reached 481.  The outbreak of the disease in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone is the most widespread and deadliest since the disease first appeared in 1976.  WHO spokesman Dan Epstein made the announcement at a news conference in Geneva.  "There are now a total of 779 cases of Ebola, in the three countries involved which are Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Of which 481 people have died," said Epstein. - See more at: http://www.tvcnews.tv/article/ebola-death-toll-reaches-481-world-health-organization

Ebola: Experts highlight problems in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone, one of the poorest countries in the world, suffers a chronic lack of doctors, diagnostic tools, a disease-monitoring network and even clothing to protect health workers

Published 8:38 AM, Jul 05, 2014

 PARIS, France – Many cases of Ebola in Sierra Leona may be going undetected, grassroots doctors warned in The Lancet on Saturday, July 5, as they highlighted the impoverished country's problems in combatting the virus.
The journal published the letter on the heels of ministerial talks in Ghana, where a senior UN health official on Thursday, July 3, said the outbreak in West Africa, the worst in the history of Ebola, may persist for several more months.
Sierra Leone, one of the poorest countries in the world, suffers a chronic lack of doctors, diagnostic tools, a disease-monitoring network and even clothing to protect health workers, the letter said.
"Many cases meeting the case definition for suspected Ebola might be going undetected and unreported because ill people and their families are opting for self-treatment with over-the-counter drugs or traditional medicine," it said.
"At present, there is little incentive for patients to seek professional diagnosis of suspected Ebola. Laboratory testing can be expensive (especially when a panel of tests is required for differential diagnosis), is unlikely to change the course of treatment, and might stigmatize an infected patient and their family."
It added: "Even if a patient wanted to be tested for Ebola, few (if any) laboratories in the region have the capacity to safely test a biosafety level 4 pathogen."
The warning came from four doctors working at the Mercy Hospital Research Laboratory in the city of Bo. The letter is headed by an American-based specialist, Karen Jacobsen at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.
Bo has fewer than 15 doctors for a population of more than 150,000, a situation that is common across Sierra Leone as well as in Guinea and Liberia, the other countries where the epidemic is unfolding, the letter said.
"There is an urgent need to provide reliable and constant access to personal protective equipment in health-care centers across the region," it added.
The letter observed that early attempts to impose controls against the disease, by restrictions of border crossings and of sales of bushmeat had not worked – and indeed may have backfired.
"What is certain is that these policies (and the ways that they were communicated) raised anxiety and, in some places, fueled rumors that led to counter-productive behaviors."
The World Health Organization (WHO) gives a toll of 467 fatalities from Ebola, a total comprising confirmed or suspected cases. Ninety-nine have occurred in Sierra Leone.
Keiji Fukuda, the UN agency's assistant director-general of health security, said at the close of the 12-nation conference in Accra on Thursday 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 Agence France-Presse. "I really hope for us to see a turnaround where we begin to see a decrease in cases in the next several weeks." – Rappler.com http://www.rappler.com/world/regions/africa/62443-ebola-experts-highlight-problems-sierra-leone

Resentment and rumor builds against health workers trying to contain Ebola outbreak

July 4, 2014 at 6:28 PM EDT

The latest Ebola outbreak in West Africa is now the largest and deadliest outbreak ever. And unlike outbreaks of the past, it is affecting both rural and urban areas. Jeffrey Brown talks to Laurie Garrett of the Council on Foreign Relations about a recent summit on the outbreak, distrust building against health workers in infected areas and how porous borders make this outbreak so hard to contain.

TRANSCRIPT

JEFFREY BROWN: Late yesterday, I spoke about the situation with Laurie Garrett, author and senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Well, Laurie, since we last spoke in April, there was some thought that this was more under control, but instead the situation seems to have worsened. Give us an overview.LAURIE GARRETT, Council on Foreign Relations: This is the first time we have ever seen an urban as well as rural Ebola outbreak.
It is the first time we have seen Ebola in the capital cities. It is the first time we have seen Ebola crossing borders, now in three countries. And it is the first time we are having an Ebola experience in an area rife with the tensions and the hostilities born out of two really brutal civil wars in Sierra Leone and in Liberia, with spillover into neighboring Guinea.
So these are three small, deeply impoverished West African countries where, in the best of times, they are hard-pressed to meet the public health needs of their people and now to have what is officially designated an out-of-control epidemic on their hands.
JEFFREY BROWN: I am sorry, but remind us now a little bit of what Ebola is and how it is transmitted.
LAURIE GARRETT: Ebola is a virus, of course.
And it first is known to have appeared in 1976 in a country that was then called Zaire, now Democratic Republic of Congo. It has sporadically appeared a few times since then. I was in the epidemic in 1995 in Zaire.
And it’s a virus that attacks the actual lining, so sort of integrity linings of capillary, blood vessels and so on, punching little microscopic holes in the blood linings, so that slowly but surely, molecule by molecule, the blood starts to leak out of the bloodstream.
And when it does that, you go into hemorrhaging. It may start out as internal bleeding, but it can eventually be that you are bleeding from your eyes, your nose, every orifice and in your brain, so that you become quite deranged.
There is no real treatment, just palliative care, and there is certainly no cure, and there is no vaccine.
JEFFREY BROWN: Is it — you were talking about the spread. Is it correct that authorities really don’t quite have a handle on how many people are at risk at this point?
LAURIE GARRETT: We have a number of problems with this.
One is that this is a heavy-duty Ebola — I mean, malaria area. So you already have lots of people walking around with high fevers and other kinds of symptoms that could confuse diagnosis of Ebola. And it is also a region that is known for Lassa fever, another viral, terrible disorder carried by rats, symptomatically, in the beginning, very similar, and some Lassa patients will also hemorrhage.
So you have difficulty in making a proper diagnosis. And we’re now getting reports from all over Sierra Leone, from all over Liberia, all over Guinea, of people turned away from hospitals for routine care simply because they have a fever or simply because they seem dizzy and a little out of it, as, of course, would be a symptom of malaria.
And as a result, we have widespread fear and rage building in the population against the health care systems, because the system is afraid to take the contaminated patients into the facilities.
JEFFREY BROWN: And all of that is clearly making it harder for health care workers to do anything.
LAURIE GARRETT: Well, it is making it hard for everybody.
I mean, even the Red Cross has now abandoned parts of Guinea because their workers are getting physically attacked. Medecins Sans Frontieres, or Doctors of the World, have also been brought under violent attack. And even the health workers from the given countries have been brought under attack.
Partly, it is a general fearfulness from the population, widespread crazy rumors, such as the doctors are infecting people, or the other side, meaning the old wounds of the civil war, your opponents from those days, the people that came and chopped your children’s arms off or stabbed your grandmother, these people are spreading an evil omen through, and you have to stay away because they are running the hospitals.
All of this is making the problem absolutely catastrophic.
JEFFREY BROWN: And what about on the medical — from the medical community. What are the theories on why it has spread to so many different countries and to urban areas, for example, as opposed to in the past?
LAURIE GARRETT: Well, first of all, in the past, when I was in Kikwit — Kikwit is a big city — – quote, unquote — “city,” with no infrastructure of any kind, but more than 400,000 people.
However, incredibly difficult to get to, no airport, no real highways or anything to get in and out. So there was never any real risk that it was going to leave the area. And that’s pretty much been the case with every prior outbreak.
What makes this very unique is that in this part of West Africa, a rain forest swathe cuts across all three of these countries. And it is a swathe inhabited by the bats that normally carry this virus. Something has been going on in that rain forest. And for some reason, the bats are coming in proximity with monkeys or whatever the humans have secondarily come in contact with in order to become infected.
And there may have been more than one introduction from the bat rain forest normal area for the virus into the human population. So the first problem, is all three countries have this rain forest, this habitat.
The second problem is the borders are very porous between these three countries, and there are a lot of ethnic groups that really don’t have any respect for the boundaries. They have frequently flowed, as we saw with the famous civil war led by Charles Taylor, a bona fide war criminal, because he readily crossed the borders between Sierra Leone and Liberia, and made his war a two-country war.
JEFFREY BROWN: All right, Laurie Garrett, thanks so much.
LAURIE GARRETT: Thank you. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/resentment-rumor-builds-health-workers-trying-contain-ebola-outbreak/

Fear works against health workers trying to contain Ebola

The Lancet: Sierra Leone researchers call for improved health surveillance and communication around Ebola crisis

Researchers working in Sierra Leone today [Saturday 5 July] suggest priority actions needed to tackle the ongoing Ebola crisis in West Africa. In a letter to The Lancet, the researchers call for improvements in access to diagnostic technologies and health-care resources, as well as improved disease surveillance and health communication.
At present, there is little incentive for patients to seek professional diagnosis of suspected Ebola, say the authors, with most people with febrile (fever-causing) illnesses in Sierra Leone treated at home, and the true extent of the outbreak therefore very difficult to determine. Moreover, disease surveillance systems in the region are inadequate, despite research (conducted by the authors and others) suggesting that mobile phones and smartphones can be effectively deployed in routine collection of surveillance data.
The authors also highlight a shortage of medical personnel and access to healthcare facilities for most people in the region, writing that, "The relatively few physicians, nurses, and healthcare providers attending to these underserved populations often have poor access to basic personal protective equipment, and might therefore be understandably unwilling to provide direct care for patients suspected to have Ebola. There is an urgent need to provide reliable and constant access to personal protective equipment in health-care centres across the region." 

Finally, the authors suggest that early disease control policies to restrict border crossings and sales of bushmeat have been ineffective. They write that, "What is certain is that these policies (and the ways that they were communicated) raised anxiety and, in some places, fuelled rumours that led to counter-productive behaviours. Improved communication by health officials with the media, community leaders, health professionals, and the general public is necessary to reduce misinformation and improve compliance with prevention and control measures that have been proven effective." http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-07/tl-tls070314.php

Urgency for total involvement in fight against Ebola

Friday, 04 July 2014 00:00 

  ND Editorial Tean  

I from all indications, the Ebola Virus Disease or EVD may now be spreading at an alarming rate in Liberia and the Mano River Union basis. And unless there is TOTAL INVOLVEMENT by all sectors of the Liberian society, we may be in a long battle with the EVD at our disadvantage. The urgent need for the concerted efforts of all societal stakeholders to include political parties, civil society organizations, academic institutions, Community Leaders, Liberia Marketing Association, the Media, Transport Unions, banking institutions, as well as the business community, among others,  must be emphasized.

While we appreciate the efforts of the Government of Liberia, through the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and its international partners in the fight against the Ebola Virus Disease from the initial stage to present, it is now a matter of urgency for the total involvement of all stakeholders of the Liberian Society in these efforts to raid the nation of this deadly disease. Our concern for these efforts comes against the backdrop of the alarming increase in the number of people killed by the virus in West Africa to 467, as reported by the World Health Organization or WHO.

According to the WHO, Sixty-eight of the deaths had been recorded since 23 June 2014, while the number of cases had risen from 635 on 23 June to 759, a 20% increase- the largest outbreak, in terms of cases, deaths and geographical spread to affect Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. In Monrovia, the EVD has now struck several suburban townships and municipalities, including New Kru Town, Paynesville, as well as Central Monrovia, among a few others, in addition to the northwestern county of Lofa with a reported death toll of 30.

More scaring and worrisome, is the latest report of the death of the Head of Surgeon at the government-run Redemption Hospital in the Borough of New Kru Town (name withheld) on Tuesday after he had been quarantined at the John F. Kennedy Medical Center in Sinkor, where he was being monitored up to his demise. He is reported to have died after treating a health worker, who died of Ebola at Redemption.

The female health worker on duty died at the Redemption Hospital recently after she supervised an Ebola patient admitted at the hospital. The sudden death of Esther Kesselee led Health Ministry authorities in Monrovia to shut down the Redemption Hospital and transferred all patients to other government hospitals in the capital.

With the solidarity expressed by President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf for the staff and Nurses at the hospital after the death of Madam Kesselee during a visit to the Redemption Hospital on June 17, 2014, it is incumbent upon all societal stakeholders to join the aware campaign, in every manner and form, with more vigour to save our population and nation.

We must face the reality; Ebola-a haemorrhagic fever that has no cure, is spread by contact with the fluids of infected people or animals, such as urine, sweat and blood. And considering the nature of the Liberian society, it is about time as a matter of urgency, that we all join President Sirleaf and the Government of Liberia, through the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and international partners ‘to fight this Ebola war’ to victory. http://www.thenewdawnliberia.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12059:-urgency-for-total-involvement-in-fight-against-ebola&catid=28:editorial&Itemid=67

 Ebola-related deaths from New Kru Town have reached seven with the Head Surgeon at Redemption Hospital being the latest. http://www.thenewdawnliberia.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12042:-ebola-kills-doctor-at-redemption-hospital&catid=46:health&Itemid=60

10 Nurses quarantined at C.H. Rennie Hospital

Friday, 04 July 2014 00:00 Ramsey N. Singbeh, Jr. in Kakata

The Margibi County Health Team in collaboration with the Administration of the Charles Rennie Hospital in Kakata has listed 10 nurses from the C. H. Rennie Hospital and several others to be closely observed for suspected symptoms of the Ebola Virus Disease in Margibi.
(L-R) C. H. Rennie Medical Director Dr. Adolphus Yeiah & Margibi County Health Officer, Dr. Hawa Kromah

The decision came days after these people were noticed to have come in contact with a student of the Kakata Rural Teacher Training Institute (Michael Tengbeh) who died recent from Ebola at the C.H. Rennie Hospital. Speaking to this paper at the C.H. Rennie Hospital in Kakata on July 2, 2014, County Health Officer Dr. Hawa Kromah, said the nurses are currently out of work from the Hospital and are being observed for 21 days.

Dr. Kromah said there are other people who also came in contact with the late Michael Tengbeh prior to his death, including trainees from the Kakata Rural Teacher Training Institute (KRTTI) most especially his roommates and others from the community.

She further disclosed that while the victim was alive, he visited a health center in Kakata for treatment before he was subsequently admitted at the C.H. Rennie Hospital where he died eventually. She indicated that the administration of the KRTTI has been informed about the issue and the names and contacts of those fellow roommates (students) are already identified for close monitoring.

The Margibi County Health Officer said the students from KRTTI who are listed have all abandoned campus and they will only return for graduation, which is scheduled this month. For the rest of the people, she said they have been earmarked and are also needed for observation to make sure that they are not Ebola positive.

The Medical Director of the C.H. Rennie Hospital, Dr. Adolphus Yeiah, said the hospital has had series of meetings with the Margibi County Administration to contain the situation. Dr. Yeiah warned that Ebola as a disease is real and people should not overlook its existence, adding that many people believe that Ebola is not real. He said there is a need that everyone helps in containing the virus in Margibi County and Liberia at large in order to save lives.

The Medical Director said people should not be afraid to go to the hospital for treatment or to report suspicious sicknesses, dismissing rumor circulating in the county that whenever a patient goes to the C.H. Rennie Hospital for regular medication he or she can be detained falsely for suspected Ebola symptoms. He said this has made many people afraid to go to the hospital for treatment. 
http://www.thenewdawnliberia.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12060:-10-nurses-quarantined-at-ch-rennie-hospital&catid=46:health&Itemid=60

The Andromeda Strain - Scientist who discovered Ebola virus says 'We're running out of time'

7/4/2014 (5 hours ago)

 Body-melting virus killing hundreds virtually unchecked in West Africa

The scientist who discovered the Ebola virus. Dr. Peter Piot says that the current outbreak of the body-melting virus in West Africa, in which 467 people have died, is "unprecedented." Piot also said that "because of the greater awareness, there is hope. But we're running out of time."

The current Ebola outbreak in West Africa outbreak is "already a mega-crisis," Dr. Peter Piot says.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) -- "One, [this is] the first time in West Africa that we have such an outbreak," Piot told TV journalists. "Secondly, it is the first time that three countries are involved. And thirdly it's the first time that we have outbreaks in capitals, in capital cities."

The non-governmental organization Doctors Without Borders warns that the outbreak in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia is now "out of control." The spread of the virus has grown exponentially since being discovered in that part of the world at the beginning of 2014.

"With this strain of Ebola, you've got like a ninety percent chance of dying. That's spectacular by any standard - one of the most lethal viruses that exist."

In describing the onslaught of the disease, Piot warns of the slow, agonizing death. "Ebola virus infection starts with something that looks like the flu - headache, fever, maybe diarrhea. But then you can develop very fast bleeding that's uncontrollable, and that's how people die."

There is hope - while there is no cure for Ebola, Piot says that this ordinarily would make the disease easy to fight. "You need really close contact to become infected. So just being on the bus with someone with Ebola, that's not a problem."

Simple hygienic measures like washing with soap and water, not re-using syringes, and avoiding contact with infected corpses are sufficient to stop spread of the disease, Piot said.

"This is an epidemic of dysfunctional health systems . Fear of the virus, and the lack of trust in government, in the health system, is as bad as the actual virus."

The dysfunctional health care system in the affected countries are to blame, Piot says. ". A person is infected, is hospitalized, and infects other patients and particularly health care workers.

"They're buried somewhere; around that funeral, people are infected when they touch the body, and so on. And then they get ill, and then they go somewhere else, and then they go to relatives in town, maybe because they hope to have better health care. That's how it spreads."

The current outbreak is "already a mega-crisis," Piot said.

"For me, this is a reason for a state of emergency, you know, in these countries."

"You need a combination of nearly military type of control measures - isolation, quarantine of those who are the diseased - but also their relatives, to make sure that they're not spreading the infection.

"And, secondly, community mobilization. Information can save lives here."
http://www.catholic.org/news/international/africa/story.php?id=56075 

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/