DRC: results from the "unknown disease" is heavier than 75 dead

Published Friday, August 22, 2014 2:31 p.m.

Seventy-five people have died of an unidentified disease that is a hemorrhagic fever "of unknown origin" in Equateur province (north-west of the Democratic Republic of Congo), said Friday the UN radio Okapi citing provincial authorities.

This estimate is much higher than the one given Thursday by the Congolese Minister of Health, Dr. Felix Kabange Numbi.

Radio Okapi, a UN-sponsored, was reported Thursday in the death of 65 people in about four weeks in the health area Djera in the areas of health Wetsikengo, Lokalia Wafanya and in the territory of Boende a town about 300 km east of Mbandaka, the capital of Equateur province.

This "unknown disease" made ten more deaths, said Friday the radio.

A spokesman at the headquarters of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Gregory Härtl has about him reported "cases of gastroenteritis."

According to Mr Numbi, some 80 people who were in contact with the deceased patients are followed at home.

The appearance of this disease comes amid an outbreak of Ebola hemorrhagic fever unprecedented since the emergence of the virus in 1976 - when two simultaneous outbreaks in Sudan and the DRC (then Zaire) - killed at least 1,350 dead on 2.473 cases in four countries in West Africa (Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and most recently Nigeria).
Too early to talk about deadly hemorrhagic fever, according to WHO and MSF

It is too early to say that it is a hemorrhagic fever that has killed at least thirteen - or 75, according to UN radio Okapi - people in the northwest of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) warned Friday WHO and Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

"Many died with bleeding symptoms, but it also has severe malaria who can also give these symptoms, or typhoid fever," said an official of the World Health Organization (WHO) based in Kinshasa under the condition of anonymity told AFP.

"We are still waiting biological confirmations to determine what kind of disease it is," he told AFP Amandine Colin, communications officer for MSF in Kinshasa, whose teams are present in the affected area, Boende territory of the Province of Ecuador (northwest).

The Congolese Minister of Health, Dr. Felix Kabange Numbi said Thursday AFP that "13 people have died since August 11 hemorrhagic fever of unknown origin," stressing that it presented "in terminally ill, vomiting of blackish material. "

Samples have been taken and should be treated at the National Institute of Biomedical Research (INRB) and the laboratory in Franceville, Gabon, to determine the exact origin of the disease. "We should have the results in seven days," the minister said.
Friday, the death toll remained "unchanged", said Dr. Kabange Numbi told AFP, while the UN radio Okapi reported a record 75 deaths.

Lokolia and Watsikengo, distant thirty miles, are the epicenters of the disease. The authorities have created commissions to the patient monitoring, hygiene, sanitation and safe burials.  http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2F7sur7.cd%2Findex.php%2F8-infos%2F8473-rdc-le-bilan-de-la-maladie-inconnue-s-alourdit-a-75-morts%23.U_dU8rH3dac

70 die from illness in Congo, WHO denies Ebola link

Published August 21, 2014

At least 70 people have died in northern Democratic Republic of Congo from an outbreak of hemorrhagic gastroenteritis, the World Health Organization said on Thursday, denying that the illness was Ebola.
A WHO report dated Thursday and seen by Reuters said that 592 people had contracted the disease, of whom 70 died. Five health care workers, including one doctor, are among the dead.
"This is not Ebola," a WHO spokesman said in an email to Reuters on Thursday.
A local priest who asked not to be named said that the illness had affected several villages and estimated that the death toll was over 100 people.
Kinshasa sent its health minister, Felix Kabange Numbi, and a team of experts on Wednesday to the region after reports of several deaths.
The outbreak began in the remote jungle province of Equateur where the first case of Ebola was reported in 1976, prompting speculation that it was the same illness that has killed more than 1,350 people in an outbreak now raging in West Africa.
Symptoms of the two diseases are similar; they include vomiting, diarrhoea and internal bleeding. But the fatality rate for this outbreak of haemorrhagic gastroenteritis is much lower than the West Africa Ebola outbreak, at around 12 percent versus close to 60 percent.
The WHO, which sent representatives to the area on Wednesday together with the Congolese team of experts, said four samples would be flown from the town of Boende on Friday to the capital Kinshasa for further testing.
Medical charity MSF said it had also sent a team to Equateur province to assess the situation. MSF said it was too early to confirm what the disease was. http://www.foxnews.com/health/2014/08/21/70-die-from-illness-in-congo-who-denies-ebola-link/

Suspected Irish Ebola Case 'From Sierra Leone'

7:50pm UK, Thursday 21 August 2014

A man in Ireland who medics suspect may have died from Ebola is understood to have come from Sierra Leone, Sky sources have said.

The suspected victim was a father of one aged between 43 and 45 was thought to have originally been from the Mountcharles area, outside Donegal town, County Donegal.
He was visiting his large family in Co Donegal when he was taken ill having previously been living in Dublin.
Local people said the man may have been receiving treatment for malaria when he died. 
It is understood he had recently returned from Sierra Leone.
One source said he had been working in the west African country for a telecommunications company and had returned within the last couple of weeks.  http://news.sky.com/story/1322708/suspected-irish-ebola-case-from-sierra-leone



...The man’s body has been isolated in the morgue of Letterkenny General Hospital.
A HSE statement said: “The appropriate national guidelines, in line with international best practice, are being followed by the public health team dealing with the situation. This means that the body of the deceased has been isolated to minimise the potential spread of any possible virus. Blood samples have been sent for laboratory testing to confirm whether or not this individual had contracted Ebola virus disease.
“Until a diagnosis is confirmed, and as a precautionary measure, the individual’s remains will stay in the mortuary pending the laboratory results which are expected late tomorrow... http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/health/ebola-probe-after-man-s-body-found-in-donegal-1-6254741

DRC-unknown disease kills 65 people in 4 weeks Djera

Ecuador: an unknown disease kills 65 people in 4 weeks Djera

published there 12 hours, 9 minutes | Last Update August 21, 2014 at 9:35 |

The Minister of Public Health, Felix Kabange Numbi on 31/05/2013 in Kinshasa, during the official launch ceremony of the acceleration of the reduction of maternal mortality and child in the DRC framework. Radio Okapi / Ph. John Bompengo

An unidentified disease has killed 65 people in about 4 weeks in the area of ​​health Djera, Tshuapa district, 25 kilometers Boende-center in the province of Ecuador. The Minister of Public Health, Felix Kabange Numbi, the acting governor of Ecuador, Sébastien Impeto, as well as experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) arrived Wednesday, August 20 at Boende to investigate this disease, and care for patients.
Health sources on the ground say they have been alerted since July on a contagious disease that affects three areas of health Wetsikengo, Lokalia and Wafanya in Boende territory. The disease is characterized by severe diarrhea, fever and vomiting. According to the same health sources, four nurses, who cared for the sick, are among the victims.
Moreover, the disease would progress to the locality of Wetsikengo near Tshuapa River.
Teams of WHO and the health zone Boende, rushed to the scene, took samples which are being analyzed at the National Institute of Biomedical Research (INRB) in Kinshasa.
Pending the results of the examinations, the Minister Felix Kabange Numbi pledged to send another team of doctors in the health area of ​​Djera, about twenty miles of Boende.
This mission will still resample that will, from this weekend, to have more details on this illness, he said. https://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&ie=UTF8&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http://radiookapi.net/actualite/2014/08/21/equateur-mal-inconnu-fait-65-morts-en-4-semaines-djera/&usg=ALkJrhhGnjbNDlNzZ8FCnyu5zzR3QpMfSA

Death was to be expected, say doctors who treated ebola-infected priest in Spain

The team who looked after Miguel Pajares in Madrid say hardest part was lack of direct contact

• Priest brought back to Spain after contracting ebola dies in Madrid hospital

EFE 21 AGO 2014 - 18:07 CEST

Left to right: Doctors Germán Ramírez, Marta Arsuaga, Fernando de la Calle and Mar Lago treated Spanish ebola patient Miguel Pajares. / Kiko Huesca (EFE)

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The death of Spanish missionary Miguel Pajares from the ebola virus in Madrid was “to be expected” even though doctors fought to save his life “to the very end,” medics who treated him at the capital’s Carlos III Hospital have said.
Speaking to news agency Efe about being the first doctors to treat an ebola patient in Europe, tropical disease specialists Marta Arsuaga and Fernando de la Calle Prieto said that at first they hoped he might pull through despite the virus’s 80 percent mortality rate, since he was being treated in a more advanced health system.
For five days, the team managed to keep 75-year-old Pajares, who had been brought back to Spain after contracting the virus working in a hospital in Liberia, alive. “At that moment we all wanted him to pull through so badly ... but it is a very serious virus and the end was to be expected,” said Arsuaga.

Doctors have asked for the “utmost calm” from Spaniards

The hardest part about the treatment, she added, was the fact that they were unable to come into direct physical contact with the patient, as ebola can spread through touch. This meant wearing special suits to perform tasks such as keeping Pajares clean and checking his vital signs.
Just putting on the suit took 15 minutes, and taking it off took even longer because great care had to be taken not to touch any part of it. Both operations were performed inside a security lock separating the “clean” area from the “dirty” area where Pajares fought the infection.
Weariness would set in every half an hour. “The more time you spend in there, the higher the risk of making a mistake. That is why there were so many personnel at hand,” said Arsuaga.
Patient and doctors communicated through an intercom system.
De la Calle Prieto added that even Pajares’ tissue samples could not be analyzed the usual way in a lab. This forced doctors to rely on other “signs” that are typically used in traditional medicine.

Just putting on the safety suit took 15 minutes, and taking it off even longer

Asked whether the priest should have remained in Liberia rather than risk spreading ebola in Spain, the doctors said it had not been their decision to make.
“We came across a patient with ebola and we did the job we are trained to do. Why he was brought over, or whether it was right or wrong, has to do with existing agreements,” says Arsuaga.
Doctors also asked for the “utmost calm” from Spaniards and said it was “highly unlikely” that another confirmed case of ebola would be transferred to Spain, making the probability of the disease becoming infectious here “practically” zero.
As for the nun who was flown in along with Pajares, Juliana Bonoha, doctors have confirmed that so far she has not developed the disease and remains under close observation. http://elpais.com/elpais/2014/08/21/inenglish/1408630370_306675.html

Liberia gives food in slum sealed to stop #Ebola

Published on NewsOK Modified: August 21, 2014 at 10:52 am •  Published: August 21, 2014

MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) — Hundreds of residents of a Liberian slum lined up to receive rice and water from government officials Thursday in their neighborhood which was sealed off from the rest of the capital in an attempt to halt the spread of Ebola.

West Point residents try to buy water, rear, in one of the areas were the Ebola virus has claimed lives in Monrovia, Liberia, Thursday, Aug. 21, 2014. Calm returned Thursday to a slum in the Liberian capital that was sealed off in the government's attempt to halt the spread of Ebola, a day after clashes erupted between residents and security forces, but now the tens of thousands of residents are worried about getting food. (AP Photo/Abbas Dulleh)

Security forces erected barbed-wire wrapped barricades on Wednesday to cut off West Point. Food prices inside the impoverished peninsula began to rise almost immediately. Residents clashed with police and soldiers hours after their neighborhood was sealed off, furious that they were being blamed and cut off from markets and jobs. But the situation was calm Thursday.
"The township was quiet last night but what we now need is food," said Richard Kieh, a West Point resident Thursday morning.
By afternoon, government officials had arrived with bags of rice, sachets of drinking water and cooking oil. Hundreds of anxious residents lined up at the distribution point, and officials warned the operation could take all day. The World Food Program said it would also begin distributing food in the area in the coming days.
At least 50,000 people live in the half-mile-long (kilometer-long) West Point peninsula, where water is brought in by wheelbarrow and public defecation is a major problem.

The clashes Wednesday between West Point residents and security forces left at least three people injured, who were shown on a local TV station. A nationwide nighttime curfew, first imposed countrywide in Liberia on Wednesday night, has also been put in place to try to get the outbreak under control.
Liberia is being hit especially hard by the dreaded virus that has killed more than 1,300 people in West Africa in the largest outbreak of Ebola ever.
Several counties and districts in Sierra Leone and Liberia have been cordoned off, and there are concerns this is slowing the supply of food and other goods to these areas. The World Food Program is preparing to feed 1 million people affected by such travel restrictions.
The current outbreak in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Nigeria is the largest ever, and officials have said that treatment centers are filling up faster than new ones can be opened or expanded. This leaves the sick packing hallways, potentially infecting more people. http://newsok.com/liberia-gives-food-in-slum-sealed-to-stop-ebola/article/feed/725302?custom_click=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Newsok%2FNews+%28NewsOK.com+RSS+-+news%29

Ebola: Sellers eat bush meat publicly in Ibadan

on August 21, 2014    in /  6:58 am   /   

IBADAN — SEVERAL bush meat sellers, yesterday, proved to sellers and buyers at the popular Aleshinloye market in Ibadan that their wares (bush meat) were not infected with Ebola virus as they ate pieces in public to dismiss the claim.

Their action attracted other sellers in the market who empathized with them, saying the sudden spell cast on bush meat was not with good motive.
They vowed never to abandon the trade they have been practising for at least 50 years. This came as members of the National Hunters Association of Nigeria dismissed as non-issue, saying in Africa, nobody eats meat until it is well cooked.
Speaking through the two associations, Iyalode Bush Meat Sellers Association, Alhaja Risikat Odeyemi, aged 67, and Chief Olasheinde Afolabi Ishola said: “After cooking the meat, it is also roasted and dried for several hours, this does not allow any virus to survive.
“Help us ask them to prove to us that after roasting, cooking and drying it on fire, the virus can still survive. They should stop saying things they don’t know. If they don’t believe us, let them tell the whole world to stop eating all living things such as fish and meat but depend solely on vegetables so that they would not die.”
Odeyemi said she had been in the business for the past five decades and had never heard of anything negative about their meat which many doctors had previously certified fit for human consumption.
According to her, “it was my great grandmother that introduced me to this business and I have used it to do many good things in life. I can’t leave this business because doing so would tantamount to disobeying my ancestors.
We have sold all kinds of animal like the elephant, porcupine, grasscutter, antelope.” When asked about patronage in this Ebola period, she lamented that they had been living from hand to mouth since the problem started.
According tio her, “before they brought this Ebola issue, many customers would park their exotic cars here waiting patiently until we attend to them. Many a time, we would dress meat newly supplied in their presence.
They would queue here waiting for their turn.  “But, now see how silent this place is. Look at the time now, for the past two weeks, we, including our children, have been eating our meat and nothing happened to us.
But, how many can we eat? This is why we are pleading with the government and our numerous customers that our meat don’t have Ebola. “It is the government that should be blamed for the outbreak.
If they had monitored our borders well, Patrick Sawyer, who imported the virus, would not have been granted entry into our country. Now, we are suffering for their laxity. It is not fair.”

Hunters lament  The hunters too claimed that since the issue came up, the bush meat sellers had not made any demand at all and “if they don’t patronise us, who will buy the meat?” While corroborating their claims, the Otun Balogun of hunters, Chief Balogun Ege, said: “We are eating bush meat and nothing has happened to us. Since the issue started, business has been very dull.
Nothing for us at all and this is the trade we use in training our children.  “Since the sellers are not buying from us again, it is unwise to go for hunting. Who will buy it from us?” http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/08/ebola-sellers-eat-bush-meat-publicly-ibadan/

Nimba and Grand Gedeh Counties share the Cestors River as a common border

Gov’t Closes Nimba-Grand Gedeh Boundary

Wed, 08/20/2014 - 15:11 admin

As Ebola Death Toll Heightens in Ganta

By: 

Ishmael F. Menkor

As the deadly Ebola Virus rages  across Nimba county, the Government of Liberia over the weekend deployed the Army to close the Nimba – Grand Gedeh border at the Cestor River to prevent the virus from reaching other parts of the country which lie across the river.
Superintendent Fong Zuagele disclosed to the Task Force last Sunday at the meeting in Saclepea that officers and men of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) were deployed to curtail the movement along the highway.
Jacob Bantu of Tapita told the Daily Observer that it is not easy for travelers from both sides to cross over to either side.
“The whole of today, nobody has been allowed to cross on  either side of the Nimba-Grand Gedeh border, with the exception of those working with an NGO, press, or health workers, among others,” he said.
“Even before anyone crosses to either side, s/he will go through temperature testing, do hand washing,” he added.
Over a week ago, similar action was taken by the authority of Nimba when a checkpoint was erected at the St. John River, which, divides Nimba and Bong, to check the temperatures of travelers entering and leaving Nimba.
Nonetheless, the death toll from Ebola continues to rise, especially in Nimba’s  commercial city of Ganta,  where about five dead bodies were recently discovered across the city with 14 persons  seriously ill.
The series of deaths and the fate of relocating the probable and suspected cases remains one of the cardinal problems in fighting the deadly disease,  which has claimed the lives of thousand in the Mano River Basin.
To date, many who are showing signs and symptoms of sickness are yet to be relocated or treated, or provided with food supplies.
The earmarked holding site at the Ganta Hospital is yet to be rehabilitated for suspected or probable cases to be taken there for treatment.
At certain homes around in the LPRC Community since 17^th August 2014, four bodies were reported, with two of the dead, children, being buried while two others were still  awaiting burial. 
The lack of vehicles to quickly remove the dead for burial and also space for burial remains the major challenge to combating the Ebola in Nimba.
Charles Miller, a resident of Tapita said, “The closing of the road to Grand Gedeh may likely be followed by blocking the Ganta-Tapita highway.  This will cause things to get  worse daily, as prices go up after people hear the news.
Nimba, especially Ganta, is in the spotlight to be quarantined due to the increasing Ebola deaths.  But, according to Ganta City Mayor Dorr Cooper, a feasibility survey is underway to look into the economic activities and movements of ArcelorMittal, the county’s  major employer.
Meanwhile, an Ebola victim is said to be lying dead in Karnplay with nowhere to bury to the corpse.
The Ganta Task Force has set up a team of nurses to cater to those under quarantine at their various homes waiting to be transferred to the holding site or center.  
First aid drugs were procured by the Ganta Task Force with funding from the well wishers within the city to meet the needs of quarantined patients. http://www.liberianobserver.com/security/gov%E2%80%99t-closes-nimba-grand-gedeh-boundary

West Africa: Outrage Grows Over Poor Ebola Response - Call for Global Mobilization

y Tami Hultman
Washington, DC — Imagine this choice. Your child has Ebola symptoms. You have no protective gloves to help keep you alive to care for her. But she needs comfort, so you wash her and wipe away her vomit – and you both die.
Liberia, one of the three most-affected countries, doesn't have enough gloves even for medical staff. Overwhelmed international caregivers – like the uniquely engaged Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) – are expressing disbelief at the 'too little, too late' international response.
"We are completely amazed by the lack of willingness and professionalism and coordination to tackle this epidemic," the group's operations director, Brice de le Vingne, told the Financial Times, saying Liberia, where MSF is scaling up treatment centers, is a country on the verge of collapse. "We have been screaming for months," he said.
The group says there is nowhere near the assistance needed, despite recent efforts. Only after a traveler from Liberia took the virus to oil-rich Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation and host to large international investments and businesses, did the global response reach even the current modest levels.
The World Health Organization this month is launching a U.S. $100 million disaster plan, after exhausting previous contributions of $7 million. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has sent 19 people to work in Liberia, and Public Affairs Director Barbara Reynolds says at least 60 CDC people are in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, plus Nigeria.
Nobody who has been working on the Ebola crisis in Guinea, Sierra Leone or Liberia thinks that's close to what's needed.
Contrast that with the world response to the 2010 Haitian earthquake. Over $3.5 billion was donated by governments, organizations and individuals. Within 24 hours, the small nation of Israel had equipped a plane with emergency medical supplies, and 40 doctors and 20 nurses and 20 medics were able to set up a field hospital on arrival – including a patient identification system and electronic medical records. More than 300 CDC staff went to Haiti to assist in the recovery, including battling the ensuing cholera epidemic. In much of North America, Latin America and Europe, commercial businesses put out collection boxes for relief donations. Individuals responded massively.
Nothing like that is in place for west Africa.
"The virus has devastated the entire health infrastructure of the country," says Riva Levinson, whose Washington,DC-based KRL International works with the government of Liberia to get its message out. That means Liberians are dying in large numbers every day from easily treated but common diseases in one of the world's poorest countries routine gastrointestinal infections, pneumonia, complications of pregnancy, and malaria – which is at its highest levels in the current rainy season – due to the absence of care. [See AllAfrica's Bokai Fofana's blog about the heightened worry about finding treatment when his young son developed malaria.
Clinics and hospitals have closed, not only from losses of staff but from for lack of infection control supplies and disinfectant to make buildings and wards safe for caregivers or other patients following treatment of Ebola sufferers. That lack of capacity forced Dr. James Sirleaf, medical director of the medical assistance group Heartt Foundation, to pull its volunteers out of John F. Kennedy Hospital (JFK) in Monrovia, the country's main teaching and referral facility. "It was an agonizing decision," he said.
Heartt has formed ties with at least 19 major U.S. medical schools and universities and has a program that takes volunteers to JFK on short rotations to teach medical students and other health professionals while providing patient care. Last month the epidemic claimed JFK's top medical consultant, Dr. Samuel Brisbane.
Dozens of health workers have died, in a country that – before Ebola struck – only had around 50 doctors for a population of over four million. AllAfrica's Patience Dalieh's cousin, a nurse, died last week, after treating patients in a cross-roads market town of Kakata, in central Liberia; eleven other nurses in the facility died. (Patience didn't let fear stop her from trying to prevent Ebola's spread in Monrovia, Liberia's capital. See her blog.)
On Friday, in a rare bit of good news for Liberia, Dr. Phillip Ireland, who was treated at the same Ebola treatment center as Brisbane, walked out of the center, arms raised as he greeted family and supporters.
Heartt's Sirleaf first met Ireland when the then-medical student approached him for help in augmenting his emergency medicine skills. "When I heard he had contracted Ebola, I cried," says Sirleaf. "His recovery is wonderful news!"
But there is little good news for the country that already was struggling to recover from a quarter century of conflict that killed 250,000 people and dislocated three-quarters of the population, while destroying almost all the infrastructure – clinics, schools, roads, bridges and public buildings. The administration of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has been battling to rebuild, and there were clear signs of recovery against the odds. [See Briefing: Moving From Stabilization to Transformation] .Now, much of that hard-won progress has been erased – and is threatened with reversal. Schools have closed, Peace Corps teachers have left, companies working on critical development projects have withdrawn staff. The government announced that essential work on dams and roads has stopped.
Without strong intervention, widespread famine looms. In-country trade in agricultural products has ground to a standstill, and essential grain and rice shipments, as well as imports of fuel for electric generators has slowed, as ships bypass the Port of Monrovia. All but two airlines – as of this writing, Brussels Air and Royal Air Maroc were still flying – have halted service to Monrovia.
What's desperately needed, says Levinson, is a global response on the model of the assistance for Haiti. "If we don't recognize that we need to fight Ebola and contain it in a big way and provide the countries with support, we're not going to be capable of arresting it. And right now the support is not even scratching the surface."
"In Haiti, everyone wanted to go there and volunteer," she says. "The challenge now is the level of fear. The focus has been on preventing the disease 'coming to us', and it has completely missed the devastation it has caused."
Blaming the Victims
Much of the early warnings about Ebola came from policy experts who pinned responsibility for the slow response on the governments of the three countries – and media reflected that view.
Former National Public Radio reporter Laurie Garret - author of The Coming Plague, which warns about emerging diseases such as Ebola – is now senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations. In an opinion piece for CNN, she gives a nod to the history of regional conflict, but puts the blame squarely on poor governance:
"Fear, suspicion, poverty, pain and superstition are the norm, the noise that everybody lives with, every minute of their lives. Ebola is simply a new scream heard above that terrible background din. The challenge today in these barely functioning states is to find ways to lower the overall noise, focus on stopping the Ebola virus, and bring governance and peace to three countries that have rarely experienced either.
Garret's position was widely echoed in other media and by other pundits during the critical period for containing the virus and minimizing the loss of life and the long-term economic catastrophe. The failure of the international organizations that had the scientific expertise to warn African governments and advise them on effective mitigation received little scrutiny.
A New York Times editorial on 15 August citing a "painfully slow" international response was an important corrective to the 'blame the victim' narrative, saying the World Health Organization had "snoozed on the sidelines for months" and commending the heroic efforts of MSF and Samaritan's Purse.
Two intrepid media professionals, photojournalist John Moore of Getty and reporter Jina Moore of Buzzfeed have been posting heart-wrenching images and stories – a key component to mobilizing public pressure for political action. National Public Radio has a team in Liberia this week.
Levinson and other advocates for the affected countries would like to see former American Presidents Clinton and Bush, who established the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund take similar action on behalf of Ebola victims and to stimulate more helpful media coverage of the needs in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. She says it can't be soon enough.
"All of the governments are democratically elected, all post-conflict success stories, all inherited non-existent infrastructures that had to be re-built from close to zero. With so much to lose, what is the world waiting for?"
The AllAfrica Foundation is launching this week a Give a Glove campaign – to call attention to the need for international action and to support the Ebola BlockAID campaign of the Heartt Foundation. Watch for information.http://allafrica.com/stories/201408201797.html?viewall=1

Liberia: Ebola Hits Bassa Second Populous District - One Confirmed, Six Suspected

Alpha Daffae Senkpeni
 20 August 2014
The Town has just a public clinic which has fewer than 10 nurses who have said their lives are at risk
Wee District, Grand Bassa County - One person has been confirmed an Ebola patient in District Three (Wee Statutory District), with six others who came in direct contact with the patient being tracked by the Grand Bassa County Ebola Task Force.
District authorities confirmed the presence of the virus in the densely populated community of Compound Three, a settlement with over 25,000 people, as denying that the deadly virus doesn't exist still lingers amongst many residents in the area.
Sources say, the patient, a woman, arrived in the district a week ago from Dolo Town, Margibi County and felt very ill before her relatives opted to take her to a nearby town where an herbalist's healing failed to recuperate her.
But when the family resolved to take her to the only public clinic in the district's main town, her specimen was then sent to the Ebola Lab in Charlesville and proved positive.

The District Superintendent, Abel Nyounboul, told reporters that the county Ebola Task Force is expected to transport the patient to the treatment center soon. The presence of one confirmed case and approximately six probable cases in the densely populated town, have left residents to start calling on the Ebola Task Force to track all those who came in contact with the patient.
As difficult as it appears especially in the absence of resources, the District Superintendent said contact tracing of the six persons is on already. "We have directed the district commissioner and begin to enlist all other we think interacted with her specifically her aunt and uncle who were catering to her before she was tested positive," he said.
A day before the confirmation that the virus has hit the district, Hon. Jeh Byron Brown said he was leading an initiative to set up the District's Ebola Task Force, which he said will include over 150 persons from various sectors of the communities.
"I have made an initial LD$10, 000.00 to the Task Force, which will be used to open an account and we are to carry out a fundraising drive to funds to help prevent and contain the deadly virus," Hon. Brown said.
The Grand Bassa lawmaker recently cautioned his constituents against allowing people from outside the district to come in for business purposes, thereby proposing that a ban should be placed at the crossing of canoes from district one into District three. And the District Superintendent revealed that his administration will impose several measures to limit the gathering of people in crowds.
"We will try to inform and educate our people so they can know that strangers will not be held within the district for now," Mr. Nyounbol Said. "We have even asked the local marketing association to close all special market days."
The news of the first case in Grand Bassa second most populated district comes as information of over 20 deaths in Gbaplee Town, (District One) Grand Bassa County is yet to be confirmed by health Authority in the county that it was a result of the deadly virus. Sources said those who died, fled an area in Margibi County, where the virus had earlier hit and caused many deaths.
Deputy Speaker, Hans Barchue who is also the direct representative of District One recently called on the National Ebola Task Force to be 'more responsible in handling dead bodies' after the bodies of those who died had stayed in the town for days.
Meanwhile, there are unconfirmed reports that one of the three nurses who were recently quarantined after they came in contact with a man who died of Ebola virus has died while the other two have been declared negative and released. http://allafrica.com/stories/201408201290.html?viewall=1

Lynchburg-area schools screening for Ebola

August 20, 2014

LYNCHBURG, Va. (AP) — Liberty University is screening international students for the Ebola virus.

Media outlets report that students received questionnaires this week regarding visits to any West African villages. Liberty also plans to monitor the students for 21 days.


Other colleges in the Lynchburg area plan similar screenings, along with high schools that accept exchange students

[link to www.houstonchronicle.com]

Ebola: Fiancé Of Late Nurse, Obi Ejelonu, Admitted To Hospital With Suspected Case

BY SAHARA REPORTERS
AUG 20, 2014

Reports have surfaced that the fiancé of nurse Obi Ejelonu, also called Justina, is suspected to have contracted the Ebola virus from his late wife. The nurse from the virus died after treating Liberian Patrick Sawyer.

The suspected patient, whose name was given simply as "Dennis", is the third suspected case of Ebola admitted in the last three days. He allegedly suffered from a high fever three days ago but said he had recovered

[link to saharareporters.com]

Ebola virus disease update - west Africa

Disease outbreak news
20 August 2014

Epidemiology and surveillance

Between 17 and 18 August 2014, a total of 221 new cases of Ebola virus disease (laboratory-confirmed, probable, and suspect cases) as well as 106 deaths were reported from Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone.

Health sector response

WHO continues to engage in high-level communication efforts with affected countries, companies and organizations doing business in and from Africa, and national and global leaders. Currently, some companies have taken the decision to suspend services to the affected countries. This includes airlines and shipping companies. As a result of these decisions, countries are beginning to experience supply shortages, including fuel, food, and basic supplies. WHO is working with the UN World Food Programme to ensure adequate food and supplies, but calls on companies to make business decisions based on scientific evidence with regard to the transmission of Ebola virus.
In the current outbreak, the majority of Ebola virus disease cases are a result of human-to-human transmission and failure to apply appropriate infection prevention and control measures in home care, some clinical settings, and in burial rituals. It is important to understand that EVD is not an airborne disease. Individuals may become infected as a result of contact with the bodily fluids (vomit, diarrhoea, sputum, blood, etc.) from persons who are confirmed to have EVD or who have died from EVD. Companies bringing goods and services to the affected countries are at low risk for exposure to EVD and WHO, under the International Health Regulations, encourages companies and organizations to continue providing these necessary supplies.
Countries around the world continue to engage in active surveillance for cases of EVD. Reports have been received by WHO of suspected cases and systematic verification is underway in a number of countries to confirm whether these are actual EVD cases. Overall, these reports are a positive sign that surveillance is working and countries are stepping up their preparedness to respond. As of today, no cases have been confirmed outside Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, or Sierra Leone.
A high-level delegation from WHO is currently in the affected countries, working with the national authorities and partners to adapt strategic operations response plans. Meetings are planned with leaders in Liberia and Sierra Leone, where transmission continues to be high.
WHO does not recommend any travel or trade restrictions be applied except in cases where individuals have been confirmed or are suspected of being infected with EVD or where individuals have had contact with cases of EVD. (Contacts do not include properly-protected health-care workers and laboratory staff.) Temporary recommendations from the Emergency Committee with regard to actions to be taken by countries can be found at:

• IHR Emergency Committee on Ebola outbreak in west Africa

Disease update

Confirmed, probable, and suspect cases and deaths from Ebola virus disease in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone, as of 18 August 2014

	New (1)	Confirmed	Probable	Suspect	Totals
Guinea
Cases	36	423	140	16	579
Deaths	2	254	140	2	396
Liberia
Cases	126	242	502	228	972
Deaths	95	212	239	125	576
Nigeria
Cases	0	12	0	3	15
Deaths	0	4	0	0	4
Sierra Leone
Cases	59	783	52	72	907
Deaths	9	335	34	5	374
Totals
Cases	221	1460	694	319	2473
Deaths	106	805	413	132	1350
1. New cases were reported between 17 and 18 August 2014.

The total number of cases is subject to change due to ongoing reclassification, retrospective investigation, and availability of laboratory results. Data reported in the Disease Outbreak News are based on official information reported by Ministries of Health.

Bizarre moment Shanghai commuters suspect Ebola outbreak and run for their lives when 'Western-looking' passenger collapses on train

• Video footage was captured by camera in a Shanghai Metro carriage 
• Man is seen slowly toppling to one side causing woman next to him to run
• Instead of helping him, fearing he could be infected, the passengers flee

By Jill Reilly for MailOnline

Published: 10:44 EST, 20 August 2014 | Updated: 10:50 EST, 20 August 2014 

CCTV footage has captured the moment that Chinese passengers on an underground line fled in terror fearing an Ebola outbreak after a 'Western-looking' tourist suddenly collapsed.

The video, from the Shanghai Metro carriage shows how the man, who is sitting next to a middle-aged female passenger, slowly topples to one side, causing her to move speedily out of the way as he slides onto the seat.

After lying there for a few seconds, he falls onto the ground unconscious, just as the train is breaking for the next station.

Scroll down for video
video 

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Chinese passengers on an underground line fled in terror fearing an Ebola outbreak after a tourist suddenly collapsed onto the floor

Video footage from the Shanghai Metro carriage shows how the man, who is sitting next to a middle-aged female passenger, slowly topples to one side, causing her to move speedily out of the way as he falls onto the seat

After lying there for a few seconds, he falls onto the ground unconscious, just as the train is breaking for the next station. Instead of bending to help him the passengers, fearing he might have suffered from the deadly disease, fled to the other end of the carriage and then ran off when the train stopped

And instead of bending to help him the passengers, fearing he might have suffered from the deadly disease, fled to the other end of the carriage and then ran off when the train stopped.

The footage shows how one woman was in such a panic to get away that she hit the doors, while a middle-aged man falls to the floor and struggles to get back up.

A ticket collector at the Shanghai underground told local media that passengers had alerted staff on their way out, saying that a foreigner that may have a disease had collapsed on the carriage and that they were worried it was Ebola. 

But there was no official statement from the underground officials about what had happened to the man.

In the panic to get away, CCTV footage from outside of the carriage shows how one middle-aged woman hit the doors and a middle-aged man falls to the floor and struggles to get back up as people exit the carriages

A ticket collector at the Shanghai underground told local media that passengers had alerted staff on their way out, saying that a foreigner that may have a disease had collapsed on the carriage and that they were worried it was Ebola

Chinese public transport passengers are already on heightened awareness anyway after a spate of arson attacks and knife attacks that has seen increased security, and recent publicity over the Ebola virus has raised fears even more.

China has responded forcefully to the Ebola outbreak in Africa, a continent where it has made sizable investments and actively fostered diplomatic relations.

Starting in May, it began sending protective clothes, disinfectants, thermal detectors, medicines and, more recently, the government kicked off a two-year aid mission that includes its first-ever dispatch overseas of emergency medical experts.

At home, China has for several days screened travellers from West African nations. 

Photos in China's state press showed Nigerians wearing protective clothing during checks in airport clinics, which officials indicate have upset some incoming visitors.

They have already warned that countries affected by the latest outbreak will not be allowed to send athletes to the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games.

China also said that from Saturday new border controls will include stricter inspections on inbound airlines from regions affected by Ebola, while stepped-up sanitary measures will apply to incoming vehicles and goods. 

The government also warned its citizens about the risks of travel to affected regions. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2729979/Bizarre-moment-Shanghai-commuters-suspect-Ebola-outbreak-run-lives-Western-looking-passenger-collapses-train.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490

Nepal Army personnel not infected by Ebola: NA

Published on Wednesday, 20 August

2014 14:18

Nepal Army has rebuffed news reports of NA personnel being held under surveillance for the suspicion of Ebola infection.
Issuing a statement on Wednesday, the NA said it has not found any Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in any of the NA staffs who have returned from Africa.
“The Ebola virus has not infected any army deployed at various peace keeping missions,” claims the NA statement. “An officer who has recently returned from peace keeping mission in Libera was kept in isolation for observation. He has shown no signs of the disease so far.”
Some media earlier reported that two army personnel were under surveillance for possible Ebola infection.
The peace keeping force was screened for symptoms of Ebola at the airport health-desk, immediately on their arrival from Ebola affected African countries.
“The personnel are kept in quarantine for a period of three weeks, until they show no symptoms of the EVD,” adds the statement, adding that the NA is committed to abide by the government's plan to control the spread of Ebola in Nepal.http://www.nepalnews.com/index.php/n...ed-by-ebola-na

US Hospitals Have Had 68 Ebola Scares, CDC Says

Aug 20, 2014, 10:23 AM ET

 

American hospitals and state labs have handled at least 68 Ebola scares over the last three weeks, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Hospitals in 27 states alerted the CDC of the possible Ebola cases out of an abundance of caution amid the growing outbreak in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Fifty-eight cases were deemed false alarms after CDC officials spoke with medical professions about patient exposures and symptoms, but blood samples for the remaining 10 were sent to the CDC for testing, the agency told ABC News today.

Seven of the samples tested negative for the virus and results for the remaining three are pending, the agency said.

Once a hospital or state lab notifies the CDC of a possible Ebola case based on travel history and symptoms, CDC officials talk to someone familiar with the suspected patient’s history to determine whether blood testing for the virus is necessary, said CDC spokeswoman Kristen Nordlund. They discuss symptoms and determine whether the patient may have been exposed to the virus. Exposure can happen if the patient is a health care worker, has buried someone with Ebola, has lived in a house with someone who had Ebola or has lived in a place where Ebola is spreading.

“If somebody had traveled to Guinea and came back and had a fever and has never been to a place where Ebola is transmitted, there’s no reason to suspect there’s Ebola just because Ebola is circulating in Guinea,” Nordlund said, explaining that the CDC takes suspected cases seriously but has to narrow them down. http://abcnews.go.com/Health/us-hospitals-68-ebola-scares-cdc/story?id=25039023

Illness with Ebola-like symptoms kills several in Congo

UPDATED 20 AUGUST 2014

Democratic Republic of Congo has sent its health minister and a team of experts to the remote northern Equateur province after several people died there from a disease with Ebola-like symptoms, a local official and a professor said.
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Democratic Republic of Congo has sent its health minister and a team of experts to the remote northern Equateur province after several people died there from a disease with Ebola-like symptoms, a local official and a professor said on Wednesday.

It was not immediately clear if there was any connection with Ebola. An epidemic of that disease has killed more than 1,200 people in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.

"An illness is spreading in Boende but we don't know the origin," said Michel Wangi, a spokesman for the governor's office. "The government has sent a team of experts from the INRB(National Institute of Biomedical Research) this morning led by the health minister (Felix) Kabange Numbi and acting governor Sebastian Impeto."
A professor accompanying the delegation in the presidential plane confirmed that they were en route this morning to find out "the exact nature of the illness that caused the Boende deaths".

An Equateur resident who asked not to be named said that around ten people had died, including four health care workers, after suffering from fever, diarrhoea and bleeding from the ears and nostrils - all symptoms of the deadly Ebola virus.

Highly-contagious, Ebola can kill up to 90 percent of its victims. There is no known vaccine and the few forms of treatment that exist are experimental. http://www.health24.com/Medical/infectious-diseases/Ebola/Illness-with-Ebola-like-symptoms-kills-several-in-Congo-20140820

Congo does not share a border with any of the countries affected by the virus in West Africa. But the country has seen several outbreaks since the first case was detected near the Ebola River in northern Congo in 1976.

http://www.health24.com/Medical/infecti ... o-20140820

Lagos records 5 new suspected Ebola cases

BREAKING: Lagos records 5 new suspected Ebola cases August 20, 2014
Ben Ezeamalu     ebola-has-killed-69-guinea-january      Five new suspected cases of Ebola Virus Disease were brought to the Yaba Mainland Hospital, Lagos, on Tuesday, the Lagos State government has said.  At a press conference, Wednesday, Jide Idris, the State Commissioner for Health, told journalists that two of those cases were from secondary contacts.  “Till date, we have recorded eight suspected cases, five of which came in yesterday, 12 confirmed,” said Dr. Idris.  “On the whole, five have died (including the index case). We are currently following up 213 contacts, and 62 have completed the two-day follow-up,” he added.
  On Tuesday, Stella Adadevoh, the Senior Consultant and Endocrinologist at First Consultant Medical Centre, Obalende, passed away after succumbing to the deadly virus.  Dr. Idris paid tributes to the deceased doctor as well as the other health workers who had died from Ebola virus since the disease broke out in July, describing them as the heroes and heroines of the day.  “She, (Dr. Adadevoh) it was, who took the initiative to intimate the Ministry concerning the index case – Liberian-American (Mr. Patrick Sawyer) and substantially to her credit the moderate containment achieved is owed,” said Dr. Idris.  “She led the team who attended to the index case. Her doggedness and commitment to duty saw her personally reviewing the case even though the patient had earlier been seen by a doctor.  “The Ministry of Health commiserates with their families, co-workers, friends and loved ones on these irreparable losses which was on the line of duty,” he added.  
 Dr. Idris also said that the government’s “vigorous” contact tracing is now shifting from primary to secondary contacts.  “The mode of spread remains mainly transmission from an infected person in an infective state and from an infec... https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/167037-breaking-lagos-records-5-new-suspected-ebola-cases.html#sthash.QHQc5rNQ.Dn4i1QcN.dpbs

BREAKING: Lagos records 5 new suspected Ebola cases

August 20, 2014Ben Ezeamalu

Five new suspected cases of Ebola Virus Disease were brought to the Yaba Mainland Hospital, Lagos, on Tuesday, the Lagos State government has said.

At a press conference, Wednesday, Jide Idris, the State Commissioner for Health, told journalists that two of those cases were from secondary contacts.

“Till date, we have recorded eight suspected cases, five of which came in yesterday, 12 confirmed,” said Dr. Idris.

“On the whole, five have died (including the index case). We are currently following up 213 contacts, and 62 have completed the two-day follow-up,” he added.

On Tuesday, Stella Adadevoh, the Senior Consultant and Endocrinologist at First Consultant Medical Centre, Obalende, passed away after succumbing to the deadly virus.

Dr. Idris paid tributes to the deceased doctor as well as the other health workers who had died from Ebola virus since the disease broke out in July, describing them as the heroes and heroines of the day.

“She, (Dr. Adadevoh) it was, who took the initiative to intimate the Ministry concerning the index case – Liberian-American (Mr. Patrick Sawyer) and substantially to her credit the moderate containment achieved is owed,” said Dr. Idris.

“She led the team who attended to the index case. Her doggedness and commitment to duty saw her personally reviewing the case even though the patient had earlier been seen by a doctor.

“The Ministry of Health commiserates with their families, co-workers, friends and loved ones on these irreparable losses which was on the line of duty,” he added.

Dr. Idris also said that the government’s “vigorous” contact tracing is now shifting from primary to secondary contacts.

“The mode of spread remains mainly transmission from an infected person in an infective state and from an infected animal (bat, monkey, etc) to a person.

“This is a call for vigilance as human to human transmission is only achieved by physical contact with a person who is acutely and gravely ill (fever being a key sign) from Ebola virus through body fluids such as blood, urine, stool, saliva, breast milk, semen, and vomitus.

“Burial ceremonies where mourners including family members have direct contact with patients who died of Ebola have also played a role in the spread and direct contact with dead bodies should be minimized at this period, even as washing and burial/disposal of such bodies should be professionally handled with safety to personal health of handlers being a cardinal focus,” he added.

The Commissioner urged Lagos residents not to panic as health personnel are in place to manage the current cases, while efforts are doubled to secure the services of more volunteers to cope with any contingency.

“Certain concerns have been raised regarding those already discharged. I wish to re-assure you that the discharge process was in line with WHO International Health Regulations and they are still being followed up. No recorded carrier state in person that have recovered from the disease has been recorded,” said Dr. Idris.

“I encourage persons who have come in contact with infected persons to report early for treatment as such improves chances of survival.”

- See more at: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/167037-breaking-lagos-records-5-new-suspected-ebola-cases.html#sthash.QHQc5rNQ.Dn4i1QcN.dpuf

Liberian police fire tear gas to disperse protest over Ebola quarantine

 August 20, 2014
Police in the Liberian capital Monrovia fired tear gas on Wednesday to disperse a stone-throwing crowd agitating to leave a neighbourhood placed under quarantine because of the Ebola virus, witnesses said. Liberian authorities introduced a nationwide curfew on Tuesday and put the neighbourhood – West Point – under quarantine. The rundown area has been hit by Ebola, which has killed more than 1,200 people in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia and five in Nigeria.
There were no injuries reported in the clash which witnesses said started after security forces blocked roads to the neighbourhood early on Wednesday with tables, chairs and barbed wire. Residents said they were given no warning of the blockade, which prevented them from getting to work or buying food. “We just saw it (the blockade) this morning. We came out and we couldn’t go anywhere. I haven’t heard from anybody in authority what happened,” Alpha Barry, 45, who works as a money changer, told Reuters. “I don’t have any food and we’re scared,” said Barry, who said he was from Guinea and has four children under 13.
A crowd at West Point looted a temporary holding centre for suspected Ebola cases at the weekend, 17 of whom fled. All 17 were now accounted for and being treated at another centre, the government said  http://www.today.ng/news/liberian-police-fire-tear-gas-to-disperse-protest-over-ebola-quarantine/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=liberian-police-fire-tear-gas-to-disperse-protest-over-ebola-quarantine

Fears Ebola has 'spread to Congo after 10 people die'

Last updated Wed 20 Aug 2014

There are fears Ebola could have spread to the Democratic Republic of Congo after 10 people died from a disease with Ebola-like symptoms, local officials said.
The deceased, which included four health workers, lived in a remote part of the northern Equateur province of Boende. The country has now sent its health minister and a team of experts to the area to confirm if it is the deadly virus.
Michel Wangi, a spokesman for the governor' office, said: "An illness is spreading in Boende but we don't know the origin."
So far the disease has killed more than 1,200 people in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.http://www.itv.com/news/update/2014-08-20/fears-ebola-has-spread-to-congo-after-10-people-die/

Curfew imposed!

Wednesday, 20 August 2014 00:00 ND Reporter

TRANSLATE

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has imposed a curfew beginning Wednesday, August 20, 2014 from 9PM to 6AM daily as part of additional measures under the state of emergency to curb the spread of the deadly Ebola virus.
Latest statistics put the total death of Ebola in 1200 in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, with Liberia is recording the highest number of deaths so far.

Mrs. Sirleaf said in addition to the newly imposed curfew, the communities of West Point in Monrovia and Dolo Town in Margibi will be quarantined under full security watch. This means that there will be no movements in and out of those areas; while all entertainment centers are to be closed.

President Sirleaf: "The Government, supported by citizens groups and partners, continue to work assiduously to combat the Ebola virus.  There has been some success - the several persons who have been freed from the disease - the structure and systems that have been put in place, the human and financial resources that we have mobilized and a stabilization in a few the Response Communities. 

But we have been unable to control the spread due to continued denials, cultural burying practices, disregard for the advice of health workers and disrespect for the warnings by the Government.

As a result and due to the large population concentration the disease has spread widely in Monrovia and environs. It has thus become necessary to impose additional sanctions to curb the spread overall and particularly in those areas of intensity. Now therefore, the following measures are to be urgently enforced:

-The communities of West Point in Monrovia and Dolo Town in Margibi are quarantined under full security watch.  This means that there will be no movements in and out of those areas;
-All entertainment centers are to be closed;
-All video centers are to be closed at 6:00 PM;
-Commencing Wednesday, August 20 there will be a curfew from 9:00 p.m. to 6:00 AM

Fellow citizens, these measures are meant to save lives and make the Government’s efforts to combat this disease made more effective and timely.  If we can all do our part, we can defeat this disease.  With your support and participation, we can return to our normal activities."   http://www.thenewdawnliberia.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12431:curfew-imposed&catid=25:politics&Itemid=59

Dead bodies litter in Nimba

Wednesday, 20 August 2014 00:00 ND Reporter

TRANSLATE

At least nine suspected Ebola dead bodies are left uncollected in several towns of Nimba County, as county health teams there reportedly struggled with a single vehicle for Ebola response, the NewDawn’s county correspondent says.
The tropical disease had claimed up to 1200 lives in Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, with Liberia recording the highest death toll. The victims’ bodies were said to have been lying in various towns in Nimba County since Friday, August 15, but had not been collected by health workers up to Tuesday.

As at Tuesday evening, August 19, five dead bodies were in Small Ganta; one in Boe Community; two in the LPRC Community and one body in the LPMC Community, respectively.

The New Dawn’s correspondent says a city mayor complained that only one pickup assigned to the county health workers had carried another batch of dead bodies to Kamply, and had not returned.

County officials failed to address reporters Tuesday, despite assuring them that they would be briefed after an official meeting. At least 25 confirmed Ebola deaths were reported in the county in addition to 48 confirmed cases reported. However, there are claims that 150 suspected Ebola contacts are in the county, but with no report of being tracked by health workers.

Our correspondent says the 150 suspects are currently moving from one community to another, at the risk of many other innocent people who may have come in contact with them. Private burial teams are allegedly being compensated at least US$300 from county funds to bury each body, this paper has learned. http://www.thenewdawnliberia.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12432:dead-bodies-litter-in-nimba&catid=25:politics&Itemid=59