Friday, August 29, 2014 by Agence France-Presse (AFP ©)

Nigeria / Ebola: 160 people under surveillance after the death of a doctor

DR.
Port Harcourt (Nigeria) - Some 160 people were placed under surveillance in Port Harcourt, the city in southern Nigeria where a doctor died of the Ebola virus, but no new cases have been discovered so far, said Friday the Minister of Local Health.
Port Harcourt is the hub of oil production in Nigeria. Several foreign majors are installed, such as Anglo-Dutch Shell, the French Total and American Chevron.
Until now, none (of those involved) showed any symptoms of any kind, said Sampson Parker, Minister of Health of Rivers State, including Port Harcourt is the capital.
The widow of the deceased physician, doctor herself, was sent to Lagos to his request and placed in solitary confinement pending the outcome of the tests, he has said.
The baby of the couple, three months old, is healthy, has he added.
160 people followed were in contact with the doctor died, his wife, or the man who infected the doctor, a diplomat of ECOWAS (the West African regional organization), himself healthy after yet developed symptoms of Ebola.
The announcement Thursday of the death of the doctor, which occurred on August 22, has revived fears of the spread of Ebola in Nigeria, as the epidemic seemed subdued.
The most populous nation in Africa, with 170 million people country, regrets that six deaths and 15 confirmed cases of Ebola for a month, without a common assessment measure with the three countries in West Africa where epidemic flames, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
According to Mr. Parker, American experts, British and WHO and the Nigerian federal government arrived in Rivers state to help take the necessary measures to prevent any further spread of the deadly virus.
The hospital where the doctor was treated died, the morgue and his home were decontaminated, he has said.
Health authorities have a special treatment center with an isolation room at the University Hospital in Port Harcourt and a quarantine center 25 kilometers from the city, but none has yet received a patient has the minister said.

https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.afriscoop.net%2Fjournal%2Fspip.php%3Farticle13220%23.U-qMK_9m4A4.twitter&edit-text=

Experimental Ebola drug shows 100% success in monkeys

The Ebola virus as viewed through an electron microscope. (Antwerp Institute of Tropical Medicine)

CTVNews.ca Staff Published Friday, August 29, 2014 1:06PM EDT

An experimental Ebola drug used to treat monkeys has been shown to reverse the virus in the infected primates.
The research paper published online in the journal Nature on Friday shows the drug, called ZMapp, resulted in 100 per cent recovery in the 18 monkeys tested.
The drug, developed by Canadian and U.S. researchers, was credited with helping two American aid workers who were infected with Ebola in Liberia. They both have since recovered from the virus.

The experimental drug requires safety testing in humans, but the researchers said the drug could be a promising option for treating the ongoing Ebola outbreak that has killed more than 1,500 people in Western Africa.
The authors reported that three doses of ZMapp, administered at three-day intervals beginning on the third, fourth or fifth day after monkeys were infected with Ebola, resulted in the survival of all 18 animals.
The treatment reversed severe Ebola symptoms such as excessive bleeding and rashes.
The three monkeys that did not receive ZMapp all died of the Ebola virus by day eight.
The Ebola virus strain used to infect monkeys in the experiment is different than the strain in the current West Africa outbreak. However, the authors noted that they studied the two strains and concluded that ZMapp can prevent replication of the Ebola strain in Africa. http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/experimental-ebola-drug-shows-100-success-in-monkeys-1.1982965

West Point Quarantine Illegally Violated by security officers

Drop-off Point to West Point

Fri, 08/29/2014 - 08:23 admin

Quarantined residents getting much love from relatives on the outside; A ‘cold water’ opportunity for checkpoint commanders

By: 

Yewa Sandy

Liberian law enforcement has been enabling personal contact between quarantined residents of West Point and the general public, including persons who want to drop off food provisions and other essential items that those quarantined might need.
According to citizens who stood in line at the checkpoint on lower Mechlin Street at Waterside, they have been able to bring items such as food, charcoal, cosmetics, rice and other necessary items that their relatives in West Point might not otherwise have access to as a result of the government-imposed quarantine.
“This is my third time in line and I always make sure to bring exactly what my mother says she needs here. Sometimes I leave small thing with the police to make sure that she gets everything that I send,” stated Princess, who stood in line patiently for her turn.

Another witness, who asked not to be named, said that she has seen some of the West Pointers themselves stand in line to collect their goods from the law enforcement officers, outside the check point area.
“They don’t come right here to where we stand in line, but usually when the law enforcement officers’ hearts cut, they can allow some of us to go inside waterside to give the things to our relatives and take whatever they have for us too,” she added.
Assistant Minister for Public Affairs at the Ministry of Defense, David Dahn acknowledged the arrangement, saying that in spite of the quarantine order, “the opportunity exists” to convey goods in and out of the quarantine area “but with the coordination of the law enforcement officers.”
Lots of people were seen stacking bundles on their heads or resting them at their feet while waiting for the checkpoint commanders to allow them through to drop off their things. During the wait, a burst of noise came from one line as AFL/DEA officers were seen rushing there.
“Almost two days now, you people are refusing to take our things to our people, what happened?” the impatient crowd questioned as officers promised to situate them all.
Meanwhile, three boy scouts were also observed the going in and out at the check point, seemingly unnoticed by the officers who were assisting those on the line.
“As for us, we are free to go in and come out. We came to check for someone, and my brother came to buy something in waterside and also visit someone. As for the line, well, if you call your people to tell them you have something for them, they will come for whatever it is,” one of the scouts stated.

Also, an employee at the YMCA, identified as Nathan, was seen taking pictures of immigration officers who ran after him while yelling, “He’s taking picture! We don’t take pictures here; we don’t allow anyone taking pictures, we don’t want to put you in trouble.”
Nathan, who said he wanted to take a photo of the drop off activity and post it on facebook to show the outside world how law enforcement officers, “take bribes to break the quarantine order” was given his silver and black camera back without the memory chip. The bribery allegation was denied by officers interviewed by the Daily Observer.
“They took my memory card, but it’s okay, I will get another one. The government is doing their job while security people are taking bribe to let people in and let people out,” he complained.
Many of the quarantined residents told the Daily Observer they are hoping the Government of Liberia could complete the process to enable them return to their normal lives.  http://www.liberianobserver.com/news/drop-point-west-point

Sierra Leone News: Clinical & Blood Bank labs closed in Kenema

Sierra Leone News: Clinical & Blood Bank labs closed in Kenema

Following the loss of a handful of its staff to the Ebola disease, the clinical and blood bank laboratories in Kenema have been closed indefinitely.
Information on the closure of the lab facility was disclosed to Awoko by the President of the Sierra Leone Medical Laboratory Association, Rtd. Captain Hafiju M. Kanja.
He said that the blood bank and the Clinical laboratory were housed in the same building where testing for the viral haemorrhagic fever-Ebola is being conducted.
The retired Captain said since the outbreak of the Ebola virus in the country, the laboratory department alone had lost six of its staff, five of whom died in just two days.

He listed them as: Hawa Samba, E.K.Fayia, Lansana Koroma, Gemba Brima and Brima Fambuleh in the clinical laboratory, and Mohamed Fullah in the Haemorrhagic laboratory who, he said, died few weeks ago in Kailahun management centre, following the death of Dr. Umar Khan.

Captain Kanja explained that the Blood bank is in a separate building where HIV and other tests are being conducted and the main clinical laboratory is hosted in the same building where Hemorrhagic fever tests are being conducted.
He said that because of the great loss they have experienced for the past two days, he has instructed his members to withhold their service for the next 21 days to observe whether  another case of Ebola infection will not come up among the remaining lab technicians.

He noted that the out-patients department where the malaria rapid test has been going on will still continue.
He added that doctors will now prescribe drugs based on the medical history of the patient. He described the situation as “unfortunate” as they too need to be protected.

He disclosed that after the death of Hawa Samba, an Indian laboratory scientist, Dr. Nadia working at Metabiota lab and John Goba attached to the Tulane University laboratory, provided them with some protective gears: the type they had been using earlier for Ebola prevention.

A visit to the main laboratory close to the Ebola case management centre, the only staff that was spotted around was the waiter at the entrance, whose job is to ensure that patients entering the lab washed their hands.
However, during the programme, members of the populace expressed fear that if the workers at the laboratory are not fully protected, they too will continue infecting patients from outside.
They viewed that now that the Haemorrhagic fever laboratory is temporarily closed in Kailahun district, more cases will be sent to Kenema and there will be more pressure on the few staff that will volunteer to work.
They therefore called on the government and international organizations for immediate intervention to rescue the situation before it gets out of control.
Friday August 29, 2014
http://awoko.org/2014/08/29/sierra-leone-news-clinical-blood-bank-labs-closed-in-kenema/

DRC: 7 new cases of Ebola in Djera

August 29, 2014
The Health Minister Felix Kabange, announced Thursday, Aug. 28 that seven new cases of Ebola have been confirmed by laboratory tests. Bringing to thirteen the number of people affected by the virus in the area Djera people in northern Ecuador, where the epidemic was declared. The Minister ensures that for now the epidemic is contained in this sector alone.
"Instead of six, we now have thirteen cases involved. The number of probable cases is still thirteen and the number of suspects is sixteen, "explains the Minister of Health.
The new cases were confirmed after analysis of samples taken from the seven suspects.
Moreover, Felix Kabange indicates that alerts reported in recent days in Kinshasa and Katanga Ebola virus proved false after analysis.
"I would like to point out that we had alerts. On Wednesday, we have a large warning in university clinics where we had two subjects (one adult with a bleeding nose with fever and a child of 9 years). Both cases were suspected of Ebola hemorrhagic fever. The samples were taken by the National Institute for Biomedical Research. The results have just been released tonight. Both are negative, "says the Minister of Health.
Felix Kabange adds that another suspected case in Katanga was also negative after analysis.
"We had a suspect who came Katanga. Suspected Ebola virus on an adult who went Malemba Nkulu to the hospital in Kamina. The sample was taken and the case is negative, "he says, confirming that the epidemic is still contained Djera.
"I continue to confirm there is no Ebola at Kinshasa. We continue to confirm that the positive Ebola cases are cases that are located at sector Djera "says the minister.  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/2014/08/29/rdc-7-nouveaux-cas-debola-djera/&usg=ALkJrhg0KqBPtZxi9qIMWUKLQCnaL7TEQg

29 August 2014

Senegal: Health Minister Confirms First Ebola Case

Dakar, Senegal — A young Guinean infected with Ebola virus has been quarantined at the Hospital Fann of Dakar, the Minister of Health and Social Action, Awa Marie Cole Seck announced Friday.
'This 21 year old student at the University in Conakry (Guinea) was reported on August 27 by Guinean officials who had lost track of them, to Senegalese health authorities' said Mrs. Seck during a press conference.
The young person who presented himself at Fann (Hospital) for consultation was showing no signs of bleeding, the minister said, adding that his case is satisfactory and quite stable.
This is the first confirmed case of Ebola in Senegal, which had decided on Aug. 21 to continue to keep borders with Guinea closed, "taking into account the evolution of the Ebola virus, which constitutes a serious problem in global public health".
This measure is extended to air and sea borders for aircraft and ships from the Republic of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.  http://allafrica.com/stories/201408291564.html

Alert in Belgium for possible case of Ebola

Alert in Belgium for possible case of Ebola

29/08/2014

Brussels, (EFE) .- An aid worker being held in quarantine in a hospital in Brussels by "real" suspected of having contracted the Ebola virus, the Belgian Ministry of Public Health reported today.

The man, an employee of the international organization Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has been in contact with Ebola patients in a country in West Africa before returning to Brussels, about two weeks ago.
"His case meets the three conditions of the high-risk category: in a country has been affected by the disease, has been in contact with the disease and has a fever," he told the Belgian press ministry spokesman, Sven Heyndrickx.
The person, whose name and age have not been revealed, has started to feel ill on Thursday night and was immediately hospitalized.
Last week a first suspicion of Ebola in Belgium was ruled out.
It was a young 13 year old Guinean whose analyzes revealed that he was ill with malaria.  https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sondeo.com.mx%2Fsitio%2Findex.php%2Finternacional%2Fitem%2F4747-alerta-en-belgica-por-posible-caso-de-ebola.html&edit-text=

WHO: Most Ebola Cases Recorded This Week Since Outbreak Began

 | By BABACAR DIONE

Posted: 08/29/2014 8:26 am EDT Updated: 35 minutes ago

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — A man infected with Ebola traveled to Senegal, bringing the disease to that country for the first time in an outbreak that has hit four other West African nations and killed more than 1,500 people, the Ministry of Health said Friday.
The infected person, a university student from Guinea, sought treatment at a hospital in Senegal's capital, Dakar, on Tuesday but gave no indication he might have Ebola, Health Minister Awa Marie Coll Seck told reporters. The next day, an epidemiological surveillance team in Guinea alerted Senegalese authorities that they had lost track of a person who had had contact with sick people. The team said that the person disappeared three weeks ago and may have come to Senegal.
The student was tracked to the hospital in Dakar that same day and was immediately quarantined, Seck said.

A test has confirmed that he has Ebola, and the World Health Organization has been alerted.
The Ebola outbreak ravaging West Africa began last year in Guinea. Since then, the disease has spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria. More than 3,000 people have contracted the disease, which is spread by bodily fluids and for which there is no licensed treatment or vaccine. A separate Ebola outbreak was reported this week in Congo, where 13 people have died from the disease.
The arrival of the dreaded disease in Senegal, which is a tourist destination and whose capital is a major transportation hub for the region, underscores that the outbreak remains out of control, despite efforts by the World Health Organization, Doctors Without Borders and other organizations.
WHO on Friday said the past week has seen the highest increase of cases — more than 500 — since the outbreak began.
It is not clear how or when the young man came to Senegal, which closed its border with Guinea last week. Seck said his condition is "satisfactory."
WHO, which is the U.N. health agency, has warned that the disease could eventually infect 20,000 people, and unveiled a plan Thursday to stop transmission in the next six to nine months.
But a top official from Doctors Without Borders, which is running many of the Ebola treatment centers, said the agency wasn't doing enough.
"The World Health Organization can't handle" the outbreak, Mego Terzian, the group's president for France, told France Inter radio. "I don't see how, with the current measures, we're going to control the outbreak."
He called for a far greater response from the international community, saying the U.N. Security Council should take up the matter and noting that there are countries with military medical units that could be useful.
In a detailed report Friday, WHO said more than 500 cases were recorded over the past week, by far the worst toll of any week so far. The week before, around 400 new cases were reported.
"There are serious problems with case management and infection prevention and control," the report said. "The situation is worsening in Liberia and Sierra Leone."
Because there is no known cure for Ebola, doctors can only isolate the sick and try to help their immune systems fight off the disease. But one previously untested drug has been tried in this outbreak. It's still unclear whether it's effective. On Friday, a Liberian physician's assistant and a Congolese doctor who received the ZMapp drug in Liberia were expected to be released from the hospital.
The California-based company that makes ZMapp has said its supplies are exhausted, and it will take months to make more.
The hardest-hit countries have sealed off entire villages or neighborhoods, several countries in the region have closed their borders and major airlines have suspended flights to those locations.
Measures to control the outbreak have sometimes provoked unrest. On Thursday, people in a town in southern Guinea ransacked a market that had been disinfected and attacked the vehicles of sanitation workers.
The World Health Organization has warned that closing borders is ineffective, especially in a region where people easily avoid official crossings, and that canceling flights is only exacerbating the crisis by making it harder to get aid workers and supplies into infected countries.
"We have to install health security measures at airports and on borders," Terzian said. "We can't create a prison in the region and watch the Africans die." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/29/increase-ebola-cases_n_5735712.html?&ncid=tweetlnkushpmg00000067

Mission possible: UNICEF's largest emergency air operation

JUSTINA OBI, ANOTHER NURSE DIES OF EBOLA

August 28, 2014 by ebrubru

In a joint press briefing yesterday, Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi chukwu confirmed the death of a nurse, Justina Obi Echelonu, 25, who hails from Mbaise in Imo State and one of the primary contacts who participated in the initial management of the index case, late American-Liberian, Patrick Sawyer, at the First Consultant Hospital, Obalende, Lagos.
Justina who graduated from the Department of Nursing Science in Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki had previously worked at Otunba Tunwase National Paediatric Centre, Ijebu-Ode in Ogun State before relocating to Lagos to take up appointment with First Consultants Hospital.

The minister disclosed that another of the doctors who treated the late Patrick Sawyer tested positive to the deadly virus, said Nigeria has now recorded 10 confirmed cases of Ebola Virus Disease, EVD, of which four have died and six are currently under treatment.
Please read below in his words:
“The total number of persons under surveillance in Lagos is now 169. These are all secondary contacts as all the primary contacts have completed the 21-day incubation period and have been de-listed to resume their normal lives.
Also in a statement issued yesterday, the Abia State Governor, Theodore Orji commended the late nurse for her selfless service to the nation and prayed for the repose of the dead.
Read below the statement:
“My heart bleeds as I write this. On behalf of my family, the Government and the good people of Abia State, I commiserate with family, friends and colleagues of our dear lady nurse, Justina Echelonu, who died following the contact she had with the American-Liberian, Mr. Patrick Sawyer, in the course of discharging her duty as a nurse. I pray God to give them the fortitude to bear this tragic and irreparable loss. Rest in Peace Ms Justina Echelonu.”
.
Please read Justina’s story before she died as culled from her facebook page:
“I never contacted his fluids. I checked his vitals, helped him with his food (he was too weak)….I basically touched where his hands touched and that’s the only contact, not directly with his fluids. At a stage, he yanked off his infusion and we had blood everywhere on his bed…but the ward maids took care of that and changed his linen with great precaution.


http://hephzx.wordpress.com/2014/08/28/justina-obi-another-nurse-dies-of-ebola/ 

http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/inside-liberian-ebola-ward-burial-team-25155405

Genetic clues to spread of Ebola

28 August 2014 Last updated at 14:00 ET 

By Helen Briggs Health editor, BBC News website

Scientists have tracked the spread of Ebola in West Africa, revealing genetic clues to the course of the outbreak.

Genetic analysis of patient samples suggests the virus spread from Guinea to Sierra Leone at a single funeral.
The virus is mutating and must be contained rapidly, warn African and US experts. But they say there is no evidence the virus is changing its behaviour.

The current outbreak is the largest ever, with more than 3,000 cases.
The number of cases could exceed 20,000 before the outbreak is stemmed, according to the World Health Organization.
"We've uncovered more than 300 genetic clues about what sets this outbreak apart from previous outbreaks," said Stephen Gire from the Broad Institute and Harvard University in the US.

The isolation ward at Kenema Government Hospital in Kenema, Sierra Leone

"Although we don't know whether these differences are related to the severity of the current outbreak, by sharing these data with the research community, we hope to speed up our understanding of this epidemic and support global efforts to contain it."
The data, published in Science, suggests the virus made the leap from animals to humans only once in the current outbreak.

“Start Quote

Clearly this virus is evolving, but what's not clear is whether or not the mutations it's accumulating affect the way it behaves.”

Prof Jonathan Ball Nottingham University

The strain emerged in Central Africa in the past 10 years, probably carried by animals such as fruit bats or primates.

The first human cases appeared in Guinea, then the disease spread to Sierra Leone, reportedly at the funeral of a traditional healer.
There is evidence the virus is mutating, "underscoring the need for rapid containment", the team writes in Science.
"The longer the outbreak happens, the more opportunity the virus has to accumulate mutations," Dr Gire told the BBC.

But he said there was no evidence at present that the virus was changing its behaviour and becoming better adapted to humans.
Commenting on the research, Prof Jonathan Ball, a virus expert at Nottingham University, said: "Clearly this virus is evolving, but what's not clear is whether or not the mutations it's accumulating affect the way it behaves."
The genetic samples came from 78 patients at a hospital in Sierra Leone who were infected in May and June.
These were compared with existing virus samples from Guinea.
Five of the 58 experts named on the paper died from Ebola in Sierra Leone during the study. 
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-28958495

Ebola Necessitates Withdrawal of NTM USA Members

 

 

POSTED ON August 27, 2014

All New Tribes Mission USA personnel in Liberia and Guinea are leaving those countries as soon as flights are available because of the Ebola epidemic there.
NTM made this decision because of the increasing difficulty of transiting out of those countries. Some airlines have suspended service to the region and remaining flights are filling. Some countries are closing their borders.
This was a difficult decision that required balancing the safety of NTM personnel against the needs of the people with whom they work and was only made after a process of monitoring the situation for many weeks. Most of our families are in these countries with their children and are also not performing intensive medical services, so their presence there could become a detriment to critical healthcare teams if the crisis escalates.
Liberia and Guinea are the only countries affected by the Ebola epidemic where NTM currently has personnel.
We are closely monitoring the spread of this disease and the safety and effectiveness of our members in other nearby countries.
We would appreciate your prayer for our families in transition as a result of these decisions and also for the people of Guinea and Liberia who are dealing with the Ebola crisis.  http://usa.ntm.org/mission-news/79993/ebola-necessitates-withdrawal-of-ntm-usa-members

Nigeria confirms Ebola death in oil city of Port Harcourt

Posted on 28 August 2014 - 09:29pm
Last updated on 28 August 2014 - 09:54pm

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ABUJA: Nigeria on Thursday said that a doctor had died from Ebola in the southeastern oil city of Port Harcourt in the first case of the deadly virus outside the country's biggest city, Lagos.
Health minister Onyebuchi Chukwu said the medic died on Aug 22 after treating a patient who had contact with Liberian-American Patrick Sawyer, who brought the virus to Nigeria and who died in a Lagos hospital on July 25.
"Following the report of this death by the doctor's widow the next day, the case had been thoroughly investigated and laboratory analysis showed that this doctor died from EVD (Ebola Virus Disease)," he told reporters in the capital Abuja.
The latest case brings to six the number of people who have died from the haemorrhagic fever in Nigeria. Fifteen people have now been confirmed to have the disease.
On Wednesday, Chukwu had said that the virus was contained as there were no cases outside Lagos but warned against complacency in fighting the disease.
News that a doctor died 435 kilometres (270 miles) away will raise fears about the spread of the virus, just as Nigerians began to think that they had stopped Ebola in its tracks.
Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers state, is the centre of Nigeria's oil industry and home to a number of oil giants, including Anglo-Dutch giant Shell, France's Total and US firm Chevron.
Nigeria is Africa's largest oil producer, churning out roughly two million barrels a day, with crude accounting for more than 90% of its foreign exchange earnings.
Residents in Port Harcourt said they were shocked and scared by the arrival of Ebola and called on the state government to tackle the virus.
"Port Harcourt plays host to a lot of people, including foreigners. All efforts should be made to check the spread of the virus," said local student Lucy Ekeh.
Hotel room
Chukwu said the patient, an official with the ECOWAS regional bloc who took Sawyer to hospital after he arrived unwell at Lagos airport on July 20, managed to evade detection and went to Port Harcourt in the last week of July.
Another ECOWAS official died of Ebola, the bloc announced on Aug 12.
His colleague saw the doctor who died in Port Harcourt in a city hotel room after showing Ebola-like symptoms, Rivers State health commissioner Sampson Parker said separately.
Chukwu added: "After four days, following a manhunt for him, he (the patient) returned to Lagos by which time he was found to be without symptoms.
"This case would have been of no further interest since he had completed the 21 days of surveillance without any other issue but for the fact that the doctor who treated him died last Friday."
Following the doctor's death, the minister said that several contacts had now been "traced, registered and placed under surveillance".

His widow, also a medical doctor, has shown symptoms of the virus and has been placed in isolation pending results of laboratory tests, he added.
"We don't know what the result will turn out to be but certainly if it turns out to be positive, it's likely we will move her to Lagos," the minister said.

Chukwu said that there were 70 people under surveillance in Port Harcourt, while six people were being watched in the eastern city of Enugu, where a nurse who treated Sawyer visited before displaying symptoms.
A treatment group has been in Port Harcourt since Wednesday morning and a mobile laboratory was being sent to the city this weekend, he added.
Parker said that the hotel had been decontaminated.http://www.thesundaily.my/news/1154642

 Port Harcourt lies at the heart of Nigeria's two million barrels per day oil industry, Africa's biggest, and is a hub for expatriate workers in major international oil companies, including Royal Dutch Shell, ENI, Total and Exxonmobil. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/28/health-ebola-nigeria-idUSL5N0QY2D620140828

Ebola in Nigeria's Oil Hub

August 28, 2014

A doctor in Nigeria's oil industry hub of Port Harcourt has died from Ebola fever, after he was infected by man linked to the first case in Africa's most populous country, the Health Ministry said on Thursday.

Heath Ministry spokesman Dan Nwomeh said on his Twitter feed that the doctor had treated a primary contact of Patrick Sawyer, the Liberian who brought Ebola to Lagos. His death brings the number of Ebola fatalities in Nigeria to 6.

The total number of recorded cases had risen by two to 15, Nwomeh said, the other one being the wife of the doctor who is showing Ebola symptoms and whose test results are awaited.

Port Harcourt lies at the heart of Nigeria's two million barrels per day oil industry, Africa's biggest, and is a hub for expatriate workers in major international oil companies.

Nwomeh said 70 contacts of the doctor were now under surveillance in Port Harcourt.

It was not immediately clear what impact the arrival of Ebola would have on oil operations. The majors operating in Nigeria have historically been comfortable with a fair degree of risk in the oil producing Niger Delta, including attacks on oil installations and rampant kidnapping of expatriates.

The news came two days after Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu said authorities had "thus far contained" the Ebola outbreak in Africa's largest economy, with only one case left being treated in an isolation ward in Lagos.

All Nigerian cases have been direct or indirect contacts of Sawyer, who collapsed on arrival at Lagos airport on July 25 and later died but was treated before anyone knew what he had.

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa has taken 1,552 lives out of 3,069 known cases in four countries and "continues to accelerate", the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Thursday.  http://www.maritime-executive.com/article/Ebola-in-Nigerias-Oil-Hub-2014-08-28

How Diplomat Secretly Exported Ebola to Port Harcourt

on Aug 28, 2014 |

Facts have emerged on how a Nigerian diplomat infected a medical doctor with the deadly Ebola Virus just as health authorities announced that it had been effectively controlled in Lagos.
Street Journal gathered that the diplomat who had primary contact with Patrick Sawyer, the index case of the disease and after showing symptoms, he reportedly evaded health workers in Lagos and moved to Port Harcourt where he engaged the service of Dr. I. S. Enemuo of Sam Steel Clinic, East West Road, Rumuokoro who treated him secretly. Street Journal gathered that the diplomat, on being stabilized, flew back to Lagos.
Findings also revealed that the Monday after he concluded the diplomat’s treatment, Dr. Enemuo did a surgery on a woman, only dor him to fall ill on Tuesday. When he was not responding to treatment and it became noticeable that he was peesenting symptoms including vomiting blood and bloody diarrhoea, he was rushed to Prime Clinic but was rejected. He was later taken to Good Heart on Evo Road, GRA where he was placed on admission. He died on Friday.
Sensing what might happen, Rivers State Governor, Hon Rotimi Amaechi appealed for calm as it has become obvious that there might be well over 200 contacts already. The deceased doctor’s wife is a primary contact, so also is his 3-month-old baby and as many as might have come in contact with them for medical reasons or otherwise.
Meanwhile, the diplomat was said to have submitted himself for medical checks in order to he cleared to travel out of the country.
Contact tracing efforts have started while health workers are being trained on how to manage the situation  http://thestreetjournal.org/2014/08/how-diplomat-secretly-exported-ebola-to-port-harcourt/

Rivers doctor dies of Ebola

• Thursday, 28 August 2014 15:42
• Written by Kelvin Ebiri

THE enormity of the Ebola outbreak now pervades Port Harcourt following the death of a medical doctor,  Ike  Sam Enemuo, who allegedly contacted the virus from an Ebola patient he allegedly  secretly treated.
The  reported death of Mr. Enemuo due to Ebola virus has  triggered panic Thursday  at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) where his  corpse is said to be in the morgue.
As part of precautionary measure to curb the spread of the dreaded diseases, the Rivers state government said it has placed no fewer than 100 persons under surveillance.The has however refused to reveal location of the isolation centers and the hotel where the man who brought the virus to the state stayed.
Though there has been speculation  in the past two week that an Ebola patient flew into Port Harcourt, the Rivers State Commissioner of Health, Sampson Parker,  yesterday acknowledged  the death of  Enemuo from Ebola virus disease. The late doctor is said to be the owner of a private hospital at Rumuokoro in Port Harcourt.
"The Governor of Rivers State, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has directed me to make this solemn announcement to you. And it is with a heavy heart that I announce to you that the ebola virus has claimed its first victim in Rivers State. Dr. Iyke Sam Enemuo died last week Friday, August 22, 2014 as a result of what was suspected to be ebola virus disease," he said.
Parker told journalists at his residence in Port Harcourt that  the Rivers State Ministry of Health on becoming aware of the conditions of Enemuo's  death, immediately commenced investigations and contact tracing.  According to him, about one hundred contacts from a  hotel, patients of  Enemuo and patients of the hospital where the late Enemuo was treated until his demise have been identified and restricted in Rivers State and that  locations are being decontaminated.  http://ngrguardiannews.com/news/national-news/176829-rivers-doctor-dies-of-ebola

Unburied Bodies Show Ebola-Hit Areas’ Transportation Woes

By Simeon Bennett Aug 28, 2014 12:47 PM ET
The bodies of Ebola victims are taking as long as five days to be buried in Liberia as a shortage of ambulances and fuel compound the fear and isolation that are stoking the worst outbreak of the virus on record.
A lack of vehicles and a fuel shortage are hampering the ability of the World Health Organization and its allies to reach affected communities and investigate new cases, said Rick Brennan, director of the WHO’s department of emergency risk management and humanitarian response.
“Getting those activities running in the counties requires a lot of vehicles and fuel, and both of those are in short supply,” Brennan said by phone from Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, which has the highest death toll in the current outbreak at 694. “The roads here really beat up the vehicles, so they don’t have a long shelf-life.”
The cancellation of flights to West Africa by carriers including British Airways and Air France, contrary to advice from the WHO, also poses a challenge to bringing in people and supplies to the region and getting them where they need to go. The limits on transportation have also made local people feel isolated and demoralized, said Keiji Fukuda, the WHO’s assistant director-general for health security.

Reeling Economies

“If companies pull out, if airlines continue not to fly here and more close down, it is going to just worsen the economic impact and the social impact,” Fukuda said in a phone interview from Monrovia. “These countries don’t have that much resilience. What other countries may be able to withstand is going to send these countries potentially reeling.”
The worst-affected nations may see 1 percentage point to 1.5 percentage points shaved off economic growth because of the disease, African Development Bank President Donald Kaberuka said this week.
The human toll of the outbreak has risen to 1,552 dead of the 3,069 people infected so far in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Nigeria, according to the Geneva-based WHO. More than 240 health-care workers have been infected so far and more than 120 have died because of a shortage of personal protective equipment or its improper use, the WHO has said.
“We need the sea ports and airports to be opened so we can receive supplies, medicines, relief items and personnel to help curb the spread of the disease,” said Musu J. Ruhle, charge d’affaires of the Embassy of Liberia in Ghana, at a meeting of West African health ministers in Accra, Ghana’s capital. “The whole country is isolated.”

Burial Teams

Liberia has deployed more burial teams, Assistant Minister of Health for Preventive Services Tolbert Nyenswah said today in Monrovia. Fourteen of 15 counties have received protective equipment after donations from China, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the United Nations Children’s Fund, or Unicef. A fleet of 23 ambulances is now available, and India has donated water, rice and 100 beds and mattresses, Nyenswah said.
Health-care workers have been going through the equipment more quickly than expected through overuse or not reusing some items such as face shields, goggles, heavy-duty gloves and heavy aprons, said Nyka Alexander, a WHO spokeswoman. Goggles and boots can be disinfected and reused, though disposable gloves, surgical gowns and scrubs are destroyed after one use, Alexander said.

Direct Relief

Direct Relief, a Santa Barbara, California-based charity, said a 4,000-pound shipment of supplies including gloves, gowns and antibiotics will head to Liberia via Brussels today. The shipment, carried by Brussels Airlines and originally scheduled to arrive on Monday, has faced disruptions as Senegal closed its border to flights originating from the affected region.
Doctors Without Borders has a supply center in Brussels and has been chartering its own flights from there. Unicef this week delivered 100 tons of equipment to Liberia, including personal protective equipment, gloves and thermometers, the fund said in a statement.
The WHO is relying on Brussels Airlines and Morocco’s Royal Air Maroc, which are still serving the affected countries, as well as on the UN Humanitarian Air Service, which has a plane and three helicopters in the region.
“We are worried that more air carriers may suspend flights,” Brennan said. “Some of the shipping firms have shown a little bit of hesitation. These are issues we’ve got to watch very closely.”

Canceled Flights

The UN health agency and the International Air Transport Association have said that travel and trade restrictions aren’t warranted and that the risk of Ebola spreading through air travel is low. Airlines haven’t been listening.
Emirates is also among airlines that have suspended flights to affected countries.
DHL Express is still operating daily flights to the Guinean capital of Conakry; Freetown, Sierra Leone; and Monrovia, though it has stopped taking blood samples out of them, said Dan McGrath, a spokesman for the carrier in Bonn.
Meanwhile, the WHO has asked for volunteers from its 7,000 staff globally to assist in West Africa, Fukuda said.
“Everyone in the organization is asked to be ready to contribute,” he said. “There are a lot of people who are saying, ’We’re ready to go.’”  http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-28/unburied-bodies-show-ebola-hit-areas-transportation-woes.html

TAN’s rallies flouting Ebola control measures, stop them now, APC tells Jonathan

on August 28, 2014   /

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to immediately halt the rallies being organized across the nation in his support by the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN), saying the rallies are jeopardizing Nigeria’s efforts to control the spread of Ebola.
”Mr. President, you said your ambition is not worth the life of any Nigerian. But the TAN rallies for your re-election are endangering the lives of thousands of Nigerians in these days of Ebola. Some things must simply transcend politics. This is one of them. Please stop the rallies now,” the party said in a statement issued in Ilorin on Thursday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
It said the President must in particular ensure that the rally slated for Port Harcourt on Saturday is stopped, in view of the spread of the Ebola virus to the Rivers capital and the fact that 100 people have been placed under surveillance there following the death of a medical doctor from a suspected Ebola disease in the city... http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/08/tans-rallies-flouting-ebola-control-measures-stop-now-apc-tells-jonathan/

Experimental Canadian Ebola vaccine wouldn’t reach Africa before 2015

Kelly Grant - HEALTH REPORTER

The Globe and Mail

Published Thursday, Aug. 28 2014, 12:43 PM EDT
Human trials of Canada’s experimental Ebola vaccine are expected to start in the United States this fall, but, like other vaccine candidates headed for accelerated testing in humans, the Canadian-developed injection will not be deployed to the West African outbreak until next year at the earliest.
The U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) announced Thursday that it would begin next week enrolling healthy adult volunteers in a phase I trial of a different vaccine, developed in partnership with the pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline, Inc., and based on a chimpanzee cold virus.... http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/health/experimental-canadian-ebola-vaccine-wouldnt-reach-africa-before-2015/article20234961/

Britain advises against all but essential travel to Ebola-hit nations

Updated: Friday August 29, 2014 MYT 12:40:27 AM

Britain advises against all but essential travel to Ebola-hit nations

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain warned its citizens on Thursday to avoid all but essential travel to west African countries hit by the world's worst outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus.
The escalation in the travel advice issued by the foreign office in regards to Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia came after a British volunteer nurse working in west Africa became the first British citizen to contract the disease.
On Aug. 5, British Airways announced it was suspending flights to Sierra Leone and Liberia until Aug. 31. These services have now been suspended until Dec. 31.
So far 3,069 cases have been reported in the outbreak but the World Health Organisation says the actual number could already be two to four times higher.

(Reporting by Belinda Goldsmith, Editing by Ralph Boulton)

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http://www.thestar.com.my/News/World/2014/08/29/Britain-advises-against-all-but-essential-travel-to-Ebolahit-nations/

Two Ebola Cases Confirmed in Port Harcourt – Minister

SAN FRANCISCO, August 28, (THEWILL) - Nigeria's Health Minister, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, has announced two new cases of the deadly Ebola disease in Port Harcourt, River State.
He named a physician, Dr. Ikechukwu Sam Enemuo, who was killed by the disease as one of the victims. Dr. Enemoah is believed to have treated a diplomat that had direct contact with the Liberian-American man, Patrick Sawyer that brought the disease to Nigeria.
The diplomat, according to the Minister is not symptomatic but has been placed under surveillance. http://www.thenigerianvoice.com/news...t-ministe.html

Liberia: 'We Have Failed in Fighting Ebola'

 28 August 2014

Gbarpolu County Senator Armah Z. Jallah has confessed the failure and ineptitude of the Government of Liberia to combat the Ebola virus in the country.
Speaking to reporters at the Capitol on August 27, 2014, he mentioned that the fight against the deadly virus is beyond the control of the government, and as such the fight should be given to international health experts, who have the experience and technical knowhow to wipe the virus out of the country.
He mentioned that the fight towards the Ebola virus should be outsourced from the Government of Liberia because according to him, nothing tangible has been done to eradicate the human killer.
Senator Jallah stressed that the remaining US$15 million should be given to the US Center for Disease Control, instead of the Liberian government, which is in the country to work along with the government.
The Gbarpolu County lawmaker indicated that Liberia lacks the experience and competence to fight the virus and out of weakness and ignorance, the virus continues to take away many lives.
He said doctors and nurses including the National Taskforce that is headed by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf do not have the medical sophistication to deal with the human killer in the country.
Senator Jallah pointed out that the country should be divided into three regions with medical practitioners from the Center for Disease Control and Medicine San-Frontier assigned in each of the regions to provide medical treatment to the dying Liberians.
The Gbarpolu County Senator indicated that it is only the international health team that can rescue the government and its people from the virus. http://allafrica.com/stories/201408281601.html

India-867 passengers being tracked for Ebola Virus Disease

867 passengers being tracked for Ebola Virus Disease

WHO has reported a total of 3069  cases and 1552 deaths (as on 26th August 2014) due to Ebola Virus Disease from affected countries. Country-wise break up is as under: Sl.No. Country Cases Deaths 1. Guinea 648 430 2. Liberia 1378 694 3. Sierra Leone 1026 422 4. Nigeria   17   06 Total 3069             1552 One passenger who travelled from Nigeria and quarantined at isolation facility at Delhi Airport yesterday have been tested negative for EVD and released from this facility. During past 24 hours, 126 passengers from the affected countries have arrived at the Airports of Mumbai (57), Delhi (46), Kochi (6), Bangalore (4),Trivandrum(2),Kolkata(2) and Chennai (9). Three passengers travelling from Sierra Leone have been found symptomatic and quarantined at isolation facility at Delhi airport. Their reports are awaited. About 15009 passengers arriving at International airports have been screened since it started on 10th August 2014 (as on 27th August 2014) Today, 03 passengers were enrolled for follow up in their respective States through State IDSP units. As on date, a cumulative number of 867 passengers are being tracked. Most of them are in the States of Maharashtra, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.  http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=109151

Infected Margibians ‘Sneaking’ into Grand Bassa

Margibi and Bassa Counties share a common border, parts of which are porous (Google Maps image)

Infected Margibians ‘Sneaking’ into Grand Bassa

Thu, 08/28/2014 - 07:22 admin

Bassa County Orders All Officers to Monitor Localities

By: 

Conscience N. Tequah (in Grand Bassa County)

The Grand Bassa County local administration is alarmed about the increase in deaths reported in towns bordering Margibi County, and has quarantined several towns within its domain, where deaths have occurred. Yet, still, the porous rural terrain does not prevent other towns from danger as reports say infected people from Dolo’s Town in Margibi have snuck into towns in rural Grand Bassa to avoid the quarantine imposed by the Government of Liberia. 
In a press conference held at the administrative building in Buchanan last week, the County Information Officer Eddie Williams said due to the close proximity of the other infected counties, Grand Bassa stands a high risk of infection.
Despite warnings by local authorities, people are circumventing the checkpoints that connect the two counties.  The check point at Owensgrove has a health post to test travelers for high fever, a trait that suggests the presence of the Ebola virus.
At Owensgrove, Grand Bassa borders Margibi County, home to Dolo’s town, from where people have reportedly fled to rural parts of Grand Bassa by boat. Dolo’s Town is now under quarantine due to the high rate of Ebola infection there.
“Since those reports, there have been occurrences of strange deaths in villages and towns closer to Margibi County,” Williams said.
“In Gbarpleh Town, Bassa County for example, some 20 persons have died and were buried by the town’s people without informing the county authorities, though the cause of the deaths could not be confirmed.
“It was confirmed that of those 20 persons, 11 had come from Dolo’s Town. “In another town called Commission’s Town, there were six deaths reported; Quenweh Town, 2 deaths; Jacob Lateh Town 3 deaths, 1 confirmed of Ebola,” he explained.
Although many of the deaths reported have not been tested for Ebola, the rate at which they are happening
As a result the Grand Bassa county administration has ordered all local government officers to remain in their localities to monitor activities and number every hut within their respective areas.
“This will help them have a record and monitor the movements of citizens and visitors in and out of their districts, clans, towns and villages. There isn’t a possibility that everybody will be tested,” he stressed.
The County has also halted all market days and large public gatherings until further notice and vowed to prosecute violators.
“All officers, district elders and superintendents must report to health authorities about all illnesses and health problems. That is why we decided, as a county, that all local authorities remain in their localities,” he added.
According to Williams, towns with deaths reported have been quarantined, and will be fed by the County authority.
“As it regards the 3 nurses who came in contact with the Ebola Patient from Rivercess, the nurse who was showing signs and symptoms was taken to Monrovia for proper treatment where he was reported dead. We are keeping close watch with the other nurses in the quarantine unit.
Williams closed by admonishing people need to “be fully involved as a means of showing responsibility. Ebola does not discriminate amongst people. Citizens must be ready and willing to support and work with the task force. The force consists of Organizations and Groupings.”  http://www.liberianobserver.com/news/infected-margibians-%E2%80%98sneaking%E2%80%99-grand-bassa

Rivers confirms case of Ebola death in PH

on August 28, 2014   /   in News 2:24 pm 

BY JIMITOTA ONOYUME
PORT HARCOURT: RIVERS state government has confirmed the death of a medical doctor from Ebola virus.
Commissioner of Health, Dr Sampson Parker who broke the news Thursday in Port Harcourt said the late Dr Iyke Sam Enemuo died Friday last week from suspected Ebola virus, adding that a test on his corpse released yesterday confirmed that the deceased died from the virus.
He said the late Enemuo met a staff of Economic Community of West African states, Ecowas at a hotel in Port Harcourt, noting that the ECOWAS staff was on the team of those that received the index case, late Patrick. According to the Commissioner of Health, one week after the ECOWAS staff left Port Harcourt the late Dr Enemuo took ill and was admitted in a hospital.
The Commissioner, Dr Parker said the wife of late Dr Enemuo who is also a doctor had fallen sick and had been quarantined, adding that about 100 persons who had primary or secondary contact with the late Dr Enemuo had been placed on watchlist.
While appealing to residents of the state not to panic the Commissioner, Dr Parkar said adequate measures were in place to check the spread of the disease.
His words,: “My friends, brothers and sisters. The Governor of Rivers State, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has directed me to make this solemn announcement to you.
And it is with a heavy heart that I announce to you that the ebola virus has claimed its first victim in Rivers State. Dr. Iyke Sam Enemuo died last week Friday, August 22, 2014 as a result of what was suspected to be ebola virus disease.
The Rivers State Ministry of Health on becoming aware of the conditions of his death, immediately commenced investigations and contact tracing.
As at today, about one hundred contacts from a hotel, patients of Dr. Enemuo and patients of the hospital where the late Enemuo was treated until his demise have been identified and restricted in Rivers State.
The locations are being decontaminated. I had promised to be open and candid with the public on our efforts to tackle the ebola virus.
From our investigations some facts have emerged. A staff of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on the team that received late Dr. Patrick Sawyer, the Liberian American diplomat who died of ebola haemorrhagic disease in Lagos, Nigeria made a trip to Port Harcourt where he checked into a hotel and met with Dr. Iyke Sam Enemuo.
About a week after his departure, Dr. Iyke Enemuo took ill and was rushed to a hospital where he presented with symptoms of fever, diarrhea and vomiting.
In the course of treatment, the managing physician became suspicious and took samples for investigation. A few days after, Dr. Iyke Enemuo died on August 22, 2014. His body was deposited at a mortuary in Port Harcourt.
Dr. Iyke Enemuo’s widow, who is also a medical doctor and who cared for him during his illness has taken ill. She is being quarantined.
A few hours ago, results of the test carried out on samples taken from Dr. Enemuo came back and was positive of Ebola Viral disease.
The diplomat who was seen by late Dr. Iyke Enemuo is alive and well. I urge every Rivers State citizen and resident to remain calm and go about their normal businesses. Wash your hands regularly with soap and water and avoid unnecessary body contacts till further notice.
The Government of Rivers State is doing everything possible to contain the effects and spread of the ebola virus. We have all the material and human resources we need to fight and defeat the deadly virus.
Officials of the Federal Ministry of Health and other international agencies are already here working with the state ministry of health. Together, I believe we can contain the ebola virus.
I shall continue to update you as more information become available. Thank you, stay safe and God bless.”
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/08/rivers-confirms-one-case-ebola-death-ph/ 

Liberia: Suspected Ebola Patient On the Run in Nimba, Flees Hospital

28 August 2014
Monrovia — FrontPageAfrica has gathered that a suspected Ebola patient whose specimen was brought to Monrovia for testing has escaped isolation in Sanniquellie, Nimba County. The suspect, a male is said to have left the center after the electricity went off.
"He left the center because the electricity went off, accordingly because he was afraid", Teeko T. Yorlay, Assistant Superintendent for Development confirmed to FPA. Assistant Superintendent Yorlay said health workers have already taken the specimen of the man who has been showing signs and symptoms of the virus to Monrovia for testing...http://allafrica.com/stories/201408281374.html?viewall=1

Ebola spreads to Nigeria oil hub Port Harcourt

  28 August 2014 Last updated at 08:02 ET

Nigeria has confirmed its first Ebola death outside Lagos – a doctor in the oil hub of Port Harcourt.

His wife has been put under quarantine, while a further 70 people in the city are under surveillance.
Latest figures show more than 1,550 people have died of Ebola, with at least 3,000 confirmed cases - mostly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the total number of cases could potentially exceed 20,000.
In an action plan to deal with the outbreak, the WHO said that "the actual number of cases may be 2-4 fold higher than that currently reported" in some areas.
Speaking to reporters, the WHO assistant director-general, Bruce Aylward, said the possibility of 20,000 cases "is a scale that I think has not ever been anticipated in terms of an Ebola outbreak".
He added: "That's not saying we expect 20,000... but we have got to have a system in place that we can deal with robust numbers.''..
This unprecedented outbreak is currently out of control as medical agencies struggle to cope with the increasing number of cases on the ground and continue to face hostility from communities in certain affected areas, the BBC's West Africa correspondent Thomas Fessy reports.
Before any results are seen on the ground, the number of infected people will probably continue to grow given that most treatment centres are already operating at full capacity, our correspondent adds.,..
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-28966258

Ebola toll tops 1,550, outbreak accelerates: WHO

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/28/us-health-ebola-toll-idUSKBN0GS0UO20140828

GENEVA Thu Aug 28, 2014 8:19am EDT

(Reuters) - The Ebola outbreak in West Africa has killed more than 1,552 people out of 3,069 known cases in four countries and "continues to accelerate", the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Thursday.
The epidemic in the region, the deadliest since the disease was first discovered in 1976, has killed nearly as many people as all the previous known outbreaks combined.
"More than 40 percent of the total number of cases have occurred within the past 21 days. However, most cases are concentrated in only a few localities," the United Nations health agency said in a statement.
The WHO is later due to launch a new strategic plan for tackling the spread of the virulent disease.
A separate Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, identified as a different strain of the virus, is not included in the latest figures which cover Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.
The disease has overwhelmed West Africa's already fragile health infrastructure. On Wednesday, the head of the African Development Bank said it was causing enormous damage to the economies of the region.