Central Hospital #Maracay 8 dead! Sarmiento:" This is a rare disease in which the patient dies within 72 hours of abruptly.

Maracay 8 dead! possible to isolate #Ebola doctor and student staff !, I quarantined

Maracay EMERGENCY! Crisis at Central Hospital for dangerous VIRUS

          

Editor / Sep 11, 2014 @ 1:01 pm

From early morning numerous reports on Twitter and emails from doctors who contacted our newsroom reporting an emergency in HCM by the presence of Neisseria meningitidis bacteria causing meningococcemia.
so far there are 3 cases reported and although there are rumors of deaths, this information has not been confirmed by any official means.
Meningococcemia is a bacterial infection of the blood due to Neisseria meningitidis. This bacterium is most famous for causing meningococcal meningitis, which may also be present in meningococcemia. Bloodstream infections are sometimes called "blood poisoning" or septicemia.
Developing News https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=https%3A%2F%2Fcloud-1410310604-cache.cdn-max.com%2Fmaracay-en-emergencia-crisis-en-hospital-central-por-peligroso-virus%2F&edit-text=

DRC-Ebola Felix Kabange welcomes the decision of WHO to use the experimental serum

September 11th, 2014 · 0 Comment

Kinshasa, 9.11 (ACP) .- Congolese Health Minister Felix Kabange Numbi, welcomed the decision by the World Health Organization (WHO) to authorize the use of "convalescent serum" for the treatment against the Ebola outbreak, as was the case in 1995 in the DRC where the treatment had helped treat patients with this disease. This decision was taken at a meeting on vaccination and drugs against Ebola in Geneva earlier this month.

"We have reached a consensus," said media Marie-Paule Kieny, Assistant to the Director General of WHO, after a two-day meeting in Geneva with more than 200 experts. "In 1995 Professor Muyembe even documented and it has been published. 8 people were treated with convalescent sera. We healed 7 of 8, "the Congolese minister, adding that two weeks ago, the Congolese authorities and scientists had already decided to use this treatment if the treatment rate was $ Djera, where a declared the Ebola outbreak.

The idea of ​​these convalescent sera is to collect blood from people affected by a disease and people who have managed to heal. This serum is then transfused the sick. By fighting against the disease, some experts argue, the body of patients who have recovered necessarily produces antibodies, and they can help in the fight against the virus affecting the patient ACP  https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Facpcongo.com%2Facp%2F%3Fp%3D8065&edit-text=

Liberia: At West Point Ebola Holding Center - One Dead, Several Transferred to JFK

Monrovia — The Government of Liberia (GoL) through the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism (MICAT) has disclosed that one person died at the Ebola Holding Center in West Point, while all active cases were transferred to the John F. Kennedy Medical Center in Sinkor, Monrovia.
Information MinisterLewis G. Brownsaid the cases transferred to the JFK were highly probable and suspected cases, meaning that there have been some familiar signs of the disease shown by the patients.
The MICAT boss made the disclosureover the weekend at the daily Ebola Hour held at the ministry in Monrovia.
According to him, since the lifting of the quarantine on the township (West Point) 17 suspected persons were taken from various homes to the Ebola holding center.
"I have a report from Dr. Mosoka Falla, he has been working since the West Point holding center was established. He works with ACF, and he has been working with the community. This report is dated September 4. Sick people in the various zones were 17, and people referred from the community to the holding center were 11.
All cases from the holding center were sent to the JFK Ebola Treatment Unit (ETU). There was a dead person picked up from the holding center on September 4 as well," Minister Brown said.
Minister Brown, who described the eradication of Ebola as a difficult fight, said there have been numerous challenges in the fight.
He pointed out that one of the key challenges has been the issue of some suspected cases leaving their areas to other places.
He further disclosed that an active case left from West Point in Monrovia to Mount Barclay in Paynesville, outside Monrovia, where she finally died.
"We understand that this person was living with other two persons in West Point, and we are trying to find those people and their possible contacts as well," said the MICAT boss.
Minister Brown also stated that another active case from the same township of West Point also migrated from her home in West Point to her mother on the Old Road.
This person, he said, was presenting the signs and symptoms of the disease and was taken to the Ebola Treatment Unit (ETU) by ambulance.
While on the Old Road, Minister Brown noted that the person in question made about 28 contacts, noting that there are efforts underway to trace those contacts.
"This person who was taken from the Old Road, we were told that her boyfriend and her mother-in-law died from the virus in West Point. We also understand that she made about 28 contacts while on the Old Road and we are tracing those contacts," he added.

Ghana- Military Deny Ebola Scare! …No Soldier Has Contracted The Disease

11-Sep-2014  

The Military Authorities has flatly denied that any of its soldiers have contracted the dreaded Ebola disease.

According to the Military Authorities, there is no record of any soldier contracting or dying from the disease in recent times.

“The only soldier we have lost was a gentleman in Liberia.

He flew from Ghana to Liberia on a mission but died the very next day on arrival.

Obviously that could not have been Ebola, because that would mean that he carried the disease from Ghana,” he said.

In a conversation with the Daily Searchlight yesterday in response to acute rumours doing the rounds in various barracks that some soldiers from Ghana have died in Liberia, Lt. Col Aggrey Quarshie, the Head of the Public Affairs Unit of the Ghana Armed Forces, said that there is no truth to the claims.

He said that about two days ago, one soldier with the United Nations Mission to Liberia died twenty-four hours after arriving in Liberia from Ghana.

“He had just arrived to join the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNAMIL) when he collapsed and died. It was too sudden to be Ebola,” he said.

Lt. Col Aggrey Quarshie said that the soldiers who came back home from Liberia were also quarantined and monitored for nineteen days before being allowed to fly back to Ghana.

“Since they came back about two weeks ago we have kept them under close supervision not nip any contagion in the bud,” he said. He said that an Ebola infection is not something that anybody would be interested in hiding.

“It would mean that we are putting the families and the entirety of the Army at risk, including our very selves.

That would be very irresponsible and believe me, we would not do that,” he said.

He emphasized that they live under close quarters at the barracks and any contagion would spread rapidly.

In that direction, the army is taking extreme measures to battle any possible infection, not only from Ebola, but cholera as well.

“All those who sell food, as well as their dependents and assistants, are being screened.

We have also sent medical and education teams to all barracks across the country to educate them on measures to take. We take the lives and well being of our soldiers serious,” he said.

Ebola: Bakers Task Members On Strict Personal, Environmental Hygiene

Ebola: Bakers Task Members On Strict Personal, Environmental Hygiene

Agency Report

— Sep 11, 2014 | 1 Comment

Mr Jacob Adejorin, Chairman, Association of Master Bakers and Caterers of Nigeria (AMBCN) Lagos Chapter, on Thursday advised bakers to maintain utmost personal hygiene to curtail the spread of the Ebola Virus Disease(EVD).
Adejorin told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that this would be in line with the directives of medical practitioners on the EVD.
He said that personal and environmental hygiene were important to efforts to stem the spread of the deadly disease.
“It is high time we bakers doubled our efforts in ensuring that we operate in a clean and healthy environment to prevent the spread of the Ebola disease.
“It is so pertinent that we make the advice public in order to support government’s efforts to make people aware of what to do.
“All overalls, aprons, hand-gloves, and other necessary personal protective gadgets must be provided for use of the bakery personnel and in adequate quantity and properly maintained..Adejorin said that about 90 per cent of Lagos residents eat bread daily.

NIGERIA-Ebola Scare: Residents Desert Homes In Delta

Kola Eke Ogiugo

— Sep 6, 2014 | 2 Comments

Motorists and old persons whose houses are around the Federal Medical Centre, Asaba Delta State created a chaotic scene by hightailing it when rumours filtered into the area that a female patient and two others within the medical centre exhibited symptoms of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).
Earlier, there had been rumours of an Ebola infection in Ozoro, Ughelli, Agbor, but the state commissioner for health, Dr Joseph Otumara had dismissed the speculations as untrue, maintaining that no Ebola case had been recorded in Delta.
But with the fear of the EVD hovering over the town, people and even some patients checked themselves out of the FMC and private clinics also became deserted as people fled for fear of contacting the disease.
However, the chief medical director of FMC, Dr Leo Erhunmwense, who spoke to our correspondent on phone, said the woman who was brought into the hospital barely a week ago, was stooling and vomiting but added that it was yet to be determined if she was infected with the Ebola Virus Disease.
According to him, “The patient who was stooling and vomiting was actually brought to the hospital with symptoms of Ebola but we need to confirm if she is suffering from the disease. We need to carry out series of tests and if she has the disease or not, people should not get panicky, the situation is under control.”

Virologist: Fight against Ebola in Sierra Leone and Liberia is lost

Date 11.09.2014

The killer virus is spreading like wildfire, Liberia's defense minister said on Tuesday and pleaded help from the UN. Now a German Ebola expert goes one step further and comes up with a shocking assertion.

A security official in Liberia's capital, Monrovia

His statement might alarm many people.
But Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit of the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine in Hamburg told DW that he and his colleagues are losing hope for Sierra Leone and Liberia, two of the countries worst hit by the recent Ebola epidemic.
"The right time to get this epidemic under control in these countries has been missed," he said. That time was May and June. "Now it is too late."
Schmidt-Chanasit expects the virus will "burn out itself" in this part of the world.
With other words: It will more or less infect everybody and half of the population - in total about five million people - could die.

Stop the virus from spilling over to other countries
Schmidt-Chanasit knows that it is a hard thing to say.
He stresses that he doesn't want international help to stop. Quite the contrary: He demands "massive help".
For Sierra Leone and Liberia, though, he thinks "it is far from reality to bring enough help there to get a grip on the epidemic."
According to the virologist, the most important thing to do now is to prevent the virus from spreading to other countries, "and to help where it is still possible, in Nigeria and Senegal for example."
Moreover, much more money has to be put into evaluating suitable vaccines, he added.

In Liberia, the death toll has risen to over 1000.

Angry reactions
In the headquarters of Welthungerhilfe, a German non-governmental aid organization that is engaged in helping with the Ebola epidemic, Schmidt-Chanasit's statement causes much contempt.
Such declarations "are not very constructive," a spokeswoman said.
Jochen Moninger, Sierra Leone based coordinator of Welthungerhilfe, told DW, Schmidt-Chanasit's statement is "dangerous and moreover, not correct."
Moninger has been living in Sierra Leone for four years and has experienced the Ebola outbreak there from the beginning.
"The measures are beginning to show progress," he says. "The problem is solvable - the disease can be stemmed."
"If I had lost hope completely, I would pack my things and take my family out of here", Moninger adds. Instead, he and his family will stay.
In Sierra Leone, the government has ordered a quarantine of 21 days for every household in which an Ebola case occurred. Soldiers and police are guarding these houses preventing anyone who has come into contact with an Ebola patient from leaving.
According to Moninger, that is exactly the right thing to do: isolating sick people - should it be necessary, even with military force.

When Liberia's government quarantined the slum area of West Point, frustration led to protest.

Creating hopelessness doesn't help

Moninger says he doesn't know much about the situation in Liberia. But indeed, he got the impression that "there seems to be happening something that is not good at all."
He grants that Schmidt-Chanasit's statement "might point a little bit into the right direction" regarding Liberia.
Liberia has not taken on the same quarantine measures as Sierra Leone. According to a WOrld HEalth Organization (WHO) report, Ebola-infected people are crisscrossing the capital in shared taxis, looking for a treatment place and returning home after finding none. This way the virus spreads.
"Distributing hopelessness", though, Moninger said, "is dangerous", adding that there are many human lives at risk, and "statements like these make the situation even worse".
Disastrous, but not without hope
The WHO in Geneva refuses to comment on Schmidt-Chanasit's statement.
WHO spokeswoman Fadéla Chaib, though, says that there is "of course" still hope for both countries.
"We can bring the situation under control in 6 to 9 months," she told DW.

When protesting against government's decision to quarantine West Point, residents have been injured.

She admits, though, that the situation especially in Liberia is "very intense".
The government is completely outstripped and as soon as a new Ebola treatment center has opened, it is overflowed by patients, she says, adding that Liberia has the highest number of cases and deaths in West Africa with a 60 percent case-fatality rate.
The situation is getting worse after 80 health workers, doctors and nurses, have died after contracting the disease.
The WHO even expects thousands of new cases of Ebola in Liberia over the next few weeks.
Winning together
Not only neighboring countries but also Europe and the US will have to support the fight against the epidemic, WHO's Chaib demands.
Then it might be possible to win this fight.
The key to getting a grip on the epidemic is to stop the transmission of Ebola, especially in healthcare workers, she says.
Creating Ebola centers in the communities themselves will stop Ebola patients and their family members moving around and infecting other people.
"We will do everything we can to stop this Ebola outbreak. We will not let down West Africa." http://www.dw.de/virologist-fight-against-ebola-in-sierra-leone-and-liberia-is-lost/a-17915090

Heavy flood sweeps Goghen Town in Bomi

Thursday, 11 September 2014 00:00 By Ben P. Wesee

TRANSLATE

Goghen, a densely populated town about 10 kilometers from Tubmanburg, Bomi County was buried under water over the weekend as a result of heavy flooding, leaving hundreds of residents, including family members scavenging for refuge in churches, town halls and other public buildings.
Town chief Ma Garma Kawde, herself a victim, narrated that on Sunday, 7 September they had assembled in the town square to perform a sacrifice, but while in the process, news came that their homes were being swept away by heavy flood... 

Doctors escape Ebola tension

Thursday, 11 September 2014 00:00 Winston W. Parley

TRANSLATE

President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has toured public and private health facilities across Monrovia “to strengthen” health workers, as some doctors are now escaping duties due to the deadly Ebola crisis.
Pres. Sirleaf at Ahmadiyya Clinic

Casualties from the Ebola virus in Liberia mount daily, and patients are being turned away in some overwhelmed health centers.
The French charity, Medicine Sans Frontieres, which operates a 300 bed treatment center at the ELWA Hospital, says its capacity has been overwhelmed.
It took President Sirleaf’s intervention here on Tuesday, 9 September to have a teenager who had reportedly drunk chloride admitted at the SOS Children Village in Congo Town after being rushed there.

During the President’s tour of various health facilities, the head of the Benson Hospital in Paynesville, Doctor Jimmie Benson, said three Congolese doctors that were helping him and his wife have fled Liberia for fear of contracting the virus.

One deteriorating situation that was brought to President Sirleaf’s attention, who chairs the National Ebola Taskforce here is that the Benson Hospital that receives about 40 to 45 patients daily, is now almost out of Personal Protective Equipment or PPEs. Hospital authorities said PPEs available have to be washed about two or three times.

Dr. Benson said he personally purchased them for the hospital, suggesting that they have not had additional PPEs coming in from the government. Dr. Benson told the President that they have been transferred Ebola cases to the ELWA Hospital that hosts two major treatment centers here. He disclosed that a total of three Ebola patients had been transferred to ELWA from Monday to Tuesday.

But at other health centers like the James N. Davis, Jr. Memorial Hospital in Neezoe community, Paynesville, authorities complained that 50 to 60 percent of their staff are with Medicine Sans Frontieres, the National Ebola Response team and Ebola Treatment Unit and “are getting huge compensation.”

“We’re going around; we try to strengthen all the health facilities- whether it’s government, whether it’s private- because we know that right now many of the hospitals are involved in the Ebola treatment. But we want to encourage the other ones to respond to just normal health care, that’s what SDA Cooper is doing,” said President Sirleaf.

As she made stops at various health centers, including the Ahmadiyya Clinic, Seventh Day Adventist Cooper Hospital, SOS Children Village, Benson Hospital and the James N. Davis, Jr., the President received the files of listed items needed to enhance their operations.

“We got to find a way to strengthen you so you can continue to serve the people,” said President Sirleaf, as she emphasized the need for health workers’ protection both at public and private health centers.

There is also challenge of lack of sufficient fuel to run 24 hour services, as the James N. Davis, Jr. Administrator James Kaikai estimates that fuel required for four vehicles and the hospital’s generator costs about 3,060 gallons per month, describing it as a serious challenge.

Italian Mobile Laboratory Arrives in Lofa

Thursday, 11 September 2014 00:00 ND Reporter

TRANSLATE

The Italian Government has dispatched a mobile laboratory team, homeopathic Ebola treatment drugs and food to enhance the fight against the Ebola virus. According to a Foreign Ministry release, the aid followed a series of frantic diplomatic efforts between the Liberian Ambassador to Italy, His Excellency (Dr) Mohamed Sheriff and the Italian Government and other multinational organizations.
The National Institute for Infectious Disease “Lazzaro Spollanzani”  or IRCCS of Italy, in collaboration with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation is quoted by the Foreign Ministry release as saying the mobile laboratory team has already been dispatched to the MSF Treatment Center in Foya, Lofa County- the epicenter of the deadly Ebola disease, adding that the team of four medical experts headed by Dr. Antonino Dicaro, Director of the Microbiology Laboratory and Infectious Disease Biorepository, arrived in the country last Friday, September 5, 2014. Other members of the team include Dr. Frances Colavita, Dr. Angela Cannas, and Ms. Serena Quartu, (a laboratory technician).

A box containing some homeopathic Ebola treatment drugs has been sent to the Liberian Embassy in Rome, Italy by Dr. Alessandra Manini of the International Emergency Management Organization to be sent to Health Minister, Dr. Walter Gwenigale.

At the same time, the World Food Program or WFP in Rome has increased its Emergency Assistance and Logistical Support in the fight against the deadly Ebola epidemic in Liberia for quarantined communities in Bomi, Bong, Cape Mount, Grand Bassa, Lofa, Margibi, Montserrado, Nimba and RiverCess Counties for about 39,000 affected persons, including 13,500 people in West Point and Dolo Town respectively, according to the Foreign Ministry.

More than 71 metric tons of food have been delivered to the country’s various health teams in eight counties, including Bomi, Bong, Cape Mount, Grand Bassa, Lofa, Margibi, Nimba and RiverCess for distribution to some 4,600 people in holding and isolation centers.

Additionally, the International Fund for Agricultural Development  or IFAD in Rome, Italy has also responded warmly to the Liberian Embassy’s request for support to the Government of Liberia. The organization will shortly make clear its assistance to Liberia. A dispatch from the Liberian Embassy in Rome is quoted as saying the humanitarian assistance from the Sovereign Orders of MC or SMOM in Rome is expected in Liberia shortly for a humanitarian mission in the country.

30 Sierra Leonean Students disperse to Universities across the People’s Republic of China

By: John Pa Baimba Sesay - IA, Beijing, China on September 7, 2014.

With China’s continued support to Sierra Leone in a range of sectors, a total of 30 Sierra Leonean students, on Friday 5th September, 2014, arrived in the People’s Republic of China to further their education in various fields of academia.

The students were received by Sierra Leone’s Embassy Staff and a cross section of the Sierra Leone Students Union Executive in China.

On the day of their arrival, they departed to their various Universities across the People’s Republic of China. From the 30, 2 students will be pursuing Ph.D., 7 read for Bachelor Degrees and 21 will pursue Masters Degrees in different fields of academia...

Showing Symptoms, Cop Seeks Treatment

Ebola Surrender: Showing Symptoms, Cop Seeks Treatment

Written by Henry Karmo (0886522495) henrykarmo47@gmail.com

Published: 10 September 2014

Monrovia - Mr. Oscar Kollie, a ranking officer of the Liberia National Police, turned himself in Tuesday to the Health Ministry to be tested for Ebola after experiencing symptoms of the deadly Ebola Virus.

According to some employees of the Health Ministry, who were on the scene, Kollie had gone to the Ebola isolation center at the ELWA hospital, but was told he could not be accepted because of limited capacity. This led him to go to the Health Ministry instead.

“Kollie said for the past two weeks he had experienced unbearable fever, but did not say whether or not other symptoms like Diarrhea and the headache had also been experienced by him,” an eyewitness said. Some of the bystanders who claimed to know Kollie, said his wife died mysteriously two weeks ago, but it was not known if she died of the Ebola virus.

Mr. Kollie who drove himself into the compound of the Health Ministry, spent almost four hours in the compound before he could receive an attention from the health workers. His vehicle was sprayed and the areas - the bathrooms he frequently visited was also disinfected.

A few hours later an ambulance from the Health Ministry came and staff on it questioned him and he was asked to get into the vehicle and he was taken away after. Many on the scene described the police officer as a hero, but what many were still finding difficult to comprehend is the length of time he spent at the health facility before receiving attention.

Recently FrontPageAfrica reported that the 18 Police officers had been quarantined in Bloc C at the Police Barracks in Monrovia. According to sources, one Police officer serving the Police Support Unit (PSU) contracted the virus and is currently undergoing treatment at the ELWA Ebola center. One senior Police source confirmed to FrontPageAfrica that the officer is in critical condition at the Ebola treatment center. The Police officer is said to have contracted the virus from his wife who is a nurse, who transferred the virus to her husband after also getting infested from work.

The health of the PSU officer prompted the quarantining of Bloc C of the Police barracks where accordingly the 18 Police officers are residing. Located at the intersection of Camp Johnson Road and Capitol By-pass the Police Barracks is home to several Police officers and their dependents.

According to one member of the Ebola Task Force, several items have been supplied the quarantined Police officers including chlorine, biscuits and other materials. Police officers are used in protecting clinics and other medical facilities also accompanying various medical teams, including burial, collection of sick patients and others. http://www.frontpageafricaonline.com/index.php/news/2961-ebola-surrender-showing-symptoms-police-officer-seeks-treatment

The officers are usually not seen wearing protective gears including gloves and other PPEs while providing protection in medical facilities and carrying out other duties closely related to Ebola. Police officers are also used to implement quarantine in several communities as they were recently deployed to ensure the quarantine of the West Point community and some are now in Dolo's Town, Margibi County performing similar duty.

‘Circumstances Suggest Ebola’: MOFA ‘Devastated Over Loss

‘Circumstances Suggest Ebola’: MOFA ‘Devastated Over Loss

Written by Rodney D. Sieh, rodney.sieh@frontpageafricaonline.com

Published: 11 September 2014

The last time the Minister interacted with the late Sharon Shamoyan Washington was on Wednesday, July 30, 2014, the date he departed the country for Washington DC for the US-Africa Leader's Summit. From that date up to September 8, 2014, the day Mrs. Washington passed away (exactly 40 days), the Minister had not seen Mrs. Washington, although he and other personnel of the Ministry were in touch with her via cell phone.”  – Horatio Bobby Willie, Assistant Minister for Public Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

---

Monrovia – Liberia’s Foreign Minister Augustine Ngafuan says he and his entire family of the Ministry are deeply saddened and devastated over the loss of Mrs. Sharon Shamoyan Washington, his Administrative Assistant who died Monday for what is being described as “circumstances that could suggest Ebola. “  http://www.frontpageafricaonline.com/index.php/news

Ebola Q & A with Dr. C.J. Peters: What My Tweeps Want to Know

Dear Friends,

The response to my Fireside Chat with Dr. C.J. Peters was even better than expected and I got a lot of great feedback from my blog readers and Twitter friends. I'd like to thank all of you for taking the time to read this blog and for engaging in such great dialogue about it. It really adds a rewarding dimension to the whole experience.

Many of you had additional questions for C.J. regarding the current Ebola epidemic. I asked him if he'd mind answering them for you here and he was happy to do so. I had to limit the questions so I selected them on a first-come, first-served basis. Several had the same or similar questions, but if I missed anything you think is critical, let me know and I will add it when I can.  Enjoy!

Our first three questions are from Dr. Ian Mackay, a virologist at the University of Queensland who is also the Keeper for both the site and blog for Virology Down Under. Dr. Mackay can be followed on Twitter: @MackayIM and I recommend it. In fact his was the first blog on my blog roll here.

Dr. Mackay: Given this outbreak is very different from previous ones - because of human factors -does what's needed to control it also have to be different?
Dr. Peters: Nobody knows. There's no indication initially that this EBOV is any more infectious than any other EBOV that we've dealt with, but it's something that should be studied using the control methods that worked with the previous outbreaks. There's no indication they wouldn't work but you gotta look.



Dr. Mackay: Following up on that question, what are the top 3 things that could be done, or done better, to contain this outbreak?
Dr. Peters: 1) More training paramedical people. 2) Provide more PPE 3) Rethink the approach. Should we be concentrating on infected areas or areas adjacent to those infected areas? We could superimpose a map of infected areas over a satellite map of the region and ring the infected areas. The adjacent areas could then be given PPE and training, not to contain it but to get on top of it. And quarantine strategy needs to change. People need to be fed and provided for. There's no panacea, they need more PPE and more equipment and currently the major worry is dealing with problems already there. An adequate response will require the whole world to step in, including the U.S. military who are more than capable of setting up field hospitals for highly infectious diseases. Also helpful would be involving anthropologists to interact with locals and help with communications - like how do you tell people what you need them to do and get them to do it?

Dr. Mackay: Have you had a chance to look at the sequence changes from the Sierra Leone genomes? If so, do any look worrying to you for phenotypic change?
Dr. Peters: We don't have the experience we need to be able to answer this. You can't tell that from the sequence unless you have experience with the given virus and with those sequence changes. We've only recently gotten to a point with influenza where we can predict what's worrisome and that's been studied by many smart people for a long time. When discussing the importance of the human genome project, people said it would provide all the words in the dictionary of human genetics. But that dictionary is only helpful if you have the definitions to go with the words. We don't have all the definitions for EBOV sequences. We just don't have the experience it takes to tell at this point.

Our next two questions are from Stephen Goldstein, ScM. Stephen is a Science News Analyst at Public Health United and a PhD student in virology at the University of Pennsylvania. He can be followed on Twitter: @stgoldst.

Stephen: Do you have any thoughts on the case fatality rate disparities between the affected countries?
Dr. Peters: No. And that's a good question. It may be a situation in which case ascertainment is not accurate, but it may be real.

Stephen: What do you make of the studies showing high seroprevalence for EBOV with no indication of illness? Subclinical infections?
Dr. Peters: I think the IFAs are totally unreliable. I've done them myself for Ebola Zaire and Reston, from monkeys and humans and they didn't tell us anything. They are just unreliable. I don't think it means that there were a bunch of subclinical infections, I think it means the test was unreliable.

(C.J. and I discussed these papers for a bit, as well as his experiences with it. I was surprised to learn that even with really good controls and technique the method really isn't reliable for drawing any kind of conclusion about Ebola in this regard. )

Our next questions come from Michael Owen, a regulatory microbiologist from Washington State. Michael is a biosafety enthusiast who has compiled a nice Ebola resources webpage and he can be followed on Twitter: @owenmp.

Michael: In the field, do Ebola HCW need to collect disinfectants used to decontaminate hospital areas and used PPE? How could you do this?
Dr. Peters: Clorox is readily available and effective so they should use it when possible. People who could get exposed should have the right PPE, but if not, then they need to use what they can. Ethleen Lloyd put together a manual in 1998 to help improvise PPE for VHF in an African setting. It's available for download on the CDC website but they haven't utilized it during this epidemic. We could also face shortages of PPE for this. There were shortages with SARS and it's a possibility.

Michael: Is there a minimum time to wait between complete EVD recovery and harvesting blood from a survivor for passive therapy?
Dr. Peters: This is not known for Ebola, but blood/serum from a survivor won't help here anyway. There's no evidence that it will help, but strong evidence that it won't help. For other viruses it can be critical, such as for the arenavirus Junin, for which it is used effectively on a regular basis. But for Ebola it's just not effective. For Junin, they wait until 3 months after illness to harvest serum for therapy, but they don't know that 3 months is required, they just know that 3 months works.

(I was one of the first to suggest that passive immune therapy might help with this epidemic and I was surprised at this, but now have a better understanding. Because this is currently making headlines I will be addressing it in a post soon.)

One final question I asked, on behalf of the fear-mongering doomsayers on Twitter: :Is this Ebola epidemic a threat to humanity?
Dr. Peters.: No. It may very well decimate Africa. Africa is in real trouble, but it is not a threat to humanity and it won't cause a pandemic.

There. You heard that from the Quintessential Virus Hunter himself. And please don't mistake this for denial that this Ebola epidemic is a global problem...it's definitely a global problem. We've already clearly stated that this is a problem that absolutely requires a global response effort. But that's not the same as claiming it will cause a pandemic or destroy humanity. We good? Good.

A HUGE thank you to my Tweeps who came up with some great questions and an even bigger thank you to C.J., for being so willing to clarify these issues and help us understand this epidemic.

Cheers,

Heather http://www.pathogenperspectives.com/2014/09/ebola-q-with-dr-cj-peters-what-my.html

Ebola Hits Seat of Liberian Presidency; 1 Dead; 1 Quarantined

Ebola Hits Seat of Liberian Presidency; 1 Dead; 1 Quarantined

Written by Rodney D. Sieh, rodney.sieh@frontpageafricaonline.com

Published: 10 September 2014

Monrovia - Liberia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is also the seat of the Liberian presidency, has been hit by the deadly Ebola virus, FrontPageAfrica has learned.

On Monday, the Administrative Assistant to Foreign Minister Augustine Ngafuan reportedly died from what sources say is a suspected case of the deadly virus. Her husband, a staffer in the office of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, is currently under quarantine.

FrontPageAfrica is withholding the names of the officials because the government has not officially notified the public about the cases, so close to the Liberian presidency. Minister Ngafuan's office is two floors below the floor now being used as the President's office.

The wife of the President’s office staffer reportedly died on Monday and may have gotten the virus from a sister, who had previously died. A praying woman who reportedly had sessions and laid hands on the sister of the deceased Administrative Assistant, has also died.

Sources within the Executive Mansion informed FrontPageAfrica Wednesday that both the deceased Administrative Assistant in Minister Ngafuan’s office and her husband had been told not to return to the office until after 21 days.

“ They had not been coming to work for more than 21 days now,” the source, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not clothed with the authority to speak on the matter.

Minister Ngafuan is currently in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia attending an Emergency Meeting of the African Union’s Executive Council on the Ebola Virus Disease Outbreak.  Attempts to reach the minister and his press aide have been unsuccessful. The AU members are recommending the urgent lifting of all travel bans imposed on countries affected by the Ebola outbreak in Africa.

The Ministry has been the seat of the presidency since 2006 when fire gutted the fourth floor during celebrations marking the 159th Independence Day celebrations in the presence of three West African leaders, who had come to witness the then newly-elected President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf switch on electricity to reach limited parts of the capital city.

South African forensic scientists brought in to probe the cause of the fire said it was an electrical fault. Following the fire outbreak at the Executive Mansion, the Government of Liberia announced a closure of the Mansion, and President Johnson-Sirleaf relocated to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where the president has for the past eight years been performing official state functions.

The mansion was constructed in 1964 under the regime of the late Liberian President William Vacanarat Shadrach Tubman by 2,000 workers, including about a fifth of Monrovia's labor force, and 150 foreign technicians. The eight-storey Executive Mansion building, which costs US$20 million, has an atomic-bomb shelter, an underground swimming pool, a private chapel, a trophy room, a cinema, an emergency power plant, water supply and sewage system, among others.

The report comes just 24 hours after Defense Minister Brownie Samukai told the U.N. Security Council that the outbreak poses a “serious threat” to the war-torn nation’s very existence. Samukai’s words were echoed by the U.N. Secretary-General’s special representative Karin Landgren, who said Liberia is facing its gravest threat since its decade-long civil war ended in 2003. She deemed the outbreak a “latter-day plague” and its spread “merciless.”

Liberia is worst hit among the nations affected by the current Ebola epidemic with at least 1,200 recorded deaths. Over the past three weeks, the country has experienced a 68% bump in infections and the World Health Organization estimates the surge will continue to accelerate in coming weeks.

Humanitarian groups in the country have been complaining that there simply aren’t enough beds and suspected victims of Ebola are reportedly turned back to their communities or left waiting outside medical facilities, aggravating the risk of further contagion.

At least 160 health workers have been infected with the virus and 79 have died, in a nation that counted a paltry single doctor per 100,000 inhabitants at its onset. Landgren pointed out that the challenge also goes beyond the medical response.

“The enormous task of addressing Ebola has revealed persistent and profound institutional weaknesses, including in the security sector,” she said. “As the demands pile on, the police face monumental challenges in planning and implementing large scale operations.”  http://www.frontpageafricaonline.com/index.php/news/2974-ebola-hits-seat-of-liberian-presidency-1-dead-1-quarantined

Ebola scare at FMC Asaba

By Adewole Martins  /  September 4, 2014  / 

Pandemonium broke out in Asaba, Delta state capital on Thursday, following the news of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Asaba.

Pandemonium broke out in Asaba, Delta state capital on Thursday, following the news of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Asaba.
Relatives of patients at the hospital were jostling to evacuate their loved ones from the hospital.
Since the news had circulated round the metropolis, commercial activities were cut short even as commuters retreated into their houses for fear that they may have contact with any infected person.
A check at the hospital along the popular Nnebisi road, West-End, Asaba, revealed that the deadly disease had compelled shops owners in and around the hospital road to close down, even as the wards of the hospital were almost empty.
The Doctors, nurses and other medical workers however beat “no retreat, no surrender” as they were seen within the hospital vicinity.
A Doctor, who pleaded anonymity, however said the atmosphere in the hospital should not scare anybody away, maintaining that “We just resumed work after a prolonged nationwide strike and so activities are yet to pick up.”
The Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Leo Erhunmwunse, when contacted, said the patient who was brought in was stooling and vomiting, which allegedly trigger fear at the hospital because the aforementioned symptoms depicted the contagious disease.
He however said “but we are yet to determine if he was infected.”
Continuing, “A patient who was stooling and vomiting was actually brought to the hospital today (yesterday), symptoms of Ebola but we need to confirm if he is suffering from the disease. We need to carry out series of test to verify if he has the virus or not. People should not panic. The situation is under control.”
Erhunmwunse said that the hospital will need to conduct series of tests to determine if the patient actually had the dreaded disease, adding that it could take a few days before the results are out. http://theeagleonline.com.ng/ebola-scare-at-fmc-asaba/

Guinea detects 9 cases of Ebola in new region

by Reuters    |    September 03, 2014 , 9 : 37 pm GST     Share

Medical workers of the John Fitzgerald Kennedy hospital of Monrovia wear their protective suit before going to the high-risk area of the hospital, the surgical section where Ebola patients are being treated, on Wednesday. Nurses at Liberia's largest hospital went on strike on Monday, demanding better pay and equipment to protect them against a deadly Ebola epidemic which has killed hundreds in the west African nation. Photo: AFP/DOMINIQUE FAGET

Conakry/Dakar: Guinea's government said on Wednesday that Ebola had spread to a previously unaffected region of the country, as U.S. experts warned that the worst ever outbreak of the deadly virus was spiralling out of control in West Africa. Guinea, the first country to detect the haemorrhagic fever  in March, had said it was containing the outbreak but authorities announced that nine new cases had been found in the southeastern prefecture of Kerouane. The area, some 750 km southeast of the capital Conakry, lies close to where the virus was first detected deep in Guinea's forest region. The epidemic has since spread to four other West African countries and killed more than 1,500 people.   "There has been a new outbreak in Kerouane but we have sent in a team to contain it," said Aboubacar Sikidi Diakité, head of Guinea's Ebola task force. He insisted the outbreak was being contained. The nine confirmed cases were in the town of Damaro in the Kerouane region, with a total of 18 people under observation, the health ministry said in a statement...  http://www.timesofoman.com/News/39135/Article-Guinea-detects-9-cases-of-Ebola-in-new-region

This Mathematical Model from 2006 Shows How Ebola Could Wipe Us Out

Written by

Jordan Pearson

September 4, 2014 // 03:50 PM EST

The current Ebola outbreak in West Africa is the worst in history, and the death toll just surpassed 1,900. Previous WHO estimates indicated that the outbreak would end mid-fall, but the situation is quickly spiraling out of control and into a sea of unknowns.
The “Ebola epidemic is the largest, and most severe, and most complex we have ever seen in the nearly 40-year history of this disease,” World Health Organization director general Margaret Chan said in a special briefing yesterday. “No one, even outbreak responders, [has] ever seen anything like it.”

Yaneer Bar-Yam, the complex systems analyst whose model accurately predicted the global unrest that led to the Arab Spring, is also worried about the patterns he sees in the disease's advance. Models he designed for the New England Complex Systems Institute back in 2006 show that Ebola could rapidly spread, and, in a worse case scenario, even cause an extinction event, if enough infected people make it through an international airport.

“What happened was that we were modelling the dynamics of the evolution of diseases—of pathogens—and we showed that if you just add a very small amount of long-range transportation, the diseases escape their local context and eventually drive everything to extinction,” Bar-Yam told Motherboard. “They drive their hosts to extinction.”

'A cascade of infection starting in Africa'/NECSI

Bar-Yam says he has informed the WHO and the CDC of his findings, but they haven’t listened, he said.
“I just gave a lecture to the World Health Organization in January and I told them. I said, there’s this transition to extinction and we don’t know when it’s going to happen,” Bar-Yam explained. “But I don’t think that there has been a sufficient response.”

Normally, the spread of a predator—and this is as true for Ebola as it is for invasive animal species—is stymied when it overexploits its prey, effectively drying up its own food source. In rural areas like those where the current Ebola outbreak is centered, diseases tend to contain themselves by wiping out all available hosts in a concentrated area.

NECSI

If a particularly aggressive predator happens to make it out of its local context, say, on an international flight, Bar-Yam’s models show that it can avoid local extinction through long-range dispersal. At this point, the linear model of the disease's outbreak makes a statistical transition into an entirely different dynamic; extinction for all of its hosts across vast geographic distances, and only afterwards for the disease.
The argument has been made that an Ebola outbreak would not be as severe in the West as it is in Africa, because the poor healthcare infrastructure where the disease has struck is the chief vector of its spread. Bar-Yam sees this assumption as a vast overestimation of our handle on the dynamics of disease containment.

The question becomes, at what point do we hit the panic button? What does it look like to hit the panic button?

“The behavior of an individual in a major metropolitan area in terms of engaging with the health care system depends on a lot of different factors,” Bar-Yam explained. “A reasonable person might be have in one way, but another person will behave in another. We don’t know what happens if someone with Ebola throws up in a subway before that gets cleaned up and people understand that happened because of Ebola.”
Panic is never a wise thing to incite, because it can result in exactly the kinds of unpredictable behavior that Bar-Yam is warning us about. However, a healthy amount of fear is a different matter.
“The question becomes, at what point do we hit the panic button? What does it look like to hit the panic button?” he said.
Bar-Yam’s suggested approach to containing the outbreak is radical, he admits, and flies in the face of the WHO’s nonplussed reaction to Korean Airlines, which stopped running flights into Kenya last week. According to the WHO, halting flights to West Africa makes it difficult for healthcare experts to make it into the region to help. Bar-Yam agrees, but maintains that the danger of the disease coming back with them is too great a risk.. ME TOO
“They’re saying they need a large number of healthcare professionals to go there and deal with this. But that doesn’t mean that people have to leave there,” he said. “One sets up a one-way transportation system where people can go there to deal with the disease.”

It’s a prescription that is likely to bristle healthcare experts who'd to help Africans suffering from Ebola without necessarily signing their own death certificate. However, Bar-Yam said, the possibility of Ebola making it into a metropolitan area is far more grim than any potential containment efforts.
While the outbreak response thus far has been more or less handled on an individual basis, treating cases as they pop up while simultaneously studying the infection, a containment attempt to limit movement in and around the diseased area is a systemic response, and that’s exactly what’s needed.

“If the disease comes to an urban area in the United States, the targeted response of addressing individuals who have the infection is not the same as a systemic response that addresses the ability of the disease to spread,” Bar-Yam said. “We need to have the knowledge and understanding of how to do a systemic response.”  http://motherboard.vice.com/read/a-2006-mathematical-model-shows-how-ebola-could-wipe-us-out

#Ebola: no vaccine will be available before the end of the year

....Ebola: no vaccine will be available before the end of the year
..
The current outbreak of Ebola virus that continues to spread in West Africa is unprecedented in scale. There is still no approved vaccine against the disease, and no specific treatment.

The international community was accelerating its response Thursday against Ebola, the African Union announced an emergency meeting to strategize across the continent while WHO proposed eight treatments and two experimental vaccines to be developed faster. "None has been clinically proven," according to the paper published Thursday by the WHO for the 200 experts convened in Geneva to take stock of the ways to fight against Ebola.

Also, "when extraordinary measures are now in place to accelerate the pace of clinical trials, new treatments and vaccines will not be available for widespread use before the end of 2014," warned the UN organization. "By then, only small quantities of up to a few doses to / treatments will be available," she said, noting that the development and clinical evaluation of these treatments take "up to 10 years normal circumstances. ".... http://www.congo24.net/Acceuil/index.php/monde/5757-ebola-aucun-vaccin-ne-sera-disponible-avant-la-fin-de-l-annee.html

Ebola Could Reach the U.S. By the End of This Month

David Ludwig

 

There is an 18 percent chance that a case of the Ebola virus will reach the United States by the end of September, according to a study published on Tuesday in PLOS Currents: Outbreaks. 
Despite restrictions reducing travel in and out of the infected countries by 80 percent, the study, which analyzes global flight patterns, suggests that a case of Ebola in the U.S. is becoming increasingly harder to avoid. It also lists the chance of the virus reaching the United Kingdom between 25 and 28 percent. 
The analysis also warns that if the current West African outbreak is not contained the likelihood of the virus reaching Europe and the U.S. will "increase consistently." 
The study lists just a five percent chance of Ebola occurring in the U.S. today, suggesting that the disease is far from contained to countries in West Africa. According to numbers obtained by the World Health Organization, there have been an estimated 3,685 cases and 1,841 deaths from the virus since the outbreak began.
Although two Americans — Dr. Kent Brantley and Nancy Writebol — have been treated for Ebola in the U.S., both of them contracted the disease while working in Liberia. Doctors suggested that better medical care contributed to their eventual recovery.
A third infected American working in Liberia,  Dr. Richard A. Sacra, is on his way to the U.S. for treatment. http://www.thewire.com/global/2014/09/ebola-could-reach-the-us-by-the-end-of-this-month/379657/

ABU student suffers from Dangue fever, not Ebola -Dep Gov

  ABU student suffers from Dangue fever, not Ebola -Dep Gov

 

The 19 year old undergraduate student of Law in Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), who has been under quarantine at the teaching hospital of the University in Shika, Zaria for a strange ailment that was earlier suspected to Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) has been tested Ebola negative.
Deputy Governor of Kaduna State, Ambassador Nuhu Audu Bajoga, told newsmen in Kaduna Wednesday that the student was suffering from ‘Dangue Fever’, not Ebola Virus Disease.
Bajoga, who is the Chairman, Kaduna State Ebola Prevention and Control Committee said, “just as I told you about my doubt on the Ebola issue, I am happy to inform you that the result of the sample of the patient’s blood taken to a Lagos laboratory, came back this morning. The young man was negative of the Ebola virus.
“However, the patient was tested positive for Dangue fever. I am told it is a very bad type of fever, but it is no where close to the Ebola virus. May I reassure our people that we ever ready to contain any outbreak of Ebola.
And for now, and I pray forever, There is no single case of Ebola in Kaduna state.
“We are waiting for more brief on the Dangue fever and we shall act in the best interest of the public”, he said.  http://news2.onlinenigeria.com/news/375341-abu-student-suffers-from-dangue-fever-not-ebola-dep-gov.html

Who releases alarming #Ebola numbers.

Posted by Greg Laden on September 4, 2014

I’m just posting the graph and very little info right now. The per day rate of new cases is currently about 123 cases per day, the total number of suspected, confirmed, etc. cases is 3,685 with 1841 fatalities. These numbers no longer include Nigeria (and the one case in Senegal is not included either).

Keywords: Ebola 2014 West African Outbreak  
http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2014/09/04/who-releases-alarming-ebola-numbers/

The Abbot Bagaza talking about the campaign "Ebola, we will win!" In Ecuador

| Last Update September 4, 2014 at 10:48 am

 The association of citizens of the province of Ecuador "Grand Ecuador" launched Wednesday, September 3 in Kinshasa a campaign against the epidemic of Ebola virus that has plagued the town of Djera.

According to Father Oswald Bagaza, president of the association, the campaign, whose motto is "Ebola, we will win! , "Will consist of two main points:
- Revenue mobilization against the disease
- Solidarity with the victims.
He explains the rationale and objectives of the campaign in this interview with Michel Kifinda Ngoy.

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/emissions-2/linvite-du-jour/2014/09/04/labbe-bagaza-parle-de-la-campagne-virus-debola-nous-te-vaincrons-lequateur/&usg=ALkJrhg6OafwZl1i9D6Haw3OttyvNuKY1Q

rdc-No Ebola in Katanga, the provincial government provides

September 3, 2014, | Last Update September 3, 2014 at 3:46

 Katanga recorded no cases of Ebola, assured Tuesday, September 2nd Provincial Minister of Health, Ilunga Ndjoloko. During a meeting with the heads of health facilities and the media Lubumbashi, he indicated a suspected case was detected Malemba Nkulu and samples were sent to the National Institute of Biomedical Research (INRB) to Kinshasa and Franceville (Gabon). Pending the results, he stressed that only his department is authorized to give information on the epidemic.
"Here in Katanga, we are still a virgin province [no epidemic]. Why we take all necessary measures to guard against this disease, "said Ilunga Ndjoloko
The provincial minister also called on all media in the province to handle information about Ebola "without alarming the population."
"Do not make people panic by publications and unofficial news," said he said.
Ilunga Ndjoloko also said that only the provincial Ministry of Health is authorized to give information on the epidemic.
"No other health facility apart from the provincial Ministry of Health has the right to make statements about the epidemic. There are suspected cases which were taken Malemba Nkilu. The samples were sent to Kinshasa then farnce city (Gabon) and we await the results, "said Ilunga Ndjoloko.
For now, the Ebola virus is rampant in Djera Boende territory in the province of Ecuador. The outbreak was declared last Sunday, August 24. Thirty-one people have already died.

Katanga: 2 people die of diarrhea among passengers on a train in Kongolo

Katanga: 2 people die of diarrhea among passengers on a train in Kongolo

  Last Update September 4, 2014 at 8:30

A train from the National Society of Railway (SNCC)

Twelve patients with diarrhea were received at the General Referral Hospital Kongolo (Katanga). Two of them died. The patients are among the train passengers Palme d'Or of the National Society of Railway Congo (SNCC), which serves the Lubumbashi-Kindu online. This vehicle is in its eighth day of trouble in the town of Kongolo. According to the medical director of the General Referral Hospital Kongolo John Bahati, one of the victims died in hospital and the other in the city, after leaving the medical facility without permission.
The medical director called for calm, assuring that strict measures were taken to curb this epidemic.
"We, the area of health, and those responsible for Regideso, we tried to take some steps to supply drinking water to the station. We will also add a point of chlorination. The population is calm, "he was assured.
Meanwhile, about 1,000 passengers of the train are still waiting to see him again. The locomotive is back down to Lubumbashi for repair.  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/2014/09/04/katanga-2-personnes-meurent-de-diarrhee-parmi-les-passagers-dun-train-kongolo/&usg=ALkJrhh6GqTgsJQs29_RcUkK_aqdX-_ang

Sierra Leone News: Amb. Zhao bids farewell to 30 Sierra Leonean Students

Chinese Ambassador Zhao Yanbo has bade farewell to 30 Sierra Leonean Students who will be leaving this morning by road to Conakry by bus to board Air France.
This was the only way the Embassy was able to send the students for their studies to China.
Speaking to the students at the Foreign Affairs Hall at Tower Hill, Ambassador Zhao said this period is a challenging time, due to the Ebola that has caused the suspension of flights from Sierra Leone.
He said they did all they could but the only way out for the students was through Conakry.
He urged them to take their studies very seriously and come back to help in the development of the country. “All of you are ambassadors to China and you are lucky to be chosen to go and study in a country where the people are friendly and helpful. Make use of your stay in China. Make many friends and continue to strengthen the Sino-Sierra Leone friendship.”
He said he was happy that China is working with Sierra Leone to develop the country and to fight Ebola.
He said China has sent Ebola materials and personnel and they will continue to do more for Sierra Leone because of the South-South cooperation.
Also advising the students was Minister of Education Dr Minkailu Bah, who told the students that they were very lucky to be part of the Sierra Leone-China history.
He said they should go and take their studies very seriously, so they can come back and join the development train.
He said they should not think of staying away after their studies because they are needed in Sierra Leone.
He told them that during the period they studied in England, many students never returned, which gave cause to the British government to cancel such scholarships.
He said they should not allow this to happen and should remember that they are more needed in Sierra Leone than China.... http://awoko.org/2014/09/03/sierra-leone-news-amb-zhao-bids-farewell-to-30-sierra-leonean-students/