Researchers working in Sierra Leone today [Saturday 5 July] suggest
priority actions needed to tackle the ongoing Ebola crisis in West
Africa. In a letter to The Lancet, the researchers call for
improvements in access to diagnostic technologies and health-care
resources, as well as improved disease surveillance and health
communication.
At present, there is little incentive for patients to seek
professional diagnosis of suspected Ebola, say the authors, with most
people with febrile (fever-causing) illnesses in Sierra Leone treated at
home, and the true extent of the outbreak therefore very difficult to
determine. Moreover, disease surveillance systems in the region are
inadequate, despite research (conducted by the authors and others)
suggesting that mobile phones and smartphones can be effectively
deployed in routine collection of surveillance data.
The authors also highlight a shortage of medical personnel and
access to healthcare facilities for most people in the region, writing
that, "The relatively few physicians, nurses, and healthcare providers
attending to these underserved populations often have poor access to
basic personal protective equipment, and might therefore be
understandably unwilling to provide direct care for patients suspected
to have Ebola. There is an urgent need to provide reliable and constant
access to personal protective equipment in health-care centres across
the region."
Finally, the authors suggest that early disease control policies
to restrict border crossings and sales of bushmeat have been
ineffective. They write that, "What is certain is that these policies
(and the ways that they were communicated) raised anxiety and, in some
places, fuelled rumours that led to counter-productive behaviours.
Improved communication by health officials with the media, community
leaders, health professionals, and the general public is necessary to
reduce misinformation and improve compliance with prevention and control
measures that have been proven effective." http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-07/tl-tls070314.php
I from all indications, the Ebola Virus
Disease or EVD may now be spreading at an alarming rate in Liberia and
the Mano River Union basis. And unless there is TOTAL INVOLVEMENT by all
sectors of the Liberian society, we may be in a long battle with the
EVD at our disadvantage. The urgent need for the concerted efforts of
all societal stakeholders to include political parties, civil society
organizations, academic institutions, Community Leaders, Liberia
Marketing Association, the Media, Transport Unions, banking
institutions, as well as the business community, among others, must be
emphasized.
While we appreciate the efforts of the
Government of Liberia, through the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare
and its international partners in the fight against the Ebola Virus
Disease from the initial stage to present, it is now a matter of urgency
for the total involvement of all stakeholders of the Liberian Society
in these efforts to raid
the nation of this deadly disease. Our concern for these efforts comes
against the backdrop of the alarming increase in the number of people
killed by the virus in West Africa to 467, as reported by the World
Health Organization or WHO.
According to the WHO, Sixty-eight of
the deaths had been recorded since 23 June 2014, while the number of
cases had risen from 635 on 23 June to 759, a 20% increase- the largest
outbreak, in terms of cases, deaths and geographical spread to affect
Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. In Monrovia, the EVD has now struck
several suburban townships and municipalities, including New Kru Town,
Paynesville, as well as Central Monrovia, among a few others, in
addition to the northwestern county of Lofa with a reported death toll
of 30.
More scaring and worrisome, is the latest report of the
death of the Head of Surgeon at the government-run Redemption Hospital
in the Borough of New Kru Town (name withheld) on Tuesday after he had
been quarantined at the John F. Kennedy Medical Center in Sinkor, where
he was being monitored up to his demise. He is reported to have died
after treating a health worker, who died of Ebola at Redemption.
The female health worker on duty died at the Redemption Hospital
recently after she supervised an Ebola patient admitted at the hospital.
The sudden death of Esther Kesselee led Health Ministry authorities in
Monrovia to shut down the Redemption Hospital and transferred all
patients to other government hospitals in the capital.
With the
solidarity expressed by President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf for the staff
and Nurses at the hospital after the death of Madam Kesselee during a
visit to the Redemption Hospital on June 17, 2014, it is incumbent upon
all societal stakeholders to join the aware campaign, in every manner
and form, with more vigour to save our population and nation.
Friday, 04 July 2014 00:00
Ramsey N. Singbeh, Jr. in Kakata
The Margibi County Health Team in collaboration with the Administration of the Charles Rennie Hospital in Kakata
has listed 10 nurses from the C. H. Rennie Hospital and several others
to be closely observed for suspected symptoms of the Ebola Virus Disease
in Margibi. (L-R) C. H. Rennie Medical Director Dr. Adolphus Yeiah & Margibi County Health Officer, Dr. Hawa Kromah The
decision came days after these people were noticed to have come in
contact with a student of the Kakata Rural Teacher Training Institute
(Michael Tengbeh) who died recent from Ebola at the C.H. Rennie Hospital. Speaking to this paper at the C.H. Rennie Hospital in Kakata on July 2, 2014, County Health Officer Dr. Hawa Kromah, said the nurses are currently out of work from the Hospital and are being observed for 21 days.
Dr. Kromah
said there are other people who also came in contact with the late
Michael Tengbeh prior to his death, including trainees from the Kakata
Rural Teacher Training Institute (KRTTI) most especially his roommates
and others from the community.
She further disclosed that while the victim was alive, he visited a health center in Kakata
for treatment before he was subsequently admitted at the C.H. Rennie
Hospital where he died eventually. She indicated that the administration
of the KRTTI has been informed about the issue and the names and
contacts of those fellow roommates (students) are already identified for
close monitoring.
The Margibi County Health Officer said
the students from KRTTI who are listed have all abandoned campus and
they will only return for graduation, which is scheduled this month. For
the rest of the people, she said they have been earmarked and are also
needed for observation to make sure that they are not Ebola positive.
The Medical Director of the C.H. Rennie Hospital, Dr. Adolphus Yeiah, said the hospital has had series of meetings with the Margibi County Administration to contain the situation. Dr. Yeiah
warned that Ebola as a disease is real and people should not overlook
its existence, adding that many people believe that Ebola is not real.
He said there is a need that everyone helps in containing the virus in
Margibi County and Liberia at large in order to save lives.
Body-melting virus killing hundreds virtually unchecked in West Africa
The
scientist who discovered the Ebola virus. Dr. Peter Piot says that the
current outbreak of the body-melting virus in West Africa, in which 467
people have died, is "unprecedented." Piot also said that "because of
the greater awareness, there is hope. But we're running out of time."
The current Ebola outbreak in West Africa outbreak is "already a mega-crisis," Dr. Peter Piot says.
LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) -- "One, [this is] the first time in
West Africa that we have such an outbreak," Piot told TV journalists.
"Secondly, it is the first time that three countries are involved. And
thirdly it's the first time that we have outbreaks in capitals, in
capital cities."
The non-governmental organization Doctors
Without Borders warns that the outbreak in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and
Liberia is now "out of control." The spread of the virus has grown
exponentially since being discovered in that part of the world at the
beginning of 2014.
"With
this strain of Ebola, you've got like a ninety percent chance of dying.
That's spectacular by any standard - one of the most lethal viruses
that exist."
In describing the onslaught of the disease, Piot
warns of the slow, agonizing death. "Ebola virus infection starts with
something that looks like the flu - headache, fever, maybe diarrhea. But
then you can develop very fast bleeding that's uncontrollable, and
that's how people die."
There is hope - while there is no cure
for Ebola, Piot says that this ordinarily would make the disease easy to
fight. "You need really close contact to become infected. So just being
on the bus with someone with Ebola, that's not a problem."
Simple
hygienic measures like washing with soap and water, not re-using
syringes, and avoiding contact with infected corpses are sufficient to
stop spread of the disease, Piot said.
"This is an epidemic of
dysfunctional health systems . Fear of the virus, and the lack of trust
in government, in the health system, is as bad as the actual virus."
The
dysfunctional health care system in the affected countries are to
blame, Piot says. ". A person is infected, is hospitalized, and infects
other patients and particularly health care workers.
"They're
buried somewhere; around that funeral, people are infected when they
touch the body, and so on. And then they get ill, and then they go
somewhere else, and then they go to relatives in town, maybe because
they hope to have better health care. That's how it spreads."
The current outbreak is "already a mega-crisis," Piot said.
"For me, this is a reason for a state of emergency, you know, in these countries."
"You
need a combination of nearly military type of control measures -
isolation, quarantine of those who are the diseased - but also their
relatives, to make sure that they're not spreading the infection.
Ebola's effects go far beyond the death toll - in Sierra Leone it has spread fear and left whole families ostracized.
Tommy Trenchard
Last updated: 03 Jul 2014 10:35
Kenema, Sierra Leone - The
current outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in West Africa was recently
branded the worst on record, having killed over 400 in Guinea, Sierra
Leone, and Liberia. But the effect of the disease goes far beyond the
death toll. In Sierra Leone it has spread fear and division, destroyed
livelihoods and left whole families ostracised.
Last Friday, Hawa Daboh lost her stepfather to the disease. He had
been a working in the laboratory of the local hospital in Kenema. The
rest of the family was tested and shown to be Ebola negative. But
medical staff refused to give them proof of their negative status.
Without it, they have been ostracised by the community.
Life is tough for the children, who have been asked to leave school
and are unable to visit their friends. The family says anyone who tries
to visit neighbouring compounds is kicked out. The women in the family
used to garner some income trading at the market. But now that they
carry the stigma of Ebola, nobody will buy from them.
Health workers like Hawa's stepfather are particularly at risk. Seven
workers at the Kenema government hospital have already died from the
disease. When Al Jazeera visited on Monday, workers from the Ebola ward
were on strike, demanding better financial compensation for the risks
they take.
Staff here face discrimination from both sides. They are treated with
fear by many, because of their association with the disease. Many
others, however, still do not believe Ebola exists, often citing
theories that it is part of a plot to raise money or even steal body
parts. From these people, they have received open hostility.
The government is trying hard to change perceptions about Ebola. Too
many are avoiding treatment, fearing the rumours, and dozens of patients
have escaped from hospitals and clinics. The UN is spreading the
message that the disease is not a death sentence. Early diagnosis and
treatment offer the best chance of survival. Without it, says survivor
Adikali Kamara, he would almost certainly be dead.
View As Slideshow >>
/Tommy Trenchard/Al Jazeera
Hawa Daboh, who lives with her large family in a suburb of Kenema, lost her stepfather to Ebola.
/Tommy Trenchard/Al Jazeera
The one death has impacted the entire family, leaving them stigmatised and alone.
/Tommy Trenchard/Al Jazeera
The entire family was tested for the disease, but the results were negative.
/Tommy Trenchard/Al Jazeera
Despite this, the children were ordered to leave school, while nobody will buy the women's products at the market.
/Tommy Trenchard/Al Jazeera
The disease spreads easily - a neighbouring household has seen seven people infected.
/Tommy Trenchard/Al Jazeera
Health workers, who regularly are in close contact with the disease, have been hit particularly hard.
/Tommy Trenchard/Al Jazeera
When Al Jazeera visited the hospital in Kenema, the workers from the Ebola ward were on strike over pay and bonuses.
/Tommy Trenchard/Al Jazeera
They health workers say the 100,000 leones ($23) they receive as a bonus is not sufficient compensation for the risks they face.
/Tommy Trenchard/Al Jazeera
Despite taking precautions, seven health workers at the Kenema hospital have already died from the disease.
/Tommy Trenchard/Al Jazeera
Health
workers, too, face the stigma of being associated with the disease.
This woman said she had been kicked out by her husband as a result of
her work.
/Tommy Trenchard/Al Jazeera
Nurse Sheku stands by the empty ward for men. All non-Ebola patients fled three days ago.
/Tommy Trenchard/Al Jazeera
Many
people still do not believe the disease is real. Rumours abound that it
is a cover for a cult that steals body parts. "They think we kill
people," says Rachael Musa (R).
Deadliest outbreak of the disease still a challenge to contain
By Daniel Schwartz, CBC NewsPosted: Jul 04, 2014 5:00 AM ET
"Because we take common sense measures when we see someone who is ill —
we keep our distance, we try not to touch them, we avoid contact — even
before anybody knows what was wrong with that particular person, they
would probably take these common sense approaches to avoid contact with
them," explains Jagatic... What if we don't know they are ill???http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/ebola-epidemic-unlikely-to-spread-beyond-africa-1.2695879
It is July 4th, and Stephen Gire and Nathan Yozwiak from my team
are observing America’s holiday in Sierra Leone, bringing supplies and
aid to our partners fighting the spread of Ebola virus in their country
(Image 1). My thoughts are with them, with the patients and their
families, and with all of the individuals on the front line of this
battle against one of the most dangerous pathogens humanity has ever
seen.
Despite so much press coverage on the Ebola outbreak in West Africa,
little has been told of the extraordinary bravery, sacrifice and of the
truly outstanding work of the men and women fighting this deadly
disease. This is as brilliant, dedicated, and prepared a team as you
will find anywhere on the planet. And while they do need our help and
resources as global partners fighting a virus that is ‘out of control’,
they also deserve our praise for their outstanding and heroic effort.
Over our blogs to come we hope to tell their stories. To begin, I want to highlight just a few institutions and individuals:
The Kenema Government Hospital (KGH) in Sierra Leone,
one of the only centers in the world that has diagnosis and treatment
on-site for Bio-safety Level 4 (BL-4) viruses. The team there has been
combatting another devastating BL-4 disease, Lassa fever, for the last
40 years, beginning well before the Civil War. They have developed
clinical and high-tech research facilities and practices to diagnose,
treat, and research BL-4 agents (Image 2).
Members of our team from Sierra Leone, Nigeria, and the US,
who all jumped into action when the outbreak of Ebola was first
reported in West Africa, setting up diagnostic capacity on site, well
before the outbreak reached Sierra Leone.
Augustine Goba and the diagnostic team at KGH.
Augustine, a native Sierra Leonean and brilliant scientist, diagnosed
the first case of Ebola in Sierra Leone on May 25, (Image 3) using an
assay designed by Dr. Kristian Andersen on our team (used alongside
standard-of-care assays) allowing scientists at KGH to catch the
outbreak at its inception. Members of Augustine’s team, working in
partnership with the WHO, USAMRIID, and Metabiota, have diagnosed 176
Ebola cases in country and tested hundreds more.
Lansanna Kanneh and the exceptional outreach team
that led the immediate response. There is no better outreach team in the
world, and I have witnessed first hand how they masterfully engage
villages throughout the country and educate the populations about Lassa
virus and ways to combat its spread (Image 4). They are working now to
reach individuals throughout Sierra Leone to educate them about the
devastating new virus Ebola in their country.
The people of Sierra Leone. While great praise
should be given to the outreach team, the people they are working with
deserve praise too. Their level of engagement in outreach efforts is
unlike anything I have seen in the United States. They are amazing and
warm, and deeply interested in learning (Image 5). I had the great
fortune of being welcomed into these villages where I shared a tent with
the brilliant ecologist Dr. Lina Moses (Image 6); Lina has been working
in Sierra Leone for many years and has been on site since the epidemic
broke to support efforts.
Dr. Humarr Kahn and the clinical team at KGH. These
fearless and tireless individuals have been working around the clock
since May 25th, converting spaces to house ~50 Ebola patients at a time,
and risking their own lives at every stage to help others.
The Sierra Leone Ministry of Health and Sanitation and government leadership,
which has shown exceptional support at every stage. I am personally
grateful to Professor Sahr Gevao and Dr. Brima Kargbo, who supported our
efforts in country and abroad. Thanks to their leadership we were able
to rapidly sequence virus from the first 14 Ebola cases and 35 suspected
cases at high depth and have already made this available to the global
community. The longest part of this process was sending the samples to
the US, and with the support of the NIH and World Bank, and the
leadership of Dr. Christian Happi of Nigeria, we will be soon shifting
this effort to West Africa.
There are many more heroes that can be named here, but we hope to share their stories with you all soon.
Accra (AFP) - The United Nations reassured west Africa on Wednesday that
the world's deadliest-ever Ebola epidemic could be stopped in its
tracks, telling the region's health ministers: "We can handle this."
...
"These kinds of outbreaks, these
diseases, can be stopped," Keiji Fukuda, assistant director-general for
health security at the WHO, told AFP, as 11 west African health
ministers gathered for a two-day conference in Accra on combatting the
killer pathogen.
"This is not a unique situation -- we have faced it many times -- so I'm quite confident that we can handle this.
"This is, however, the most complicated Ebola outbreak ever because it is spreading so fast in both urban and rural areas."...
Joseph Milton Lebbie on July 4, 2014. The outbreak of the notorious and much dreaded Ebola killer disease has spread fear right across Sierra Leone and almost everybody is now concerned. Latest report states that yesterday, 3rd July, thousands of people from all the eleven chiefdoms in the southern district of Bo, marched through the principal streets of Bo City to raise awareness on the Ebola outbreak. What was described as a five-thousand-man-Anti-Ebola-March reportedly attracted all the Members of Parliament, Paramount Chiefs and other traditional authorities, school pupils, drivers and other people from all works of life all of whom processed from the Bo City Centre to the historic Coronation Field where various stakeholders delivered anti-Ebola messages aimed at raising the awareness of the people on the disease. - http://www.sierraexpressmedia.com/archives/68719
The
outbreak of the notorious and much dreaded Ebola killer disease has
spread fear right across Sierra Leone and almost everybody is now
concerned.
Latest report states that yesterday, 3rd
July, thousands of people from all the eleven chiefdoms in the southern
district of Bo, marched through the principal streets of Bo City to
raise awareness on the Ebola outbreak.
What was described as a
five-thousand-man-Anti-Ebola-March reportedly attracted all the Members
of Parliament, Paramount Chiefs and other traditional authorities,
school pupils, drivers and other people from all works of life all of
whom processed from the Bo City Centre to the historic Coronation Field
where various stakeholders delivered anti-Ebolamessages aimed at raising
the awareness of the people on the disease.
- See more at: http://www.sierraexpressmedia.com/archives/68719#sthash.Brff1kvc.dpuf
The
outbreak of the notorious and much dreaded Ebola killer disease has
spread fear right across Sierra Leone and almost everybody is now
concerned.
Latest report states that yesterday, 3rd
July, thousands of people from all the eleven chiefdoms in the southern
district of Bo, marched through the principal streets of Bo City to
raise awareness on the Ebola outbreak.
What was described as a
five-thousand-man-Anti-Ebola-March reportedly attracted all the Members
of Parliament, Paramount Chiefs and other traditional authorities,
school pupils, drivers and other people from all works of life all of
whom processed from the Bo City Centre to the historic Coronation Field
where various stakeholders delivered anti-Ebolamessages aimed at raising
the awareness of the people on the disease.
- See more at: http://www.sierraexpressmedia.com/archives/68719#sthash.Brff1kvc.dpuf
THE Labor
Department on Friday advised the Filipino workers in South Africa to
prepare for evacuation following an Ebola outbreak there that has
claimed 467 lives.
The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration also suspended the
deployment of newly-hired Filipino workers bound for Guinea, Liberia
and Sierra Leone after the Department of Foreign Affairs raised the
Crisis Alert Level to Alert Level 2 following the Ebola outbreak in
those countries. “I urge [the Filipino workers] in those countries to limit their
movements and avoid public places to prevent their exposure to the
disease,” Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said. “It will also be wise for them to prepare for evacuation. The [Labor
Department} is working closely with [Foreign Affairs] in ensuring the
safety and well-being of [the Filipinos in those countries.”
POEA records showed that from January 2012 to May 2014, there were
880 Filipino workers in Guinea, 632 in Liberia and 1,979 in Sierra
Leone, but no Filipino has been afflicted with the disease... http://manilastandardtoday.com/2014/07/05/return-of-pinoys-eyed-amid-ebola-outbreak/
Geneva/Accra 4 July 2014 - The Red
Cross joins ministers of health from eleven West African countries and
other partners in calling for an all-out assault on the Ebola virus
disease outbreak. It is a commitment needed at all levels, including
governments, stakeholders, communities, and religious and opinion
leaders if the largest Ebola outbreak in history in terms of number of
cases and affected countries is to be stopped.
This commitment was made at the end of a special
ministerial meeting on the Ebola virus disease in West Africa convened
by the World Health Organization (WHO) in Accra, Ghana, this week.
Participants believe that no one should be left behind
in the fight against Ebola, one of the most contagious diseases which
has already claimed the lives of hundreds of people in West Africa. As
of 3 July, the cumulative total of Ebola cases in the three affected
countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone stands at more than 750,
with nearly 500 deaths.
They also warned that this deadly disease could spread beyond the already affected countries if urgent action is not taken.
Participants adopted a common inter-country strategy,
calling for an accelerated response to the Ebola virus disease outbreak.
The strategy stresses the urgent need to scale up communication
efforts, social mobilization, surveillance, contact tracing, case
management and cross-border collaboration while calling for more
research, especially from African researchers, to pay special attention
to the epidemic. Community, religious and opinion leaders also need to
be involved to break through the resistance that many humanitarian
actors are encountering on the ground.
“This is the first time Ebola has surfaced in West
Africa and many people are showing their fears by refusing to admit the
existence of the disease and by preventing some aid organizations from
entering their communities,” says Dr Ben Adinoyi Adeiza, International
Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) health
coordinator in Africa.
This community resistance is exacerbated by rumours
and myths about Ebola which can hinder the work of individuals and
organisations working to contain the disease.
“We, and other humanitarian organisations, have had
several security incident since the beginning of the response,” says
Aliou Boly, Ebola operations manager for IFRC in Guinea. “There has been
an increasing number of incidents in the last weeks which is hampering
the response of our volunteers and staff on the ground. We need to be
ensured of their security and safety so they can carry on their
humanitarian duties in the best possible way. Education and social
mobilization to change behavior are vital to stopping this disease in
its tracks and to allay fear and stigma attached to it.”
Participants also called on African governments, ECOWAS
(the regional network of 16 countries), and other partners to mobilize
and dedicate special funds to the response.
Since the outbreak was first announced, the Red Cross
has launched emergency operations in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone,
through which more than 2,000 volunteers are being trained and mobilized
to share key messages of prevention and protection. In neighbouring
Cote d’Ivoire, Mali and Senegal, a further 686 volunteers have been
sharing similar messages for the past two months, to prepare communities
should the virus spread further across the region. Money from the
IFRC’s Disaster Relief Emergency Fund has been released to support these
preparedness efforts.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red
Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the world’s largest volunteer-based
humanitarian network, reaching 150 million people each year through its
189 member National Societies. Together, IFRC acts before, during and
after disasters and health emergencies to meet the needs and improve the
lives of vulnerable people. It does so with impartiality as to
nationality, race, gender, religious beliefs, class and political
opinions. For more information, please visit www.ifrc.org. You can also connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr.
Sierra Leone’s President Ernest Bai Koroma and his Vice-President and all ministers will forfeit part of their salary for July. This will be a contribution to a basket fund to fight the deadly Ebola epidemic in the country, the government announced.
The
President, his deputy and the cabinet will have 50 per cent of their
pay sliced, while deputy ministers will contribute 25 per cent of their
salaries to a scheme the government is using as an example to shore up
support for the cause from within the public but also to demonstrate
political commitment to the fight.
A statement from the
Office of the President, signed by Secretary to Cabinet Dr Ernest
Surrur, said the “voluntary decision” was taken at a cabinet meeting on
Wednesday.
It comes a day after President Koroma’s
first ever public pronouncement on the epidemic on Tuesday calling for a
‘national fight’ against the disease which is also ravaging Guinea,
where it was first confirmed in West Africa back in February, and
Liberia.
There is no plan to close borders in a bid to prevent the spread of the
disease but instead efforts at the border to educate people about risks
should be stepped up, said Liberian deputy health minister Bernice Dahn. "We
believe that closing borders is not an option because we believe it
would not work," Dahn said on the sidelines of the conference. "We
urge all parties present at this meeting to turn their promises into
immediate concrete action on the ground," Marie-Christine Ferir,
emergency desk manager for health charity Medecins Sans Frontieres
(Doctors Without Borders), said in a statement.. http://news.sudanvisiondaily.com/details.html?rsnpid=237810
MANILA: A senior cabinet official announced
that overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have been banned from seeking
deployment in the three West African countries of Guinea, Liberia and
Sierra Leone due to the Ebola virus scourge.
Secretary Rosalinda
Baldoz of the Department of Labour and Employment disclosed the ban was
imposed by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration as
recommended by the Department of Foreign Affairs, which raised Alert
Level 2 after the three countries declared an Ebola outbreak.
Jul. 3, 2014, 5:18 PM ...The United Nations health agency said on Thursday it expected the worst Ebola outbreak in history to continue its deadly rampage through west Africa for at least "several months". The highly-contagious tropical bug has infected hundreds of people in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, with the latest World Health Organization (WHO) figures showing that confirmed or suspected cases had left 467 people dead and experts fearing it could spread throughout the region. Keiji Fukuda, the UN agency's assistant director-general of health security, said at the close of a regional summit of health ministers on the crisis it was "impossible to give a clear answer" on how far the epidemic could spread or when it might begin to retreat. "I certainly expect that we are going to be dealing with this outbreak minimum for a few months to several months," he told AFP. "I really hope for us to see a turnaround where we begin to see a decrease in cases in the next several weeks." Marie-Christine Ferir, of medical aid agency Doctors Without Borders (MSF), echoed the assessment, saying the outbreak could "continue for about a few weeks, or perhaps months in certain parts".
The warning came as health ministers from 12 nations wrapped up two days of talks in Accra with global experts in communicable diseases, with debate raging over the measures required to stop Ebola in its tracks. They were expected to make a raft of recommendations to regional governments and to WHO on containing the disease, including the launch of a $10 million war chest to boost medical aid in the worst hit regions....
The death rate for Ebola has been widely but incorrectly reported as "90 percent" by global media and some scientists, probably because around that percentage died in the original outbreak and a subsequent epidemic in neighbouring Congo-Brazzaville in 2003. 'Out of control' The mortality rate in the west African epidemic is slightly lower than the average, at 61.5 percent, but it dwarves every other outbreak in terms of the geographical spread and the number of cases and deaths.
MSF said last week the outbreak was "out of control", with more than 60 hotspots. However, experts say those who receive correct care -- paracetamol to contain fevers, rehydration for diarrhoea and antibiotics for secondary infections -- have a greatly improved chance of survival.... http://www.businessinsider.com/un-ebola-outbreak-is-likely-to-last-for-months-2014-7
West African countries and
international health organizations adopted a fresh strategy on Thursday
to fight the world's deadliest Ebola epidemic, which has killed hundreds
of people in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. At a two-day meeting in
the Ghanaian capital, Accra, officials committed to better surveillance
to detect cases of the virus, enhance cross-border collaboration, better
engagement with local communities and closer cooperation with the U.N.
Ministers. Ministers also recommended setting up a sub-regional control
center in Guinea to coordinate technical support. The decisions involve
governments, the United Nations, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, aid agencies and the private sector. According to the
World Health Organization, at least 467 people have died of the virus
since February. The meeting's final communique made no reference to
increased financial support for the effort and there was little detail
about how the measures would be implemented.
The
Vancouver, British Colombia-based company said in a statement today
that it has received verbal notice from the FDA that the TKM-Ebola Phase
I healthy volunteer clinical study has been placed on clinical hold.
Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corp. (TSE:TKM),
a developer of RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics, crumbled in
morning trade after the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)Puts
its Ebola drug study on hold.
Shares fell 12.4 percent to C$12.81 at 9:33 a.m. in Toronto, paring this year's rally to 52 percent.
The Vancouver, British Colombia-based company said in a statement
today that it has received verbal notice from the FDA that the TKM-Ebola
Phase I healthy volunteer clinical study has been placed on clinical
hold.
This notice applies only to this study, it said.
"We have completed the single ascending dose portion of this study in
healthy volunteers without the use of steroid pre-medication," Chief
Executive Officer Dr. Mark Murray said in the statement.
"The FDA has requested additional data related to the mechanism of
cytokine release, observed at higher doses, which we believe is well
understood, and a protocol modification designed to ensure the safety of
healthy volunteer subjects, before we proceed with the multiple
ascending dose portion of our TKM-Ebola Phase I trial." "We will continue our dialogue with the FDA, provided for under our
Fast Track status, in order to advance the development of this important
therapeutic agent."
The TKM-Ebola Phase I clinical trial is a randomized, single-blind,
placebo-controlled study and involves single ascending doses and
multiple ascending doses of TKM-Ebola. The study is assessing the
safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of administering TKM-Ebola to
healthy adult volunteers without administering any steroid
pre-medications. http://www.proactiveinvestors.com/companies/news/55171/tekmira-tumbles-after-fda-puts-ebola-drug-on-clinical-hold-55171.html
As death toll from latest outbreak of world’s deadliest virus climbs
to 467, health workers battle misinformation and mistrust in effort to
contain the disease
When ebola first struck Pujeh, a village deep in Sierra Leone’s
forested interior region, residents did what they always do when a
mysterious illness brings death: they consulted the traditional healer.
But the elderly herbalist soon caught one of the world’s most contagious
diseases, and then became a source for spreading it as visitors
streamed in.
By the time officials had pinpointed Pujeh as a hotspot for the
disease months later, dozens had died. “The people living in these areas
said there’s no such thing as ebola,” said a district doctor who spoke
on condition of anonymity. “They have their traditional beliefs and
their traditional cures and they look up to their traditional leaders.
Until we can bring the traditional leaders onside, it will be very
difficult to convince them that ebola even exists.”
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As
the death toll from the latest outbreak of the world’s deadliest virus
climbed to 467 – far exceeding the previous most lethal outbreak which
killed 254 people in Congo – officials and health workers are battling a
surge of infections propelled by misinformation and doubt about the
disease’s existence on one side, and mistrust of scandal-hit governments
on the other.
Following a World Health Organisation
warning that the illness is “out of control” in Guinea, Liberia and
Sierra Leone, west African health ministers on Wednesday began a two-day
summit in Ghana’s capital of Accra to discuss ways to strengthen
regional co-operation. The global health body has also warned four other
west African countries – Ivory Coast, Senegal, Mali and Guinea Bissau –
to prepare for the possible arrival of travellers carrying the virus.
Some government officials have disputed the WHO’s statement, saying
the increasing death toll is a sign of better surveillance. “We are not
saying everything is okay but there are fewer people dying in silence
now, which is a good thing – the more we can identify when and where
there are fatalities, the better we can prevent further cases,” health
ministry official Sakouba Keita said from Guinea’s capital of Conakry.
The country has been the hardest hit by the virus, which first
appeared there in February, before spreading through the tropical
forests that sprawl into Liberia and Sierra Leone. More disturbingly, it has also jumped to all three countries’ densely-populated capitals.
“This is different from other cases just by the fact it’s a
cross-border epidemic. Previous outbreaks have been very localised,
which makes them easier to isolate and contain. Now for the first time,
it’s also affecting urban areas,” said Dr Nestor Ndayimirije, Liberia’s
WHO representative who has handled epidemics in several other countries.
Ebola was first identified in the Democratic Republic of Congo and
Sudan in 1976, which suffered simultaneous outbreaks of different
strains miles apart.
It was named after Congo’s Ebola river, where its most lethal mutation – the Zaire strain – infected 318 people and killed 280.
..... Daily reports from Liberia’s ministry of health provide a glimpse of
just how big the hurdles are. On the eve of the regional summit, two
suspected cases from Voinjama had travelled to the capital Monrovia –
but specimens hadn’t been collected because “the county laboratory
supervisor could not be found,” internal notes said. The report also warned of an acute shortage of thermometers among a
team dispatched to trace those who might have been in contact with
suspects. Many of them feared taking temperatures in case they were
exposed to the disease or attacked by locals, it added.
But an alarmingly wide spread is partly down to geography. “The
deaths have been increasing because of traditional burial rites in that
region,” said Tolbert Nyenswah, Liberia’s deputy chief medical officer.
The Kissi ethnicity, found in all three countries, traditionally keep
their dead at home for several days, and mourners touch the deceased’s
head frequently before burial.
Ebola has a fatality rate of up to 90% and is transmitted through
contact with fluids of infected people or animals, like urine, sweat,
blood and saliva, even after death. A doctor in Sierra Leone said patients’ families often attempted to
break them out of treatment centres – often successfully. “Some of them
are in denial and that it is something they can treat at home, and faith
healers are one of the problems for us. When you have patients
disappearing like that, you don’t know where the virus will appear
next.”
When trader Fiya Lasana was diagnosed with suspected ebola in a
clinic in Sierra Leone’s Kailahun district, he was put under quarantine.
But convinced he had only malaria, he slipped out. Days later he
returned, weak and dazed, for treatment. “My family tried prayers, but
that didn’t work, so I returned,” said Lasana, who was declared
ebola-free after eleven days.
Liberia’s president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, on Monday issued a
warning on state radio that anyone suspected of holding ebola patients
in homes or churches would be prosecuted. The disease has also revealed alarming mistrust between citizens and
public office holders in a region with shocking corruption levels.
Ebola was initially viewed as a government conspiracy to depopulate
Sierra Leone’s Kailahun district, and fierce resistance to the arrival
of health workers culminated in the stoning of a Doctors Without Borders
vehicle. In Liberia, many remain adamant the outbreak is a hoax from
government officials seeking to distract from a series of recent
scandals, or for health officials to rake in public funds. “I will say this loud, the government of Liberia has come up with a
new strategy to divert the Liberian people’s mind,” student Alfred
Randall said. “We understand the issue of ebola, ebola is real, we agree
the virus is a very terrible virus, but ebola is not in Liberia,” he
said.
Health workers at the frontline of the battle – often the first to
die – face other challenges. Last week, riots broke out and an ambulance
was attacked as family members fought to reclaim a victim’s corpse from
a hospital in Kenema, Sierra Leone’s third largest city. On the same
day, a three-man burial team was chased out of the Liberian town of
Banjol where they went to bury a victim. “We need to find a special
place to bury these corpses, if not, the bodies will keep piling up on
us,” a member of the team said, adding that families often refused to
come forward to identify dead relatives for fear of catching it. Officials and several hundred researchers who have poured into all
three countries have scrambled to disseminate public information, seen
as key to containment.
But when the outbreak first began, popular text messages circulating
in Guinea said an antidote could be found in a concoction of hot
chocolate, coffee, milk, raw onions and sugar.
“Ebola, ebola, ebola. I hear it everywhere,” said Adama Sherry from
behind her market stall in Sierra Leone’s Tombo, a fishing village as
yet unaffected by the virus. Sherry admitted she couldn’t list the
symptoms, causes or precautions.
Nearby, a local school had recently emptied out when word spread of
routine blood tests being carried out – rumour had it that the needles
would infect children with ebola. Liberia’s health ministry has begun putting images of ebola-ravaged
corpses in newspapers and on television. “They are very graphic but it
is working – people are starting to see that ebola is not just a
spiritual thing that you can cure through going to church,” Nyenswah,
the deputy chief medical officer, said.
Ironically, survivors often face a “second disease” of
stigmatisation. Aissata Bangoura’s family have refused to speak to her
since her husband died in March, even though she has been declared
virus-free.
“During my husband’s wake, I was left standing by myself. People I
have known my whole life didn’t want to approach me. As far as they’re
concerned, I’m a widow and a leper,” she said. • Donal MacCrann in Tombo, Sierra Leone and Wade Williams in Monrovia, Liberia contributed to this report http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/02/-sp-ebola-out-of-control-west-africa
Dr. Samuel Muhumuza Mutoro and his wife and baby during happier days.
PHOTO/Fred Turyakira
newvision
By Clare Muhindo & Taddeo Bwambale
A Ugandan
senior surgeon has succumbed to the Ebola virus in Liberia where he had
been working for three years as a health specialist.
Dr. Samuel Muhumuza Mutoro died on Tuesday at the John F. Kennedy
Medical Centre, Liberia’s biggest hospital in Monrovia where he was
being treated. Muhumuza was a surgeon assigned to Redemption Hospital in New Kru Town
on a contract with the Liberian government and the World Health
Organisation (WHO).
At the time of his death, Muhumuza is said to have volunteered to treat a
colleague who was infected with Ebola, thereby exposing himself to the
deadly disease.
His wife, Diana Namusoke, a mother of three, told New Vision that the family was notified about his death by an official from Liberia’s government
Rev Jehoida Mutoro of South Rwenzori Diocese, the only brother of the
deceased said the bereaved family have been advised against travelling
to Liberia as earlier planned.
A requiem mass is scheduled this morning at 9:00am at Mbarara University of Science and Technology.
Costa Bwambale, a brother-in-law of the deceased, described the Muhumuza
as a ‘very determined’ person, who even repeated class in order to
achieve his dream of becoming a medical doctor
It is believed that yesterday Muhumuza’s remains were disposed of
immediately since World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines recommend
the immediate disposal of Ebola victims.
At his home in Mbaguta cell, Ruharo, in Mbarara neighbours gathered and held a wake to commiserate with the relatives.
Health ministers from 11 African countries
are meeting in Accra, Ghana, in an attempt to "get a grip" on the deadly
and worsening Ebola outbreak. So far, 763 people have been infected with the virus - and 468 of these have died.
Most of the cases have been in Guinea where the outbreak started.
But it has since spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone and is now the
biggest and most deadly Ebola outbreak the world has seen, say
officials.
Health officials from those countries, as well as Ivory Coast,
Democratic Republic of Congo, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Mali,
Senegal, and Uganda will attend the meeting. "We're hoping to take decisions about how to enhance collaboration
and responses [of these countries] so we can get a grip and halt this
outbreak," said WHO spokesman Daniel Epstein "We need a strong response, especially along the shared border areas
where commercial and social activities continue between Guinea, Liberia
and Sierra Leone. That's unlikely to stop."
As a virologist at Public Health England, I spent a month at the epicentre of the Ebola outbreak in April.
I was working for the WHO in south-east Guinea as part of the EU
mobile laboratory team testing blood samples for the Ebola virus and
confirming whether patients were infected or not.
When patients come into the MSF isolation facility, some walk in if
they are in the early stage of the disease; others are more seriously
ill and need an ambulance.
I also went out into the remote villages to help trace people who might be ill and help inform communities about the virus.
It is very challenging work. There is a lot of misunderstanding and mistrust of foreign nationals coming in and trying to help.
The biggest problem we had was people were not forthcoming about sick
members of the community and getting them to the isolation centre. Some
families were even hiding sick relatives and bodies.
The WHO says travel restrictions are highly unlikely, and in any case
unenforceable. These are porous borders where people travel freely to
see family and friends.
Ebola kills up to 90% of those infected. There is no vaccine or cure.
It spreads through contact with an infected person's bodily fluids.
The way to stop an outbreak is to isolate those who have it and
ensure no-one else is exposed. Medical staff are following up on
hundreds of people who have had contact with infected patients. They
have to be closely monitored for 21 days before they can be given the
all clear.
Ebola is a haemorrhagic fever, which can start suddenly with the
onset of high temperature, diarrhoea and vomiting. Some people fight the
virus and survive, but most do not. They start bleeding internally and
externally and eventually their organs shut down. Increasing hostility.
Understandably, there is a great deal of fear in these communities
and that is hindering the international effort to bring the virus under
control, say experts.
The medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) is working with
the World Health Organization and the Guinea Ministry of Health. It has
four isolation facilities in Guinea and more than 300 international and
local staff.
Tulip Mazumdar: "It is the worst Ebola outbreak in history" "We are seeing an increasing level of hostility borne out of fear in
some communities," said Dr Bart Janssens, MSF director of operations. "We can no longer go into a number of villages any more to follow up on people who have been in contact with Ebola patients."
The charity says health ministers from affected countries need to urgently improve public understanding of the disease. "This requires an important mobilisation of all possible community leaders from bottom to top, because we cannot do this alone" "We are now dealing with an extraordinary situation so we need more
resources to fight the epidemic and we need extra help to convince
communities to change their attitudes towards the virus." http://allafrica.com/stories/201407031208.html?viewall=1
Government has advised Ugandans to limit their travels to Liberia,
Guinea and Sierra Leone which have been hit by Ebola epidemic.
At least 467 people have died from the epidemic out of 759 reported cases, according to the World Health Organisation.
“The public is advised to limit their travel to any of the affected
countries until the situation is contained,” health minister, Dr
Ruhakana said at a press briefing on the threat on Thursday.
He, however, said Uganda has not issued a travel ban to three countries.
He advised travellers to observe precautionary measures instituted by
the respective countries.
The minister cautioned Ugandans with relatives living in the affected
countries to ‘keep on the alert in case their relatives return to the
country’ during this period.
Government has stepped up disease surveillance checks at border points,
especially for people coming from the affected countries.
Monrovia — The U.S. Government has donated
another supply of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to the World
Health Organization to support the international response to the Ebola
outbreak which is affecting Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone. The donation, including aprons, face masks, gowns, caps and cadaver
bags, are in addition to a previous donation by the U.S. Government.
Last week, the U.S. Government made a similar donation, including rubber
boots, coveralls and gloves, which will protect health workers who are
at the forefront of providing essential care to patients who are
suspected or confirmed to have the Ebola virus. Health workers who use
the protective equipment as recommended are protected from exposure to
blood or body fluids from infected patients. In presenting the items,
the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Liberia Mission
Director, John Mark Winfield, said the U.S. Government is committed to
helping in the fight against the spread of the Ebola virus.
World Health Organization Representative to Liberia Dr. Nestor
Ndayimirije, who received the donations, immediately passed the
essential equipment to the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, and
thanked the U.S. Government for the donations, which he said will help
boost Liberia’s response to the Ebola virus. Dr. Ndayimirije said
partnership was important in the fight against the outbreak, and urged
stakeholders to unite to improve the response by making sure no health
worker is infected and dies because of the lack of protective gear.
In receiving the PPE, Liberia’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Bernice
Dahn, warned that communities and religious institutions should not try
to serve as health facilities. She said Liberians are still in the
denial stage, which is fuelling a deterioration of the situation. “At
this point, you do not know what you are dealing with,” Dr. Dahn said.
“So, don’t keep sick people in your homes or facilities. “ Three
weeks ago, Liberia experienced a second wave of the outbreak. Since that
time, more than 30 persons have died of the disease.
The U.S. Government has provided additional support to Liberia,
Guinea and Sierra Leone to mitigate the Ebola outbreak, which includes
supplying materials and messaging in communities to prevent the spread
of Ebola, training environmental health technicians, financial support
for deployment of field teams to the WHO Africa Regional Office and
WHO's Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN), training of
health workers in contact tracing, and the provision of essential
supplies for collection, preservation, transport and analysis of blood
specimens. http://allafrica.com/stories/201407031354.html?aa_source=slideout
Accra - Emergency talks on
containing the worst Ebola outbreak in history were due to wrap up on
Thursday, with ministers hoping to halt the virus' deadly rampage in
west Africa after a jump in the number of deaths.
The
highly-contagious tropical bug has infected hundreds of people in
Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, with the latest World Health
Organisation (WHO) figures showing that confirmed or suspected cases had
left 467 people dead and experts fearing it could spread throughout the
region.
Health ministers from 11 nations were due to finalise
two days of talks in Accra with global experts in communicable diseases,
with debate raging over the measures required to stop Ebola in its
tracks.
Jeremy Farrar, a professor of tropical medicine and
director of The Wellcome Trust charity, caused controversy as the talks
opened as he was widely quoted in global media calling on health
authorities to offer experimental medicines, not yet fully tested, to
patients.
"Tragic as these deaths and suffering are, humans are
not Guinea pigs," virologist Ian Mackay, associate professor at the
University of Queensland, told AFP, rejecting the suggestion.
"It's a very difficult situation made worse by the urgency of it."
Several
biotech companies and US universities are developing potential vaccines
for Ebola, at various stages of testing, but none anywhere in the world
is close to being licensed for distribution to the public.
"The question is: would these drugs be allowed to be used on UK citizens?" Mackay said.
"If the outbreak occurred there, or in the US, or Australia, would this be ethically acceptable in these countries?"
'Out of control'
Ebola
can fell its victims within days, causing severe fever and muscle pain,
weakness, vomiting and diarrhoea -- in some cases shutting down organs
and causing unstoppable bleeding.
Medical charity Doctors Without
Borders, known by its French initials MSF, said last week that the
spread of the virus, which has had a mortality rate of up to 90 percent
in previous outbreaks, was "out of control", with more than 60 outbreak
hotspots.
Ministers from Guinea, where 413 confirmed, suspected
and probable cases have surfaced so far including 303 deaths, and
Liberia, which has seen 107 cases and 65 deaths, are at the meeting.
Sierra Leone, which has recorded 239 cases and 99 deaths, is also represented.
In
addition, officials from Ivory Coast, Mali, Senegal, Gambia and
Guinea-Bissau, along with Ghana and countries as far afield as Uganda
and the Democratic Republic of Congo are attending.
They have
been joined by a host of UN agencies and other aid organisations,
including MSF and the Red Cross, as well as personnel from disease
control centres in western Africa, the United States, Britain and the
European Union.
One of the biggest obstacles to combatting the
epidemic, say health experts, has been traditional practices - such as
touching the bodies of victims at their funerals - which are causing the
virus to spread.
Ministers and experts have set out a strategy
placing traditional village elders - who are often more influential than
foreign medical experts among the traditional forest-dwelling
populations at the epicentre of the outbreak - at the forefront of an
education drive, a delegate told AFP.
"We have agreed to mobilise
community leaders to be active participants in the efforts to curb the
spread of the disease by building their confidence to trust the health
workers who are in their communities," said Abdulsalami Nasidi, of the
Nigeria Centre for Disease Control. http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/Debate-rages-on-action-to-halt-W-African-Ebola-20140703-2