You are here

Europe

The toll of a tragedy

An infographic of the toll of the Ebola outbreak.

Image: An infographic of the toll of the Ebola outbreak.

economist.com - October 31st 2014

The first reported case in the Ebola outbreak ravaging west Africa dates back to December 2013, in Guéckédou, a forested area of Guinea near the border with Liberia and Sierra Leone. Travellers took it across the border: by late March, Liberia had reported eight suspected cases and Sierra Leone six. By the end of June 759 people had been infected and 467 people had died from the disease, making this the worst ever Ebola outbreak.

(VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE AND FULL SIZE INFOGRAPHIC)

 

General Topic Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

US Envoy: 'Alarming Gaps' Remain in Fighting Ebola

VOICE OF AMERICA                                                              Oct. 31, 2014

By Al Pessin

The international community must do more to fill "alarming gaps" in the fight against the Ebola epidemic, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power said to an audience in Brussels as she headed home from a visit to the three hardest-hit countries in West Africa.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power speaks during a lecture regarding the Ebola virus at the Residence Palace in Brussels, Oct. 30, 2014.

Power said the initial international response is making a difference, and has created what she called “the first tangible signs that the virus can and will be beaten.”

But, she said, many countries have not done enough, and urged them to not assume the job is done...

She called for more flexible planning, faster decision-making, and for support for the affected countries as they try to rebuild and expand their health care systems. Those systems were inadequate before the epidemic and have now been devastated by the deaths of hundreds of doctors and nurses.

General Topic Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

Swiss Agency Approves Trial for Ebola Vaccine

ASSOCIATED PRESS                                 Oct. 28, 2014
  GENEVA-- The Swiss agency that regulates new drugs said Tuesday it has approved an application for a clinical trial with an experimental Ebola vaccine at the Lausanne University Hospital.

In this picture provided by the World Health Organization, a package of vials of the first shipment of the experimental vaccine VSE-EBOV is opened at the Geneva Cantonal hospital on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2014. The World Health Organization (WHO) welcomes the donation by the government of Canada of 800 vials of an experimental candidate vaccine, VSV-EBOV, against Ebola virus disease. Clinical safety trials with this experimental Ebola vaccine have already begun in healthy human volunteers in Mali, the United Kingdom and the United States after showing very promising results in animal research. . (AP Photo/WHO/Mathilde Missioneiro) 

Swissmedic said the trial will be conducted among 120 volunteer participants with support from the U.N. World Health Organization. The experimental vaccine is to be initially administered on healthy volunteers who will be sent as medical staff to fight the Ebola epidemic in West Africa.

Country / Region Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

Army major general, troops quarantined after Ebola aid trip

CNN                                                                                                   Oct. 27, 2014
By Barbara Starr

Army Major General Darryl A. Williams, commander of U.S. Army Africa, and approximately 10 other personnel are now in "controlled monitoring" in Italy after returning there from West Africa over the weekend, according to multiple U.S. military officials.

The American personnel are effectively under quarantine, but Pentagon officials declined to use that terminology.

There is no indication at this time any of the team have symptoms of Ebola.

They will be monitored for 21 days at a "separate location" at the U.S. military installation at Vicenza Italy, according to U.S. military officials. Senior Pentagon officials say it is not a "quarantine," but rather "controlled monitoring." However, the troops are being housed in an access controlled location on base, and are not allowed to go home for the 21 day period while they undergo twice daily temperature checks....

Read Complete story

lhttp://www.cnn.com/2014/10/27/politics/soldiers-monitored-ebola/

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

Ebola outbreak could be 'definitive humanitarian disaster of our generation', warns Oxfam

THE INDEPENDENT                                                  OCT. 18, 2014

LONDON ---Ebola is poised to become the “definitive humanitarian disaster of our generation", Oxfam has warned, with more troops, funding and medical aid urgently needed to tackle the outbreak.

In an "extremely rare" move, the charity is calling for military intervention to provide logistical support across West Africa.

It says the world has less than two months to counter the spread of the deadly virus, which means addressing a "crippling shortfall" in military personnel.

Oxfam’s call for more troops comes after UN chief Ban Ki-Moon criticised countries he said were able to provide financial support to the crisis for not doing so.
Read Full story

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

Combien de Patients Ebola est traités à l'extérieur de l'Afrique de l'ouest ?

Temps de NEW YORK 7 octobre 2014

Ebola au moins 14 cas ont été traités à l'extérieur de l'Afrique de l'ouest dans la flambée actuelle. La plupart d'entre elles concernent la santé et travailleurs qui a contracté le virus d'Ebola en Afrique de l'Ouest et ont été transportés vers leur pays d'origine pour le traitement de l'aide.

Deux personnes ont été diagnostiqués en dehors de l'Afrique de l'Ouest : un, un homme de libérien qui ont commencé à manifester de symptômes quatre jours après son arrivée à Dallas et l'autre, une infirmière espagnole qui est tombé malade après avoir traité un missionnaire dans un hôpital de Madrid. Ces cas sont tirée des rapports par les centres fédéraux pour Disease Control and Prevention, l'Organisation mondiale de la santé, médecins sans frontières et autres organismes officiels.

See chart and full article

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/07/31/world/africa/ebola-virus-outbreak-qa.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=HpSum&module=photo-spot-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

Pages

Subscribe to Europe
howdy folks