CENTER FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASE RESEARCH AND POLICY   by Lisa Schnirring                                   Dec. 17, 2014
            
Sierra Leone's rising Ebola activity seems to be slowing as a major effort to knock down the disease gets under way; disease incidence is still fluctuating in Guinea and cases continue to decline in Liberia, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today in its latest update.

The global Ebola total as of Dec 14 has reached 18,603 cases, along with 6,915 reported deaths, the WHO said. Numbers reflect an increase of 661 infections and 527 deaths since the last report Dec 10. Sierra Leone, with 327 new cases, accounted for more than half the increase, while Guinea reported 76 more. Liberia reported eight new confirmed cases, but its total includes only those reported as of Dec 9.

The WHO said progress is occurring in all three of the hardest-hit countries toward the United Nations' goal of isolating and treating 100% of Ebola patients and safely burying 100% of those who die from the disease by Jan 1. All countries now have enough treatment beds, though some are unevenly distributed, resulting in shortages in some areas, the WHO said.

ETHIOSPORTS  by Raphael Simon                                                                 Dec. 18, 2014    
Freetown, Sierra Leone: - The Africa Union has aided Sierra Leone with 101 Ethiopian Medical personnel in the fight against Ebola. The medical team comprised Doctors, Nurses, Pharmacists, Epidemiologists, Public Health Officers, and Information and Communication Specialists...

ASSOCIATED PRESS by Clarence Roy-Macaulay                                                 Dec. 18, 2014

 ...Dr. Victor Willoughby tested positive for Ebola on Saturday and was being treated at a clinic near the capital run by the medical charity Emergency, said Dr. Brima Kargbo, the country's chief medical officer....

The 67-year-old died Thursday morning, just hours after an experimental drug arrived in the country for him. The arrival of ZMAb, developed in Canada, had raised hopes for Willoughby's survival. But he died before a dose could be administered, said Kargbo. ZMAb is related to ZMapp, another experimental drug that has been used to treat some Ebola patients. The drugs' efficacy in treating Ebola has not yet been proven....

Read complete story.
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/11th-sierra-leonean-doctor-dies-ebola-27684697

                CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)                                                                   

 by Aimee Summers, PhD1,2, Tolbert G. Nyenswah, MPH 3, Joel M. Montgomery, PhD2,4, John Neatherlin, MPH2,4,       Jordan W. Tappero, MD                                                                                                              Dec. 16, 2014

...The Ebola epidemic in Liberia presents unique challenges not only from its spread into crowded urban environments (10) but also its occurrence in remote communities. As in urban counties, county and district health teams in rural counties with remote regions need adequate training in 1) case reporting; 2) case investigation; 3) case management; 4) contact tracing; 5) safe burials; 6) safe collection, processing, and transport of blood specimens for testing; and 7) development of a county-level incident management system.