You are here

Liberia

Ebola's not done with West Africa

 

This map, dated July 15, shows the number of days since active cases were discovered in the three countries where ebola is still a threat. CDC

SCIENCE  by Nick Stockton                               July 23, 2015

Officially, it’s called the Ebola Outbreak of 2014. But it’s 2015 now, and the disease is still infecting people. For the past two months, that rate was about 15 people a week. But in the past two weeks, the rate has doubled.....

What’s behind the continued spread? Depends on where you go. In Guinea and Sierra Leone, Ebola never died, and the new cases are a continuation of the same strain that first emerged in December of 2013. In Liberia—which declared itself ebola-free on May 12—experts believe the new outbreak was transmitted through sexual intercourse, from latent viral bodies that were alive in a man’s sperm.

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

Ebola cases ebb a bit, with Conakry, Freetown as hot spots

CENTER FOR INFECIOUS DISEASE AND POLICY  by Lisa Schnirring     July 22, 2015

The number of new Ebola cases in Guinea and Sierra Leone declined a bit last week, with much of the disease activity centered in the two capital cities for the second week in a row, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in its weekly epidemiologic update today.

Tests confirmed 26 Ebola cases among the two countries, 22 in Guinea and 4 in Sierra Leone. The total is down from 30 reported the previous week, but progress against the disease has been stagnant over the past several weeks, hovering around 25 to 30 cases. Officials, however, said they saw more hopeful signs in contact tracing.

No new cases were reported in Liberia.

Overall, the total in the three countries has reached 27,705 confirmed, probable, and suspected cases, including 11,269 deaths, according to the WHO.

Read complete story,

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2015/07/ebola-cases-ebb-bit-conakry-freetown-hot-spots

WHO:  Ebola Situation Report - 22 July 2015

 Read complete report.

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

Campaign group accuses Liberia palm oil firm of exploiting Ebola crisis

REUTERS by  Makini Brice                                 July 23, 2015

DAKAR --Anti-corruption campaign group Global Witness on Thursday accused palm oil company Golden Veroleum of taking advantage of the Ebola epidemic in Liberia to double the size of its plantation.

 The Ebola virus treatment center where four people are currently being treated is seen in Paynesville, Liberia, July 16, 2015. Reuters/James Giahyue

Golden Veroleum, controlled by Singapore-listed Golden Agri-Resources, signed a deal with Liberia in 2010 to develop a 220,000 hectare plantation. However, the company also has to reach agreement with local communities that have customary titles over the land.

The company denied any wrongdoing.

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

Last four Ebola cases in Liberia discharged from clinic

REUTERS by James Giahyue                  July 20, 2015

MONROVIA  - The last four cases of Ebola in Liberia were discharged from a treatment clinic in the capital of Monrovia on Monday, meaning there were no more confirmed carriers of the deadly virus in the West African country.

The group of four, released from the ELWA treatment unit to cheers and applause, were part of new wave of Ebola infections in Margibi County just outside Monrovia discovered in late June.

Two other confirmed cases have since died, including the sister of one of the released patients.

"The (Ebola treatment unit) is not a death camp; you can come here and survive," said Tolbert Nyenswah, head of Liberia's Ebola response. "This is what we can demonstrate even if Ebola comes back...."

Read complete story.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/20/health-ebola-liberia-idUSL5N10030X20150720

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

Ebola crisis update MSF

 

MSF                                                  July 17, 2015

Though Ebola has faded from the news headlines, the epidemic in West Africa continues to claim lives today. Around 30 people become infected each week in Sierra Leone and Guinea – a number that would be considered a major disaster under normal circumstances – and the outbreak has recently re-emerged in Liberia.

  • Liberia: After being declared Ebola-free on 9May, six (6) new cases have been confirmed since the re-emergence of the virus at the end of June.
  • Guinea: 13 confirmed cases in the country in the week to 12July in three main hotspots (Forecariah, Boké/Fria, Conakry)
  • Sierra Leone: 14 confirmed cases in the country in the week to 12July in three main hotspots (Freetown, Port Loko, Kambia).  

Read complete report:

http://www.msf.org/article/ebola-crisis-update-17-july-2015

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

Re-emergence of Ebola in Liberia remains a mystery

Scroll down for WHO Situation Report

USA TODAY by Gregg Zoroya and Samwar Fallah     July 16, 2015

MONROVIA, Liberia — Six cases of Ebola have surfaced in Liberia in the two months since the nation was declared free of the deadly virus, raising fears the disease lingers in the human body in ways not fully understood.

Liberians read a story about Ebola on a public chalkboard in Monrovia on July 10, 2015. Liberia has had six new cases of Ebola after the World Health Organization declared the country free of Ebola on May 9, 2015.(Photo: Ahmed Jallanzo, EPA)

Three of those cases were in the past week, doubling the number of new infections since the virus re-emerged in late June, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Wednesday....

This new patient was a nurse who died Sunday on arrival at an Ebola treatment clinic in Monrovia, according to the United Nations and the Liberian government. She had been caring for her son, who became infected with the disease in a remote village and fled to the capital.

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

Liberia confirms new Ebola case as outbreak spreads

REUTERS   July 14, 2015

MONROVIA - A Liberian woman has died of Ebola in a hospital in Monrovia shortly after being admitted, becoming the sixth confirmed case of the virus since it resurfaced last month after a seven-week lull, a senior medical official said on Tuesday.

The victim from Montserrado County, which contains Monrovia, is thought to be linked to the other five cases from neighboring Margibi County, where the disease reemerged.

Her detection raised fears that the infection may be spreading in a new area of the country.

Read complete story.

http://news.yahoo.com/liberia-confirms-ebola-case-outbreak-spreads-120753593.html

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

RECORDED VIDEO - Ebola Innovation for Impact 2015 - Game Change in Global Health Crisis Management

Side Event in Support of the UN Secretary-General’s International Ebola Recovery Conference July 9-10 2015

United Nations Headquarters - Conference Room 3, 13.15-14.30 pm (1:15pm-2:30pm, ET), 10 July 2015

As a side-event in support of the United Nations Secretary-General’s International Ebola Recovery Conference, Ebola Innovation for Impact 2015: Game Change in Global Health Crisis Management will bring together thought leaders in global health and technology to stimulate creative, collaborative and catalytic action, and to address the Ebola crisis with innovative solutions in the key, inter-linked areas of: Community Engagement and Mobilization; Private Sector Contribution and Collaboration; Data Systems Strengthening and Coordination; and, Emergency Infrastructure and Logistics.

Speakers include:

Dr. Barbara Bentein, UNICEF

Dr. Arnaud Bernaert, World Economic Forum (WEF)

Dr. Vinton G. Cerf, Google

Dr. Denis Gilhooly, Global Digital Health Initiative (GDHI)

Dr. Michael D. McDonald, Global Health Response & Resilience Alliance (GHRRA)

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

International Ebola Recovery Conference, 9-10 July 2015

                                                            

ebolaresponse.un.org/recovery-conference

The road towards recovery

Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone have undertaken a remarkable effort to defeat the devastating Ebola outbreak. Thanks to those efforts and the support of the international community, the affected countries have seen a significant decline in the number of new cases. Recovery must now be pursued as part of the goal of “getting to zero and staying at zero,” as the response changes from emergency operations to multi-faceted, long-term support.

To this end, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is hosting an International Ebola Recovery Conference in New York to ensure that recovery efforts go beyond redressing direct development losses to build back better and ensure greater resilience.

The Conference will be held in cooperation with the Governments of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, and in partnership with the African Union, the African Development Bank, the European Union and the World Bank.

Aims of the Conference

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

Community Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Regarding Ebola Virus Disease — Five Counties, Liberia, September–October, 2014

CDC  Morbid and Mortality Weekly Report   by Miwako Kobayashi, MD and others          July 10, 2015

To assess Ebola-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) in the community, CDC epidemiologists who were deployed to the counties (field team), carried out a survey conducted by local trained interviewers. The survey was conducted in September and October 2014 in five counties in Liberia with varying cumulative incidence of Ebola cases. Survey results indicated several findings.

 First, basic awareness of Ebola was high across all surveyed populations (median correct responses = 16 of 17 questions on knowledge of Ebola transmission; range = 2–17). Second, knowledge and understanding of Ebola symptoms were incomplete (e.g., 61% of respondents said they would know if they had Ebola symptoms). Finally, certain fears about the disease were present: >90% of respondents indicated a fear of Ebola patients, >40% a fear of cured patients, and >50% a fear of treatment units (expressions of this last fear were greater in counties with lower Ebola incidence).

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

Pages

Subscribe to Liberia
howdy folks