Guinea

Ebola total tops 18,000, with hints of slowing in Sierra Leone

Thu, 2014-12-18 20:00 — mike kraft

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.

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Situation Report

Read more about Ebola total tops 18,000, with hints of slowing in Sierra Leone
Log in or register to post comments

Ebola leaves hundreds of thousands facing hunger in three worst-hit countries

Thu, 2014-12-18 11:44 — mike kraft

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION (FAO) Dec. 17, 2014

The number of people facing food insecurity due to the Ebola epidemic in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone could top one million by March 2015 unless access to food is drastically improved and measures are put in place to safeguard crop and livestock production, two UN agencies warned today.

The disease's impact is potentially devastating in the three countries already coping with chronic food insecurity, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) said in three country reports published today.

Border closures, quarantines, hunting bans and other restrictions are seriously hindering people's access to food, threatening their livelihoods, disrupting food markets and processing chains, and exacerbating shortages stemming from crop losses in areas with the highest Ebola infection rates, the FAO-WFP reports stressed.

Read complete report.
http://www.fao.org/emergencies/fao-in-action/stories/stories-detail/en/c/273018/

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Problem

Situation Report

Read more about Ebola leaves hundreds of thousands facing hunger in three worst-hit countries
Log in or register to post comments

Lessons From an Outbreak: How Ebola Shaped 2014

Wed, 2014-12-17 17:26 — mike kraft

Interviews with experts on what to take away from the devastation of the disease.

THE ATLANTIC by Julie Beck Dec. 17, 2014

...While some in the Western media criticized West Africans' fear of health workers and resistance to public-health measures, the United States got a small taste of Ebola panic when Thomas Eric Duncan became the first case diagnosed in the country in September, followed by three other cases this fall. Duncan was the only patient to die in the U.S., and the panic died down quietly.

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Problem

Situation Report

Read more about Lessons From an Outbreak: How Ebola Shaped 2014
Log in or register to post comments

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)

Tue, 2014-12-16 16:57 — mike kraft

Update: Ebola Virus Disease Epidemic — West Africa, December 2014

CDC Dec. 16, 2014

...There were 4,281 new Ebola cases reported during the 4-week period of November 9–December 6, compared with the 2,705 new cases reported during the 3-week period of October 19–November 8.. Cases were widely distributed geographically among districts in all three countries, with the prefecture of Mamou in Guinea reported to be newly affected.

During both periods, counts of reported Ebola cases were highest in the area around Monrovia, including Grand Cape Mount, Liberia; the Western Area and northwest districts of Sierra Leone, particularly Bombali and Port Loko; and Conakry, Guinea .

Read Complete report.
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm63e1216a1.htm?s_cid=mm63e1216a1_x

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Situation Report

Read more about Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
Log in or register to post comments

Here’s How Much the Next Ebola Will Cost Us

Tue, 2014-12-16 16:33 — mike kraft

Why saving the environment can help prevent it

TIME MAGAZINE by Alexandra Sifferlin Dec. 16, 2014

The global community cannot withstand another Ebola outbreak: The World Bank estimates the two-year financial burden price tag of the current epidemic at $32.6 billion. Unfortunately, the virus has revealed gaping holes in our preparedness for major infectious disease epidemics. Because of these, plus the urbanization of rural communities and globalization of travel and trade, more of these epidemics are expected.

In a new report from the EcoHealth Alliance published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), experts estimate that the world will see about five new emerging infectious diseases each year and that we need new prevention strategies to cut economic losses.

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Problem

Read more about Here’s How Much the Next Ebola Will Cost Us
Log in or register to post comments

Endless Ebola Epidemic? That's The 'Risk We Face Now,' CDC Says

Tue, 2014-12-16 11:25 — mike kraft

NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO by Michaeleen Doucleff Dec. 16, 2014

Speed. That's key to ending the Ebola epidemic, says the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Thomas Frieden is visiting West Africa this week to figure out how to reduce the time it takes to find new Ebola cases and isolate them.

Otherwise, Ebola could become a permanent disease in West Africa.

Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, talks with Doctors Without Borders staff during a visit in August to an Ebola treatment center in Monrovia, Liberia. Tommy Trenchard for NPR

"That's exactly the risk we face now. That Ebola will simmer along, become endemic and be a problem for Africa and the world, for years to come," Frieden tells NPR. "That is what I fear most."

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Situation Report

Read more about Endless Ebola Epidemic? That's The 'Risk We Face Now,' CDC Says
Log in or register to post comments

Fewer Ebola Cases Go Unreported Than Thought, Study Finds

Tue, 2014-12-16 10:55 — mike kraft

NEW YORK TIMES by Donald G. McNeil, Jr. Dec. 16, 2014

Transmission of the Ebola virus occurs mostly within families, in hospitals and at funerals, not randomly like the flu, Yale scientists said Tuesday, and far fewer cases go unreported than has previously been estimated.

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Situation Report

Read more about Fewer Ebola Cases Go Unreported Than Thought, Study Finds
Log in or register to post comments

Ebola: UN forum urges debt relief for hard-hit countries, as search for faster diagnostics gets underway

Mon, 2014-12-15 20:46 — mike kraft

UNITED NATONS NEWS CENTRE Dec. 15, 2014
The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) today recommended that creditors should seriously consider debt cancellation for the countries worst-hit by the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, and also projected that even if those most affected were to register zero economic growth, the impact on Africa as a continent would be minimal.

With the cost of transport and goods going up and sales going down since the Ebola outbreak, vendors in Waterside Market, Monrovia, Liberia, are making no profit to support their families. Photo: UNDP/Morgana Wingard

“Educational systems, rising social stigma, unemployment, and decreased food security are some of the big issues that Ebola-affected countries must deal with,” according to study on the Socio-Economic Impacts of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) on Africa released today by the Addis-Ababa based UN regional forum.

In other news, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) announced that nine companies have made 19 submissions of proposed diagnostic tests for Ebola.

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Solutions

Horror in Sierra Leone: A Single Spark Gives Ebola New Life

Mon, 2014-12-15 12:09 — mike kraft

NBC NEWS by Maggie Fox Dec. 15, 2014
In especially deadly outbreak of Ebola burned unseen in a remote part of Sierra Leone for several weeks, giving public health experts a reality check. It's also a perfect embodiment of the warning that they've been giving for months: that a single spark can set off a conflagration of disease and death.

It happened in Kono, a remote district bordering Guinea. World Health Organization workers heard rumors of deaths and traveled there to find scenes out of a horror movie. At least 87 people had died and been hastily buried, often without the precautions needed to stop the corpses from infecting the living....

What happened in Kono illustrates just how fragile any success is.

It's likely that just one person carried the virus there from an affected area, and without precautions in place, it spread like wildfire.

Read complete story.

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Problem

Situation Report

Read more about Horror in Sierra Leone: A Single Spark Gives Ebola New Life
Log in or register to post comments

What an Ebola curfew looks like

Mon, 2014-12-15 11:49 — mike kraft

Killian Doherty, an Irish architect working for the Architectural Field Office (AFO), has been in Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, for much of the Ebola epidemic. He documented the curfews in some dramatic photographs

THE GUARDIAN by Killian Doherty and René Boer for Failed Architecture Dec. 15, 2014

FREETOWN -- Sierra Leone has been severely affected by Ebola. Over the last six months, the country has seen a high death toll, immense human suffering and a wide range of restrictive measures that have hampered economic and urban life. Most dramatically, in Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, the authorities have instituted a set of curfews that have forced residents to stay at home, resulting in a seemingly deserted city.