Liberia

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) may relocate its clinical trials of Ebola vaccines to Guinea, since there are no longer enough Ebola cases in Liberia for a proper efficacy trial.

On Feb. 2, the NIH launched an initial safety trial for two vaccines to protect against Ebola in Liberia. The plan was to test 600 people for overall safety and then launch a second phase of the trial in 27,000 people to see whether or not the vaccine prevents infection with Ebola virus compared to a placebo.

The safety test was successfully completed the week of March 9—but around the same time, Liberia announced that it had released its last confirmed patient from its Ebola treatment centers. ...

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Situation Report

Read more about Lack of Ebola Cases Shifts Vaccine Trials Away From Liberia
Log in or register to post comments

The hidden cost of Ebola: thousands of measles deaths

Fri, 2015-03-13 10:40 — mike kraft

VOX by Julia Belluz March 12, 2015

(Scroll down for full Science Journal study.)

As if being stricken by the most deadly virus known to man weren't enough, now, it seems, West Africa is on alert for outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases including measles, whooping cough, and tuberculosis.

A girl collects her family's laundry after drying it on a rooftop in the West Point township on January 31, 2015 in Monrovia, Liberia. Life has been disrupted by Ebola for many Liberians.

In a new study in the journal Science, researchers focused on measles — the most contagious virus recorded — and applied statistical models to quantify the likelihood of an epidemic in the three countries worst hit by Ebola, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea.

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Problem

Read more about The hidden cost of Ebola: thousands of measles deaths
1 comment
Log in or register to post comments

Ebola death toll passes 10,000: WHO

Thu, 2015-03-12 18:45 — mike kraft

AFP March 12, 2015
(Scroll down for WHO report.)

Geneva -- The global death toll from the Ebola outbreak centred in west Africa has topped 10,000 out of more than 24,000 recorded cases, the World Health Organization said Thursday.

Almost all the deaths and cases have been reported in the three west African countries worst hit by the outbreak: Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.

Sierra Leone, which has overtaken Liberia as the country with the most infections, counted 11,677 cases and 3,655 deaths as of March 10.

As of March 5, Liberia -- long the hardest-hit country -- had recorded a total of 9,343 and 4,162 deaths.

But the tide seems to be turning in the country which in August and September was reporting more than 300 new cases each week, with the WHO saying Wednesday that Liberia had registered no new cases since February 19.

In Guinea, where the outbreak started in December 2013, 3,330 Ebola cases and 2,187 deaths were recorded as of March 10.

The WHO said on Wednesday that the country had seen no new cases in the previous 10 days.

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Situation Report

Read more about Ebola death toll passes 10,000: WHO
Log in or register to post comments

UNMC dean who just returned from Sierra Leone, another Ebola expert agree: Fight not over

Thu, 2015-03-12 18:02 — mike kraft

OMAHA WORLD-HERALD by Bob Glissman March 11, 2015

The West African countries hit hardest by the Ebola virus and the countries and groups that have helped battle the disease must remain vigilant if the number of new Ebola cases is to get to zero, health experts said Wednesday.

Dr. Ali Khan, dean of the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s College of Public Health, spent a month in Sierra Leone as a consultant on Ebola for the World Health Organization.

Dr. Ali Khan, who returned to Omaha late last week after a month in Sierra Leone, said progress is evident, but he cautioned officials there against becoming complacent. “Because with a disease like Ebola,” he said, “all you need is one case to restart an outbreak or a cluster of cases.”

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Problem

Situation Report

Read more about UNMC dean who just returned from Sierra Leone, another Ebola expert agree: Fight not over
1 comment
Log in or register to post comments

The hidden cost of Ebola: thousands of measles deaths

Thu, 2015-03-12 17:15 — mike kraft

VOX by Julia Belluz March 12, 2015

(Scroll down for Science journal study.)

As if being stricken by the most deadly virus known to man weren't enough, now, it seems, West Africa is on alert for outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases including measles, whooping cough, and tuberculosis.

A girl collects her family's laundry after drying it on a rooftop in the West Point township on January 31, 2015 in Monrovia, Liberia. Life has been disrupted by Ebola for many Liberians.

In a new study in the journal Science, researchers focused on measles — the most contagious virus recorded — and applied statistical models to quantify the likelihood of an epidemic in the three countries worst hit by Ebola, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea.

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Problem

Read more about The hidden cost of Ebola: thousands of measles deaths
Log in or register to post comments

Ebola could cost West Africa $15 billion over three years

Thu, 2015-03-12 12:35 — mike kraft

REUTERS by Misha Hussain March 12, 2015sC

(Scroll down for links to press release and full report.)

DAKAR -- West Africa may lose up to $15 billion over the next three years due to the impact of the Ebola outbreak on trade, investment and tourism, according to a report by the United Nations.

The world's deadliest Ebola epidemic has killed almost 10,000 people in the three most affected countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, deepening poverty in one of the least developed parts of the world.

"The consequences of Ebola are vast," said Abdoulaye Mar Dieye, Africa director of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

"Stigma and risk aversion have caused considerable amounts of damage, shutting down borders and indirectly affecting the economies of a large number of countries in the sub-region."

Read complete story

http://news.yahoo.com/ebola-could-cost-west-africa-15-billion-over-150805196.html;_ylt=AwrBJSCTtwFVoAIAda3QtDMD

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Problem

Situation Report

Read more about Ebola could cost West Africa $15 billion over three years
Log in or register to post comments

Liberian Leader Concedes Errors in Response to Ebola

Thu, 2015-03-12 09:50 — mike kraft

NEW YORK TIMES by Rick Gladstone March 12, 2015

The president of Liberia acknowledged on Wednesday that she had erred in ordering a tough security crackdown at the height of the Ebola crisis last year, describing the deadly virus as an “unknown enemy” that had frightened her.

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf during a video address last Deceber to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Solutions

Situation Report

Read more about Liberian Leader Concedes Errors in Response to Ebola
Log in or register to post comments

Study Indicates Ebola-Infected Sewage May Require Longer Holding Period

Wed, 2015-03-11 21:48 — mike kraft

INFECTION CONTROL TODAY March 11, 2015
Storing Ebola-infected sewage for a week at 86 degrees Fahrenheit or higher should allow enough time for more than 99.99 percent of the virus to die, though lower ambient temperatures may require a longer holding period, according to a new study by researchers at Georgia State University's School of Public Health.

The study co-authored by Lisa M. Casanova, assistant professor of environmental health, and Scott R. Weaver, research assistant professor in Epidemiology and Biostatistics, used bacteriophage Φ6, a type of virus, as a stand-in to study how long Ebola and similar viruses can survive in latrines and other systems for collecting and disposing of sewage. Bacteriophage Φ6 has a lipid envelope, meaning it has structural similarities to Ebola and several other types of virus, allowing for a safe study that did not require use of Ebola itself.

"The places hardest hit by Ebola are the places that often have the least infrastructure for safely disposing of sewage and are using things like pit latrines," says Casanova. "They need the answers to questions like this."

Read full article.

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Problem

Read more about Study Indicates Ebola-Infected Sewage May Require Longer Holding Period
Log in or register to post comments

No new Ebola cases in Liberia for more than two weeks: WHO

Wed, 2015-03-11 21:23 — mike kraft

AFP March 11, 2015

Geneva - No new case of the deadly Ebola virus has been registered in Liberia since February 19, the World Health Organization said Wednesday, also hailing positive signs in Sierra Leone and Guinea.

A man walks past an Ebola campaign banner with the new slogan "Ebola Must GO" in Monrovia

Liberia, long the hardest-hit country in the Ebola epidemic that has killed nearly 10,000 people in west Africa, "has now gone well over two weeks without a new reported case," said Bruce Aylward, who heads WHO's Ebola response....

The outlook was less positive in the other countries affected by the outbreak, Guinea and Sierra Leone, although Aylward highlighted positive signs there too.
Read complete story.
http://news.yahoo.com/no-ebola-cases-liberia-more-two-weeks-175855158.html;_ylt=AwrBJR9j5gBVAQYArDLQtDMD

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: