Sierra Leone

Turning the Page on Ebola

Thu, 2015-04-16 15:28 — mike kraft

Joint Statement by Presidents Alpha Condé of Guinea, Ernest Bai Koroma of Sierra Leone. and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia

PROJECT SYNDICATE COMMENTARY April 16, 2015

....The uncontrolled spread of the disease exposed the shortcomings of our national health care systems, as well as regional and global institutions’ weak capacity for coordination and effective response. Simply put, we were ill prepared to cope with, much less prevent, an outbreak on this scale.

We bear a collective responsibility for the thousands of lives lost to Ebola and the tens of thousands affected by the disease. And, today, thanks to institutional improvement and adaptation, we are closer to winning the fight against Ebola. Although the disease has not been contained and eradicated throughout the region, its spread has slowed; now we have to start planning our recovery, which must include strengthening the national, regional, and international systems that protect our people’s lives and futures....

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Challenges in Guinea spur increase in Ebola cases

Thu, 2015-04-16 15:13 — mike kraft

CENTER FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASE RESEARCH AND POLICY by Lisa Schnirring April 15, 2015
(Scroll down for full WHO report.)
Ebola progress held steady in Sierra Leone and Liberia last week, but the number of confirmed cases in Guinea increased, with the country's response indicators showing a mixed picture amid sparks of community resistance, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today in its weekly epidemiologic update.

The outbreak region registered 37 confirmed cases last week, up from 30 reported the week before, the WHO said. Guinea's cases increased from 21 to 28, with Sierra Leone reporting 9 lab-confirmed cases, the same as the week before. Liberia hasn't reported any new cases since the middle of March.

Meanwhile, the geographic scope of the outbreak shrank a bit last week, with 8 districts in Guinea and Sierra Leone reporting cases, down from 10 the week before. The hot spots are still located in western Guinea, especially Forecariah district near the border with Sierra Leone. The few cases in Sierra Leone are coming mainly from three western districts in an area that includes the capital city, Freetown.

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Guinea finds nine new Ebola cases near border with Sierra Leone

Thu, 2015-04-16 11:21 — mike kraft

REUTERS April 16, 2015

CONAKRY - - Guinean authorities have confirmed at least nine new cases of Ebola in the southwest region of Forecariah near the border with Sierra Leone, the area hardest hit by the year-old outbreak, a senior health official said on Thursday.

Authorities launched a four day, door-to-door campaign in Forecariah on April 12 to improve community participation in reporting suspected cases and as part of an emergency 45-day drive to tackle Ebola in the west of the country.

Sakoba Keita, national coordinator for the fight against Ebola in the West African country, said...92 percent of households in Forecariah had been reached in the four day program.

"We have been able to find nine sick people (with Ebola) hiding in Forecariah," Keita told a news conference. "That discovery will allow us at least to stop the development of new chains of infection."

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Avoiding Ebola – how this Chiefdom in Sierra Leone did it

Thu, 2015-04-16 11:11 — mike kraft

UNICEF CONNECT blogs.unicef.org April 15, 2015

by Margaret James, a Health Officer with UNICEF, Sierre Leone

When I first heard in February that Lugbu chiefdom was one of the few in Bo District, Sierra Leone, that had not recorded a single case of Ebola, my interest was immediately triggered. On 2 March 2015 we got to visit the chiefdom’s main town, Sumbuya, for several hours of meetings with local leaders, youth, a traditional healer and business people to find out more.

Lugbu chiefdom has several entry points and can be accessed by both land and water. (c)UNICEF Sierra Leone

In our quest for answers, we got permission from the local Paramount Chief, (PC) Mohamed Allie Nallo, who gave his blessing and got in touch with key people to help us in our research. We held group meetings, one-on-one interviews and even carried out spot visits.

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Reforming the World Health Organization After Ebola FREE

Wed, 2015-04-15 15:47 — mike kraft

The JAMA Forum by Lawrence O. Gostin, JD, Georgetown University Law Center| April 14, 2015

..In January, the WHO Executive Board proposed major reforms, which the World Health Assembly will consider in May (http://bit.ly/17z0ViG). The outcome of the reform movement could affect the WHO’s status and credibility for a generation. Here are 5 reforms I propose needed to uphold the WHO’s constitutional mandate (http://bit.ly/1BuNFtc) as “the directing and coordinating authority on international health work.”

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Obama: World must remain ‘fully engaged’ against Ebola

Wed, 2015-04-15 14:14 — mike kraft

UPDATE with testimony to Congress.

Obama says Ebola-fighting goal is to prevent any new cases

(Scroll down for earlier story and link to Congressional testimony by administration officials)

ASSOCIATED PRESS by Jim Kuhnhenn APRIL 15.

WASHINGTON — Citing significant gains in fighting the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, President Obama declared Wednesday that the international goal now is to prevent any new cases of the deadly virus in the afflicted region....

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, back right, meets with, from left, Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Koroma, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and Guinean President Alpha Condé, in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, April 15, 2015, to discuss progress made in the international Ebola response. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/Associated Press)

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Crowdsourced Mapping Could Help Prevent the Next Big Ebola Outbreak

Wed, 2015-04-15 11:20 — mike kraft

TAKEPART.COM by Jessica Dollin April 14, 2015

Ebola dominated headlines this past year, but the epicenter of the outbreak wasn’t on a map until after the virus had infected and killed thousands. Without geographical resources, aid workers were tasked with the challenge of navigating remote areas to locate people in need of assistance.

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Ebola virus found in semen six months after recovery: WHO

Wed, 2015-04-15 10:57 — mike kraft

AFP April 15, 2015

Geneva- Traces of Ebola have been found in the semen of a man six months after his recovery, the World Health Organization said Wednesday, urging survivors to practice safe sex "until further notice".

The man had been declared free of the deadly virus in Liberia last September, WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic told AFP.

"He has provided a semen sample which has tested... positive for Ebola, 175 days after his negative blood test," he said in an email.

The UN health agency had previously said the virus had been detected in semen around three months after a patient had been declared Ebola free.

The new finding has led WHO to recommend that survivors abstain from having sex or that they practice safe sex using a condom beyond the three-month period previously prescribed.

Read complete story.

http://news.yahoo.com/ebola-virus-found-semen-six-months-recovery-104351981.html;_ylt=AwrC2Q7WeS5VaEoA82fQtDMD;_ylu=X3oDMTByOHZyb21tBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzcg--

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4 Myths About Ebola Recovery in West Africa

Tue, 2015-04-14 18:12 — mike kraft

GLOBAL HEALTH NOW Commentary by Michael Murphy and Alan Ricks April 14, 2015
The aftermath of the world’s worst Ebola outbreak in history provides an important opportunity to reflect on the response; but most importantly, to acknowledge we have much more to do...our great fear is that the international community will declare Ebola’s containment a victory and move on, without addressing the reasons the outbreak was so devastating in the first place. The crisis is the canary in the mine, indicating a broader problem that long existed.

An unfortunate reality that plagues development assistance worldwide is what we call “short-termism.” It’s the tendency to mobilize health infrastructure resources only in crises. This is a reactive and costly strategy that prioritizes temporary stabilization without considerations for long-term security....

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Ebola Analysis Finds Virus Hasn't Become Deadlier, Yet

Tue, 2015-04-14 17:31 — mike kraft

ICT INFECTION CONTROL TODAY April 14, 2015
(Scroll down for full study)
Research from the University of Manchester using cutting-edge computer analysis reveals that despite mutating, Ebola hasn’t evolved to become deadlier since the first outbreak 40 years ago. The surprising results demonstrate that while a high number of genetic changes have been recorded in the virus, it hasn’t changed at a functional level to become more or less virulent.

The findings, published in the journal Virology, demonstrate that the much higher death toll during the current outbreak, with the figure at nearly 10,500, isn’t due to mutations/evolution making the virus more deadly or more virulent.

As professor Simon Lovell from the Faculty of Life Sciences explains.... What we found was that whilst Ebola is mutating, it isn’t evolving to the point of adapting to become more or less virulent. The function of the virus has remained the same over the past four decades which really surprised us. Unfortunately this does mean the Ebola virus that has now emerged on several occasions since the 1970s will very probably do so again.”

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