The first person, Thomas Eric Duncan, identified with Ebola virus in the US amid an epidemic that has taken the lives of thousands in Africa, died on Wednesday, October 8, according to media reports. The doctors at the Dallas hospital, where his treatment was undergoing with an experimental drug, have confirmed his death.
The 42-year-old Duncan whose health was continuously deteriorating, tested positive for the virus on September 30, and was after then kept in isolation in the hospital.
Health officials in Dallas are now closely monitoring some 50 people who may have come in contact with Thomas Duncan. However, so far no one has shown any symptoms of Ebola.
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Ebola Virus Affected Countries Status |
COUNTRIES | STATUS (As on 6th May, 2015) |
---|---|
GUINEA | Transmission active in few districts |
LIBERIA | On 9th May 2015, WHO officially declares Liberia free of Ebola virus transmission |
SIERRA LEONE | Transmission active in few districts |
MALI | On 18th Jan 2015, WHO officially declares Mali free of Ebola virus transmission |
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (DRC) | On 15th Nov 2014, WHO officially declares DRC free of Ebola virus transmission |
NIGERIA | On 19th Oct 2014, WHO officially declares Nigeria free of Ebola virus transmission |
SENEGAL | On 17th Oct 2014, WHO officially declares Senegal free of Ebola virus transmission |
SPAIN | On 2nd Dec 2014, WHO officially declares Spain free of Ebola virus transmission |
ITALY | One imported case |
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA | No cases under treatment |
UNITED KINGDOM | No cases under treatment |
Ebola Virus Affected Countries in 2014 |
COUNTRY | TOTAL CASES & DEATHS |
---|---|
GUINEA | CASES: 3,597 DEATHS: 2,392 |
LIBERIA | CASES: 10,604 DEATHS: 4,769 |
SIERRA LEONE | CASES: 12,519 DEATHS: 3904 |
MALI | CASES: 9 DEATHS: 6 |
SPAIN | CASES: 1 DEATH: 0 |
USA | CASES; 4 DEATH: 1 |
UNITED KINGDOM | CASES: 1 DEATH: 0 |
NIGERIA | CASES: 20 DEATHS: 8 |
SENEGAL | CASES: 1 DEATH: 0 |
DRC | CASES: 66 DEATH: 49 |
Ebola Virus Affected Countries in Africa - Cases from 1976 - 2014 |
Country | Town | Cases | Deaths | Species | Year |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dem. Rep. of Congo | Yambuku | 318 | 280 | Zaire ebolavirus | 1976 |
South Sudan | Nzara | 284 | 151 | Sudan ebolavirus | 1976 |
Dem. Rep. of Congo | Tandala | 1 | 1 | Zaire ebolavirus | 1977 |
South Sudan | Nzara | 34 | 22 | Sudan ebolavirus | 1979 |
Gabon | Mekouka | 52 | 31 | Zaire ebolavirus | 1994 |
Ivory Coast | Tai Forest | 1 | 0 | Taï Forest ebolavirus | 1994 |
Dem. Rep. of Congo | Kikwit | 315 | 250 | Zaire ebolavirus | 1995 |
Gabon | Mayibout | 37 | 21 | Zaire ebolavirus | 1996 |
Gabon | Booue | 60 | 45 | Zaire ebolavirus | 1996 |
South Africa | Johannesburg | 2 | 1 | Zaire ebolavirus | 1996 |
Uganda | Gulu | 425 | 224 | Zaire ebolavirus | 2000 |
Gabon | Libreville | 65 | 53 | Zaire ebolavirus | 2001 |
Republic of Congo | Not specified | 57 | 43 | Zaire ebolavirus | 2001 |
Republic of Congo | Mbomo | 143 | 128 | Zaire ebolavirus | 2002 |
Republic of Congo | Mbomo | 35 | 29 | Zaire ebolavirus | 2003 |
South Sudan | Yambio | 17 | 7 | Zaire ebolavirus | 2004 |
Dem. Rep. of Congo | Luebo | 264 | 187 | Zaire ebolavirus | 2007 |
Uganda | Bundibugyo | 149 | 37 | Bundibugyo ebolavirus | 2007 |
Dem. Rep. of Congo | Luebo | 32 | 15 | Zaire ebolavirus | 2008 |
Uganda | Luwero District | 1 | 1 | Sudan ebolavirus | 2011 |
Uganda | Kibaale District | 11* | 4* | Sudan ebolavirus | 2012 |
Dem. Rep. of Congo | Isiro Health Zone | 36* | 13* | Bundibugyo ebolavirus | 2012 |
Uganda | Luwero District | 6* | 3* | Sudan ebolavirus | 2012 |
Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia | multiple | 909* | ? | Zaire ebolavirus | 2014 |
Ebola outbreak in US ‘extraordinarily unlikely’, say White House officials
White House officials have said that an outbreak of Ebola in the United States was “extraordinarily unlikely” in a bid to reassure Americans following the missteps in handling an Ebola case in Dallas.
Lisa Monaco, a senior counter-terrorism adviser to President Barack Obama, said the US has the world’s most “capable health infrastructure and the most capable doctors” and the country was prepared to deal with the crisis “both at home and in the region”.
Thomas Eric Duncan, who had come from Liberia, became the first patient diagnosed with Ebola outside Africa. But initially the hospital in Dallas let him go with an antibiotics course as his travel history had not been communicated to the doctors treating him.
The deadly virus has killed more than 3,400 people in west Africa this year.
Ebola Virus Epidemic in West Africa
As per the report of WHO on September 22, two of the five nations – Nigeria and Senegal, under the sway of the world's worst-ever outbreak of Ebola are trying to curb the situation, despite the overall rise in the death rate to 2,811 out of 5,864 cases. "On the whole, the outbreaks in Nigeria and Senegal are pretty much contained," according to the report from the regional director of WHO in Africa.
On the one hand in Nigeria, where the number of cases has just come down from 21 to 20 after a doubtful case was dismissed and overall 696 contacts have finished the follow-up of 21 days, the situation in Senegal, on the other hand, is even much more controlled. Only one case has been registered in Senegal and all contacts with the patient have finished a follow-up of 21 days.
In the other three countries worse affected by the virus – Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone – the epidemic continued to raise its ugly head with a first case being confirmed in the Kindia district of Guinea and an increasing death rate in all three. Where over 600 have died in Guinea and over 590 in Sierra Leone; more than half of all the deaths are registered from Liberia itself, where over 1500 people have died.
However, a three-day national lockdown in Sierra Leone, which began on September 18, has been declared a “success” by the officials when the curfew was annulled on September 21. Under the lockdown over a million homes were observed and 130 new cases found.
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Media reports
September 13, 2014 Ebola Update: Obama To Discuss Us Response To Ebola Next Week
US President Barack Obama will discuss the US response to the Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa with health officials next week, the White House has said.
Obama will travel to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta next Tuesday to receive a briefing on the spread of the Ebola virus in West Africa and discuss the US response to the crisis, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Friday.
The president would also thank scientists, doctors and healthcare workers who were helping those affected by the disease, Xinhua reported citing Earnest.
Earlier, the US government said it has committed more than $100 million to help combat the Ebola outbreak, which has killed more than 2,400 people in West Africa.
In addition, Obama will also receive an update from CDC officials on the respiratory illness that's been reported in several states across the US Midwest, Earnest said.
Four Americans have been or are being treated for the Ebola virus disease in the US after evacuation from West Africa.
The Ebola outbreak, by far the largest in the nearly 40-year history of the disease, has infected 4,269 people and killed 2,400 this year in three West African countries -- Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone -- according to the WHO.
While the outbreak, which started in March, has now reached four countries -- Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone -- Liberia and Sierra Leone account for more than 60 percent of the deaths, according to the WHO.
Source: IANS
September 10, 2014 Ebola Update: Ebola Toll Hits 2,288 In West Africa: WHO
The number of people infected by the Ebola virus disease in West Africa reached 4,269 as of Tuesday, while the total number of related deaths stood at 2,288, according to World Health Organisation (WHO) officials.
The virus has spread rapidly over the past 21 days, and the number of patients increased significantly.
The WHO added that the disease continued to expand through Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Its incubation period is 21 days, which is why the WHO conducts a new analysis every three weeks.
Until Sep 6, Guinea had recorded 862 infections and 555 deaths. But over the 21-day period just concluded, there were an additional 339 infections and 155 deaths reported.
In Liberia, 2,064 infections were recorded, of which 1,224 resulted in the deaths of those stricken by the virus. The increase over the same time-frame added 1,212 infections and 758 deaths to the mounting toll.
The WHO said that it expected thousands of new infections during the upcoming three weeks in Liberia, where there is one doctor for every 100,000 people in a country with a population of 4.4 million.
In Sierra Leone, 1,361 people were infected and 509 died, with an increase of 533 infections and 154 deaths.
Of the 4,269 cases recorded to date in those three countries, 2,048 of the infections occurred in the past three weeks. Of the total number of 2,228 deaths, 1,067 occurred during the same period.
In Nigeria, eight infections and four deaths were recorded in the past 21 days. The total toll there is 21 infections and eight deaths.
Three infections -- none of these happened in the past three weeks -- and no deaths were reported in Senegal.
This is the biggest outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus disease since the virus was discovered in the Democratic Republic of Congo (then called Zaire), in 1976. There is no known cure for the infection, which has a high mortality rate.
Source: IANS
September 06, 2014 Ebola Update: Unicef Helps Sierra Leone combat Ebola
With funds from the World Bank, Unicef has facilitated the delivery of medicines and other supplies worth over $825,000 for the treatment of people who have contracted Ebola in Sierra Leone.
A chartered UN cargo aircraft landed at the Lungi International Airport Friday with the drugs and medical supplies, Ximhua reported.
The supplies include latex gloves, intravenous fluids, assorted antibiotics and personal protective equipment, all of which are urgently needed to fight the Ebola epidemic.
"The World Bank is committed to improving the health of the people in Sierra Leone and eliminating Ebola," said Ato Brown, World Bank's country manager in Sierra Leone.
The funding from the World Bank comes from its $200 million pledge last month to help Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone to contain the spread of Ebola, help their communities cope with the economic impact of the crisis, and improve public health systems in West Africa.
The supplies have been transferred to the Central Medical Store in Freetown for immediate dispatch to different Ebola treatment centres.
The Ebola outbreak has claimed over 2,000 lives in West African countries this year.
Source: IANS
September 05, 2014 Ebola Update: Kenya Rules Out Ebola After Two Tested Negative
Kenyan health authorities Thursday ruled out an Ebola outbreak in the country after tests conducted on two suspected patients turned negative.
Kenya's Medial Services director Nicholas Muraguri assured Kenyans that medical personnel are on high alert to ensure safety, after tests on a suspected patient in a Nairobi airport turned negative, Xinhua reported.
The assurance comes after a patient was isolated Wednesday when reports claimed there was a passenger with Ebola inside Kenya Airways plane from DR Congo.
The Kenya Airways Flight 550 from Lubumbashi landed at JKIA causing panic. The flight crew alerted health ministry officials about the male passenger who had vomited in the aircraft while mid-air.
"Emergency teams comprising Ebola experts were immediately put together to receive the aircraft. However, tests on the suspected case had turned negative," Muraguri said.
Muraguri added that the tests showed that the man had suffered from food poisoning that led to vomiting. The Ministry of Health assured Kenyans that there was no need for panic, as no case of Ebola had been confirmed in the country.
Meanwhile, doctors have also ruled out the Ebola virus in a case where a 10-year-old Liberian boy is admitted at a hospital in Nakuru, about 180 km southwest of Nairobi, with fever-like symptoms.
Nakuru County Chief Officer for Health Samwel Mwaura said the pupil, and the nurse who first attended to him, were immediately placed under quarantine Wednesday, pending the results of a test which was forwarded to Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) in Nairobi.
Mwaura revealed that the tests conducted were both negative. The results followed a night of panic among many at various hospitals and the school after reports of the spread of the virus.
The health ministry in August released a contingency plan that will guide health institutions in the country on what to do if the dreaded Ebola Viral Disease (EVD) spreads into the country.
The flow of travellers from the West African countries into Kenya is one of the risk factors for an EVD outbreak in the country, according to the contingency plan.
Source: IANS
September 03, 2014 Ebola Update: US CDC Calls For Global Response Against Ebola
The head of US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Tuesday warned of the risk that the Ebola outbreak could get out of control without a greater worldwide response.
"This is not just a problem for Africa. This is a problem for the world, and the world needs to respond," Efe quoted CDC director Tom Frieden as saying, after his return from a tour through the affected zone. CDC is an agency of the US department of health and human services.
Despite the efforts of the United States and other countries, the number of deaths from Ebola virus is increasing at an accelerating rate and authorities fear that fatalities will mount even more before the situation can be brought under control, Frieden said.
The World Health Organisation warned last week that the number of people infected with the virus could exceed 20,000.
"We know how to stop Ebola," Frieden said. "The challenge is to scale it (the response) up to the massive levels needed to stop this outbreak."
Ebola has already killed at least 1,550 people in Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.
"We have seen outbreaks of Ebola before. This is the first epidemic spreading widely through many countries, and it is spiralling out of control," the CDC chief said.
"It is bad now, much worse than the numbers show. It is going to get even worse in the very near future," he added.
Source: IANS
September 02, 2014 Ebola Update: Nigeria To Get Japanese Drug For Ebola Treatment
Nigeria will soon get a Japanese drug to treat Ebola, the country's Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu said Monday.
The drug named Favipiravir and developed by a subsidiary of Fujifilm Holdings in Japan, could be delivered any time soon in Nigeria, Xinhua quoted Chukwu as telling reporters here.
Apart from the Japanese drug, the west African country had also applied for another anti-Ebola drug alongside two other vaccines which have been positively identified by the local Treatment Research Group (TRG) in Nigeria.
"The TRG has been working hard to identify experimental drugs like Zmapp, and also make recommendations to government on further research on these drugs as well as vaccines for EVD treatment and prevention," Chukwu said.
The Nigerian minister said the drug was considered as it has strong anti-viral property against Ebola virus in-vitro and in-vivo.
"These and the fact that it is considered safe, having passed through phases one and two clinical trails makes it good candidate drug for use in emergency situation as the EVD," he added.
Elaborating on the Ebola spread, Chukwu said total number of cases in Nigeria stands at 16, while 13 people have been treated at the isolation ward in the southwestern state of Lagos. So far, seven people have been discharged from the isolation facility.
He noted six people had died of Ebola so far in Africa's most populous country, with five fatalities in Lagos and only one fatality recorded in the oil-rich city of Port Harcourt.
More than 1,500 people have so far died of Ebola since the latest outbreak in West African countries began in March.
Source: IANS
September 01, 2014 Ebola Update: Ebola Toll In Guinea 460
At least 690 Ebola virus disease cases have been confirmed in Guinea, out of which 460 people have died, the latest data released by the health ministry here shows.
A total of 143 patients were cured and discharged from treatment centres while 86 cases are still undergoing treatment in health centres, Xinhua reported citing the data.
Since the Ebola outbreak in Guinea, 45 health workers have been infected with the virus and 26 of them have died while nine others are still hospitalised.
Head of disease prevention unit at the health ministry, Sakoba Keita, said that the eight regions that were initially affected by the disease have not reported any new cases in the last one week.
He said 16 border health control posts out of the expected 41 have already been established at the country's different entry points, and this has been followed by the training of medical staff in charge of surveillance of passengers entering or leaving the country.
Regarding the first Ebola case confirmed in Dakar, Senegal, which concerned a Guinean student, the World Health Organisation's (WHO) coordinator for emergency services, Sosthene Zombre, said the affected person was a sociology student from Conakry University who contracted the virus in Forecariah prefecture near the Sierra Leonian border.
Till date, four members of the student's family have died from the disease and 75 people suspected of having had contact with him from his town are being monitored.
"Community deaths and delayed reporting of new cases constitute the major causes of the spread of Ebola virus in the country," Keita said, urging the population to collaborate with the country's health services.
Source: IANS
In the wake of the Ebola and Coronavirus outbreak, the Saudi government has said it will screen Hajj pilgrims this year.
The health ministry has made arrangements to screen the pilgrims for the Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).
The ministry also plans to provide pilgrims with health care services in the holy city of Makkah and at the main entry points of King Abdulaziz International Airport and the Jeddah Islamic Port, Abdulsalam Noorwali, a director in the ministry told the Arab News daily.
Temporary health centres are being set up on all roads leading to the Makkah.
"We are on the alert for corona and Ebola viruses and fully equipped to screen any pilgrim suspected of carrying the infections at the two main entry points," Sami Badawood, another director in the ministry, said this week.
Around 620 personnel have been posted in the health and surveillance centre at Jeddah's main airport and another 100 at the Jeddah Islamic Port to screen arriving pilgrims and provide them with medical aid.
All pilgrims must present proof of vaccination for meningitis and ACYW135. For infants and children under 15 years of age, a vaccination report is required for polio as well as meningitis and polio.
The meningitis vaccination should be given before departure and polio vaccination is mandatory for all pilgrims coming from Africa, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Afghanistan and African countries.
Source: IANS
August 30, 2014 Ebola Update: Experimental Ebola Drug Cures Infected Monkeys
In what appears to provide new hope for people infected with the deadly Ebola virus, scientists have successfully treated all the Ebola infected monkeys with an experimental drug called Zmapp.
All 18 monkeys in the study recovered from the infection, without showing any lingering effects of the disease, the researchers said.
"It is an important step forward in the fight against Ebola virus," said study co-author Gary Kobinger, chief of special pathogens at the Public Health Agency of Canada.
The drug was found to be effective even when it was administered very late.
On the basis of these results in monkeys, several human patients had recently received the latest drug, Live Science reported.
In the study, the researchers administered the drug every three days to monkeys infected with Ebola.
Some monkeys received the treatment starting on either day three or four after they were infected with the virus, and some even started the treatment on day five, when the animals were only days from reaching the end.
The drug contains three antibodies, which are molecules that can bind to a foreign protein.
The treatment reversed severe symptoms of the Ebola disease, such as bleeding and rashes.
So far, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has recorded 3,069 cases of Ebola virus disease and 1,552 deaths in West Africa (Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and, to a lesser extent, Nigeria).
The number of people infected with the Ebola virus could reach 20,000, six times more than the current estimates, the WHO warned Thursday.
The study appeared in the journal Nature.
Source: IANS
August 29, 2014 Ebola Update: 13 Die Of Ebola In DRC
A total of 13 people, including five doctors, died of Ebola virus disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the country's Minister of Public Health Felix Kabange told Xinhua Friday.
The official said that all the 13 cases occurred in Djera, a remote region in the country's northwest province of Equateur.
There is no report of Ebola in any other district.
He added that five suspected cases of Ebola recorded in the country's capital Kinshasa are negative.
"All samples from Kinshasa were negative," said Kabange.
The epidemic, which has been plaguing west African countries since earlier this year, has claimed more than 1,500 lives in Africa.
Source: IANS
August 29, 2014 Ebola Update: Human Trials of Ebola Vaccine to Start Next Week
The US government announced Thursday that it will start initial human trials of Ebola vaccine next week.
The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) said in a statement that the phase one clinical trial will determine if a vaccine, co-developed by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), is safe and induces an adequate immune response, Xinhua reported.
Testing will take place at the NIH's clinical center in Bethesda, Maryland state, with 20 healthy adults aged 18 to 50 years receiving an intramuscular injection of the vaccine, it said.
Parallelly, the NIH and a British consortium, including the Wellcome Trust, will test the NIAID/GSK vaccine among healthy volunteers in Britain and in the West African countries of Gambia and Mali, the agency said.
The US government is also discussing a trial of the vaccine in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country.
"There is an urgent need for a protective Ebola vaccine, and it is important to establish that a vaccine is safe and spurs the immune system to react in a way necessary to protect against infection," NIAID director Anthony Fauci said in a press release.
GSK said in a statement that the British consortium that also involved the British government has pledged some $4.6 million for the phase one trials, which are expected to be completed by the end of 2014.
According to the World Health Organisation, at least 1,552 suspected and confirmed deaths from Ebola infection have been reported in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone since the outbreak of the deadly virus was first reported in March 2014.
Source: IANS
August 28, 2014 Ebola Update: Therapy For One Ebola Strain Possible: Indian-origin Scientist
In a study that holds promise for developing new drugs against the deadly Ebola virus, a team led by Sachdev Sidhu from the University of Toronto has reported a possible therapy that could help treat patients infected with Sudan Ebola virus (SUDV).
Although not the strain currently devastating West Africa, SUDV has caused widespread illness.
During the study, the team identified an antibody directed against SUDV in mice. They began working towards making a "humanised" version of the antibody.
For this, the team put the ebola-specific part of the mouse antibody onto a human antibody scaffold and made some changes to this molecule.
"These antibodies represent strong immunotherapeutic candidates for the treatment of SUDV infection," said Sachdev Sidhu from University of Toronto.
According to Sidhu and colleagues John Dye and Jonathan Lai, about 50-90 percent of Ebola patients die after experiencing the typical symptoms of the disease, which include fever, muscle aches, vomiting and bleeding.
Of the five known ebolaviruses, the Zaire (EBOV) and SUDV strains are the most deadly and cause the most recurring outbreaks.
Many studies have focused on EBOV, the culprit of the current epidemic, but much less attention has been placed on SUDV until now, the study concluded.
The study appeared in the journal ACS Chemical Biology.
Source: IANS
August 28, 2014 Ebola Update: Congo Confirms Six Ebola Cases
Six cases of the Ebola virus have been confirmed in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Health Minister Felix Kabange Numbi said Wednesday.
A total of 42 cases have been reported since the beginning, and six cases have been confirmed in a laboratory test, Kabange told Xinhua.
"The number of deaths is still 13, including five health workers. Eleven people are in isolation, six new samples were done outside of the eight already analysed.
At least 168 people who were came in contact with the infected are identified and have been put under survilance, the minister said.
Source: IANS
August 27, 2014 Ebola Update: South Africa Safe For Visitors, Says Its Airline
South Africa is safe for all visitors planning to fly into the country, as the risk of being affected by the dreaded Ebola diseases is low, an official of its state-run airline said here Wednesday.
"With no case of Ebola virus disease reported so far, our country remains open and safe for all planning to visit," South African Airways' India manager Sajid Khan assured prospective fliers in a statement.
As South Africa does not share land border with any of the Ebola-affected countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) has listed it under a low-risk category along with India and Europe.
"Just as health, well-being and safety of our passengers and crew are of utmost priority for us, we urge all tourists not to panic and refer to our health bulletins at airports, in our aircraft and offices the world over," Khan said.
"The health department is working with WHO and the US centres for disease control and prevention to monitor the situation," Khan said.
The department has installed thermal scanners at Tambo Johannesburg airport to check inbound travellers with raised temperatures.
"The suspected travellers, when identified, are quarantined and assessed at the medical facilities in the airport itself," Khan noted.
Besides regular fumigation and disinfection of the aircraft, airport health officials have stepped up surveillance with the signs and symptoms of the virus to alert visitors.
"All foreign nationals testing positive for Ebola and all citizens of its affected nations are denied entry into South Africa," Khan added.
Source: IANS
August 27, 2014 Ebola Update: Who Workers Withdrawn From Sierra Leone's Ebola Hot Zone
The WHO Tuesday temporarily pulled back its health workers from Sierra Leone's Ebola hot zone, the Kailahun post, after one of its workers was infected with the deadly disease.
The workers were shifted to the country's capital Freetown.
"This was the responsible thing to do. The field team has been going through a traumatic time after this incident," Xinhua quoted Daniel Kertesz, a WHO representative in Sierra Leone, as saying.
"They are exhausted from many weeks of heroic work, helping patients infected with Ebola. When you add a stressor like this, the risk of accidents increases," he added.
WHO Sunday said an international health worker deployed by WHO has contracted Ebola in Sierra Leone, marked the first time someone working under the aegis of WHO has fallen ill with the disease.
Once the investigation has been completed and appropriate actions have been taken, WHO will move a team back to Kailahun, the statement said.
Source: IANS
Six Indian nationals who arrived New Delhi from Ebola-hit Liberia Tuesday morning have been sent to the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital for screening and further tests, said an official.
"Some cases of passengers with possible symptoms of Ebola have been reported and sent for further medical screening in the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital which is capable of handling the contagious disease," an official posted at the Terminal-3 (T3) of the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) told IANS.
He said that no Indian carrier has reported any passenger with suspected EVD symptoms landing at the IGI.
"These passengers are mostly travelling on international carriers from West Africa and interchanging at global hubs in Europe or Middle East before heading back to India," said the official.
Source: IANS
August 26, 2014 Ebola Update: Flight Restrictions Hamper Ebola Response: UN
The UN warned Monday that restrictions on flights to and from Ebola-hit West African countries could hamper the international community's ability to fight and reverse the current outbreak of the deadly virus disease.
"The United Nations system is focused on tackling the serious outbreak of Ebola virus disease in West Africa. However, there have been challenges with air transportation into and out of the countries affected," Xinhua quoted UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric as saying at a daily briefing.
"The current limitations on flights into and out of affected countries, and the restrictions placed on aircraft originating from these countries transiting through airports in neighbouring countries, though understandable, are not warranted."
He stressed that the measure is not an optimal measure for controlling the import of Ebola virus disease, because it "does not reflect what is known about the way in which the virus passes between people".
"Three considerations are important to keep in mind for the public at large: Ebola is not spread through air borne contact; transmission is unlikely to occur through water or food; a person infected with the Ebola virus is not contagious until symptoms appear; Ebola is spread through direct contact with the blood or body fluids of a person who is sick with the virus," Dujarric said.
According to the spokesperson, protocols can be well established to safeguard against contagion, namely, Ebola affected individuals displaying symptoms of the infection can be identified before boarding airplanes and prevented from travelling.
As an additional safeguard, detection on arrival can trigger, if necessary, protocols for isolation of the patient and infection verification, Dujarric said.
"The current trend of limitations on flights is having adverse effects on efforts to control the disease," he added. "Current flight limitations are hampering the movement of international experts involved in the control efforts."
Dujarric insisted the flight restrictions hinder the capacities of aid organisations to deploy their personnel in support of the crisis response and mitigation.
"The ability of programmes involved in controlling the outbreak to transport essential equipment and materials to the region is also being severely hampered," he said. "The flight limitations contribute to the economic and diplomatic isolation of the affected countries and further compound the stigmatisation already experienced by their citizens."
Dujarric went on to say that the World Health Organisation (WHO) is always available to provide necessary advice on health aspects of international travel and to assist nations with establishing reliable health checks at borders.
According to the WHO, there have been 2,615 cases and 1,427 deaths reported in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria so far. The United Nations System Coordinator for Ebola, David Nabarro, is now in Guinea, after having visited Liberia and Sierra Leone.
The UN condemns travel bans on affected areas, but several countries including Gabon, Senegal, Cameroon, South Africa and Rwanda have defied the call and ordered travel bans to the affected countries.
Source: IANS
August 25, 2014 Ebola Update: Liberian Doctor Dies Of Ebola Despite Trial Drug
The Liberian government Monday announced that the nation's Deputy Chief Medical Doctor Abraham Borbor, who was recently injected with the anti-Ebola trial drug, ZMAPP, has died.
Minister of Information Lewis Brown disclosed this to reporters in Monrovia, the West African country's capital city, although the late doctor was able to walk around Sunday and his doctors were hopeful that he would make a full recovery, Xinhua reported.
Meanwhile, another doctor, Phillip Zokonis Ireland, who was in isolation along with Borbor, was discharged last week after he tested negative.
Updating on progress by government on Ebola virus disease sensitisation, Brown said community residents are now actively involved and the dissemination of Ebola messages is encouraging.
The minister added that the government has conducted a two-day awareness workshop in various communities to determine the response of citizens indicating that the people are now better positioned in the fight to prevent spread of the virus.
Brown told reporters that four protestors involved in the recent disturbances at the West Point Township quarantined site have tested positive to the Ebola virus disease.
Minister Brown said the government has set up a team to conduct investigation into the skirmishes in West Point after the areas were quarantined last week that led to the death of one person and injuries to several others.
Brown said Vice President Joseph Boakai would visit another quarantined Ebola isolation centre in Dolo town while President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf would visit the West Point quarantined Ebola centre.
Source: IANS
August 24, 2014 Ebola Update: Ebola Affected Health Workers To Receive 'Best Care' : WHO
The World Health Organisation (WHO) Sunday said it will ensure its Ebola-affected health workers in Sierra Leone receive the best care possible, including the option of medical evacuation to another care facility if necessary.
Since the beginning of the international response to the outbreak in March, WHO has deployed nearly 400 people from across the organisation and from partners in the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network to help respond to the disease in four west African countries, Xinhua reported.
According to WHO, the Ebola virus is spread through contact with bodily fluids and people giving care or working around infected patients are known to be a high-risk group.
Earlier in the day, Britain evacuated its national, who contracted the Ebola virus in Sierra Leone, by flying him back to Britain on a Royal Air Force jet.
The unidentified patient, who worked as a healthcare worker, had tested positive for Ebola virus infection last week.
Last week, as many as 113 new cases of Ebola virus disease as well as 84 deaths were reported from Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, the WHO said.
The toll in Guinea, where the epidemic started, is 406, while in Sierra Leone, 392 have succumbed to the haemorrhagic fever. Nigeria has witnessed five deaths so far.
An outbreak of Ebola virus disease began in Guinea in December 2013, leading to an epidemic in West Africa after it spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.
Source: IANS
August 23, 2014 Ebola Update: Most Americans Lack Knowledge About Ebola: Poll
Most Americans are not fully aware about the deadly disease Ebola, says a poll conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH).
Nearly 39 percent adult Americans believe that there will be a large outbreak in the US and 26 percent are concerned that someone in their family may get sick with Ebola over the next year.
The poll found that people with less education are more likely to be concerned about an outbreak in the US.
"Those with less education are also less likely to be following the news about the Ebola outbreak in West Africa closely," said the findings.
A third of the people who participated in the poll believe there is "an effective medicine to treat people who have gotten sick with Ebola".
"Many people are concerned about a large scale outbreak of Ebola occurring in the US," said Gillian SteelFisher from Harvard School of Public Health.
Ebola is not an airborne illness and is transmitted through direct contact with infected bodily fluids, infected objects or infected animals.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), there is no proven anti-viral medicine to counter Ebola. However, treating symptoms - such as maintaining fluids, oxygen levels, and blood pressure - can increase the odds of survival.
Source: IANS
August 23, 2014 Ebola Update: Who To Unveil Response Plan For Ebola
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said it will unveil a response plan to deal with the current Ebola virus outbreak in west Africa.
"The WHO has announced that it is working on a six to nine-month plan against Ebola, an operational document that will detail the strategy against the virus," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Friday.
"That plan should be presented early next week," Xinhua quoted Dujarric as saying.
Meanwhile, UN system coordinator for Ebola, David Nabarro is wrapping up his visit to Monrovia and Liberia following a press conference on the matter.
"In light of the recent decision by several countries to close their borders to people travelling from Ebola-affected countries, the WHO reiterates that it does not recommend any ban on international travel or trade," Dujarric said.
Dujarric also quoted the WHO as saying that closing borders does not work and is detrimental, as affected countries will be pushed towards a humanitarian crisis and the international community's ability to fight and reverse the Ebola outbreak will be hampered.
"The WHO and its partners also continue to highlight that the virus is not airborne and that becoming infected requires direct physical contact with body fluids of people who have been infected or died from Ebola," Dujarric added.
Ebola spreads through body fluids and has killed over 1,300 people in west African countries this year.
Source: IANS
August 22, 2014 Ebola Update: Gambia on high alert for Ebola outbreak
Gambia's ministry of health and social welfare said Thursday that it is on high alert for a possible Ebola outbreak in the country and are taking preventive measures to tackle the disease.
Modou Njai, director of health promotion and education at the ministry, said that so far there has been no confirmed case of the Ebola virus disease in Gambia, Xinhua reported.
"Currently there are public health officials stationed at all the border entry points, including at the airport and seaport and we are also increasing our surveillance teams countrywide to ensure that those going in and out are properly checked for Ebola virus," Njai said.
According to Njia, 210 technical advisory committee members, 350 Red Cross volunteers, 75 local government authorities, 75 cluster monitors, 25 health journalists have been sensitised, including 36 representatives of youth groups who has been sent to various settlements in the country to sensitise people about the disease.
The preventive measures taken by the Gambia's public health officials include reading passengers' temperature and asking about their travel history. The public health officials are also in touch with regional health management teams posted in various regions, Njia added.
Gambia's regional management teams coordinate and supervise surveillance teams posted to various locations in the country.
According to the World Health Organisation, the death toll due to the Ebola virus continues to rise in West Africa and currently stands at 1,350.
Source: IANS
August 21, 2014 Ebola Update: Ebola spread in Nigeria under control: Minister
Nigeria has been successful in its efforts to control the spread of Ebola disease, a minister said.
Nigerian Minister of Health Onyeabuchi Chukwu Wednesday said that only two people have been infected with the virus in Nigeria at present, Xinhua reported.
He said the Nigerian government was being praised by various international organisations and the US government on the ways the outbreak of the virus was being handled.
Chukwu said the federal government was contemplating honouring all victims of the Ebola virus, particularly the medical personnel who died as a result of the disease.
He said the government was in touch with the family of the doctor who died Tuesday.
At least 177 people are under surveillance in Nigeria, Chukwu said.
Earlier this month, Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan declared a national emergency, saying a sum of 1.9 billion naira ($11.6 million) would be released to prevent further spread of the epidemic.
Ebola spreads through body fluids and has killed over 1,200 people in West African countries.
According to the UN, number of Ebola cases in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, has reached 2,240 and a total of 1,229 deaths were registered.
An outbreak of Ebola virus disease began in Guinea in December 2013, leading to an epidemic in West Africa after it spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.
Ebola is a highly infectious disease spread through body contact with an infected person. Its symptoms are high fever, bleeding, diarrhoea and red eyes among others.
August 21, 2014 Ebola Update: Sports meet in Kenya cancelled over Ebola fears
The International Netball Federation (INF) cancelled an international meeting in Nairobi owing to deadly Ebola virus attack that has visited parts of Africa, Xinhua reported Wednesday.
Kenya Netball Federation Secretary Lilian Anupi said Wednesday the INF has revoked sending its instructors to Africa with the main reason being the scare that the deadly virus has elicited around the world.
The meeting was scheduled to take place between Aug 25 and Sept 1. The course would have drawn over 100 participants from the east African countries of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
Even though the disease has been mainly confined in the three West African countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, the World Health Organisation has described Kenya as a high risk area owing to its capital city of Nairobi being a major air transit hub.
So far, Kenya has shut its borders to citizens from the epicentre of the disease that has so far claimed over 1,000 lives.
August 20, 2014 Ebola Update: 2,240 Ebola cases in West Africa:UN
The number of Ebola cases in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, has reached 2,240 and a total of 1,229 deaths were also registered, UN spokesman Steaphane Dujarric said here Tuesday.
"WHO is working with the World Food Programme (WFP) to ensure that people in the quarantine zone receive regular food aid and other non-medical supplies," Xinhua uoted Dujarric as saying at a daily news briefing here.
He gave the lates statistics quoting information from the World Health Organisation (WHO).
"Food has been delivered to hospitalized patients and people under quarantine who are not able to leave their homes to purchase food," he added.
"Governments have set up quarantine zones in areas of high transmission including severely-affected cities such as Gueckedou in Guinea, Kenema and Kailahun in Sierra Leone and Foya in Liberia," he added.
On Aug 14-16, a total of 113 new cases of Ebola virus disease as well as 84 deaths were reported from Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, WHO said.
An outbreak of Ebola virus disease began in Guinea in December 2013, leading to an epidemic in West Africa after it spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.
Ebola virus disease update - West Africa: 19 August 2014
Between 14 and 16 August 2014, a total of 113 new cases of Ebola virus disease (laboratory-confirmed, probable, and suspect cases) as well as 84 deaths were reported from Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone.
- Liberia has imposed a night-time curfew from 21:00 local time to 06:00 (21:00-06:00 GMT) and all movement would be blocked in and out of the West Point area.
- The suspected Ebola patients who went missing after a raid in a health centre in Monrovia, Liberia have been found. They are at the newly expanded treatment center opened at John F Kennedy Memorial Medical Center in the capital, Monrovia.
- There has been improvement in the health of one Nigerian and two Liberian doctors after receiving the experimental drug ZMapp.
- Governments have set up quarantine zones in areas of high transmission including cities which are severely affected such as Gueckedou in Guinea, Kenema and Kailahun in Sierra Leone and Foya in Liberia.
- United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is working on distributing food to around 1 million people living in the quarantine zones in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
- Around 60 CDC staff deployed in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone are assisting with various response efforts, including surveillance, contact tracing, database management, and health education.
Confirmed, probable, and suspect cases and deaths from Ebola virus disease in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone, as of 16 August 2014
New (1) | Confirmed | Probable | Suspect | Totals | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Guinea | |||||
Cases | 24 | 396 | 140 | 7 | 543 |
Deaths | 14 | 252 | 140 | 2 | 394 |
Liberia | |||||
Cases | 48 | 200 | 444 | 190 | 834 |
Deaths | 53 | 178 | 202 | 86 | 466 |
Nigeria | |||||
Cases | 3 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 15 |
Deaths | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Sierra Leone | |||||
Cases | 38 | 775 | 34 | 39 | 848 |
Deaths | 17 | 326 | 34 | 5 | 365 |
Totals | |||||
Cases | 113 | 1383 | 618 | 239 | 2240 |
Deaths | 84 | 760 | 376 | 93 | 1229 |
1. New cases were reported between 14 and 16 August 2014. |
WHO Is urging countries affected by Ebola to "conduct exit screening at international airports, seaports and land crossings." WHO also said, "There should be no international travel of Ebola contacts or cases, unless the travel is part of an appropriate medical evacuation."
Liberia confirms missing of 17 suspected Ebola patients after a health centre was attacked in the capital Monrovia.
Cameroon has closed its land, sea and air borders with Nigeria UAE's national airline has disinfected one of its planes after a Nigerian woman who may be an Ebola suspect victim died after the flight to Abu Dhabi.
"Mexico City International Airport is ready to deal with any possible cases of Ebola," officials have said.
“Ebola Virus being used as a bait to spread Malware” as said by Symantec. Cyber criminals are using phishing emails that talk about the latest headlines in order to attack PCs. If PCs are not adequately protected, they can become victims to harmful malware, whenever a user opens such mails.
Ebola Updates: 18 August 2014
- Violence occurred in the West Point slum late Saturday as a quarantine centre in the Liberian capital Monrovia was attacked and looted by local residents. Around 30 patients were staying at the center & many of them fled at the time of the raid. Residents looted items from the clinic that were likely to be infected. This has led to Liberian officials fearing the spread of Ebola in the capital’s largest slum.
- Doctors Without Borders have opened another treatment unit in the Monrovia, Liberia after the overwhelming number of patients and attack that has been occurring in the capital.
- Kenya Shuts Borders To Ebola-Hit West African Countries.
- Government of Japan has extended an emergency grant aid of 1.5M US$ through WHO, UNICEF and the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) to support the Ebola outbreak response in affected countries. United Kingdom has approved support for the Ebola Response plan valued at 8.3 Million United States Dollars (US$8.3M).
- A Nigerian national has been kept under observation at a hospital in New Delhi, India after his blood test for Ebola virus was stated to be inconclusive.
- A Nigerian woman travelling to India for cancer treatment has died in UAE after showing symptoms of the deadly Ebola virus.
- A South African man has been admitted to Johannesburg Academic Hospital hospital for Ebola tests.
- 3 people who have landed from Nigeria have been admitted to Ram Manohar Lohia hospital for screening of Ebola virus.
The figures are the same as there has been no new statement from agencies regarding statistical updates.
Ebola toll hits 1,229: WHO:
The outbreak of the Ebola virus disease in West Africa has caused 1,229 deaths and has affected 2,240 people so far this year, according to new figures released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) Tuesday.
The UN health organisation said that between last Thursday and Saturday there were 84 more deaths and 113 new infections in the four countries affected by the epidemic - Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.
The outbreak began in Guinea in the first quarter of 2014 and rapidly spread to neighbouring countries like Liberia, where the escape two days ago of patients with Ebola from a Monrovia quarantine centre, which was attacked, has raised new fears of contagion.
Health officials in Liberia have expressed concern about the rapid pace of the epidemic in the three days running between last Thursday and Saturday, in which 53 more deaths and 48 new cases were reported.
Liberia is already the worst-hit country with 466 deaths and 834 infections, while in Guinea there have been 394 deaths and 543 cases.
In Sierra Leone, the cases jumped to 848 with 365 deaths, while Nigeria, where the virus seems to have been contained, has registered 15 cases and four deaths.
Ebola Virus Disease Update - West Africa: 16 August 2014
Between 12 and 13 August 2014, a total of 152 new cases of Ebola virus disease (laboratory-confirmed, probable, and suspect cases) as well as 76 deaths were reported from Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.
Dr Isabelle Nuttall, speaking on behalf of WHO, gave the statement, "Air travel, even from Ebola-affected countries, is low-risk for Ebola transmission".
On 13 August, Heads of Global Information Systems (GIS) for WHO, UN agencies, intergovernmental agencies, and partners met to continue mapping the EVD crisis and create an interagency common operations picture. This will help the organizations to respond better with personnel and materials in the affected areas.
WHO spokesperson Gregory Hartl said "we have seen with the opening of new treatment centres, many more Ebola patients come forward, and so this has given rise to the belief that there are probably a lot of patients out there that we haven't traced or contacted yet".
UN World Food Programme declared Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone a level 3 food emergency. It announced it is planning on providing food assistance to 1 million people living in quarantine zones at the borders between Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
Guinea shuts borders with Sierra Leone, Liberia in bid to halt Ebola
Athletes from affected areas will not be allowed to compete in combat sports or in the pool in Youth Olympic Games, Nanjing, China.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) pledges $60 million in grants to fight the Ebola epidemic in West Africa
Officials from Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia have implemented a "cordon sanitaire" / sanitary barrier – a cross-border isolation zone designed to contain people with the highest infection risk.
Pharmaceutical companies are rushing to test drugs that could treat and prevent the infection by the EVD.
Medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) says that outbreak of Ebola in West Africa will take at least six months to bring under control.
Nigerian President has fired doctors for being on strike during the medical emergency.
Confirmed, probable, and suspect cases and deaths from Ebola virus disease in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone, as of 13 August 2014
New (1) | Confirmed | Probable | Suspect | Totals | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Guinea | |||||
Cases | 9 | 376 | 133 | 10 | 519 |
Deaths | 3 | 245 | 133 | 2 | 380 |
Liberia | |||||
Cases | 116 | 190 | 423 | 173 | 786 |
Deaths | 58 | 154 | 190 | 69 | 413 |
Nigeria | |||||
Cases | 0 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 12 |
Deaths | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Sierra Leone | |||||
Cases | 27 | 733 | 38 | 39 | 810 |
Deaths | 14 | 309 | 34 | 5 | 348 |
Totals | |||||
Cases | 152 | 1310 | 594 | 223 | 2127 |
Deaths | 76 | 712 | 357 | 76 | 1145 |
(1) New cases were reported between 1 and 13 August 2014. |
Ebola virus disease update - West Africa: 13 August 2014
Between 10 and 11 August 2014, a total of 128 new cases of Ebola virus disease (laboratory-confirmed, probable, and suspect cases) as well as 56 deaths were reported from Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone.
TOTAL CASES: Updated: August 13, 2014
Suspected and Confirmed Case: 1975
Suspected Case Deaths: 1069
Laboratory Confirmed Cases: 1251
The outcome of the 11th August WHO panel discussion:
- The panel reached consensus that it is ethical to offer unproven interventions with as yet unknown efficacy and adverse effects, as potential treatment or prevention.
- Ethical criteria must guide the provision of such interventions. These include transparency about all aspects of care, informed consent, freedom of choice, confidentiality, and respect for the person, preservation of dignity and involvement of the community.
- World Health Organization (WHO) has classified Kenya as a "high-risk" country for the spread of the deadly Ebola virus, because of its direct flight with West Africa.
- Canada offers experimental Ebola vaccine VSV-EBOV to West Africa:
- Ebola has claimed its first victim on European soil with the death of the Spanish missionary priest Father Miguel Pajares, aged 75.
- Guinea declares emergency over Ebola.
- India has asked to return the passports of the 4 Indian doctors in Nigeria who claim to have been forced to stay on in the Ebola-hit country.
- Germany has ordered all its citizens, except health workers, to leave Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, the three states where the outbreak has been the deadliest.
- Ghana has delayed the opening of universities and colleges by at least two weeks to put in place measures to screen students arriving from Ebola-hit countries.
- The African Union has pledged $1m (£600,000) to help fight the disease.
New (1) | Confirmed | Probable | Suspect | Totals | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Guinea | |||||
Cases | 4 | 369 | 133 | 8 | 510 |
Deaths | 4 | 242 | 133 | 2 | 377 |
Liberia | |||||
Cases | 71 | 166 | 358 | 146 | 670 |
Deaths | 32 | 149 | 153 | 53 | 355 |
Nigeria | |||||
Cases | 0 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 12 |
Deaths | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
Sierra Leone | |||||
Cases | 53 | 706 | 38 | 39 | 783 |
Deaths | 19 | 295 | 34 | 5 | 334 |
Totals | |||||
Cases | 128 | 1,251 | 529 | 195 | 1,975 |
Deaths | 56 | 686 | 323 | 60 | 1,069 |
(1) New cases were reported between 10 and 11 August 2014. |
Ebola virus disease, West Africa – Update 11 August 2014:
Between 7 and 9 August 2014, a total of 69 new cases of Ebola virus disease (laboratory-confirmed, probable, and suspect cases) as well as 52 deaths were reported from Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone.
- West African Ebola outbreak death toll reaches 1,013
- Liberia will receive an untested experimental drug, Zmapp, to treat people infected with Ebola, the Liberian government says.
- Emirates have become the first major international airline to suspend flights from Guinea, followed by pan-African airline ASKY. British Airways stopped its flights to Sierra Leone and Liberia.
- Ebola suspect in Maharashtra is being treated in an isolated ward. He was suffering from vomiting soon after returning from Nigeria and his samples have been sent for testing to the National Institute of Virology in Pune as communicated by Maharashtra Health Minister Suresh Shetty
- On 11 August, WHO convened a panel of medical ethicists, scientific experts, and lay people from the affected countries to assess the role of experimental therapies in the Ebola outbreak response.
Two issues were considered:
- Is it ethical to use unregistered interventions with unknown adverse effects for possible treatment or prophylaxis? If it is, what criteria and conditions need to be satisfied before they can be used ? And
- If it is ethical to use these unregistered interventions in the current circumstances, then what criteria should guide the choice of an intervention and who should receive priority for treatment or prevention ?
Confirmed, probable, and suspect cases and deaths from Ebola virus disease in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone, as of 9 August 2014
New 1 | Confirmed | Probable | Suspect | Totals (by Country) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Guinea | |||||
Cases | 11 | 362 | 133 | 11 | 506 |
Deaths | 6 | 238 | 133 | 2 | 373 |
Liberia | |||||
Cases | 45 | 158 | 306 | 135 | 599 |
Deaths | 29 | 146 | 125 | 52 | 323 |
Nigeria | |||||
Cases | 0 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 13 |
Deaths | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Sierra Leone | |||||
Cases | 13 | 656 | 37 | 37 | 730 |
Deaths | 17 | 276 | 34 | 5 | 315 |
Totals | |||||
Cases | 69 | 1176 | 486 | 186 | 1848 |
Deaths | 52 | 660 | 294 | 59 | 1013 |
1. New cases were reported between 7 and 9 August 2014. |
EBOLA UPDATES : August 09, 2014
Between 5 and 6 August 2014, a total of 68 new cases of Ebola virus disease (laboratory-confirmed, probable, and suspect cases) as well as 29 deaths were reported from Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone.
- WHO Declares Ebola Virus Outbreak Public Health Emergency
- Dr. Kent Brantly, being treated for Ebola, said in a statement that he is 'growing stronger'.
- India sets up 24-hour Ebola emergency helpline
- Airports on India put on high alert after WHO emergency.
Updated Aug 8th, 2014
Suspected and Confirmed Case Count: 1779
Suspected Case Deaths: 961
Laboratory Confirmed Cases: 1134
Confirmed, probable, and suspect cases and deaths from Ebola virus disease in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone, as of 6 August 2014
New (1) | Confirmed | Probable | Suspect | Totals | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Guinea | |||||
Cases | 0 | 355 | 133 | 7 | 495 |
Deaths | 4 | 231 | 133 | 3 | 367 |
Liberia | |||||
Cases | 38 | 148 | 274 | 132 | 554 |
Deaths | 12 | 132 | 117 | 45 | 294 |
Nigeria | |||||
Cases | 4 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 13 |
Deaths | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Sierra Leone | |||||
Cases | 26 | 631 | 38 | 48 | 717 |
Deaths | 12 | 259 | 34 | 5 | 298 |
Totals | |||||
Cases | 68 | 1 134 | 452 | 193 | 1 779 |
Deaths | 29 | 622 | 286 | 53 | 961 |
1. New cases were reported between 5 and 6 August 2014. |
August 07, 2014 Ebola Update
- Nigeria’s Health Minister says Ebola is now a national emergency as fears rise that the virus is spreading in Africa's most populous country.
- The World Health Organization is beginning a two day emergency meeting in Geneva to discuss new measures to tackle the Ebola virus.
- A Nigerian nurse who had treated the country's first fatality from Ebola two weeks ago has died from the virus.
- A Saudi man who was being treated for Ebola-like symptoms has died at a hospital in Jeddah, as said by the Saudi Ministry of Health.
- Spain's Defence Ministry said Wednesday a medically equipped Airbus 310 is ready to fly to Liberia to repatriate Miguel Pajares, a Spanish missionary priest who has tested positive for the Ebola virus.
- Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has declared a state of emergency for 90 days because of the deadly outbreak
- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued its highest-level alert for Ebola
- India to screen, track passengers from west African countries
- Screening teams have been deployed at Terminal One and Terminal Two of the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) and also at Tawau Airport of Malaysia. Between 2 and 4 August 2014, a total of 108 new cases of Ebola virus disease (laboratory-confirmed, probable, and suspect cases) as well as 45 deaths were reported from Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone.
- Suspected and Confirmed Case Count: 1711
- Suspected Case Deaths: 932
- Laboratory Confirmed Cases:1070
- A second patient with Ebola has arrived in US for treatment.
- Doctors in Saudi Arabia are testing a patient suspected of having contracted Ebola, tests results will be out today.
- In Nigeria, which recorded its first death from Ebola in late July, authorities in Lagos said eight people who came in contact with the deceased US citizen Patrick Sawyer were showing signs of the deadly disease.
- British Airways has suspended flights to and from Liberia and Sierra Leone until the end of August amid concerns over the Ebola outbreak.
- World Bank pledges $200m to contain Ebola.
- 50 US healthcare workers will fly to Guinea, Liberia & Nigeria to fight Ebola.
- Ebola death toll jumps to 887 in West Africa.
INDIA:
A total of 44,700 Indians are living in different countries affected by Ebola. Of this, 300 are CRPF personnel deployed in Liberia for UN peacekeeping operations.
500 in the Republic of Guinea,
3,000 in Liberia and
1,200 in Sierra Leone, from where the maximum cases have been reported.
Nearly 40,000 Indian citizens in Nigeria.
TOTAL CASES:
Updated: August 6th, 2014:
August 06, 2014 Ebola update
TOTAL CASES:
Updated as on August 4th:
Suspected and Confirmed Case Count: 1603
Suspected Case Deaths: 887
Laboratory Confirmed Cases: 1009
August 4th Ebola Update
Total Number of new cases of EVD reported between 31 July and 1 August 2014,= 163
Deaths reported between 31 July and 1 August 2014 = 61
Deaths reported from Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone.
National authorities in Ghana, Nigeria, and Togo continue to work closely with WHO and its partners in identification of contacts and contact tracing as well as in preparing response plans as a result of the recent visit by and death of a Liberian national to Nigeria from EVD and the new Nigerian EVD probable case, who travelled to Guinea.
New | Confirmed | Probable | Suspect | Totals | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Guinea | |||||
Cases | 13 | 340 | 133 | 12 | 485 |
Deaths | 12 | 223 | 133 | 2 | 358 |
Liberia | |||||
Cases | 77 | 129 | 234 | 105 | 468 |
Deaths | 28 | 117 | 97 | 41 | 255 |
Nigeria | |||||
Cases | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
Deaths | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Sierra Leone | |||||
Cases | 72 | 540 | 46 | 60 | 646 |
Deaths | 21 | 234 | 34 | 5 | 273 |
Totals | |||||
Cases | 163 | 1,009 | 416 | 178 | 1 603 |
Deaths | 61 | 574 | 265 | 48 | 887 |
For more information visit Recent Epidemic Outbreaks.
Last Updated on: October 4th, 2021