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Ebola crisis: Sierra Leone orphanage quarantined

Mon, 2015-02-23 17:29 — mike kraft

BBC by Umaru Fofana Feb. 23, 2015

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone --An orphanage run by a UK charity in Sierra Leone has been quarantined after one of its local staff was diagnosed with the deadly Ebola virus.

Augustine Baker is said to be in a stable condition at a local treatment centre after becoming ill last week....

St George Foundation orphanage co-founder Philip Dean told the BBC that 33 children and seven staff were now in isolation.

The BBC's Umaru Fofana in the capital, Freetown, says that the quarantine at the St George Foundation orphanage is self-imposed, and is expected to last for three weeks.

Read complete story.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-31587180

St George Foundation has helped about 200 children orphaned by Ebola.

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Funding to Fight Ebola: Not Too Little, but Definitely Too Late

Mon, 2015-02-23 15:39 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Center for Global Development - cgdev.org -by Karen A. Grépin and Amanda Glassman - February 4, 2015

. . . In a new paper out today in the BMJ, Karen investigated the level and speed of the international response to the Ebola outbreak and contrasted it with the appeals made by international leaders to curb the spread of the disease. Contrary to widespread belief, Karen finds that, overall, the level of donations to the response were actually robust: as of December 31st, 2,104 donors had pledged almost $3 billion towards controlling the epidemic. Notably, this is actually larger than the official appeals for upwards of $1.5 billion. In addition, the data used underestimate total donations, in particular those given by the World Bank, which mobilized at least $1 billion in financing to help support affected countries.

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Liberia: Ebola Threat - S.D. Cooper Hospital Closed - 30 Quarantined

Fri, 2015-02-20 17:38 — Kathy Gilbeaux

submitted by Gavin Macgregor-Skinner

S.D.A. Cooper Hospital in Sinkor - Monrovia, Liberia

allafrica.com - by Bettie Johnson - February 20, 2015

Monrovia — At one of Liberia's private hospitals, more than 30 persons are said to be quarantined after authorities say a woman who knew she had Ebola deliberately tried to infect the staff of the S.D. Cooper Hospital in Sinkor. Madam Amanda Blah who died early this month disguised herself and went to over three health facilities including Mawah, JFK and S.D. Cooper.

The death of Blah followed when her cousin named Steve Yadolo who died from the virus in the Bong Mines bridge community, but infected three persons, including Blah, his sister Marlene Yadolo, and brother Elijah Yadolo who are presently at an ETU in the country.

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(ALSO SEE SAME ARTICLE HERE)

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Ebola Transmission Through Cough Possible, But Not Likely: Experts

Thu, 2015-02-19 19:45 — mike kraft

HEALTHDAY NEWS by Dennis Thompson Feb. 19, 2015

The cough of very sick Ebola patients could be as dangerous as their vomit or diarrhea to those around them, a new report suggests.

However, the same experts also cautioned that this does not mean that the deadly virus could spread quickly through the air, as illnesses like measles or flu do.

The report "shouldn't be something that alarms the public into believing that Ebola could become airborne in the way that measles is," said Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior associate at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's Center for Health Security.

"This paper doesn't say that," said Adalja, who was not involved in the study.

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http://www.philly.com/philly/health/topics/HealthDay696675_20150219_Ebola_Transmission_Through_Cough_Possible__But_Not_Likely__Experts.html

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Unsafe burials increase in Ebola-hit countries: WHO

Thu, 2015-02-19 09:49 — mike kraft

AFP Feb. 19, 2015

Geneva - Ebola-hit Sierre Leone and Guinea saw an increase in the last week in unsafe burials that risk spreading the disease, the World Health Organization reported.

A specialized team bury the body of an Ebola victim in Mananeh, Sierra Leone on October 6, 2014 (AFP Photo/Florian Plaucheur)

In Guinea, there were 39 unsafe burials and in Sierre Leone, there were 45 reported in the week to February 15, WHO said in a report late Wednesday.

WHO also warned that more than 40 new confirmed Ebola cases in the two countries had been identified only after the infected people had died in their communities, and not in treatment facilities.

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http://news.yahoo.com/unsafe-burials-increase-ebola-hit-countries-112025290.html;_ylt=AwrBJR8Y8.VU8EYAzAfQtDMD
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Researchers face big hurdles in testing Ebola vaccines

Tue, 2015-02-17 14:24 — mike kraft

USA TODAY by Liz Sazbo Feb. 17, 2015
The unpredictable Ebola outbreak in West Africa is thwarting health officials' best efforts both to contain the epidemic, as well as test new treatments and vaccines.

Biologist Olivier Mbaya works with serum samples from healthy volunteer participants in a European study of an experimental Ebola vaccine,, at the Vaccine Research Center at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015. (Photo: Cliff Owen, AP)

The number of new Ebola cases has risen sharply in the West African nation of Guinea, for example, even as researchers wonder if there will be enough patients in neighboring Liberia to test experimental vaccines.

Just a few weeks ago, the number of new Ebola cases was falling in all three West African countries....

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Scientists warn against complacency on Ebola vaccines

Tue, 2015-02-17 10:19 — mike kraft

AFP Feb. 17, 2015

London-- A team of leading international scientists on Tuesday called for new Ebola vaccines to be made available in months rather than years and warned against complacency after a reduction in infection rates.

(Scroll down for link to complete report.)

"Despite falling infection rates in west Africa, the risk that the current Ebola outbreak may not be brought completely under control remains," said Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust, Britain's biggest medical charity.

"The accelerated development of candidate vaccines... is essential," said Farrar, who co-chairs a group of 26 international experts on vaccine development.

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http://news.yahoo.com/scientists-warn-against-complacency-ebola-vaccines-004937305.html;_ylt=AwrBEiHDVuNUhDcAfsPQtDMD

Recommendations for Accelerating the Development of Ebola Vaccines: Report & Analysis

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Ebola virus evolution tracked by genetic data

Sun, 2015-02-15 16:31 — mike kraft

SCIENCE NEWS by Ashley Yaeger Feb. 14, 2015
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Genetic data are beginning to reveal how the Ebola virus causing the epidemic in Western Africa is evolving.

LITTLE TWEAKS A detailed look at genomes of the Ebola virus has pinpointed mutations that may make one type of experimental therapy less effective. Cynthia Goldsmith/CDC

Scientists have deciphered the entire catalog of genetic data for 96 Ebola viruses taken from patients infected in 2014 during the first four months of the outbreak.

The results show that one particular clade, or type of the virus, is dominant among patients in Sierra Leone, suggesting that two other clades that dominated early on in the outbreak have died out.

This third clade appears to have evolved starting with a single mutation in the genetic catalog, or genome, of the virus, said Stephen Gire of Harvard University and the Broad Institute in Cambridge, Mass. He presented the preliminary findings February 14 at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

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Sierra Leone Loses Track of Millions in Ebola Funds

Sun, 2015-02-15 09:39 — mike kraft

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Dec. 14, 2015

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone — A report by Sierra Leone’s national auditor says government ministers lost track of more than $3 million in internal emergency funds to fight the Ebola virus, impairing the response to the disease.

There is no paperwork to support payments of 14 billion leones, or $3.3 million, from government Ebola accounts, while $2.5 million in disbursements had incomplete documentation, the country’s auditor general, Lara Taylor-Pearce, said in the report.

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Crowds attack Ebola facility, health workers in Guinea

Sat, 2015-02-14 16:05 — mike kraft

REUTERS by Saliou Samb Feb. 14, 2014

CONAKRY - Crowds destroyed an Ebola facility and attacked health workers in central Guinea on rumors that the Red Cross was planning to disinfect a school, a government spokesman said on Saturday.

Red Cross teams in Guinea have been attacked on average 10 times a month over the past year, the organization said this week, warning that the violence was hampering efforts to contain the disease.

During the incident on Friday in the town of Faranah, around 400 km (250 miles) east of the capital Conakry, angry residents attacked an Ebola transit center and set ablaze a vehicle belonging to medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres.

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http://news.yahoo.com/crowds-attack-ebola-facility-health-workers-guinea-122555830.html;_ylt=AwrBEiRwrd9UVDYAdIHQtDMD

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