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West Africa Ebola Outbreak [11,313 dead]
- Thread starter LazyLion
- Start date
Entire passages are overgrown in a matter of days even a week. Central Africa has one of the densest jungles in the world. If the inhabitants can not succeed in deforesting that jungle for firewood, then no one can!
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
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- Mar 17, 2005
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'GRAVE CONCERNS' OVER FOOD SHORTAGES IN EBOLA-HIT NATIONS: UN
Labour shortages and disrupted cross-border trade caused by the deadly Ebola outbreak have sparked "grave food security concerns" in the worst-hit countries, the United Nations said on Tuesday.
Restrictions on movement in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone has led to panic buying, food shortages and severe price hikes, especially in towns and cities, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization said.
"Access to food has become a pressing concern for many people in the three affected countries and their neighbours," said Bukar Tijani, FAO Regional Representative for Africa.
"With the main harvest now at risk and trade and movements of goods severely restricted, food insecurity is poised to intensify in the weeks and months to come.
"The situation will have long-lasting impacts on farmers' livelihoods and rural economies."
The Ebola outbreak has killed 1,552 people and infected 3,062, according to the latest figures released by the World Health Organization (WHO).
At current infection rates, the WHO fears it could take six to nine months and at least $490 million (373 million euros) to bring under control, by which time over 20,000 people could be affected.
Quarantine zones imposed in the epicentre of the outbreak straddling the three countries will lead to food shortages for "large numbers" of people, the FAO said, with the main harvest season for rice and maize just weeks away.
Production of cash crops like palm oil, cocoa and rubber is also expected to be seriously affected, throwing people further into poverty.
Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone rely heavily on imports for cereals and other commodities.
The closure of border crossings where the three countries meet, as well as reduced trade at seaports, is strangling supply and sending prices soaring, the FAO said.
In Liberia, which has been hardest-hit by the outbreak with 694 deaths, the government has denied permission for any crew to disembark from ships docking at any of the country's four ports.
In the Redlight Market, in the capital Monrovia, the price of cassava went up 150 percent within the first weeks of August, the FAO said.
"Even prior to the Ebola outbreak, households in some of the affected areas were spending up to 80 percent of their incomes on food," said Vincent Martin, Head of FAO's Resilience Hub in Dakar, Senegal.
"Now these latest price spikes are effectively putting food completely out of their reach. This situation may have social repercussions that could lead to subsequent impact on the disease containment."
The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) has launched a regional emergency operation to get 65,000 tonnes of food to 1.3 million people in the worst-hit areas.
"Preventing further loss of human life and stopping the spread of the virus remain the top priorities at this time," the FAO said.
Source : Sapa-AFP /aw
Date : 02 Sep 2014 12:12
Labour shortages and disrupted cross-border trade caused by the deadly Ebola outbreak have sparked "grave food security concerns" in the worst-hit countries, the United Nations said on Tuesday.
Restrictions on movement in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone has led to panic buying, food shortages and severe price hikes, especially in towns and cities, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization said.
"Access to food has become a pressing concern for many people in the three affected countries and their neighbours," said Bukar Tijani, FAO Regional Representative for Africa.
"With the main harvest now at risk and trade and movements of goods severely restricted, food insecurity is poised to intensify in the weeks and months to come.
"The situation will have long-lasting impacts on farmers' livelihoods and rural economies."
The Ebola outbreak has killed 1,552 people and infected 3,062, according to the latest figures released by the World Health Organization (WHO).
At current infection rates, the WHO fears it could take six to nine months and at least $490 million (373 million euros) to bring under control, by which time over 20,000 people could be affected.
Quarantine zones imposed in the epicentre of the outbreak straddling the three countries will lead to food shortages for "large numbers" of people, the FAO said, with the main harvest season for rice and maize just weeks away.
Production of cash crops like palm oil, cocoa and rubber is also expected to be seriously affected, throwing people further into poverty.
Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone rely heavily on imports for cereals and other commodities.
The closure of border crossings where the three countries meet, as well as reduced trade at seaports, is strangling supply and sending prices soaring, the FAO said.
In Liberia, which has been hardest-hit by the outbreak with 694 deaths, the government has denied permission for any crew to disembark from ships docking at any of the country's four ports.
In the Redlight Market, in the capital Monrovia, the price of cassava went up 150 percent within the first weeks of August, the FAO said.
"Even prior to the Ebola outbreak, households in some of the affected areas were spending up to 80 percent of their incomes on food," said Vincent Martin, Head of FAO's Resilience Hub in Dakar, Senegal.
"Now these latest price spikes are effectively putting food completely out of their reach. This situation may have social repercussions that could lead to subsequent impact on the disease containment."
The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) has launched a regional emergency operation to get 65,000 tonnes of food to 1.3 million people in the worst-hit areas.
"Preventing further loss of human life and stopping the spread of the virus remain the top priorities at this time," the FAO said.
Source : Sapa-AFP /aw
Date : 02 Sep 2014 12:12
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
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EBOLA KILLS 31 PEOPLE IN DR CONGO: WHO
An outbreak of the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo has killed 31 people and the epidemic remains contained within the country's northwest, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday.
"There are now 31 deaths," Eugene Kambambi, the WHO's head of communication in DR Congo, told AFP adding that the epidemic remains ringfenced in an area around 800 kilometres (500 miles) north of Kinshasa. The WHO had previously given a death toll of 13 for the country.
Source : Sapa-AFP /aw
Date : 02 Sep 2014 12:18
An outbreak of the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo has killed 31 people and the epidemic remains contained within the country's northwest, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday.
"There are now 31 deaths," Eugene Kambambi, the WHO's head of communication in DR Congo, told AFP adding that the epidemic remains ringfenced in an area around 800 kilometres (500 miles) north of Kinshasa. The WHO had previously given a death toll of 13 for the country.
Source : Sapa-AFP /aw
Date : 02 Sep 2014 12:18
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
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WORLD 'LOSING THE BATTLE' TO CONTAIN EBOLA: MSF
International medical agency Medecins sans Frontieres said Tuesday the world was "losing the battle" to contain Ebola and called for a global biological disaster response to get aid and personnel to west Africa.
"Six months into the worst Ebola epidemic in history, the world is losing the battle to contain it. Leaders are failing to come to grips with this transnational threat," MSF international president Joanne Liu told a UN briefing in New York.
Source : Sapa-AFP /aw
Date : 02 Sep 2014 16:13
International medical agency Medecins sans Frontieres said Tuesday the world was "losing the battle" to contain Ebola and called for a global biological disaster response to get aid and personnel to west Africa.
"Six months into the worst Ebola epidemic in history, the world is losing the battle to contain it. Leaders are failing to come to grips with this transnational threat," MSF international president Joanne Liu told a UN briefing in New York.
Source : Sapa-AFP /aw
Date : 02 Sep 2014 16:13
LazyLion
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TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS COULD WORSEN EBOLA CRISIS: EXPERTS
Travel restrictions could worsen West Africa's Ebola epidemic, limiting medical and food supplies and keeping out much-needed doctors, virologists said Tuesday as the disease continued its deadly spread.
The worst-ever outbreak of the haemorrhagic fever, which has hit Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria and Guinea the hardest, has seen airlines cancel flights and several countries barring people from affected nations.
"If we impose an aerial quarantine on these countries, we undermine their fight against the epidemic: the rotation of foreign medical staff and distribution of supplies, already inadequate, will become even more difficult," said Sylvain Baize, head of the Pasteur Institute's viral haemorrhagic fever centre in Lyon, France.
This should be weighed against a "very limited" risk of infection for flight crews, given that the virus can only be passed on once symptoms appear and only through physical contact with the body fluids of someone who is ill, he told AFP.
The World Health Organisation has appealed for the reversal of flight cancellations to West Africa, where Ebola has killed more than half of the 3,000-plus people it has infected.
There is no vaccine or licenced cure.
Air France has suspended its service to Freetown, and British Airways its flights to Freetown and Monrovia.
Royal Air Morocco is now the only airline providing a regular service to the capitals of Sierra Leone and Liberia, while Brussels Airlines offer an irregular schedule.
South Africa has issued a ban on non-citizens travelling from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, Saudi Arabia has stopped granting visas to workers from these countries, and several West African neighbours closed their land borders with worst-affected states.
"Ebola virus is an infection that, understandably, provokes great fear and apprehension. So perhaps it is not surprising that some states or carriers are imposing travel bans," University of Nottingham virology professor Jonathan Ball told AFP.
"However, it's important to get the risk into perspective. Provided that the necessary airport exit and border monitoring takes place (for people displaying symptoms), then the risk of export of Ebola virus is limited.
"Even in the rare event of an exported infection, provided countries know how to identify a possible infection, then respond appropriately, the risk of wider infection...is low."
The current outbreak, the biggest since Ebola was first identified in the former Zaire in 1976, was detected in Guinea in March, from where it spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and most recently Senegal.
An outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is believed to be unrelated the West African epidemic.
Experts say the focus should be on helping affected countries contain the virus, and preparing themselves to deal with any cases that may arrive.
The best approach is to try and contain the epidemic by isolating as many infected people as quickly as possible and tracking down and monitoring everyone they had been in contact with.
"Closing the borders is like closing your eyes," said Michael Kinzer of the US-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), who led a recent surveillance and advisory Ebola mission to Guinea.
"It makes more sense for countries to spend their money and energy on preparing their health systems to recognise an Ebola case and respond correctly... so that the virus does not spread."
Liberia and Sierra Leone were in special need of assistance, added Baize. With not enough hospital beds available to isolate patients, the virus remain out there, passing from person to person.
"There are not enough teams on the ground to go out searching for patients in the furthest corners of villages and towns," he said.
On Tuesday, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization warned of "grave food security concerns" through the disruption of cross-border trade.
Source : Sapa-AFP /aw
Date : 02 Sep 2014 16:40
Travel restrictions could worsen West Africa's Ebola epidemic, limiting medical and food supplies and keeping out much-needed doctors, virologists said Tuesday as the disease continued its deadly spread.
The worst-ever outbreak of the haemorrhagic fever, which has hit Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria and Guinea the hardest, has seen airlines cancel flights and several countries barring people from affected nations.
"If we impose an aerial quarantine on these countries, we undermine their fight against the epidemic: the rotation of foreign medical staff and distribution of supplies, already inadequate, will become even more difficult," said Sylvain Baize, head of the Pasteur Institute's viral haemorrhagic fever centre in Lyon, France.
This should be weighed against a "very limited" risk of infection for flight crews, given that the virus can only be passed on once symptoms appear and only through physical contact with the body fluids of someone who is ill, he told AFP.
The World Health Organisation has appealed for the reversal of flight cancellations to West Africa, where Ebola has killed more than half of the 3,000-plus people it has infected.
There is no vaccine or licenced cure.
Air France has suspended its service to Freetown, and British Airways its flights to Freetown and Monrovia.
Royal Air Morocco is now the only airline providing a regular service to the capitals of Sierra Leone and Liberia, while Brussels Airlines offer an irregular schedule.
South Africa has issued a ban on non-citizens travelling from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, Saudi Arabia has stopped granting visas to workers from these countries, and several West African neighbours closed their land borders with worst-affected states.
"Ebola virus is an infection that, understandably, provokes great fear and apprehension. So perhaps it is not surprising that some states or carriers are imposing travel bans," University of Nottingham virology professor Jonathan Ball told AFP.
"However, it's important to get the risk into perspective. Provided that the necessary airport exit and border monitoring takes place (for people displaying symptoms), then the risk of export of Ebola virus is limited.
"Even in the rare event of an exported infection, provided countries know how to identify a possible infection, then respond appropriately, the risk of wider infection...is low."
The current outbreak, the biggest since Ebola was first identified in the former Zaire in 1976, was detected in Guinea in March, from where it spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and most recently Senegal.
An outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is believed to be unrelated the West African epidemic.
Experts say the focus should be on helping affected countries contain the virus, and preparing themselves to deal with any cases that may arrive.
The best approach is to try and contain the epidemic by isolating as many infected people as quickly as possible and tracking down and monitoring everyone they had been in contact with.
"Closing the borders is like closing your eyes," said Michael Kinzer of the US-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), who led a recent surveillance and advisory Ebola mission to Guinea.
"It makes more sense for countries to spend their money and energy on preparing their health systems to recognise an Ebola case and respond correctly... so that the virus does not spread."
Liberia and Sierra Leone were in special need of assistance, added Baize. With not enough hospital beds available to isolate patients, the virus remain out there, passing from person to person.
"There are not enough teams on the ground to go out searching for patients in the furthest corners of villages and towns," he said.
On Tuesday, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization warned of "grave food security concerns" through the disruption of cross-border trade.
Source : Sapa-AFP /aw
Date : 02 Sep 2014 16:40
LazyLion
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EBOLA SURVIVOR: 'I FELT LIKE I WAS ABOUT TO DIE'
A U.S. doctor who survived after contracting Ebola while doing missionary work in Liberia is "very close" to the doctor most recently diagnosed with the disease and has spent time in "tearful prayer" for him, according to an interview with NBC News aired Tuesday.
Earlier, officials with the North Carolina-based missionary group Serving In Mission had announced the other doctor, a male obstetrician, had contracted the disease.
In the interview, Dr. Kent Brantly said he feared his own death, telling a nurse at one point: "I'm sick. I have no reserve and I don't know how long I can keep this up."
At one point, Brantly was asked whether he was told he might not survive.
"I don't think they ever said, 'Kent, I think you are about to die.' But I felt like I was about to die," Brantly said.
NBC News said the interview was conducted in Asheville, North Carolina, where Brantly and his family have been in seclusion since he was released last month from Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.
Brantly and a female missionary from Serving in Mission were evacuated to the United States for treatment after contracting Ebola in Liberia. The two recovered after receiving an experimental drug known as ZMapp. The manufacturer says it has run out of supplies of the drug and it will take months to produce more.
Brantly recalled waking up the morning of July 23 feeling "a little off" with a temperature of 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius). After falling ill, Brantly said he felt grateful his family had returned to the U.S. days earlier.
"I was so thankful that Amber and the kids were not there. That would have been an overwhelming mental burden if I had woken up sick lying in bed next to my wife with one of my children snuggled up next to me," Brantly said.
NBC News planned to air more portions of the interview on Wednesday and Friday.
Source : Sapa-AP /mm
Date : 03 Sep 2014 04:08
A U.S. doctor who survived after contracting Ebola while doing missionary work in Liberia is "very close" to the doctor most recently diagnosed with the disease and has spent time in "tearful prayer" for him, according to an interview with NBC News aired Tuesday.
Earlier, officials with the North Carolina-based missionary group Serving In Mission had announced the other doctor, a male obstetrician, had contracted the disease.
In the interview, Dr. Kent Brantly said he feared his own death, telling a nurse at one point: "I'm sick. I have no reserve and I don't know how long I can keep this up."
At one point, Brantly was asked whether he was told he might not survive.
"I don't think they ever said, 'Kent, I think you are about to die.' But I felt like I was about to die," Brantly said.
NBC News said the interview was conducted in Asheville, North Carolina, where Brantly and his family have been in seclusion since he was released last month from Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.
Brantly and a female missionary from Serving in Mission were evacuated to the United States for treatment after contracting Ebola in Liberia. The two recovered after receiving an experimental drug known as ZMapp. The manufacturer says it has run out of supplies of the drug and it will take months to produce more.
Brantly recalled waking up the morning of July 23 feeling "a little off" with a temperature of 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius). After falling ill, Brantly said he felt grateful his family had returned to the U.S. days earlier.
"I was so thankful that Amber and the kids were not there. That would have been an overwhelming mental burden if I had woken up sick lying in bed next to my wife with one of my children snuggled up next to me," Brantly said.
NBC News planned to air more portions of the interview on Wednesday and Friday.
Source : Sapa-AP /mm
Date : 03 Sep 2014 04:08
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
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EBOLA-HIT LIBERIANS KEEPING THE FAITH
by Zoom Dosso
The faithful gather for a prayer service like any other in Liberia's sweltering Resurrection Baptist Ministries church, except today the reverend is taking time to explain why Ebola has forced a change in the seating arrangements.
"We have created space between the chairs and we have enlarged the aisles. This is the rule of Ebola," Joseph Johnson tells his flock, as they fan themselves in the cloying heat of a Monrovian summer morning.
"We have to make sure you don't have body contact with each other. When Ebola is contained we will get back to our own rules."
Johnson prides himself in doing God's work, but lately the prayers have taken a back pew to announcements on the deadly virus sweeping Liberia and other parts of West Africa.
The Ebola virus has killed over 1,500 people in four west African countries since the start of the year, spreading through contact with infected bodily fluids.
Liberia has borne the brunt of the epidemic, burying almost 700 people who got too close to an infected friend, lover, relative or, perhaps, patient or passenger.
Monrovia, a devout, predominantly Christian city of at least a million people, has churches of a wide variety of denominations on almost every street corner, as well as the occasional mosque.
Liberians, well accustomed to seeking solace in their faith, and in spiritual leaders like Joseph Johnson, have not stopped coming to services during the Ebola outbreak.
The preacher has a reputation as a firebrand.
Left hand in the air, right hand clutching a Bible to his chest, he closes his eyes and beseeches the congregation to stand.
"We ask you, oh Lord, to come to our aid. We ask you because you are the only one who can help us," he cries.
"We are dying, Ebola is killing us, it is killing your children. Our doctors have become powerless and who do we go to if not you?"
He asks the newcomers among his flock to stand so that they might be welcomed by his regular faithful.
"Do not shake their hands. Just salute them and tell them welcome. That is enough for now," he chides.
Only then can the sermon begin, but even this part of the service is all about the epidemic.
"Ebola is not a fabrication, it is a reality. No pastor should fool you to say he has holy oil for Ebola. You will give him your holy money and you will die," he warns.
"Do not say that you are praying every day so you will have body contact with people and God will protect you. God did not say so."
Mopping sweat from his face in the oppressive heat, the tough-talking pastor takes a swipe at the government of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, which was criticised for its early inadequate response to the crisis.
"The government we have in this country is the cause of innocent people being killed today by this deadly virus. When the virus entered for the first time from Guinea, a responsible government would have taken the necessary precautions to stop it at the border," he roars.
"They sat down and allowed it to eat us gradually until it got into the city. Here we are today, topping the death toll. The health system has broken down. Innocent people are dying on the daily basis."
A woman at the back of the congregation begins to sob uncontrollably and an awkward silence descends on the service.
The reverend knows what to do. He bows his head in a mark of respect and then stares from one member of his flock to the next.
"She has lost a loved-one because of Ebola," he confides.
Services in Johnson's church were once joyous occasions, with congregation members squeezing together on the wooden pews, shaking hands and hugging.
But there is not much joy to be seen among the religious of Monrovia these days, just grief, despair and -- sometimes -- hope in the possibility of salvation.
Before entering the church, everyone has to wash their hands thoroughly in chlorine solution and, once inside, people keep their distance.
Before Johnson finishes his sermon, he runs the churchgoers through Ebola's version of the Ten Commandments -- a secular checklist of dos and don'ts that might offer protection from an earthbound Hell.
"Keep your children home. Do not let them get out. For seven weeks now my children have been home, none of them is allowed to get out," he says.
"Do not eat bush meat, do not touch dead bodies, and do not touch the vomit, urine, saliva or any bodily fluid from the next person. Take the necessary precautions and God will do the rest."
Source : Sapa-AFP /mm
Date : 03 Sep 2014 05:02
by Zoom Dosso
The faithful gather for a prayer service like any other in Liberia's sweltering Resurrection Baptist Ministries church, except today the reverend is taking time to explain why Ebola has forced a change in the seating arrangements.
"We have created space between the chairs and we have enlarged the aisles. This is the rule of Ebola," Joseph Johnson tells his flock, as they fan themselves in the cloying heat of a Monrovian summer morning.
"We have to make sure you don't have body contact with each other. When Ebola is contained we will get back to our own rules."
Johnson prides himself in doing God's work, but lately the prayers have taken a back pew to announcements on the deadly virus sweeping Liberia and other parts of West Africa.
The Ebola virus has killed over 1,500 people in four west African countries since the start of the year, spreading through contact with infected bodily fluids.
Liberia has borne the brunt of the epidemic, burying almost 700 people who got too close to an infected friend, lover, relative or, perhaps, patient or passenger.
Monrovia, a devout, predominantly Christian city of at least a million people, has churches of a wide variety of denominations on almost every street corner, as well as the occasional mosque.
Liberians, well accustomed to seeking solace in their faith, and in spiritual leaders like Joseph Johnson, have not stopped coming to services during the Ebola outbreak.
The preacher has a reputation as a firebrand.
Left hand in the air, right hand clutching a Bible to his chest, he closes his eyes and beseeches the congregation to stand.
"We ask you, oh Lord, to come to our aid. We ask you because you are the only one who can help us," he cries.
"We are dying, Ebola is killing us, it is killing your children. Our doctors have become powerless and who do we go to if not you?"
He asks the newcomers among his flock to stand so that they might be welcomed by his regular faithful.
"Do not shake their hands. Just salute them and tell them welcome. That is enough for now," he chides.
Only then can the sermon begin, but even this part of the service is all about the epidemic.
"Ebola is not a fabrication, it is a reality. No pastor should fool you to say he has holy oil for Ebola. You will give him your holy money and you will die," he warns.
"Do not say that you are praying every day so you will have body contact with people and God will protect you. God did not say so."
Mopping sweat from his face in the oppressive heat, the tough-talking pastor takes a swipe at the government of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, which was criticised for its early inadequate response to the crisis.
"The government we have in this country is the cause of innocent people being killed today by this deadly virus. When the virus entered for the first time from Guinea, a responsible government would have taken the necessary precautions to stop it at the border," he roars.
"They sat down and allowed it to eat us gradually until it got into the city. Here we are today, topping the death toll. The health system has broken down. Innocent people are dying on the daily basis."
A woman at the back of the congregation begins to sob uncontrollably and an awkward silence descends on the service.
The reverend knows what to do. He bows his head in a mark of respect and then stares from one member of his flock to the next.
"She has lost a loved-one because of Ebola," he confides.
Services in Johnson's church were once joyous occasions, with congregation members squeezing together on the wooden pews, shaking hands and hugging.
But there is not much joy to be seen among the religious of Monrovia these days, just grief, despair and -- sometimes -- hope in the possibility of salvation.
Before entering the church, everyone has to wash their hands thoroughly in chlorine solution and, once inside, people keep their distance.
Before Johnson finishes his sermon, he runs the churchgoers through Ebola's version of the Ten Commandments -- a secular checklist of dos and don'ts that might offer protection from an earthbound Hell.
"Keep your children home. Do not let them get out. For seven weeks now my children have been home, none of them is allowed to get out," he says.
"Do not eat bush meat, do not touch dead bodies, and do not touch the vomit, urine, saliva or any bodily fluid from the next person. Take the necessary precautions and God will do the rest."
Source : Sapa-AFP /mm
Date : 03 Sep 2014 05:02
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2005
- Messages
- 105,605
WORLD 'LOSING BATTLE' TO CONTAIN EBOLA: MSF
by Frankie Taggart
International medical agency Medecins sans Frontieres said Tuesday the world was "losing the battle" to contain Ebola as the United Nations warned of severe food shortages in the hardest-hit countries.
MSF told a UN briefing in New York that world leaders were failing to address the epidemic and called for an urgent global biological disaster response to get aid and personnel to west Africa.
"Six months into the worst Ebola epidemic in history, the world is losing the battle to contain it. Leaders are failing to come to grips with this transnational threat," said MSF international president Joanne Liu.
"The (World Health Organization) announcement on August 8 that the epidemic constituted a 'public health emergency of international concern' has not led to decisive action, and states have essentially
joined a global coalition of inaction."
Her comments came as a third American health worker tested positive for the deadly virus while working with patients in Liberia, the worst-hit country.
"My heart was deeply saddened, but my faith was not shaken, when I learned another of our missionary doctors contracted Ebola," said Bruce Johnson, president of the SIM Christian missionary group for whom the unnamed American worked.
Two fellow US health workers who worked at the same ELWA hospital in the Liberian capital Monrovia were previously flown home and successfully treated for the virus.
Unlike the others, the latest US victim had not been working directly with Ebola patients, and it is not yet clear how he caught the disease, which is usually fatal.
Liu called for the international community to fund more beds for a regional network of field hospitals, dispatch trained personnel and deploy mobile laboratories across Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
MSF said in a statement accompanying the briefing that the crisis was particularly acute in Monrovia, where it is estimated that "800 additional beds are needed".
"Every day we have to turn sick people away because we are too full", said Stefan Liljegren, MSF's coordinator at the ELWA Three Ebola unit in Monrovia.
MSF said that while its care centres in Liberia and Sierra Leone were overcrowded, people were continuing to die in their communities.
"In Sierra Leone, highly infectious bodies are rotting in the streets," their statement said.
The Ebola outbreak has killed 1,552 people and infected 3,062, according to the latest figures released by the WHO.
At current infection rates, the agency fears it could take six to nine months and at least $490 million (373 million euros) to bring the outbreak under control, by which time more than 20,000 people could be affected.
The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization issued an alert that restrictions on movement in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone had led to panic buying, food shortages and severe price hikes.
"With the main harvest now at risk and trade and movements of goods severely restricted, food insecurity is poised to intensify in the weeks and months to come, warned Bukar Tijani, FAO regional representative for Africa.
The food security alert was sounded as the WHO announced a separate Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has now killed 31 people, although it added that the contagion was confined to an area 800 kilometres (500 miles) north of Kinshasa.
In Liberia, which has been hardest-hit with 694 deaths, the price of the national staple cassava on market stalls in Monrovia went up 150 percent within the first weeks of August, the FAO said.
"This situation may have social repercussions that could lead to subsequent impact on the disease containment," said Vincent Martin, head of the FAO's Resilience Hub in Dakar, Senegal.
The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) launched an emergency operation on Tuesday to get 65,000 tonnes of food to 1.3 million people in the worst-hit areas.
The outbreak of Ebola, transmitted through contact with infected bodily fluids, has sparked alarm throughout west Africa but also further afield, with international flights being halted.
The WHO has appealed for the reversal of flight cancellations and virologists said Tuesday travel restrictions could worsen the epidemic, limiting medical and food supplies and keeping out much-needed doctors.
"If we impose an aerial quarantine on these countries, we undermine their fight against the epidemic: the rotation of foreign medical staff and distribution of supplies, already inadequate, will become even more difficult," said Sylvain Baize, head of the Pasteur Institute's viral haemorrhagic fever centre in Lyon, France.
Meanwhile Michael Kinzer of the US-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) likened closing borders to "closing your eyes".
"It makes more sense for countries to spend their money and energy on preparing their health systems to recognise an Ebola case and respond correctly... so that the virus does not spread," he said.
Source : Sapa-AFP /mm
Date : 03 Sep 2014 02:06
by Frankie Taggart
International medical agency Medecins sans Frontieres said Tuesday the world was "losing the battle" to contain Ebola as the United Nations warned of severe food shortages in the hardest-hit countries.
MSF told a UN briefing in New York that world leaders were failing to address the epidemic and called for an urgent global biological disaster response to get aid and personnel to west Africa.
"Six months into the worst Ebola epidemic in history, the world is losing the battle to contain it. Leaders are failing to come to grips with this transnational threat," said MSF international president Joanne Liu.
"The (World Health Organization) announcement on August 8 that the epidemic constituted a 'public health emergency of international concern' has not led to decisive action, and states have essentially
joined a global coalition of inaction."
Her comments came as a third American health worker tested positive for the deadly virus while working with patients in Liberia, the worst-hit country.
"My heart was deeply saddened, but my faith was not shaken, when I learned another of our missionary doctors contracted Ebola," said Bruce Johnson, president of the SIM Christian missionary group for whom the unnamed American worked.
Two fellow US health workers who worked at the same ELWA hospital in the Liberian capital Monrovia were previously flown home and successfully treated for the virus.
Unlike the others, the latest US victim had not been working directly with Ebola patients, and it is not yet clear how he caught the disease, which is usually fatal.
Liu called for the international community to fund more beds for a regional network of field hospitals, dispatch trained personnel and deploy mobile laboratories across Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
MSF said in a statement accompanying the briefing that the crisis was particularly acute in Monrovia, where it is estimated that "800 additional beds are needed".
"Every day we have to turn sick people away because we are too full", said Stefan Liljegren, MSF's coordinator at the ELWA Three Ebola unit in Monrovia.
MSF said that while its care centres in Liberia and Sierra Leone were overcrowded, people were continuing to die in their communities.
"In Sierra Leone, highly infectious bodies are rotting in the streets," their statement said.
The Ebola outbreak has killed 1,552 people and infected 3,062, according to the latest figures released by the WHO.
At current infection rates, the agency fears it could take six to nine months and at least $490 million (373 million euros) to bring the outbreak under control, by which time more than 20,000 people could be affected.
The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization issued an alert that restrictions on movement in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone had led to panic buying, food shortages and severe price hikes.
"With the main harvest now at risk and trade and movements of goods severely restricted, food insecurity is poised to intensify in the weeks and months to come, warned Bukar Tijani, FAO regional representative for Africa.
The food security alert was sounded as the WHO announced a separate Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has now killed 31 people, although it added that the contagion was confined to an area 800 kilometres (500 miles) north of Kinshasa.
In Liberia, which has been hardest-hit with 694 deaths, the price of the national staple cassava on market stalls in Monrovia went up 150 percent within the first weeks of August, the FAO said.
"This situation may have social repercussions that could lead to subsequent impact on the disease containment," said Vincent Martin, head of the FAO's Resilience Hub in Dakar, Senegal.
The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) launched an emergency operation on Tuesday to get 65,000 tonnes of food to 1.3 million people in the worst-hit areas.
The outbreak of Ebola, transmitted through contact with infected bodily fluids, has sparked alarm throughout west Africa but also further afield, with international flights being halted.
The WHO has appealed for the reversal of flight cancellations and virologists said Tuesday travel restrictions could worsen the epidemic, limiting medical and food supplies and keeping out much-needed doctors.
"If we impose an aerial quarantine on these countries, we undermine their fight against the epidemic: the rotation of foreign medical staff and distribution of supplies, already inadequate, will become even more difficult," said Sylvain Baize, head of the Pasteur Institute's viral haemorrhagic fever centre in Lyon, France.
Meanwhile Michael Kinzer of the US-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) likened closing borders to "closing your eyes".
"It makes more sense for countries to spend their money and energy on preparing their health systems to recognise an Ebola case and respond correctly... so that the virus does not spread," he said.
Source : Sapa-AFP /mm
Date : 03 Sep 2014 02:06
Nanfeishen
Executive Member
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A little contradictory information here, the one article gives 6 -9 month figure for the infected to reach 20 000, while the other just says "are likely to be infected".
"are likely to be" is somewhat concerning.
I wonder if the infected aren't in reality closer to that number already.
"are likely to be" is somewhat concerning.
I wonder if the infected aren't in reality closer to that number already.
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-29031987
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
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BRITISH EBOLA VICTIM DISCHARGED FROM HOSPITAL: SPOKESMAN
A British nurse infected with Ebola while working in Sierra Leone was discharged from a London hospital on Wednesday after recovering from the disease following treatment with the experimental drug ZMapp.
"I was very lucky," said William Pooley, who had been working as a volunteer in one of the worst hit areas and was flown out of Africa on a specially-equipped British military plane.
"I had some unpleasant symptoms but nothing compared to some of the worst of the disease, especially when people end up dying," said Pooley, who has been the only Briton reportedly infected.
The Royal Free Hospital, the only facility in Britain with a high level isolation unit that can host Ebola patients, said the treatment had been "successful".
Pooley, who spent 10 days in the hospital, was given ZMapp which was used on two US missionaries who also recovered.
"I wish that the level of care I've received here could be provided there," the hospital quoted Pooley as saying.
Source : Sapa-AFP /nsm
Date : 03 Sep 2014 12:30
A British nurse infected with Ebola while working in Sierra Leone was discharged from a London hospital on Wednesday after recovering from the disease following treatment with the experimental drug ZMapp.
"I was very lucky," said William Pooley, who had been working as a volunteer in one of the worst hit areas and was flown out of Africa on a specially-equipped British military plane.
"I had some unpleasant symptoms but nothing compared to some of the worst of the disease, especially when people end up dying," said Pooley, who has been the only Briton reportedly infected.
The Royal Free Hospital, the only facility in Britain with a high level isolation unit that can host Ebola patients, said the treatment had been "successful".
Pooley, who spent 10 days in the hospital, was given ZMapp which was used on two US missionaries who also recovered.
"I wish that the level of care I've received here could be provided there," the hospital quoted Pooley as saying.
Source : Sapa-AFP /nsm
Date : 03 Sep 2014 12:30
So ZMapp has got a 100% success rate so far (while in the real world scenario)
Sinbad
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Nope. Couple of people died a while back?
I dont recall reading about failed ones so far, let me google
Sinbad
Honorary Master
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Well it was around 1500 something like a week ago...
And yes I'm sure 1900 is way under the real number.
Recruitsmiths
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Latest BBC (today) puts figure close to 2000
A buddy of mine left yesterday morning for Gabon and while getting his yellow card he asked the doc about ebola.
The doctor claimed transmission only occurs through infected blood....similar to HIV. When I told him that other bodily fluids can also transmit the disease, he insisted that the doc only singled out blood :wtf:
The doctor claimed transmission only occurs through infected blood....similar to HIV. When I told him that other bodily fluids can also transmit the disease, he insisted that the doc only singled out blood :wtf:
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
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EXTRA EBOLA DEATH TOLL REACHES 1900
Ebola fatalities have reached 1,900, the World Health Organization says.
The outbreak is concentrated in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone with over 3,500 total reported cases.
The disease has claimed 31 lives in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but that outbreak is confirmed to be independent of West Africa's epidemic.
Source : Sapa-dpa /kd
Date : 03 Sep 2014 22:18
Ebola fatalities have reached 1,900, the World Health Organization says.
The outbreak is concentrated in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone with over 3,500 total reported cases.
The disease has claimed 31 lives in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but that outbreak is confirmed to be independent of West Africa's epidemic.
Source : Sapa-dpa /kd
Date : 03 Sep 2014 22:18