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Read more about U.N. Mission Warns That Ebola Still Poses ‘Huge’ Global Threat
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WHO Says Liberia, Guinea Meeting Ebola Targets

Wed, 2014-12-03 06:57 — Norea

In this file photo taken Thursday, Oct. 16, 2014, a healthcare worker in protective gear is sprayed with disinfectant after working in an Ebola treatment center in the west of Freetown, Sierra Leone

GENEVA — Dec 1, 2014 - by JOHN HEILPRIN Associated Press

Liberia and Guinea have met a Dec. 1 target for isolating 70 percent of people infected with Ebola and safely burying 70 percent of those who die but Sierra Leone has not, the World Health Organization said Monday.

Only last week, the U.N. health agency said only Guinea was on track to meet the targets for getting the Ebola outbreak under control in the three hardest-hit West African countries.

But at a news conference in Geneva, WHO's Dr. Bruce Aylward said the organization had revised its conclusion based on more analysis of its data. Sierra Leone also probably met the targets in the west of the country, he said, and likely will improve to the 70 percent target nationwide "in the coming weeks."

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To halt Ebola's spread, researchers race for data

Tue, 2014-12-02 19:26 — mike kraft

DISCOVER MAGAZINE By Kari Lydersen Dec. 2, 2014
.....redicting the trajectory of Ebola rather than playing catching-up could do much to help prevent and contain the disease. Some experts have called for prioritizing mobile treatment units that can be quickly relocated to the spots most needed. Figuring out where Ebola is likely to strike next or finding emerging hot spots early on would be key to the placement of these treatment centers.

But such modeling requires data, and lots of it. And for stressed healthcare workers on the ground and government and non-profit agencies scrambling to combat a raging epidemic, collecting and disseminating data is often not a high priority.

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Locking Ebola out of Sierra Leone jails

Tue, 2014-12-02 14:45 — mike kraft

IRIN Dec. 1, 2014

DAKAR--It is next to impossible to avoid physical contact in an overcrowded prison. In Sierra Leone, heavily congested jails and a worsening Ebola outbreak make a potentially lethal combination. So how do you keep inmates safe?

Decongesting prisons in Sierra Leone to lower Ebola threat.Photo: Hannah McNeish/IRIN

Some of the safeguards against the virus are: A 21-day quarantine for fresh detainees before joining the old timers; training prison health workers and inmate leaders on Ebola prevention; and providing health and safety education and equipment.

Such measures, and others, have so far helped keep the virus out of Sierra Leone’s 17 prisons and three juvenile offenders’ homes, said Mambu Feika, head of NGO Prison Watch Sierra Leone (PWSL), which is spearheading a three-month programme to prevent Ebola transmission in prisons.

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http://www.bbc.com/news/health-30260532

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Ebola outbreak: West Africa death toll nears 7,000

Sat, 2014-11-29 16:42 — Norea

29 Nov 2014 - BBC

Protective measures are key to stopping the spread of the virus The number of people killed by the Ebola outbreak in West Africa has risen to 6,928, the World Health Organisation (WHO) says.

The toll has increased by over 1,000 since the WHO's last report on Wednesday, but it includes unreported deaths from earlier in the outbreak.

Experts say the infection rate is more significant that the death toll, as it reflects how the virus is spreading. Infection rates are decreasing in Liberia, but are high in Sierra Leone.

There have been over 16,000 reported cases in Guinea, Sierra and Liberia.

Latest Ebola death tolls

Liberia: 7,244 cases, 4,181 deaths

Sierra Leone: 6,802 cases, 1,463 deaths

Guinea: 2,123 cases, 1,284 deaths

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New 15-Minute Test for Ebola to be Trialled in Guinea

Sat, 2014-11-29 10:12 — Kathy Gilbeaux

wellcome.ac.uk - November 28, 2014

A rapid, point-of-care diagnostic test for the Ebola virus will be trialled in the coming weeks at the Ebola treatment centre in Conakry, Guinea. The trial is one of six health research projects that have been jointly funded by the Wellcome Trust and the UK government.

The 15-minute Ebola test is six times faster than similar tests currently in use and aims to speed up the diagnosis of Ebola cases. Early detection of Ebola leads to better infection control as medical staff can identify and isolate confirmed cases of Ebola faster, and start treating patients sooner. Ultimately, a faster test could reduce Ebola transmission and mortality.

The project is supported through a joint Department for International Development (DFID) and Wellcome Trust fund for rapid health research during the Ebola outbreak. The six projects are managed by Enhancing Learning & Research for Humanitarian Assistance (ELRHA).

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African Stars Give ‘Band Aid 30’ Ebola Track Cool Welcome

Fri, 2014-11-28 08:05 — Norea

voanews.com - by Henry Ridgwell - Nov 28, 2014

Dozens of British music stars have come together to record a new version of the song ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ to raise money for the fight against Ebola. But as Henry Ridgwell reports from London, the song has not been universally welcomed in Africa - where local music stars have recorded their own Ebola single.

http://www.voanews.com/media/video/african-stars-give-band-aid-thirty-ebola-track-cool-welcome/2538714.html

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/sierra-leone-physician-who-treated-martin-salia-diagnosed-with-ebola/2014/11/27/af1fbd54-7627-11e4-a755-e32227229e7b_story.html

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Sierra Leone physician who treated doctor with Maryland ties is diagnosed with Ebola

Thu, 2014-11-27 07:19 — Norea

Physician Komba Songu M’Briwa recently contracted Ebola. He is being cared for at Hastings Ebola Treatment Center in Freetown, Sierra Leone. (Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post) By Kevin Sieff - November 27 2014 - washingtonpost.com

The doctor who treated Martin Salia, the Sierra Leonean physican who died of Ebola last week after being transported to Omaha, has contracted the disease himself.

Komba Songu M’Briwa cared for Salia, his colleague and former professor, at Freetown’s Hastings Ebola Treatment Center before Salia, whose family lives in New Carrollton, was transported to the United States.

After Salia’s initial Ebola test came back negative, M’Briwa said employees “were celebrating” by embracing him. Salia’s subsequent test came back positive, meaning they had been unknowingly exposed to the virus.

It’s not certain that was how M’Briwa contracted Ebola.

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Sierra Leone Seeks U.S. Military Help to Fight Ebola

Wed, 2014-11-26 18:31 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Health workers spray themselves with chlorine disinfectants after removing the body a woman who died of Ebola virus in the Aberdeen district of Freetown, Sierra Leone, October 14, 2014. Credit: Reuters/Josephus Olu-Mammah

reuters.com - by Emma Farge - November 26, 2014

(Reuters) - Sierra Leone appealed to the United States on Wednesday to send military aid to help it battle Ebola as it falls behind its West African neighbors Guinea and Liberia in the fight against the virus.

The worst recorded Ebola outbreak has killed at least 5,689 people, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday, as the virus has overwhelmed African countries with weak infrastructure and healthcare systemS.

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Saving lives without new drugs

Wed, 2014-11-26 09:44 — mike kraft

SCIENCE By Jon Cohen Nov. 21, 2014

...Just a handful of basic interventions to fight the killer effects of Ebola, including dehydration and secondary infections, could dramatically lower the CFR there, says Michael Callahan, an infectious disease specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston..

With so much room for improvement in supportive care, the current international focus on drugs is “misguided,” says Callahan, who has recently worked in Monrovia and provided care in four previous Ebola outbreaks. “While we wait for months for forthcoming experimental therapies, many lives can be saved, certainly hundreds and possibly thousands, using inexpensive and simple therapies,” he says.

Callahan is helping an international team develop guidelines dubbed Maximum Use of Supportive Therapy (MUST), aimed at keeping more patients alive. It includes intravenous (IV) drips to replace massive fluid loss from diarrhea and vomiting, a risk factor for shock; balancing of electrolytes such as calcium or potassium, which prevents kidney and heart failure; nasogastric tubes for feeding; and testing and treatment of secondary infections such as malaria. Introducing MUST will also make it easier to study new treatments, Callahan says...

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