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Read more about Left to Die: Liberia's Ebola Victims Have Nowhere to Turn as Treatment Centers Overflow
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U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps to Help Treat Ebola Patients in Liberia

Thu, 2014-09-18 23:06 — Kathy Gilbeaux

hhs.gov - September 16, 2014

A team of specialized officers from the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps is being prepared to deploy to manage and staff a previously announced U.S. Department of Defense hospital in Liberia to care for health care workers who become ill from Ebola.

The U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Commissioned Corps is an elite uniformed service with more than 6,800 full-time, highly qualified public health professionals, serving the most underserved and vulnerable populations domestically and abroad.

Sixty-five Commissioned Corps officers, with diverse clinical and public health backgrounds, will travel to Liberia to provide direct patient care to health care workers. In addition to their professional expertise, these officers will undergo further intensive training in Ebola response and advanced infection control.

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The Military’s Mission to Fight Ebola Might Be Dangerous But it Won’t Be Black Hawk Down

Thu, 2014-09-18 18:00 — Norea

Nathan Bradley Bethea - 09.19.14 - thedailybeast.com

A glimpse into the dangerous job of U.S. troops going to fight the Ebola outbreak in Africa from a former soldier with experience in military disaster relief operations.

This week, the White House announced its intentions to deploy 3,000 troops and spend about $500 million to combat the worsening Ebola epidemic in Liberia. The news comes amid reports that the suspected infection rate and death toll in that country has nearly doubled in the past month, making it the worst Ebola outbreak in history, with more people killed by the disease than in all other previous cases combined. As American troops get ready to head over, I'd like to offer some insight into what the military’s operation might look like based on my experience deployed on a similar mission.

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http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/281948.php

Read more about The Military’s Mission to Fight Ebola Might Be Dangerous But it Won’t Be Black Hawk Down
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DRC Ebola outbreak 'distinct and independent event,' say WHO

Thu, 2014-09-18 15:21 — Norea

WHO state that "the virus in the Boende district is definitely not derived from the virus strain currently circulating in West Africa."

y Catharine Paddock PhD - Medical News Today - Updated: 3 Sep 2014 3am PST

The World Health Organization have announced that the Ebola virus in the new outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is not derived from strains circulating in the current outbreak in West Africa.

"Results from virus characterization, together with findings from the epidemiological investigation, are definitive: the outbreak in DRC is a distinct and independent event, with no relationship to the outbreak in West Africa," says a situation statement the World Health Organization (WHO) released on Tuesday.

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http://www.vox.com/2014/9/17/6334943/why-is-the-military-being-sent-to-attack-ebola-virus/in/5712456

Read more about DRC Ebola outbreak 'distinct and independent event,' say WHO
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Why is Obama sending military to attack the Ebola virus?

Thu, 2014-09-18 09:24 — Norea

by Joe Raedle By Julia Belluz - Sep 18, 2014 - vox.com

Tuesday's announcement by President Barack Obama — that the US would be sending in an army of 3,000 to fight Ebola — came as a relief to the many wondering when the international community would wake up to the daily horror show playing out in West Africa.But the tactics also raised some questions: why was Obama sending soldiers to fight off a virus? And why has he been characterizing this disease spread as a "security threat" and "security priority"?

Why Obama is describing Ebola as a "security threat"

Obama has repeatedly referred to the threat of Ebola in security terms, arguing the virus could cripple the already fragile economies in the African region. He's made the case that this will have consequences for not only the security of countries there, but also for nations around the world — even if the virus doesn't spread beyond Africa.

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U.N. Leader Plans Stronger Presence in Ebola Zone

Thu, 2014-09-18 00:13 — Kathy Gilbeaux

submitted by Mike Kraft

A burial team on Wednesday collected the body of a person who was thought to have died from Ebola in Monrovia, Liberia. Credit Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times

nytimes.com - By SOMINI SENGUPTA, RICK GLADSTONE and SHERI FINK - September 17, 2014

The United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, said on Wednesday that he planned to establish a new on-the-ground mission in West Africa to coordinate the struggle against Ebola, a move that signaled his concern with the response so far and the limitations of the World Health Organization’s abilities.

In an interview with the editorial board of The New York Times, Mr. Ban said that he intended to ask the General Assembly to support his plan in order to demonstrate the unanimous global concern about Ebola, the deadly virus that is spreading at exponential rates in three Western African countries.

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http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-29231400?ocid=socialflow_twitter

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Obama says Ebola outbreak a 'global security threat'

Wed, 2014-09-17 18:00 — Norea

The WHO says the most urgent immediate need is more medical staff BBC News - 17 September 2014

President Barack Obama has called the Ebola outbreak in West Africa "a threat to global security", as he announced a larger US role in fighting the virus.

The world was looking to the US, Mr Obama said, but added that the outbreak required a "global response".

The measures announced included ordering 3,000 US troops to the region and building new healthcare facilities.

Ebola has killed 2,461 people this year, about half of those infected, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

The announcement came as UN officials called the outbreak a health crisis "unparalleled in modern times".

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CLICK HERE - CDC Safety Training Course for Healthcare Workers Going to West Africa in Response to the 2014 Ebola Outbreak

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Ebola Training for Health Care Workers to Begin in Northeast Alabama

Wed, 2014-09-17 17:47 — Kathy Gilbeaux

al.gov - by Mike Oliver - September 15, 2014

ANNISTON, Alabama -- Everything you need to know about treating Ebola -- and staying alive doing so -- will be taught in training sessions which kick off with a pilot program Sept. 22 in this northeastern Alabama town.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is behind this series of 3-day training sessions for health care workers who may deploy to Africa's hotspots, said CDC spokeswoman Kristen Nordlund.

"This is something new we are doing for the outbreak," she said.

According to a sample syllabus, topics range from laboratory and diagnostic testing to simulating drawing blood from an Ebola patient (no real Ebola patients will participate.)

Participants will also learn how to transport or move patients, proper ways to dispose of waste and burial procedures.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

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Very Few Aircraft Equipped to Evacuate Ebola Patients

Wed, 2014-09-17 17:11 — Kathy Gilbeaux

submitted by Mike Kraft

Phoenix Air, which has equipped two Gulfstream III planes to accommodate Ebola patients, has so far transported 5 such patients. Photo - Phoenix Air Group

cidrap.umn.edu - by Robert Roos - September 16, 2014

With West Africa's burgeoning Ebola epidemic expected to last at least 6 to 9 more months, the demand for evacuations of visiting medical workers who get infected seems likely to grow. That demand might well collide with a shortage of aircraft that are equipped to safely transport Ebola patients.

The four Ebola patients who have been evacuated from West Africa to the United States have all been flown by Phoenix Air of Carterville, Ga., which has two Gulfstream III business jets that are specially equipped to carry such patients at minimal risk to others on the plane.

Other aircraft that are properly equipped to transport Ebola patients are very scarce, according to US mission organizations that have arranged evacuations for a few of their workers in West Africa.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

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