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American Ebola patient worsens to critical condition

USA TODAY  by John Bacon and Liz Sazbo                 March 16, 2015

An American health care worker being treated for Ebola has been deteriorated to critical condition, the National Institutes of Health said Monday.

The patient, who has not been identified, tested positive for Ebola virus while volunteering with Partners in Health at an Ebola treatment unit in Sierra Leone. The patient was airlifted by private charter medevac Friday to the the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Md. The patient is the 11th person with Ebola to be treated in the USA.

On Sunday, 10 health care workers who came in contact with the patient in Sierra Leone were flown to the USA. All were staying near hospitals with high-level biocontainment units capable of treating Ebola, in case they became sick.

On Monday, one of these health workers was moved into the biocontainment unit at Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha because of a change in symptoms, officials say. Hospital staff did not reveal what sort of symptoms the person experienced.
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http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/03/16/ebola-critical-condition/24852331/

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10 Americans to leave Sierra Leone amid Ebola scare

ASSOCIATED PRESS                                                     March 15, 2015

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (AP) — Ten clinicians with a Boston-based nonprofit organization responding to the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone are to be transported to the United States after one of their colleagues was infected with the deadly disease.

Partners in Health said in a statement Saturday that the medical workers would be evacuated on non-commercial aircraft and isolated in Ebola treatment facilities.

On March 11, a Partners in Health clinician in Sierra Leone tested positive for Ebola, and the 10 fellow workers "came to the aid of their ailing colleague," the group's statement said. They have not shown signs of Ebola, and Partners in Health said the evacuations were ordered "out of an abundance of caution."

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http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/03/15/10-us-charity-staff-to-leave-sierra-leone-amid-ebola-scare/24804779/

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Vaccines Face Same Mistrust That Fed Ebola

NEW YORK TIMES  by and         March 14, 2015

MONROVIA, Liberia — West Africa’s Ebola epidemic may be waning, but another outbreak in the future is a near certainty, health officials say.

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The hidden cost of Ebola: thousands of measles deaths

VOX  by Julia Belluz                                            March 12, 2015

(Scroll down for full Science Journal study.)

As if being stricken by the most deadly virus known to man weren't enough, now, it seems, West Africa is on alert for outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases including measles, whooping cough, and tuberculosis.

A girl collects her family's laundry after drying it on a rooftop in the West Point township on January 31, 2015 in Monrovia, Liberia. Life has been disrupted by Ebola for many Liberians.

In a new study in the journal Science, researchers focused on measles — the most contagious virus recorded — and applied statistical models to quantify the likelihood of an epidemic in the three countries worst hit by Ebola, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea.

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Sierra Leone sees worrying spike in Ebola cases over week

ASSOCIATED PRESS  by Clarence Roy-Macaulay                                                      March 12, 2015
 FREETOWN --   Sierra Leone has seen a worrying spike in confirmed Ebola cases over the past week in four districts, the head of the national Ebola response center said Thursday.

New measures must now be put into place to contain the surges, said the head of the National Ebola Response Centre, Alfred Palo Conteh.

Fifteen cases were recorded Wednesday, along with 16 on Monday and Tuesday respectively, according to Sierra Leone's Ministry of Health and Sanitation.

"We are now on a bumpy road to zero number of cases to get to President Ernest Bai Koroma's target of March 31," said Palo Conteh. "It is frustrating."

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http://news.yahoo.com/sierra-leone-sees-worrying-spike-ebola-cases-over-141214859.html;_ylt=AwrBEiTD7gJVy2QANdbQtDMD

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2 Aid Workers In West Africa Are Infected With Ebola

NEW YORK TIMES  by Sheri Fink and Allan Cowell                                                         March 12, 2015

A worker from Partners In Health, the prominent American medical aid organization, and an emergency worker from the British military have been infected with the deadly virus in Sierra Leone, health officials said Thursday.

The Partners In Health worker was the first in that group to be infected since it made an ambitious commitment last fall to help combat Ebola in West Africa, and was the first American health worker in months to get the disease while working in the region. ...

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UNMC dean who just returned from Sierra Leone, another Ebola expert agree: Fight not over

OMAHA WORLD-HERALD by  Bob Glissman                                                             March 11, 2015

  The West African countries hit hardest by the Ebola virus and the countries and groups that have helped battle the disease must remain vigilant if the number of new Ebola cases is to get to zero, health experts said Wednesday.
Dr. Ali Khan, dean of the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s College of Public Health, spent a month in Sierra Leone as a consultant on Ebola for the World Health Organization. 

Dr. Ali Khan, who returned to Omaha late last week after a month in Sierra Leone, said progress is evident, but he cautioned officials there against becoming complacent. “Because with a disease like Ebola,” he said, “all you need is one case to restart an outbreak or a cluster of cases.”

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The hidden cost of Ebola: thousands of measles deaths

VOX  by  Julia Belluz                                           March 12, 2015

(Scroll down for Science journal study.)

As if being stricken by the most deadly virus known to man weren't enough, now, it seems, West Africa is on alert for outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases including measles, whooping cough, and tuberculosis.

A girl collects her family's laundry after drying it on a rooftop in the West Point township on January 31, 2015 in Monrovia, Liberia. Life has been disrupted by Ebola for many Liberians.

In a new study in the journal Science, researchers focused on measles — the most contagious virus recorded — and applied statistical models to quantify the likelihood of an epidemic in the three countries worst hit by Ebola, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea.

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Ebola could cost West Africa $15 billion over three years

REUTERS  by Misha Hussain                                                    March 12, 2015sC

(Scroll down for links to press release and full report.)

DAKAR -- West Africa may lose up to $15 billion over the next three years due to the impact of the Ebola outbreak on trade, investment and tourism, according to a report by the United Nations.

The world's deadliest Ebola epidemic has killed almost 10,000 people in the three most affected countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, deepening poverty in one of the least developed parts of the world.

"The consequences of Ebola are vast," said Abdoulaye Mar Dieye, Africa director of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

"Stigma and risk aversion have caused considerable amounts of damage, shutting down borders and indirectly affecting the economies of a large number of countries in the sub-region."

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http://news.yahoo.com/ebola-could-cost-west-africa-15-billion-over-150805196.html;_ylt=AwrBJSCTtwFVoAIAda3QtDMD

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Study Indicates Ebola-Infected Sewage May Require Longer Holding Period

INFECTION CONTROL TODAY                                          March 11, 2015
Storing Ebola-infected sewage for a week at 86 degrees Fahrenheit or higher should allow enough time for more than 99.99 percent of the virus to die, though lower ambient temperatures may require a longer holding period, according to a new study by researchers at Georgia State University's School of Public Health.

The study co-authored by Lisa M. Casanova, assistant professor of environmental health, and Scott R. Weaver, research assistant professor in Epidemiology and Biostatistics, used bacteriophage Φ6, a type of virus, as a stand-in to study how long Ebola and similar viruses can survive in latrines and other systems for collecting and disposing of sewage. Bacteriophage Φ6 has a lipid envelope, meaning it has structural similarities to Ebola and several other types of virus, allowing for a safe study that did not require use of Ebola itself.

"The places hardest hit by Ebola are the places that often have the least infrastructure for safely disposing of sewage and are using things like pit latrines," says Casanova. "They need the answers to questions like this."

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