Ebola: Hard-won gains in Liberia must not be undermined

Liberia:  MSN warns that gains must not be underminded. Meanwhile U.S opens the first of its 17 treatment centers.  

(Two stories, scroll down)

 DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS                                                     Nov. 10, 2014

Monrovia – While the number of new Ebola cases reported in Liberia has declined in recent weeks, the outbreak is far from over and new hotspots continue to emerge across the country, the international medical humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said today, warning that the international aid response must rapidly adapt to this new phase of the epidemic, or risk undermining progress made against Ebola.

Unlike in neighbouring Guinea and Sierra Leone, where cases are on the rise, MSF teams in Liberia are witnessing a decline in the number of Ebola patients admitted to case management centres (CMCs) for the first time since the beginning of the Ebola epidemic.... Case numbers could again rise, as they have in Guinea, where, following two significant dips in admissions to MSF facilities, patient numbers are again increasing.

“In Liberia, the international response is finally getting off the ground,” said Fasil Tezera, MSF head of operations in Liberia. “Financial support is starting to flow into the country and huge resources are being put into constructing large-scale Ebola isolation centres. Isolation units in Monrovia and some other parts of the country now have adequate capacity and we must adapt the strategy if we want to stay ahead of the curve and beat the epidemic. Priority should be given to a more flexible approach that allows a rapid response to new outbreaks and gets the regular healthcare system safely up and running again.”

Read full statement

http://www.msf.org/article/ebola-hard-won-gains-liberia-must-not-be-undermined
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US Opens New Ebola Treatment Unit in Liberia

 MONROVIA, Liberia                                       Nov. 10, 2014

By Jonathan Paye-Layleh

The United States Monday opened the first of 17 Ebola treatment units it is building in Liberia.

The new clinic opened in Tubmanburg, about 60 kilometers (40 miles) north of the capital, Monrovia. The number of people with Ebola appears to declining in the capital, Monrovia, but more cases are popping up in other areas of the West African country, according to the World Health Organization.

Read complete story

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/us-opens-ebola-treatment-unit-liberia-26809028