In Liberia, a Good or Very Bad Sign: Empty Hospital Beds

RATE OF NEW CASES SEEMS TO BE SLOWING DOWN IN LIBERIAN HOSPITALS.   (Two stories.)

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The Ebola field hospital in Bong County, Liberia, which opened in mid-September, has far fewer patients than anticipated. Credit Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times

NEW YORK TIMES                                                              Oct. 29, 2014

By Sheri Fink, MD

SUAKOKO, Liberia - ...Around the country, treatment centers, laboratory workers who test for Ebola, and international and national health officials trying to track the epidemic have noticed an unexpected pattern: There are far fewer people being treated for Ebola than anticipated.

As of Sunday, fewer than half of the 649 treatment beds across the country were occupied, a surprising change in a nation where patients had long been turned away from Ebola units for lack of space.

“The numbers are decreasing, but we don’t know why,” said Malin Lager, a spokeswoman at a Doctors Without Borders treatment center just outside Monrovia, the capital. Its vast campus of white tents, which has a capacity for 253 patients, had only 90 on Sunday.  “It’s too early to celebrate,” Ms. Lager said.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/29/world/africa/in-liberia-a-good-or-very-bad-sign-empty-beds-.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=second-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news
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ASSOCIATED PRESS                                         Oct. 29, 2014

DAKAR, Senegal — The World Health Organization says the rate of Ebola cases in Liberia seems to be slowing, although experts are still examining the data to make sure it is reliable....

Bruce Aylward, the assistant director-general for WHO, said Wednesday that experts are being cautious. He said the rate of infection seems to be slowing, but cautioned that a small decline does not mean the epidemic is over.

He said experts were still checking to make sure there wasn't simply a problem with cases not being reported.

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http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2014/10/29/world/africa/ap-ebola-west-africa.html?ref=africa&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=*Morning%20Brief&utm_campaign=2014_MorningBrief-%20RD%20PROMO10.29.14&_r=0