Africa

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Ebola outbreak: Doctors Without Borders calls 'lockdown' a mistake

Mon, 2014-09-08 09:06 — Elhadj Drame

Sierra Leone will impose a three-day countrywide shutdown starting Sept. 19

Thomson Reuters Posted: Sep 06, 2014 7:12 AM ET

Last Updated: Sep 07, 2014 2:05 PM ET

Sierra Leone's proposed countrywide "lockdown" will not help control an Ebola outbreak and could lead to the disease spreading further as cases are concealed, medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said on Saturday.

The government plans to order citizens not to leave the areas around their homes for three days from Sept. 19 in a bid to halt new infections and help health workers track down people suffering from the disease, the information ministry said on Saturday.

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WHO: Use Ebola survivors' blood to treat patients

Sat, 2014-09-06 18:32 — Elhadj Drame

BY MARIA CHENG AND CLARENCE ROY-MACAULAY

The Associated PressSeptember 5, 2014

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Ebola Outbreak: Call to Send in Military to West Africa to Help Curb Epidemic

Thu, 2014-09-04 18:21 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Head of Médecins sans Frontières says the world is 'losing the battle' as cases and deaths continue to surge

MSF - theguardian.com - by Sarah Boseley - September 2, 2014

Military teams should be sent to west Africa immediately if there is to be any hope of controlling the Ebola epidemic, doctors on the frontline told the United Nations on Tuesday, painting a stark picture of health workers dying, patients left without care and infectious bodies lying in the streets.

The international president of Médecins sans Frontières (MSF), Dr Joanne Liu, told member states that although alarm bells had been ringing for six months, the response had been too little, too late and no amount of vaccinations and new drugs would be able to prevent the escalating disaster.

"Six months into the worst Ebola epidemic in history, the world is losing the battle to contain it," Liu said.

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http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2014/09/04/the_ebola_outbreak_is_out_of_control_can_it_be_tracked_remotely

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Can Social Media Help Contain Ebola?

Thu, 2014-09-04 15:11 — Norea

By Simon Engler - SEP 4, 2014 - 05:06 PM

Patrick Sawyer, Nigeria's first Ebola patient, collapsed at the international airport in Lagos on July 20. This Wednesday, more than six weeks later, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that it was monitoring at least 200 Nigerians for infection related to Sawyer's case. Sawyer, a Liberian-American who had traveled from Monrovia, had carried the often-fatal disease to Africa's most populous country, hundreds of miles from its origin. It was as if he had slipped through a crowd.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/03/us-health-ebola-idUSKBN0GY1V320140903

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U.N. says $600 million needed to tackle Ebola as deaths top 1,900

Wed, 2014-09-03 14:59 — Norea

(L-R) World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan, Senior United Nations System Coordinator for Ebola Virus Disease Dr. David Nabarro, and Assistant WHO Director-General for Health Security Dr. Keiji Fukuda appear at a briefing to discuss the Ebola outbreak in West Africa at the UN Foundation in Washington September 3, 2014. By Toni Clarke and Saliou Samb - WASHINGTON/CONAKRY Wed Sep 3, 2014 7:54pm EDT

(Reuters) - The United Nations said $600 million in supplies would be needed to fight West Africa's Ebola outbreak, as the death toll from the worst ever epidemic of the virus topped 1,900 and Guinea warned it had penetrated a new part of the country.

The pace of the infection has accelerated, and there were close to 400 deaths in the past week, officials said on Wednesday. It was first detected deep in the forests of southeastern Guinea in March.

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http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/09/140903-ebola-global-response-west-africa-world-health-medicine/?google_editors_picks=true

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As Ebola's Spread Continues, Warnings of an Inadequate Global Response

Wed, 2014-09-03 14:50 — Norea

Health care workers wearing protective suits leave a high-risk area in a hospital in Monrovia last week. Liberia has been hardest-hit by the Ebola virus raging through West Africa, with 624 deaths and 972 cases since the start of the year. Karen Weintraub for National Geographic Published September 3, 2014

More volunteers are desperately needed, officials say.

The battle against Ebola is winnable, public health officials say, but a growing chorus of institutions and experts is warning this week that an insufficient global response to West Africa's epidemic may put a solution to the crisis out of reach.

The disease is spreading uncontrollably in Liberia and Sierra Leone, has now spread beyond Lagos in Nigeria, and has just been detected in a fifth West African country, Senegal.

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Global Health Officials Warn that Window for Bringing Ebola Under Control is Closing Fast

Wed, 2014-09-03 09:36 — Kathy Gilbeaux

A man who left an Ebola quarantine center in Monrovia in search of food was jeered by an angry and fearful crowd at a local market. The man was subsequently chased down by doctors and forced into an ambulance. (Reuters)

washingtonpost.com - by Lena H. Sun and and Brady Dennis - September 2, 2014

Leading international health officials said Tuesday that the Ebola epidemic in West Africa is accelerating and the window for getting it under control is closing.

“Six months into the worst Ebola epidemic in history, the world is losing the battle to contain it,” Joanne Liu, international president of medical charity Doctors Without Borders, said in a briefing at the United Nations. She faulted world leaders for failing to recognize the severity of the crisis sooner and said charities and West African governments alone do not have the capacity to stem the outbreak.

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Ebola: Liberian Nurses Strike Over Lack of Protective Equipment

Tue, 2014-09-02 22:39 — Kathy Gilbeaux

A health worker disinfects an ambulance at the John F Kennedy hospital in Monrovia, Liberia. Photograph: Dominique Faget/AFP/Getty Images

Nurses at Monrovia's John F Kennedy hospital say they will not return to work until they get protective suits and better pay

theguardian.com - AFP - September 2, 2014

Nurses at Liberia's largest hospital have gone on strike, demanding better pay and equipment to protect them against the Ebola epidemic which has killed hundreds in the west African state.

John Tugbeh, spokesman for the strikers at John F Kennedy hospital in Monrovia, said the nurses would not return to work until they were supplied with personal protective equipment (PPE), the hazardous material-style suits which guard against infectious diseases.

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Ebola Outbreak: Japan Develops 30-Minute 'Simpler' Test To Quickly Diagnose Deadly Virus

Tue, 2014-09-02 22:00 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) health workers prepare at ELWA's isolation camp during the visit of Senior United Nations (U.N.) System Coordinator for Ebola David Nabarro, at the camp in Monrovia Aug. 23, 2014. Reuters/2Tango

ibtimes.com - by Suman Varandani - September 2, 2014

Japanese scientists said Tuesday that they have developed a new test that could detect the Ebola virus in 30 minutes, with the help of a technology they claim is faster and cheaper than the current method being used in West Africa. . .

. . . Eiken Chemical Co., along with researchers at Nagasaki University, reportedly created the new testing method, which can be conducted with a “small, battery-powered warmer,” making it ideal for use in places without an adequate power source, the scientists claimed. . .

. . . "The new method is simpler than the current one and can be used in countries where expensive testing equipment is not available," Jiro Yasuda, a professor at Nagasaki University, told Agence France-Presse, or AFP. "We have yet to receive any questions or requests, but we are pleased to offer the system, which is ready to go," he reportedly said.

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