Africa

New Ebola Strain Causing West Africa Outbreak

Thu, 2014-04-17 09:53 — Kathy Gilbeaux

FILE - In this photo provide by MSF, healthcare workers prepare isolation and treatment areas for Ebola in Gueckedou, Guinea, Mar. 28, 2014.

voanews.com - by Steve Baragona - April 16, 2014

WASHINGTON — The strain of Ebola virus that has killed 121 people in West Africa may have been circulating there undetected for some time, according to a new study. . .

. . . They confirmed that it is a member of the Zaire species, which kills most of its victims. Strains of that virus have caused outbreaks previously in Gabon and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

But this virus is a new strain, a previously unknown sister in the Zaire family.

Virologist Jens Kuhn at the National Institutes of Health said there may be more.

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Kenya - Alert Out as 10,000 Face Starvation

Thu, 2014-04-17 08:37 — Kathy Gilbeaux

reliefweb.int - nation.co.ke - by Daniel Tsuma Nyassy - April 16, 2014

An estimated 10,000 people in parts of Kinango constituency, Kwale, urgently need food assistance.

The semi-arid area has been ravaged by drought for the past three years.

Area residents survive on roots and wild fruits.

Their MP, Mr Gonzi Rai, and Mackinnon Road ward representative Musa Ahmed have urged the government to intervene.

Mr Ahmed said hardest-hit areas are Vigurungani, Makamini, Taru, Chengoni, Samburu, Chigutu, Malomani and Ndavaya.

“The situation is bad. We are calling for immediate intervention. People are now feeding on mtunguru (roots) and matopole (wild fruits) to survive,” he said in Mombasa.

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Shameful Attitude to Vulnerable Displaced Shown by Leadership of United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS)

Fri, 2014-04-11 22:57 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Displaced people live in appalling conditions in a flood-prone part of a UN compound. Photo: Aurelie Baumel/MSF

msf.org - April 9, 2014

In a shocking display of indifference, senior United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) officials have refused to improve living conditions for 21,000 displaced people living in a flood-prone part of a UN compound, exposed to waterborne diseases and potential epidemics. Despite repeated requests from humanitarian organisations, UNMISS is taking no actions in the camp to improve their chances of survival. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) today questions the UN’s commitment to meeting the needs of the war-torn country’s most vulnerable groups and calls for immediate action to save lives in Tomping camp.

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Adaptation to Climate Change in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene: Assessing Risks, Appraising Options in Africa

Mon, 2014-04-07 00:19 — Kathy Gilbeaux

odi.org.uk - March 2014

Water will be the main channel through which the impacts of climate change will be felt by people, ecosystems and economies. However, predicting impacts on the availability and quality of freshwater resources, and on water-dependent services and sanitation, remains difficult.

While there is a high level of confidence in the processes linking emissions to global warming, much less is known about how warming will affect changes in rainfall, runoff, groundwater recharge and climate extremes.

This reflects challenges with the downscaling of climate models, but also the significance of intervening factors, such as changes in land cover, which may have a greater influence on local systems and services than climate change. In general, the level of confidence in climate change projections decreases as their potential utility for making decisions on how to adapt increases.

This report presents the findings of research into the risks to delivery of WASH results posed by climate change in Africa, drawing on rapid case study reviews of WASH programming in Malawi, Sierra Leone and Tanzania. A separate Case Study Report provides further detail on country background and findings.

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Mob attacks Ebola treatment centre in Guinea, suspected cases reach Mali

Sat, 2014-04-05 09:20 — Elhadj Drame

BAMAKO/CONAKRY, April 4 (Reuters) - An angry crowd attacked an Ebola treatment centre in Guinea on Friday, accusing its staff of bringing the deadly disease to the town, Medecins Sans Frontieres said, as Mali identified its first suspected cases.

More than 90 people have already died in Guinea and Liberia in what medical charity MSF, or Doctors without Borders, has warned could turn into an unprecedented epidemic...

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Ebola victims quarantined in Guinea

Wed, 2014-03-26 15:50 — Elhadj Drame

CONAKRY, GUINEA — Health workers in protective hazmat suits treated patients in quarantine centers on Tuesday in a remote corner of Guinea where Ebola has killed at least 60 people in West Africa's first outbreak of the deadly virus in two decades.

Seven patients are being hospitalized at one isolation ward in Gueckedou in southern Guinea, while two others are being treated elsewhere, said Doctors Without Borders. The aid group said it is sending mobile teams into the surrounding countryside in search of people who may have been exposed since the first cases emerged last week.

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Ebola Virus Suspected to Have Spread From Guinea to Liberia

Tue, 2014-03-25 10:22 — Elhadj Drame

Africa’s biggest Ebola outbreak in seven years has probably spread from Guinea to neighboring Liberia and also threatens Sierra Leone.

Five people are suspected to have died from the disease in Lofa county in northern Liberia, Bernice Dahn, Liberia’s chief medical officer, said at a briefing yesterday. At least 86 cases and 59 deaths have been recorded across Guinea, the west African country’s health ministry said. The capital, Conakry, hasn’t been affected, government spokesman Albert Damantang Camara said.

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EBOLA DETECTED IN GUINEA VICTIMS, 50 DEAD

Sun, 2014-03-23 11:40 — Elhadj Drame

CONAKRY, Guinea (AP) — Samples from victims of a viral hemorrhagic fever that has killed more than 50 people in Guinea have tested positive for the Ebola virus, government officials said Sunday, marking the first time an outbreak among humans has been detected in this West African nation.

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Guinea Ebola Outbreak

Sat, 2014-03-22 20:31 — Kathy Gilbeaux

cnn.com - by Christabelle Fombu and Susanna Capelouto - March 23, 2014

(CNN) -- An Ebola outbreak has killed at least 59 people in Guinea, UNICEF said, as the deadly hemorrhagic fever has quickly spread from southern communities in the West African nation.

Experts in the country had been unable to identify the disease, whose symptoms -- diarrhea, vomiting and fever -- were first observed last month.

Health Minister Remy Lamah said Saturday initial test results confirm the presence of a viral hemorrhagic fever, which according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention refers to a group of viruses that affect multiple organ systems in the body.

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Growing Disease Burden in South Sudan Conflict

Wed, 2014-01-29 14:39 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Lucky delivery: A south Sudan refugee mother takes a meal after successfully delivering her newborn at Nzjaipi health center III. A number of expecting mothers in limbo due to inadequate health facilities at refugee transit and sattlement sites in Adjumani. Charles Akena/IRIN

irinnews.org

GULU-NAIROBI, 27 January 2014 (IRIN) - Disease burden is growing among people who fled their homes following the outbreak of conflict in South Sudan.

The mid-December eruption of fighting between army forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and those supporting former vice-president Riek Machar has adversely impacted the already weak health system.

“Even before this crisis, South Sudan’s health system was extremely fragile - 80 percent of the health services were provided by international organizations," Raphael Gorgeu, the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) head of mission for South Sudan, told IRIN in an email. “So for MSF, the current conflict exacerbates an already dire situation.”

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