Situation Report

Journey to the center of an epidemic

Wed, 2014-11-05 00:10 — mike kraft

A Pulitzer winning science writer's saga of flying to the Ebola zones of Liberia

FOREIGN POLICY Nov. 3, 014
By Laura Garrett

MONROVIA, Liberia — The journey to Liberia tests the mettle of any American wanting to help the nation in its Ebola crisis. The trek really begins with fears about how the Samaritan will be received once he or she returns from the epidemic, facing quarantines and stigma. And the first leg lands the traveler in a political and cultural climate in steamy West Africa marked by resilience in the face of genuine threat.

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As Ebola declines in Liberia, health officials reassess response plans

Tue, 2014-11-04 03:38 — mike kraft

WASHINGTON POST NOV. 3, 2014

By Lenny Bernstein

MONROVIA, Liberia — The rate of new Ebola infections here has declined so sharply in recent weeks that even some of the busiest treatment facilities are now only half-full and officials are reassessing the scale of the response needed to quell the epidemic....

No one tracking the outbreak is close to declaring the deadly hemorrhagic disease vanquished, and all are wary that the virus, which has receded at times over the past seven months, could suddenly flare again in this impoverished country, the epicenter of the West African Ebola catastrophe.

But five days after the World Health Organization said new infections were declining in Liberia, a 157-bed treatment center in the city of Foya, where the epidemic began seven months ago, held no patients Monday, according to a nurse there. The same facility received no new admissions last Wednesday, the most recent day for which government statistics were available...

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Welcome - Liberia Phase II – Executive Committee

Tue, 2014-11-04 03:07 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Welcome to the Liberia Phase II – Executive Committee.

The mission of this working group is to focus on discussions held by the Liberia Phase II Executive Committee. The mailhandler email address for this group is

***@***.***

All emails to this mailhandler and replies to this mailhandler will be sent to all members of this group, and will generate a group post that includes your comments.

For your convenience, we have established a link to our posting instruction sets at the top of the
Liberia Phase II – Executive Committee group page.
http://liberia.resiliencesystem.org/liberia-phase-ii-executive-committee

Also for your convenience, we are providing you with the following links . . .

Liberia Resilience System
http://liberia.resiliencesystem.org/

Resilience System - Twitter - @resiliencesys
https://twitter.com/resiliencesys

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Welcome - Liberia Phase II – University Working Group.

Tue, 2014-11-04 02:29 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Welcome to the Liberia Phase II – University Working Group.

The mission of this working group is to focus on discussions about Ebola Phase II activities in Liberia by University students. The mailhandler email address for this group is

***@***.***

All emails to this mailhandler and replies to this mailhandler will be sent to all members of this group, and will generate a group post that includes your comments.

In the near future we intend to establish a link to our posting instruction sets at the top of the Liberia Phase II – University Working Group page.
http://liberia.resiliencesystem.org/liberia-phase-ii-university-working-group

For your convenience, we are providing you with the following links . . .

Liberia Resilience System
http://liberia.resiliencesystem.org/

Resilience System - Twitter - @resiliencesys
https://twitter.com/resiliencesys

Links to our social media partners:

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New England researchers help shape the fight on Ebola

Tue, 2014-11-04 00:12 — mike kraft

THE BOSTON GLOBE Nov. 3, 2014

By Carolyn Y. Johnson

Northeastern University researchers use computers to simulate 20 million virtual Ebola outbreaks each week. Yale scientists are building three models that project the spread of the deadly disease. And a team at Boston Children’s Hospital is combing through data to gauge whether medical interventions are working.

.... they are providing a constant stream of evidence that is beginning to reveal the weak spots of the epidemic. For example, scientists’ models are beginning to identify basic patterns of who is being infected and when and how Ebola is being spread, which could help identify the most meaningful ways to intervene.

...According to their model, isolating three-quarters of the patients within the first four days that they show symptoms would help eliminate the disease.

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http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/11/02/ebola-disease-modelers-new-england-help-predict-future-spread-best-strategies/LZHSEGlInJs6SflLWW0yaP/story.html

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Ebola Cases Are Still High in Bong - County Health Officer Discloses

Sun, 2014-11-02 23:05 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Dr. Sampson Azoakoi, Bong County Health Officer

liberianobserver.com - October 30, 2014

Bong County Health Officer, Dr. Sampson Azoakoi, has stated that Ebola cases are still high in the county despite frantic efforts by the County Health Team, the County Leadership and partners to fight the deadly virus there. . .

. . .The County Health Officer informed the gathering that the Ebola cases began to increase in the county from week ten when the disease engulfed the entire county.

Dr. Azoakoi told the Taskforce that he believes the rapid spread of the disease is the direct result of the refusal of local residents to adhere to measures announced by health authorities.

“If we do not change our behavior of how to treat this deadly disease, it will surely live with us for a long period of time despite firm commitment of the international community to fight the virus,” Dr. Azoakoi declared shaking his head in disappointment.

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Better Staffing Seen as Crucial to Ebola Treatment in Africa

Sat, 2014-11-01 14:36 — mike kraft

NEW YORK TIMES Nov. 1, 2014

By Denise Grady

...The stark difference in the care available in West Africa and the United States is reflected in the outcomes...., In West Africa, 70 percent of people with Ebola are dying, while seven of the first eight Ebola patients treated in the United States have walked out of the hospital in good health. Only one died: Thomas Eric Duncan, a Liberian, whose treatment was delayed when a Dallas hospital initially misdiagnosed his illness.

Dr. Rick Sacra, a missionary who was infected with Ebola in Liberia and was successfully treated at the Nebraska Medical Center. Credit Brendan Sullivan/Omaha World-Herald, via Associated Press

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Canada imposes visa ban on three Ebola-hit countries

Sat, 2014-11-01 01:23 — mike kraft

REUTERS Oct. 31,2014

OTTAWA - Canada will stop issuing visas to people from the three West African nations where Ebola is widespread--- Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone-- the government said on Friday.

Canada, which has not reported any cases of Ebola, is following in the footsteps of Australia, which on Tuesday became the first rich nation to issue such a ban. The country's official in charge of the response to Ebola said the move was medically unjustified.

Under the new regulations, which come into force immediately, Canada will not process visa applications from foreign nationals who have been in an Ebola-affected country within the previous three months.

The Conservative government's decision drew fire from Canada's opposition New Democratic Party.

"The experts we’re relying on to fight Ebola are saying this is not the right approach," the party's health critic Libby Davies said in a statement.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/31/us-health-ebola-canada-idUSKBN0IK27T20141031

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Home> International Liberia Opens 1 of Largest Ebola Treatment Centers

Fri, 2014-10-31 23:16 — mike kraft

In this photo taken Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2014, aid is offloaded to be used in the fight of the Ebola virus, as it arrives by air from America at the airport in Conakry, Guinea. No African countries are on the United Nations list of contributors to fight the Ebola epidemic, and angry legislators from Sierra Leone and Liberia got up to protest at a session on peace and security at the Pan-African Parliament in South Africa last "They said as far as they are concerned, nobody wants to talk about Ebola," said Jeggan Grey-Johnson, a governance expert. (AP Photo/ Youssouf Bah)

REUTERS Oct. 31, 2014
ByJonathan Paye-Layleh

MONROVIA, Liberia —Remembering those who have died in the world's deadliest Ebola outbreak, Liberia's president opened one of the country's largest Ebola treatment centers in Monrovia on Friday amid hopes that the disease is finally on the decline in this West African country.

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China To Send Elite Army Unit To Ebola-Hit Liberia

Fri, 2014-10-31 21:19 — mike kraft

REUTERS Oct. 31, 2014
By Megha Rajagopalan

BEIJING, -- China will dispatch an elite unit of the People's Liberation Army to help Ebola-hit Liberia, the Foreign Ministry said on Friday, responding to U.N. calls for a greater global effort to fight the deadly virus in West Africa.

Washington has led the international drive to stop the spread of the disease...sending thousands of troops and committing about $1 billion, but Beijing has faced criticism for not doing enough although it is Africa's largest trading partner.

The PLA squad, which has experience from a 2002 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), will build a 100-bed treatment center in Liberia, the first such facility in the three countries most impacted by Ebola to be constructed and run by a foreign country, said Lin Songtian, director general of the ministry's Department of African Affairs.

The center will be open for operation in a month's time, he told a briefing in Beijing. China will also dispatch 480 PLA medical staff to treat Ebola patients, he said.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/31/china-ebola-liberia_n_6080396.html

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