Situation Report

AFP                                                                                                                     Feb. 23, 2015
Los Angeles  - Early results from an Ebola trial using the experimental drug Avigan (favipiravir) showed Monday it was somewhat effective at saving lives if given early in the illness, but not later.

Early results from an Ebola trial using the experimental drug Avigan (favipiravir) show it is somewhat effective at saving lives if given early in the illness (AFP Photo/George Frey)

The antiviral treatment is being developed by the Japanese company Toyama Chemical, and has been shown safe and effective against some other viruses including influenza, West Nile and yellow fever.

An ongoing clinical trial in Guinea is testing the drug's use in patients with the Ebola virus, which causes severe vomiting, diarrhea and sometimes fatal bleeding.

Results from only 80 people are available so far, but they show that among those who received the drug early in their illness, 15 percent died of Ebola.

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BBC            by Umaru Fofana                                        Feb. 23, 2015

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone --An orphanage run by a UK charity in Sierra Leone has been quarantined after one of its local staff was diagnosed with the deadly Ebola virus.

Augustine Baker is said to be in a stable condition at a local treatment centre after becoming ill last week....

St George Foundation orphanage co-founder Philip Dean told the BBC that 33 children and seven staff were now in isolation.

The BBC's Umaru Fofana in the capital, Freetown, says that the quarantine at the St George Foundation orphanage is self-imposed, and is expected to last for three weeks.

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http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-31587180

                                                             St George Foundation has helped about 200 children orphaned by Ebola.

BBC                                                                      Feb.23, 2015

Five UK Ebola nurses and doctors are under investigation by regulators, Public Health England says.

They are looking into the screening of medics who flew back to England on 28 December after treating patients in Sierra Leone.

                  Pauline Cafferkey was diagnosed with Ebola in December after volunteering work in Sierra Leone

On this flight was Scottish nurse Pauline Cafferkey - who developed Ebola - and some of her colleagues.

Questions have arisen over the health assessments and protocols that were followed.

Media reports have suggested Ms Cafferkey may have had signs of Ebola before leaving Sierra Leone but regulators have not commented on this.

http://m.bbc.com/news/health-31586074

THE HILL                        by Peter Sullivan                                                                 Feb. 20, 2015

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration on Friday announced around $200 million in new funding to increase Ebola preparedness in the United States. 

The Department of Health and Human Services is giving grants to states to help set up 10 regional Ebola treatment centers, as well as hospitals in every state that can safely care for an Ebola patient until he or she is transferred. Combined with other funds, the move brings the total for local Ebola preparedness to around $340 million.

"Important lessons were also learned during the response effort," HHS said in a statement Friday. "Safety of health care workers must be foremost in health care system preparedness and response activities."

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http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/233385-hhs-announces-new-funding-for-us-ebola-preparedness