Guinea Resilience System

who.int - February 24, 2016

CLICK HERE - WHO - Interim Guidance - Clinical Care for Survivors of Ebola Virus Disease

Overview

Today, there are over 10 000 survivors of Ebola virus disease. A number of medical problems have been reported in survivors, including mental health issues. Ebola virus may persist in some body fluids, including semen. Ebola survivors need comprehensive support for the medical and psychosocial challenges they face and also to minimize the risk of continued Ebola virus transmission.

WHO has developed this document to guide health services on how to provide quality care to survivors of Ebola virus disease. Table of contents include:

Introduction

Planning follow-up of the Ebola survivor

Common sequelae of Ebola virus disease and recommended evaluation and clinical management

Considerations for special populations

Monitoring for persistent Ebola virus infection in survivors: guidelines for testing and counselling

Infection prevention and control considerations in survivors

During the Ebola outbreak of 1995 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, eight patients with Ebola were given blood transfusions from people who had recently recovered from Ebola. Seven of them survived.

The blood of people who have recently recovered from an infection contains antibodies that the body develops naturally to fight that infection. The transfusion of these antibodies into infected individuals (as whole blood, plasma, or concentrated antibodies) has a long history and has been proposed as a possible treatment for Ebola virus disease.

see more at: http://www.dddmag.com/news/2016/03/treating-ebola-plasma

Most people who survive an Ebola infection will have long-lasting health problems, say doctors from the US National Institutes of Health.

CLICK HERE - Press Release - American Academy of Neurology (AAN) - Most Ebola Survivors Examined in Study Experienced Brain Symptoms Six Months After Infection

CLICK HERE - Abstract - Survivors of Ebola Virus Disease Have Persistent Neurologic Deficits

nbcnews.com - by Maggie Fox - February 24, 2016

From headaches and memory loss to vision problems and infected semen, Ebola survivors are suffering serious, long-term effects from their battles with the deadly virus, new studies show.

The most high-profile patient may be Scottish nurse Pauline Cafferkey, who is back in a London hospital for the second time after her recovery from infection. But thousands of people in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone are also suffering, researchers say.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are seen inside Oxitec laboratory in Campinas, Brazil, February 2, 2016. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker

Reuters - by Stephanie Nebehay - February 2, 2016

GENEVA, Feb 2 (Reuters) - The Zika virus linked to a microcephaly outbreak in Latin America could spread to Africa and Asia, and the World Health Organization will set up monitoring sites in the poorest countries with the highest birth rates, it said on Tuesday.

. . . ”Most important, we need to set up surveillance sites in low- and middle- income countries so that we can detect any change in the reporting patterns of microcephaly at an early stage," said Dr. Anthony Costello, WHO director for maternal, child and adolescent health.

A WHO global response unit "using all the lessons we've learned from the Ebola crisis" has been set up, he said. Some 20 to 30 'sentinel sites' for surveillance could be established worldwide, mainly in poor countries lacking robust health systems.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)