ASSOCIATED PRESS by Maria Cheng                                                                                 Feb. 23, 2015

LONDON – The World Health Organization says the two leading Ebola vaccines appear safe and will soon be tested in healthy volunteers in West Africa.

After an expert meeting this week, WHO said there is now enough information to conclude that the two most advanced Ebola vaccines — one made by GlaxoSmithKline and the other licensed by Merck and NewLink — have "an acceptable safety profile."

In a press briefing Friday, Dr. Marie-Paule Kieny, who heads WHO's Ebola vaccine efforts, said "the cupboard (for Ebola vaccines) is filling up rapidly."

She said further trials in healthy people in West Africa, including health workers, are scheduled to start soon. Kieny added several other vaccines were being developed in the U.S., Russia and elsewhere.

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http://www.baxterbulletin.com/story/life/health/2015/02/23/leading-ebola-vaccines-appear-safe-says/23901829/

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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MONROVIA -- A Liberian health ministry official said the country will continue to observe all Ebola preventive protocols and regulations until it achieves “zero infections.”

This came as President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Sunday ordered the lifting of the nationwide Ebola curfew put in place in August to prevent the further spread of the virus. 

Tolbert Nyenswah, the assistant minister of health for preventive services and head of the country’s Ebola response, said Liberia is returning to a more normal state in light of the recent decline in the number of Ebola cases and the reopening of schools....

“Our county health teams in Liberia are more vigilant with cross-border surveillance. All of our border counties have been freed of Ebola either in the last 35 to 42 days, including Grand Cape Mounty, Gbarpolu, Lofa, and Nimba. These counties bordering Sierra Leone and Guinea have been Ebola free over 42 days now,” Nyenswah said.
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http://www.voanews.com/content/liberia-lifts-ebola-curfew-reopens-borders/2654610.html

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.

Read complete story.

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

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

Center for Global Development - cgdev.org -by Karen A. Grépin and Amanda Glassman - February 4, 2015

. . . In a new paper out today in the BMJ, Karen investigated the level and speed of the international response to the Ebola outbreak and contrasted it with the appeals made by international leaders to curb the spread of the disease. Contrary to widespread belief, Karen finds that, overall, the level of donations to the response were actually robust: as of December 31st, 2,104 donors had pledged almost $3 billion towards controlling the epidemic. Notably, this is actually larger than the official appeals for upwards of $1.5 billion. In addition, the data used underestimate total donations, in particular those given by the World Bank, which mobilized at least $1 billion in financing to help support affected countries.

 WHO PRESS RELEASE                                                                                              Feb. 23, 2015

Every day, every bed in an Ebola treatment unit creates approximately 300 litres of liquid waste. Managing this waste has been a challenge in the Ebola outbreak in Liberia. WHO is working with partners to ensure this waste is effectively decontaminated and no longer poses a threat to health.

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

Liberian President urges more support for recovery, to meet next week with President Obama

(Two stories. Scroll down.)

ASSOCIATED PRESS                                                                                      Feb. 22, 2015
HARJAH, United Arab Emirates — Liberia’s leader on Sunday urged the United States and other countries to keep up their support to the West African nation as it recovers from the Ebola epidemic and refocuses attention on infrastructure projects that will better position it to tackle future outbreaks of disease.

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."

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

NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO INTERVIEW by Laura Starecheski                                     Feb. 20, 2015
BARKEDU,  LIBERIA --If you'd like to get an idea of what resilience is all about, take a lesson from Mamuedeh Kanneh.

She lost her husband to Ebola. But she's stayed strong. She's caring for 13 children, her own and orphans whose parents died of the virus.

Mamuedeh Kanneh was married to Laiye Barwor, the man who brought Ebola to Barkedu, Liberia. He died of the virus. She now cares for her children as well as children who lost their parents to the disease. John W. Poole/NPR

Kanneh lives in Barkedu, a village of about 6,000 in northern Liberia. Ebola took more than 150 lives. In her neighborhood there were many deaths, so people in other parts of Barkedu are scared of the orphans.

Kanneh has a strategy to help these children — and the village overall — get back to normal life. She sends the youngsters on errands so people can get used to seeing them and get over their fear. And the children can start to feel they're part of the community again....

NEW YORK TIMES  by Rick Gladstone                                    Feb. 20, 2015

The top two health officials managing the Ebola epidemic cast doubt Friday on a pledge by West African leaders to reduce new cases to zero by mid-April, and expressed concern about a possible rebound of the disease.

 BBC NEWS                                                                                                         Feb. 20, 2015

Liberia is to reopen its borders following a reduction in the number of Ebola cases being reported in the country.

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf made the announcement on Friday and said nationwide curfews would also be lifted.

New infections have dropped to one-tenth of the level seen when the virus was at its peak.

But health officials warned the decline has levelled off in the last month.

Dr Bruce Aylward, who leads the World Health Organization's official Ebola response, said data showed the steep decrease in infections had now flattened, at a rate of around 120 to 150 new cases a week.

Read complete story.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-31558363

submitted by Gavin Macgregor-Skinner

S.D.A. Cooper Hospital in Sinkor - Monrovia, Liberia

allafrica.com - by Bettie Johnson - February 20, 2015

Monrovia — At one of Liberia's private hospitals, more than 30 persons are said to be quarantined after authorities say a woman who knew she had Ebola deliberately tried to infect the staff of the S.D. Cooper Hospital in Sinkor. Madam Amanda Blah who died early this month disguised herself and went to over three health facilities including Mawah, JFK and S.D. Cooper.

The death of Blah followed when her cousin named Steve Yadolo who died from the virus in the Bong Mines bridge community, but infected three persons, including Blah, his sister Marlene Yadolo, and brother Elijah Yadolo who are presently at an ETU in the country.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

(ALSO SEE SAME ARTICLE HERE)

NEW YORK TIMES  OP-ED BY Ron Klain, the former White House Ebola response coordinaor                                    FEB. 20, 2015

...The world needs to do a better job of quickly detecting and responding to future outbreaks in unlikely places. The President’s Global Health Security Agenda, the government’s strategy to combat infection disease around the world, will help. But vulnerable countries, including those in Africa, need their own version of our Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, so that they are not so dependent on ours.

For the hardest task of front-line epidemic fighting, our planet is too reliant on courageous and talented — but underfunded, under-equipped and volunteer-dependent — nongovernmental organizations. The world needs a permanent standing force — or a ready reserve that can be quickly organized — of public health emergency responders who have the training, gear and resources to race into a region in the early phases of epidemic control. The United States military cannot do that job every time; future outbreaks might occur in countries where our troops will not be welcomed as they were in West Africa.

REUTERS      by Lisa Rapaport                                                                                Feb. 19, 2015

Effectively monitoring people exposed to Ebola requires more than just checking symptoms. A quarantine plan also needs to help people keep up with work and school and pay for essentials like housing and food, a U.S. report concludes.

To understand the challenges encountered by ordinary citizens exposed to Ebola, a team led by researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reviewed concerns raised by people monitored as part of an Ebola cluster in Dallas last year.

If yet-to-be-identified contacts notice that those who come forward as Ebola contacts are shunned from society and quarantined in their homes, with no way to provide for themselves and their families, they will be less likely to come forward," said lead study author Dr. Charnetta Smith, a CDC epidemic intelligence service officer.

Read complete story.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/19/us-cdc-quarantine-ebola-policy-idUSKBN0LN1HI20150219

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