WHO Director-General briefs media on outcome of Ebola Emergency Committee

Ladies and gentlemen,

Thank you for joining us.

The ninth meeting of the Emergency Committee on Ebola, convened today under the International Health Regulations, has advised me that the Ebola situation in West Africa no longer constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

Although the response to a cluster of new Ebola cases and deaths is being reported in Guinea, that flare-up currently involves a single chain of transmission. It is the Committee's view that the countries have the capacities and capabilities to manage such flares.

To date, nearly 1000 contacts related to this flare-up have been identified, of whom 142 are considered at high risk of exposure.

In making its assessment, the Committee reviewed data on this new cluster of cases together with responses to earlier Ebola flare-ups that occurred after the original chains of transmission were interrupted in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.

The response to each and every one of these flares was immediate and very effectively contained.

Statement on the 9th meeting of the IHR Emergency Committee regarding the Ebola outbreak in West Africa

The 9th meeting of the Emergency Committee convened by the WHO Director-General under the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR) regarding the Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in West Africa took place by teleconference on Tuesday, 29 March 2016 from 12:30 until 15:15 hr.

The Committee was requested to provide the Director-General with views and perspectives as to whether the event continues to constitute a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) and whether the current Temporary Recommendations should be extended, rescinded or revised.

Representatives of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone presented the epidemiological situation, ongoing work to prevent Ebola re-emergence, and capacity to detect and respond rapidly to any new clusters of cases in each country.

At a national dialogue on Global Environment Facility Financing Mechanism held at the Sierra Lighthouse hall, Aberdeen, Madam Haddiatu Jallow on Wednesday told participants that Sierra Leone is rated the three most vulnerable country to climate change and other environmental hazards.

Significance

Since the initial recognition of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in 1976, many epidemics have occurred in Africa. Serious concerns remain that the fatal disease may repeatedly reemerge. In this study, we used data from an unprecedented EVD outbreak in Sierra Leone to map spatiotemporal transmission patterns, identify influential factors, and assess the effects of interventions at the chiefdom level. Furthermore, we have quantified household transmissibility and the temporal association between interventions and household transmission. Our findings have deepened the understanding of the transmission dynamics of EVD and provided key information for future modeling efforts in forecasting future epidemics and establishing intervention strategies.

Abstract

Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long at the meeting with Binh Thuan authorities.

Vietnam raises its Zika alert level as an Australian tourist tested positive for the virus after returning from the country.

channelnewsasia.com - by Le Thi Minh Hue - March 24, 2016

HANOI: Vietnam’s Ministry of Health has raised the alert level for Zika after an Australian tourist tested positive upon his return from Vietnam.

The move came after the World Health Organization's (WHO) International Heath Regulations (IHR) agency informed Vietnam of the case, Professor Tran Dac Phu, Head of Preventive Medicine Department, told local media late Wednesday (Mar 23).

Phu confirmed that the Australian tourist went through an incubation period while in Vietnam.

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ALSO SEE RELATED ARTICLE HERE - Vietnam braces for Zika virus

Image: A general view on the chimneys of the Hsieh-ho Power Plant in Keelung, northern Taiwan, 17 November 2015. EPA/DAVID CHANG

washingtonpost.com - March 16, 2016 - Chris Mooney

Roughly a year ago, the International Energy Agency announced a wonky yet nonetheless significant development. Looking at data for the year 2014, the agency found that although the global economy grew — by 3.4 percent that year — greenhouse gas emissions from the use of energy (their largest source) had not. They had stalled at about 32.3 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide, just as in 2013.

The agency called this a “decoupling” of growth from carbon dioxide emissions, and noted that it was the “the first time in 40 years in which there was a halt or reduction in emissions of the greenhouse gas that was not tied to an economic downturn.” For decades prior to 2014, economic growth had pretty much always meant more pollution of the atmosphere, and a worsening climate problem.

Image: A new report released by the World Meteorological Organization shows that climate change is accelerating at an "unprecedented" rate, warning that actions must be taken "before we pass the point of no return." (Photo : Getty Images )

hngn.com - March 21, 2016 - Samantha Mathewson

A new report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) suggests global climate change is advancing at an alarming and "unprecedented" rate.

Last year's extreme weather broke a series of records, including global temperatures, exceptional rainfall, devastating droughts, unusual cyclone activity and intense heat waves. And while 2015 proved to be the warmest year worldwide, 2016 is expected to far exceed those records.

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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

Image: A mosquito.

sakshipost.com - March 17, 2016

Key factors that can combine to produce a Zika virus outbreak are expected to be present in 50 US cities during peak summer months, a study has warned.

The Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is spreading the virus in much of Latin America and the Caribbean, will likely be increasingly abundant across much of the southern and eastern US as the weather warms, according to the study led by experts at the National Centre for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in US.

Summertime weather conditions are favourable for populations of the mosquito along the East Coast as far north as New York City and across the southern tier of the country as far west as Phoenix and Los Angeles, according to computer simulations conceived and run by researchers at NCAR and the NASA Marshall Space Flight Centre.

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mage: Workers are seen at Shuangyashan Mine, owned by Longmay Group, in Shuangyashan, Heilongjiang province, in this March 15, 2016 file picture. REUTERS/Brenda Goh/Files

reuters.com - March 22, 2016 - David Stanway

China's campaign to slim down its bloated industries could be derailed by more than $1.5 trillion of debt in its steel, coal, cement and non-ferrous metal sectors, which threatens to overwhelm local banks.

Tackling industrial overcapacity has become a priority for Beijing to make its slowing economy more efficient and address a supply glut that has hammered coal and steel prices.

China is providing more than 100 billion yuan ($15 billion) in the next two years to handle layoffs from coal and steel, but that will only be made available once debts have been settled.

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The Obama administration said Tuesday it will allow foreign nationals from Ebola-affected countries in West Africa to stay in the U.S. for another six months, even though global health officials said the outbreak that killed 11,000 people abroad is officially over.

World Health Organisation had just announced ‘milestone’ of no new infections in neighbouring Sierra Leone when latest fatalities came to light

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

nytimes.com - March 7th 2016 - Aaron E. Carroll

A century ago, the top three causes of death were infectious diseases. More than half of all people dying in the United States died because of germs. Today, they account for a few percent of deaths at most.

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