Sierra Leone

Ebola Should Be Easy to Treat

Sun, 2014-12-21 11:08 — mike kraft

NEW YORK TIMES SUNDAY REVIEW by Jeffrey Gettleman Dec. 21, 2014

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone --
...Ebola, however much some of its symptoms conjure up a horror film, is usually shockingly simple to treat. The virus is swift and ruthless, hideous and creepy, causing some patients to have bloody vomit, bloody diarrhea or even — in severe cases — bloody eyeballs. Ebola is one of the handful of viruses than can trigger a hemorrhagic fever, with internal bleeding, but in most cases the biggest threat is dehydration, which can be addressed by clean water and basic drugs.

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S Leone to withdraw Somalia troops over Ebola

Sun, 2014-12-21 10:33 — mike kraft

African Union blocks troops rotation over Ebola fears, forcing Sierra Leone to withdraw its 850 soldiers from Somalia.

ALJAZERA by Hansa Mohamed Dec. 21, 2014

Sierra Leone is withdrawing its troops from Somalia after the African Union blocked the West African country from rotating its soldiers over fears for the Ebola virus.

Sierra Leone sent 850 troops to Somalia for a 12-month deployment to fight the al-Qaeda-linked rebel group, al-Shabab, in Somalia in 2013.

Their rotation was delayed after a group of 800 soldiers, who were waiting to replace their comrades in Somalia, were quarantined after one of the soldiers was tested positive for Ebola.

"They have to go. We wish they could have stayed but they have been here long. And there is no rotation possible because of the nature of the situation," Maman Sidou, the AU's special representative for Somalia said during a farewell event for the troops held in the port city of Kismayo on Friday.

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Ebola death toll close to 7,400, says World Health Organisation

Sat, 2014-12-20 16:50 — mike kraft

The Guardian by Chris Johnston Dec. 20, 2014

(Two items, scroll below.)

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone --The death toll from the worst ever outbreak of Ebola has reached nearly 7,400, with just over 19,000 people infected across west Africa, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, addresses health workers in Sierra Leone. Photograph: Evan Schneider/AFP/Getty Images

Sierra Leone reported 400 new fatalities this week, bringing the death toll there to 2,500. As of 18 December, it had the highest number of people infected by the virus – 8,800 cases, of which 6,900 were confirmed, according to the country’s health ministry.

The WHO is attempting to curb an outbreak in the west of the country, where the disease is spreading fastest, by sending a “massive surge of staff and resources” to the area.

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UN's Ban urges end to discrimination against Ebola workers

Sat, 2014-12-20 09:37 — mike kraft

REUTERS --By Matthew Mpoke Bigg Dec.20, 2014
CONAKRY--U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Saturday urged countries affected by the Ebola virus to avoid discriminating against healthcare workers fighting to end the disease.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has his temperature checked upon arrival at the Roberts International airport in Liberia's capital Monrovia December 19, 2014. Credit: Reuters/James Giahyue

Ban was speaking in Guinea on the second day of a whistle-stop tour aimed at thanking healthcare workers of the countries at the heart of the epidemic....

Ban's tour began in Liberia and Sierra Leone on Friday and will end later on Saturday in Ghana, site of the U.N. Ebola response mission (UNMEER), after a visit to Mali.

"There should be no discrimination for those who have been working or helping with Ebola. Those people are giving all of themselves," Ban told U.N. officials in Conakry.

Read complete story.

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Ebola-Stricken Families to Receive Cash Payments

Fri, 2014-12-19 22:55 — mike kraft

TIME MAGAZINE by ALexandra Sifferlin Dec. 19, 2014

In 2015, the three Ebola-affected countries will start offering cash payments for families hit by Ebola, as well as survivors having trouble re-acclimating to society out of stigma for the disease.

Dudu Kromah’s husband died from Ebola. She is looking after ten children, many of them orphans including a 3-month-old baby. She has no income. Carly Learson—Carly Learson / UNDP

Every aspect of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone’s societies have taken a hit from Ebola, and the disease has shocked what were once fragile but growing economies....Every aspect of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone’s societies

“We are seeing a backwards slide of development of about 10 years,” says Boaz Paldi, chief of media and advocacy at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). “The outlook is not good. We are fearful for these countries.”

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CSIS Podcast - Ebola in West Africa

Fri, 2014-12-19 21:32 — Kathy Gilbeaux

csis.org - Center for Strategic and International Studies

The CSIS podcast “Ebola in West Africa” has been named by Apple as one of its “Best of 2014” podcasts on iTunes U.

“Ebola in West Africa” was produced by Sahil Angelo, a young professional who works in the CSIS Global Health Policy Center in conjunction with our team of multi-media professionals in the CSIS Ideas Lab.

CSIS multimedia is available on iTunes, iTunes U and on www.CSIS.org/multimedia

CLICK HERE - iTunes - Ebola in West Africa

CLICK HERE - Tweet - iTunes U - Best of 2014

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Ebola: limitations of correcting misinformation

Fri, 2014-12-19 16:56 — mike kraft

THE LANCET Dec.18, 2014
Communication and social mobilisation strategies to raise awareness about Ebola virus disease and the risk factors for its transmission are central elements in the response to the current Ebola outbreak in west Africa.1 A principle underpinning these efforts is to change risky "behaviour" related to "traditional" practices and "misinformation".

Populations at risk of contracting Ebola virus disease have been exhorted to “put aside, tradition, culture and whatever family rites they have and do the right thing”....Such messages follow logically from clinical and epidemiological framings of contagion.

They pay little attention, however, to the historical, political, economic, and social contexts in which they are delivered....

Read the complete article.

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2814%2962382-5/fulltext

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In Sierra Leone, the ghosts of war haunt an Ebola graveyard

Fri, 2014-12-19 14:27 — mike kraft

WASHINGTON POST by Kevin Sieff Dec. 19, 2014

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone — To find Andrew Kondoh, walk through the gates of this city’s largest cemetery, where teams in moonsuits bury more than 50 bodies in white plastic bags each day. Look for the man with the wispy goatee and big belly, who is overseeing one of the world’s most chaotic, dangerous graveyards as if he’s done it all before.

That’s because he has.

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Ebola Survivors Fight Prejudice

Thu, 2014-12-18 20:23 — mike kraft

Organizations seek to help patients reintegrate into society after recovering

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN by Erika Check Hayden and Nature magazine Dec. 18, 2014

Katima Kamara survived Ebola. Now she cares for children as a nurse at an Ebola treatment center in Kenema, Sierra Leone. But Kamara’s neighbours are wary of her, despite her bill of good health. Some call her home the ‘Ebola compound’ and avoid taking water from her well.

Kamara’s story is not unusual. Across Sierra Leone, Ebola survivors are working as nurses, caregivers, counsellors, organizers and outreach workers, seeking to halt the spread of the disease that threatened their lives. But they also fight discrimination and stigma, lingering health problems and poverty—a legacy of the ongoing Ebola epidemic that is only now beginning to be addressed, seven months after the virus emerged in the country....

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Ebola total tops 18,000, with hints of slowing in Sierra Leone

Thu, 2014-12-18 20:00 — mike kraft

CENTER FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASE RESEARCH AND POLICY by Lisa Schnirring Dec. 17, 2014

Sierra Leone's rising Ebola activity seems to be slowing as a major effort to knock down the disease gets under way; disease incidence is still fluctuating in Guinea and cases continue to decline in Liberia, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today in its latest update.

The global Ebola total as of Dec 14 has reached 18,603 cases, along with 6,915 reported deaths, the WHO said. Numbers reflect an increase of 661 infections and 527 deaths since the last report Dec 10. Sierra Leone, with 327 new cases, accounted for more than half the increase, while Guinea reported 76 more. Liberia reported eight new confirmed cases, but its total includes only those reported as of Dec 9.

The WHO said progress is occurring in all three of the hardest-hit countries toward the United Nations' goal of isolating and treating 100% of Ebola patients and safely burying 100% of those who die from the disease by Jan 1. All countries now have enough treatment beds, though some are unevenly distributed, resulting in shortages in some areas, the WHO said.

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