Ebola: Roundup of recent developments

(Two items. Scroll down for UNMEER report.)

CENTER FOR INFECTIOUSNESS DISEASE AND POLICY   by Lisa Schnirring                              Jan. 5, 2015

As deaths in West Africa's Ebola outbreak officially topped 8,000 over the weekend, leadership of the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) changed hands, and Guinea launched a new effort to battle the disease amid continuing reports of community resistance....

In other developments, Guinea's government has announced the launch of a campaign called "zero Ebola in 60 days", UNMEER said today. Guinea's Ebola case counts have been oscillating over the past several months, and in its most recent update, the WHO said it's not clear what the trend is. The first part of Guinea's campaign will start Tuesday, with expert teams traveling to six regions to assess local response efforts and form an action plan for each prefecture that dovetails with Guinea's national action plan.

UNMEER said the campaign's working groups are targeting surveillance, case management, infection control, community engagement and social mobilization, and safe burials.

ASSOCIATED PRESS                                                                                      Jan. 5, 2015

GENEVA --The World Health Organization says at least 8,153 people have died in the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

The Geneva-based body said Monday that the total number of confirmed, probable and suspected deaths from the disease comes from 20,656 cases in the three most affected countries — a mortality rate of 39 percent.

The U.N. health agency says 2,915 deaths have been reported from Sierra Leone, 3,471 in Liberia and 1,767 in Guinea.

Read complete story.

http://news.yahoo.com/un-ebola-kills-8-153-people-west-africa-175150599.html

The virus will have a long-lasting impact on already poor countries

THE ECONOMIST                                                                                                      Jan. 3, 2015
When Ebola was at its worst in west Africa a few months ago, many worried that weak governments in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone might be swept away by riots or the collapse of order as the virus took hold. In fact, the opposite appears to be the case. Governments have tightened their grip and are displaying authoritarian inclinations in ways rarely seen in the three young democracies....

The disease, meanwhile, continues to spread. In the week to December 21st, Guinea experienced its highest incidence of the virus since the outbreak began (see chart). In Liberia dozens of new cases have been reported along the border with Sierra Leone.

THE GUARDIAN by Sarah Boseley                                Jan, 5, 2015
LONDON --Even at the Royal Free hospital in London, the lead UK specialist centre for Ebola, doctors have limited options for treating their patients. In the end, survival may depend more on the strength of an individual’s immune system than anything medical science is currently able to do.