Ebola news 11/27

[Buster's Uncle]

Ebola aid dogged by coordination lags in Guinea
Associated Press
By MICHELLE FAUL and JAMEY KEATEN  1 hour ago



In this picture taken Thursday Nov. 20, 2014, Ebola orphans receive sanitization kits from UNICEF in the village of Meliandou near Gueckedou, Guinea. Eight months into West Africa's Ebola outbreak, aid efforts in Guinea remain riddled with poor coordination, hampering deployments of international support to help quell a virus that has killed more than 1,200 people in the former French colony. President Francois Hollande of France on Friday is to become the first non-African head of state to visit Guinea since the crisis began, to take stock of the response, cheer on heavily-burdened aid providers, and help demystify fears about the virus that has fanned stigmatization of many people whose lives been lost or impacted by Ebola. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)



CONAKRY, Guinea (AP) — Eight months into West Africa's Ebola outbreak, aid efforts in Guinea still suffer from poor coordination, hampering deployments of international support to help quell a virus that has killed more than 1,200 people in the former French colony, officials and medical aid providers say.

President Francois Hollande of France on Friday is to become the first non-African head of state to visit Guinea since the crisis began. Hollande will take stock of the response, cheer on heavily-burdened aid providers and help demystify fears about a highly stigmatizing virus.

Aid actors hope that his visit also inspires increased coordination in the Ebola fight.

With such a deadly and panic-inspiring health emergency, any aid project was bound to face hurdles. Millions of dollars in aid from the U.S., Europe, China, the U.N. and elsewhere have poured into a relatively poor West African region known for instability and poor governance. A frenzied public reaction— widened by fears of infection following the evacuation of patients to the U.S. and Europe — has increased international pressure for quick action.

The often discombobulated effort hasn't only been seen in Guinea. The region-wide response has been criticized as slow and organizationally complicated. But Guinea's outbreak has attracted less attention because its cases have come in smaller, unpredictable waves in contrast to explosive surges in nearby Liberia and Sierra Leone.

In a contagion that has killed nearly 5,700 people across the region, Liberia has tallied the most deaths and Sierra Leone faces the fastest rate of expansion. That has made Guinea's outbreak the least urgent by comparison.



Semi-trucks delivering supplies to Gueckedou, Guinea Conakry, Saturday Nov. 22, 2014, are stuck in heavy mud on the road from Macenta. Neighboring Mali on Saturday confirmed a new case of Ebola and said two more suspected patients are being tested, raising concern about a further spread of the disease which has already killed at least five people in the country. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)


France's government and the group Doctors Without Borders are among the key players in Guinea. Britain is in the forefront in Sierra Leone's Ebola crisis and the United States is focusing on Liberia.

More than $86 million has been earmarked for Ebola in Guinea, according to the U.N.'s humanitarian aid coordination agency, but more is needed, said Ari Gaitanis, the spokesman for the U.N.'s first-ever emergency health mission — the U.N. Mission for Ebola Emergency Response or UNMEER. He said Hollande is expected to announce new French assistance during his visit.

Guinean President Alpha Conde says his government must coordinate the response, one that aid workers say is confusing and inefficient. Overall the responsibility for the crisis has changed hands several times, from WHO's regional Africa office, to its headquarters and finally to the U.N. mission.

"It's difficult for us to understand who is working for (which) WHO" — the local Africa division or the central office in Geneva, said Pascal Piguet, a logistics expert with Doctors Without Borders who leads the Ebola treatment center in the southern town of Gueckedou.

Bintou Keita, the head of UNMEER's operations in Guinea, said the daily coordination meeting of government officials, donors and aid workers held on Wednesday focused on which agencies should be responsible for logistics in different sectors.



A poster featuring French President Francois Holland is seen from a pedestrian overpass near the People's Palace in Conakry, Guinea, Wednesday Nov. 26, 2014. Hollande on Friday will become the first non-African head of state to visit Guinea since the Ebola crisis began. Hollande will take stock of the response, cheer on heavily-burdened aid providers and help demystify fears about a highly stigmatizing virus. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)


Oyewale Tomori, a professor of virology at Redeemer's University in Nigeria who sits on WHO's emergency committee on Ebola, said countries themselves should be coordinating the Ebola control efforts with help from agencies like the U.S. CDC and WHO. "But that's not happening. We have a very fractured response," Tomori added.

French authorities concede their rollout — highlighted by the opening of a treatment center in southeastern Macenta last week — has taken time and been less flashy than the U.S. decision to deploy thousands of troops, but is geared for the long-term.

"There were all sorts of debate on the theme of: What is France doing, where are its resources going, where are French (Foreign) Legion and battalions on the ground?" said Didier Le Bret, the head of the French Foreign Ministry's crisis center. "We took an approach that's perhaps a bit less spectacular."

The British and Americans, he said, quickly discovered "the difficulty of finding trained personnel to operate in these treatment centers. So it's not because you arrive with thousands of armed guys (and) you build these great centers, that we solve the problem."

Fears that treatment centers were chambers of death prevented many people from turning to foreign aid groups for help. Other recent troubles in Guinea include management capacity constraints, said Gaitanis. More functioning ambulances and experienced, French-speaking epidemiologists are needed, Gaitanis said.

Aid providers in Guinea, however, have done a relatively good job tracing the contacts of Ebola patients. Infection numbers have declined, health officials say, even if suspected cases and contacts between Ebola-infected people and the healthy are still going unreported.

___

Keaten reported from Paris. Maria Cheng in London, John-Thor Dahlburg in Brussels, Sarah DiLorenzo in Dakar, Senegal, and Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed to this report.


http://news.yahoo.com/ebola-aid-dogged-coordination-lags-guinea-172757772.html

[Buster's Uncle]

Canada sending medics to West Africa to fight Ebola
AFP  3 hours ago



Workers wearing Personal Protective Equipment stand inside the contaminated area at the Elwa hospital run by Medecins Sans Frontieres, on September 7, 2014 in Monrovia (AFP Photo/Dominique Faget)



Ottawa (AFP) - Canada will send 40 military medics to West Africa to help fight the Ebola outbreak, officials said Thursday while also encouraging Canadian health care workers to join the fight.

Health Minister Rona Ambrose said an estimated 350 international care workers and specialists are needed at Ebola treatment centers in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

These countries are facing a shortage of doctors and nurses, as well as psychologists, water and sanitation engineers, and infection prevention and control staff, she said.

"We're asking health care workers to join the fight," she said.

Ambrose announced Can$20.9 million (US$18.4 million) for treatment efforts, including training for Canadian medical staff who would deploy to West Africa on how to deal with infectious diseases.

The Canadian Red Cross will train and deploy recruits for eight-week stints. The military medics will be deployed to Sierra Leone alongside their British counterparts for up to six months.

The new funding brings Canada's total contribution to the fight against Ebola to Can$113.5 million (US$100.1 million).


http://news.yahoo.com/canada-sending-medics-west-africa-fight-ebola-211246212.html

[Buster's Uncle]

Liberia hopes for no new Ebola cases by new year
Associated Press
By JONATHAN PAYE-LAYLEH  8 hours ago



German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Health Minister Hermann Groehe, from left, inspect the medevac plane "Robert Koch" for Ebola patients which was unveiled by the German government at the Tegel airport in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, Nov. 27, 2014. The Airbus A 340-300 has been equipped with a special isolation unit, two airlocks, an air filtration system and a separate cabin where doctors can decontaminate their protective suits. (AP Photo/Maurizio Gambarini, pool)



MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) — As Ebola infection rates fall in Liberia, the information minister urged people on Thursday to not let up on the fight against the virus, reiterating the goal of eradicating the disease by the end of the year.

That target appears unrealistic, with the World Health Organization saying authorities are unlikely to meet the more modest goal of isolating 70 percent of Ebola patients by Dec. 1. On Wednesday, the U.N. agency said only about 20 percent of Ebola cases in Liberia are being isolated.

But Liberians have been cheered by dramatic gains in recent weeks, as the outbreak has begun to slow after spiraling out of control. At its height this summer, nearly 500 new cases were reported every week in the country; in recent weeks, that figure has fallen to around 100.

"This virus must not go with us into the new year," Information Minister Lewis Brown told a press conference Thursday.

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf earlier set the goal of having no new cases by Dec. 25. Brown praised Liberians who have doggedly abided by calls to wash hands frequently and bring sick relatives to clinics, but said the fight isn't over.

Ebola has killed nearly 5,700 people in West Africa this year and sickened nearly 16,000 people, the majority in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. Liberia has recorded the most cases, but the outbreak is currently surging fastest in Sierra Leone. International aid continues to pour into the region.

As part of those efforts, the German government has unveiled what it says is the world's first dedicated medevac plane for Ebola patients.

The Airbus A340-300 is equipped with an isolation unit, two airlocks, an air filtration system and a separate cabin where doctors can decontaminate their protective suits. The plane — refitted by German airline Lufthansa and the country's Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases — can provide comprehensive intensive care on board, unlike the smaller aircraft that have been used for evacuations before, the airline said.

___

Associated Press writer Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this report.


http://news.yahoo.com/germany-unveils-dedicated-ebola-medevac-jet-121334428.html

[Buster's Uncle]

US Ebola survivors meet to discuss experiences, give thanks on 'Today'
Yahoo News
By Michael Walsh  November 26, 2014 11:44 AM



The American Ebola survivors opened up about what they are thankful for just in time for Thanksgiving.



They have a lot to be grateful for this Thanksgiving.

Six American Ebola survivors met as a group for the first time Wednesday morning to discuss being involuntary members of a small club — but some details of their experiences were too painful to relive.

“I don’t think we can really compare war stories. This is a horrible experience for anybody who goes through it,” Dr. Kent Brantly said on the “Today” show.

Many of the other survivors thanked Brantly for donating his blood plasma after recuperating — to aid in their treatments.

“He’s a selfless man and he’s like our angel and gave us a second chance at life, that’s how I feel,” said Dallas nurse Nina Pham.



Several participants thanked Dr. Kent Brantly (top left) for donating his blood plasma to help aid in their recoveries.


Video journalist Ashoka Mukpo agreed: “It’s just amazing that you gave so much to all of us. Thank you.”

Some were hesitant to join the conversation with journalist Matt Lauer, but jumped at the opportunity when they heard they would meet each other.

Nurse Amber Vinson, aid worker Nancy Writebol and Dr. Rick Sacra joined the aforementioned survivors.

“Amazing. Surreal to have us all in one room,” Pham said.

Despite the hardships, all of the survivors agreed that they would not do anything differently — except perhaps use a bit more chlorine.

The survivors do not regret their decisions to treat Ebola patients on U.S. soil or to serve in West Africa, where the deadly virus is an epidemic.

“I’d still do it,” Vinson said.

Toward the end of the interview, several survivors opened up about what they are thankful for this holiday.

“I’m thankful for all the brave men and women in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone who put their lives at risk to deal with this epidemic,” Mukpo said. “They’re the real heroes.”

Vinson told Lauer that she’s thankful for the “little things — like when I’m cooking, smelling the food as I cook, doing laundry, feeling the warmth and the smell of laundry right out of the dryer.”

Several acknowledged that there is a stigma attached with being a former Ebola patient but Writebol pointed out that she’s also received warmth and kindness from countless strangers.

“I’m thankful for God’s grace and the second chance and the opportunity just to continue to serve, possibly back in Liberia," she said.

Dr. Craig Spencer, the only other American Ebola survivor, did not participate in the interview.

Two Ebola patients died in the United States: Thomas Eric Duncan and Dr. Martin Salia.

The 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa has killed 5,459 people, and at least 9,596 have been diagnosed with the disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.


http://news.yahoo.com/u-s--ebola-survivors-meet-to-discuss-experiences--give-thanks-on--today--show-164454053.html

[Buster's Uncle]

Ebola cases near 16,000, Sierra Leone to overtake Liberia soon with most cases: WHO
Reuters
By Stephanie Nebehay  6 hours ago



There have been 15,935 reported cases of Ebola, with 5,689 reported deaths, up to November 26, 2014. (World Health Organization/Yahoo News)



GENEVA (Reuters) - The death toll in the world's worst Ebola epidemic has risen to 5,689 out of 15,935 cases reported in eight countries by Nov. 23, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday.

Almost all cases and all but 15 deaths have been in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia - the three hardest-hit countries, which reported 600 new cases in the past week, the WHO said in its latest update.

"The total number of cases reported in Sierra Leone since the outbreak began will soon eclipse the number reported from Liberia," it said. The former British colony has reported 6,599 cases against 7,168 in Liberia.

Transmission of the virus remains intense in Sierra Leone, especially in the west and north, with the capital Freetown still the worst affected area, it said.

Sierra Leone appealed to the United States on Wednesday to send military aid to help it battle Ebola as it falls behind its West African neighbors Guinea and Liberia in the fight against the virus.

"Liberia and Sierra Leone report that fewer than 70 percent of patients are isolated, though there is wide variation among districts," the WHO said, referring to an international target set for Dec. 1. However, some data is out of date, it said.

Isolation is required to halt further spread of the viral hemorrhagic disease, and the aim is to isolate 100 percent of patients by Jan. 1, it added.

Contacts of people known to be infected should be monitored for symptoms including fever, but relatively low numbers being reported "suggest that in districts with high case incidence fewer contacts are currently registered in connection with each new case than is necessary to accurately monitor chains of transmission", the WHO warned.

Mali has reported 8 Ebola cases, six of them fatal, and 285 contacts exposed to the virus there are being checked, it said.

WHO teams are evaluating the preparedness of neighboring countries to combat Ebola, and visits are planned to the Central African Republic, Niger, and Ethiopia next week, it said.

Peter Piot, a leading specialist on the disease, said on Wednesday that West Africa's Ebola epidemic could worsen further before abating, but that but new infections should start to decline in all affected countries by the end of the year.

The first Cuban doctor infected with Ebola, evacuated from Sierra Leone to Geneva last week, is improving and responding to treatment, the University Hospital of Geneva said in a statement late on Tuesday. His medical team is "reasonably optimistic".

(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Kevin Liffey/Ruth Pitchford)


http://news.yahoo.com/ebola-cases-near-16-000-sierra-leone-overtake-171705005.html