As we ease into 2015, we'll comtinue to run these regularly for the time being - the link to the most recent edition of the regular Ebola Digest. 

There's a huge amount of info in this excellent resource and we suggest you check out the source. In the meantime we've reproduced the country-specific section of their news digest below, in the hope it may be of particular interest and use to our readers. Today's article image is a snapshot of a live map of cases and deaths available here.

That link again: https://eboladigest.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/ebola-digest-mon-152015.html

REGIONAL SURVEILLANCE

Guinea

Emergency Plan of Action operation update, Six Months; 1 December 2014 (n° MDRGN007)

The first cases of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) appeared in Guinea in December 2013 but were not reported until March 2014. On 21 March 2014, the Government of Guinea declared the EVD epidemic. This delay increased the risks of many people being exposed and infected by EVD since there were no control measures in force. The Guinean Red Cross requested assistance from the IFRC, and an international appeal was launched on 4 April 2014. The appeal has been revised and expanded since that date, with the spread of the epidemic and the increased intensity of the case load. This report describes progress in the initial 6 months of the operation. It is based on the plan and budget totalling CHF 8.93M as set out in the EPoA revised on 9 September 2014.

Liberia

Shelter to Ebola Orphans - Abundant Life Chapel, Making Difference

All Africa--Forty-one children who have had either one of their parents snatched away by the deadly Ebola virus, now have a safe and favorable place to stay. At the Taffi Dollar Children Welfare Center run by the Abundant Life Chapel located at the top of Disco Hill overlooking the Robertsfield Highway, James A. Garmonyou and three of his siblings have found refuge, after losing both of their parents to the deadly disease.

Liberia: Ebola response diaries: Isaac

Our team in Liberia is working hard to equip two million people with the information they need to protect themselves from Ebola. These team members are more than response workers ? they are members of the same communities they're helping. Forty-two of our 47 staff on the ground are Liberian. Their courageous and determined efforts to end this outbreak and help their country recover are at the heart of our response. As the team's Senior Psychosocial and Partners Officer, Isaac wants to empower young people to protect themselves and help their communities fight Ebola. His work is critical to making sure our Ebola response, including the public health education campaign, efficiently and effectively reaches as many people as possible. Initially I thought that the news about Ebola was not true because it had never been diagnosed in the country before.

Sierra Leone

New Ebola lockdown in Sierra Leone as airport checks upped

The Ebola lockdown in the northern Tonkolili district of Sierra Leone was extended on Sunday for two weeks as authorities stepped up the fight to contain the epidemic. The move comes as the government imposed "additional screening measures" at Freetown International Airport after two workers apparently caught the disease. A five-day lockdown had been declared by the government across the badly-hit north of the country last month.

Ebola Diary: On the Ground in Sierra Leone, Part 2 (If you missed it, here is Part 1)

Kimmie Pringle, MD, an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer with the CDC and board-certified emergency medicine physician, began a 4-week rotation in Sierra Leone on the morning of Sept. 24. In this five-part series, which began Sunday, she describes her experiences as they happened. Pringle's mission, along with 11 CDC colleagues, was to track the spread of the Ebola virus and to break the chain of transmission between contacts. This meant traveling to isolated villages where foreign healthcare workers were not always welcome, accepting heart-breaking decisions to keep staff and patients safe, and leaving far sooner than she would have liked. From the moment Pringle's journey began, she never stopped trying to understand the harsh, beautiful, and complicated world she'd stepped into. Pringle witnessed the anger, fear, and suspicion pervasive in parts of West Africa, particularly in regions that have experienced years of violence and loss, but still she saw hope.

Liberia close to beating Ebola as cases dwindle

Guardian--Liberia close to beating Ebola as cases dwindle Liberian president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, announced that schools would reopen on 2 February. Photograph: John Moore/Getty Images. Lisa O'Carroll. Monday 5 January 2015 12.19 EST.    

Nine counties in Liberia report no new Ebola cases for over 21 days

star africa--Nine counties in Liberia have not reported any new Ebola cases over the past 21 days, according to an official of the United Nations Mission on Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) Hans Rosling. According to Rosling, Grand Gedeh, River Gee, Grand Kru, Maryland and Rivercess counties in south-eastern Liberia, Grand Bassa County in eastern Liberia, as [...]   

Liberia plans to reopen schools in February as Ebola spread ebbs

(Reuters) - Liberia plans to reopen schools in February, six months after the government ordered them closed because of the Ebola outbreak that has killed more than 3,400 people in the West African nation, an official said on Monday.   

Ebola Outbreak Situation Report No.15, 22 - 29 December 2014

Highlights Report of a new EVD outbreak in Grand Cape Mount County. The county bordering Sierra Leone is said to have recorded over 26 cases 28 December. A new national cemetery has been opened by the government in Margibi County to allow safe and dignified burial of EVD victims thereby abolishing cremation. The National Election Commission on 27 December announced results of the Senatorial Elections.

Oxfam Ebola Response Makes Impact. 35000 residents benefit in

Oxfam--A British based Charity, Oxfam Liberia has increased its presence in several communities in Montserrado County, as part of efforts to defeat the deadly Ebola virus and eradicate the disease once and for all. The intervention of Oxfam Liberia in the fight against Ebola is making tremendous impact in communities where the project was launched. The Charity's intervention targets 35,000 residents in four communities in Montserrado County namely New Kru Town, Clara Town, West Point and Garwulah Township (Logan Town).

UNHRD Operations Update - Response to the Ebola Outbreak, as of 31 December, 2014

UNHRD is procuring construction materials and equipment for remote logistics hubs, Ebola Treatment Units and Community Care Centres in all three affected countries, as well as facilitating direct deliveries from suppliers. ? The German Government is generously providing one C160 plane permanently based in Accra for UNMEER and UNHRD usage. ? Members of UNHRD's Rapid Response Team have been deployed to the affected countries to provide technical assistance, training and help establish staging areas.    

UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response External Situation Report, 5 January 2015

The new Head of UNMEER, SRSG Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, assumed his functions on 3 January and will visit the three most affected countries in the coming days. UNICEF is ensuring that all children registered in Liberia as orphaned by EVD are receiving follow-up and psychosocial support. The National Coordinator in Guinea briefs responders on the launch of the campaign Zero Ebola in 60 days?. Key Political and Economic Developments The New Head of UNMEER, SRSG Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, assumed his functions on 3 January. In a joint townhall meeting with outgoing SRSG Banbury, SRSG Ould Cheikh Ahmed praised the achievements of all Ebola response partners, but also noted challenges ahead. He stressed that ?this is a global crisis.

AU Chairman to visit Sierra Leone

star africa--The African Union Chairman, President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz of Mauritania, is set to arrive in Freetown on Tuesday, the Sierra Leonean government has announced. According to a statement from the office of President Ernest Bai Koroma, the visit of President Abdel Aziz's is part of his tour of the Ebola-hit trio of Guinea, Liberia and [...]   

Sierra Leone Ebola: Kenema district frowns at unrestricted movements

star africa--The authorities in the eastern Sierra Leonean district of Kenema has raised concern over unrestricted movement to and from the district and are concerned that their anti-Ebola effort could be jeopardised.The district has been under a lockdown since August, following the declaration of a state of emergency nationwide in response to the epidemic. Kenema, alongside [...]   

Sierra Leone was on the mend but Ebola has changed everything

guardian--I left the country five months ago and have just returned to find a country in turmoil. But if wealthy countries help, there is still hope. The news about Pauline Cafferkey, the Scottish nurse currently fighting for her life after treating Ebola victims in west Africa, is a sharp reminder to those outside the region that the virus is still, despite all efforts, as devastating and deadly as ever. I've just returned to Sierra Leone, where I arrived in January 2012 with my husband, who is an aid worker. Last August, as the Ebola outbreak restricted travel, we were evacuated. The country I am witnessing today is starkly different to the one I left five months ago.In our first two and a half years here, we saw many changes signs of progress steadily building as the country shook off the effects and stigma of the civil war. There was a feeling that things were really taking off. Exciting and creative income-generating projects were being set up, diasporans were returning.  

Sierra Leoneans abandoned over Ebola fears

Sierra Leoneans abandoned over Ebola fears People had been reporting to hospital in large numbers due to fears of being reprimanded by officials in the event that sick people are found in their homes. World Bulletin/News Desk.  

Side Effects Vex Anti-Malaria Push in Sierra Leone's Battle Against Ebola

Sogbandi Botton was hired by the government to track down people who show symptoms of Ebola and deliver them to medical care. But Botton, a medical student, says that most of the health complaints he has heard lately can be traced to the side effects of a malaria drug. People are vomiting and tired, he says. Two of them couldn't even stand up.

Sierra Leone Announces New and Extended Anti-Ebola Measures

Sierra Leone Sunday introduced new Ebola screening measures at the Freetown International Airport after two workers apparently contracted the virus.  Government spokesman Abdulai Bayraytay said the measures are intended to reassure the public. We just had a case few days ago wherein a worker at the airport, who is attached to the restaurant, got infected with confirmed Ebola. That was a red flag for us recognizing that, since the outbreak of the Ebola virus in Sierra Leone, we have not exported any patient out of our airports who had confirmed to be Ebola positive based on the symptoms, he said. Bayraytay said that although the round-the-clock cleaning measures are specifically targeting airport workers, passengers arriving and departing will also be subjected to the same surveillance measures.    

Sierra Leone: Facts, lies and tales about Ebola

A recent article on the British newspaper The Guardian, (The Guardian, Monday 22 December, 2014) reported several groundless conjectures, lies and unverified information about Emergency's work in the fight against Ebola in Sierra Leone. Some of these unsubstantiated accusations have also been written by the same group of NHS doctors as a response to a BMJ article and have been reported in an article on Aljazeera website. It is false that "mortality rate in the Lakka Centre is around 67%". The Lakka Centre has been operational as both isolation and treatment unit from 18th September until 10th December 2014.        

Sierra Leone: Ebola Virus Disease - Situation Report (Sit-Rep) ? 04 January, 2014

Source: Government of Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone: Ebola Outbreak Updates - January 4, 2014

Source: Government of Sierra Leone

SITREPS   

Humanitarian Implementation Plan (HIP) Ebola crisis in West Africa (ECHO/-WF/BUD/2014/92000)  

The granting of financial assistance to support Actions covered by this HIP is conditional upon the necessary appropriations being made available from the 2014 general budget of the European Union. AMOUNT: EUR 16 000 000 1 . CONTEXT An outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) was declared in the Forest region of Guinea on 22 March 2014. Within a few weeks, cases were detected in Conakry and in neighbouring Liberia. Despite early signs that containment measures were being successful, in late May, a second surge of cases was recorded not only in Liberia and Guinea, but also in Sierra Leone. On 20 July, a case coming from Liberia was confirmed in Lagos, Nigeria, and on 29 August, a case coming from Guinea was confirmed in Senegal and another was detected in Mali on the 22 October.        

UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response External Situation Report, 2 January 2015

SRSG Banbury concluded his farewell visit to the three most affected countries in Sierra Leone from 30 to 31 December. In New Year?s Address, President Koroma calls for continued vigilance, and announces the planned reopening of schools in Sierra Leone. A WFP - chartered helicopter is now operational in Conakry to be used for humanitarian personnel medical evacuation. Key Political and Economic Developments SRSG Banbury con cluded his farewell visit to the three most affected countries in Sierra Leone from to 31 December. He travelled to Bombali District, where he met with members of the District Ebola Response Center and visited three Ebola Treatment Units as well as a Community Care Center. He also met with President Ernest Bai Koroma in Freetown to commend him for his leadership and engagement on the Ebola crisis.

SOCIOLOGICAL IMPACT

Edmonton aid worker to battle psychological toll of virus

Ebola outbreak: Edmonton aid worker to battle psychological toll of virus Overflowing graveyards, crowded makeshift hospital wards, bodies left untouched on busy streets. Since the deadly Ebola outbreak began in West Africa, the images of physical suffering have spread worldwide. But with the death toll from the virus topping ;...

ECONOMIC, SECURITY, INFRASTRUCTURE IMPACT   

Liberia: Assurances of Macroeconomic Stability

All Africa--The outbreak of the Ebola Virus disease (EVD) has shattered the Liberian economy to an extent that it has made a deep dent in gross domestic product (GDP), while also fueling inflation that is pushing basic necessities further out of the reach of most ordinary Liberians.

Amid these scaring gloomy economic signs, the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP) has said that every measure is being put in place to maintain macroeconomic stability, as well as effective management of the economy during this difficult period in Liberia.

Ebola is hurting West African economies

cnn--World Bank Africa Senior Economist David Evans explains how the cost of the Ebola virus is causing economic strain in several West African countries.

Anesthesia Providers Play Critical Role in Managing Ebola Virus Disease

Infection Control Today--Because of their responsibility for performing airway intubation and other invasive procedures, anesthesiologists will play an essential role in managing patients with Ebola virus infection. Scientific evidence guiding the anesthetic management of Ebola virus disease (EVD) is presented and analyzed in a special article published by Anesthesia & Analgesia. "Given the current spread of the disease, anesthesia personnel worldwide may be called upon to provide perioperative care for EVD patients undergoing emergency surgery or for airway management," according to the article by Dr. Andres Missair of the University of Miami and colleagues. "Anesthesia departments should educate, train, and prepare their providers immediately for such encounters and assure that the required equipment is readily available."