Link: Ebola Digest Wed 21 Jan
As we ease into 2015, we'll continue 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 screengrab of a video which makes up part of a piece on PBS on Why the Obamas' State of the Union guest is 'cautiously optimistic' on Ebola.
That link again: https://eboladigest.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/ebola-digest-wed-12115.html
REGIONAL SURVEILLANCE
Guinea
[VIDEO] Ebola conflict: Guinea's battle to change culture
BBC--As west African counties continue to fight the Ebola epidemic, Guinea is facing particular problems. Some there believe the disease has been made up by western doctors, in order to sell medicine. Medical teams have been attacked by hostile crowds and many survivors face social rejection.
Priests Assaulted in Guinea After Being Mistaken for Ebola Workers
Time--They had gone to a local village to spray insecticides
Countdown To Zero: Guinea's Campaign To Conquer Ebola In 60 Days
NPR--Countdown To Zero: Guinea's Campaign To Conquer Ebola In 60 Days Hundreds of spectators and government officials watched as music and fanfare filled the People's Palace in Conakry, Guinea. Cheerleaders danced vigorously, waving pompoms and twirling on stage. The festive event on Saturday kicked off the government's ;...
Liberia
[VIDEO] Ebola social mobilization
UNICEF--Part of the UNICEF response to current Ebola hot spots is to visit all the neighboring villages to make sure they are alerted about the outbreak in the area and that they know how to protect themselves.
Nearing the End of the Ebola War
all Africa--We Are Almost at the end of the Ebola crisis, yet we're not completely out of the rim of the epidemic. The signs are positive and our international partners are optimistic that we as a people and nation can achieve victory if we continue to intensify our fight against the disease and avoid actions that would regress enormous progress made over the past weeks.
Changing needs in Ebola hit Liberia
The days when Liberia's street were empty are over. At the height of the Ebola epidemic, only the blare of sirens cut the quiet as ambulances rushed to the latest suspected case. Medical, government and aid officials still meet every other day to hear the latest numbers on new infections and deaths. The number of new suspected cases has fallen from 100 in September to below 3 in January. Now we?re hearing of more people discharged as healthy or who are diagnosed as ?No Ebola? after observation. Ambulances still can be heard, but increasingly they?ve found people sick with dysentery or malaria. Only two provinces, the capital Monrovia and Grand Cape Mount County on the border with Sierra Leone, have reported new infections in the last week. That?s a reason for joy, but also for worry. In a country were malaria and dysentery are commonplace, more people should be going to the doctors. It means that people aren?t going to medical clinics if they are sick.
Nyonblee Care Foundation Gives to Ebola Victims
All Africa--The Nyonblee Care Foundation in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County has given L$120,000 to eight families who lost their relatives to the Ebola virus. Presenting the money to beneficiaries recently, Board Chairman of the ;...
SEARCH Launches Ebola Community Action Platform
all africa--SEARCH Launches Ebola Community Action Platform The Special Emergency Activities to Restore Children's Hope (SEARCH) has launched an Ebola Community Action Platform (ECAP) in four Administrative Districts in Nimba County. The four districts are Bain Garr, Sanniquellie Mah, Yarmehn and Yarwin ;...
No New Ebola Cases Reported in Most of Liberia Counties Over Past Week - UN
All Africa--The United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) today welcomed encouraging statistics recently released by Liberia's Minister of health and Social Welfare that reported that 12 of the country's 15 counties have had no new cases within the past seven days.
EVD Response Welthungerhilfe Liberia
Liberia Context In March 2014, a rapidly evolving outbreak of Ebola haemorrhagic fever started in Guinea. The outbreak subsequently spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Senegal. In Liberia, the first epidemic began on 22 March and ended in April, 2014 and mainly affected two counties. The last case was confirmed on 10 April, 2014. Cumulatively, six cases were confirmed positive of the virus and all died at the time (Case Fatality Rate [CFR] of 100%). On 6 Aug, the Liberian President declared the State of Emergency for 90 days, no update on this so far, even though 90 days have passed already. On 8 Aug, WHO declared the Ebola outbreak in West Africa a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). With 6,619 total cases, and 2,766 deaths as of 7 Nov, Liberia suffered most from the deadly Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak that had 13,268 cases and 4,960 deaths in West Africa (WHO Ebola Response Roadmap Situation Re...
Liberia Basketball to Resume Activities Soon
Liberia Basketball to Resume Activities Soon Monrovia - Last August, the Liberia Basketball Association (LBA) suspended its third division league as part of measures to curb the spread of the deadly Ebola Virus Disease. In a press release, the LBA said the solidarity move was to avoid large gatherings ;...
Alumna fights Ebola on the front lines in Liberia
Cornel Univ--Alumna fights Ebola on the front lines in Liberia Karlyn Beer '06 sits last September with her embassy driver George Momolu in Grand Kru County, Liberia, during her work with CDC to combat that nations's ebola epidemic. Ebola Alumna. Karlyn Beer. Beer encountered numerous infrastructural challenges ;...
Sierra Leone
Ebola may be retreating ? but food shortage and hunger beckons
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) are warning that Ebola may be retreating, but hundreds of thousands of people are now facing hunger in …
S/Leone minister angry with traditional rulers over continuous Ebola spread
Sierra Leone's Local Government Minister has reprimanded the paramount chiefs of 14 chiefdoms in the Kono District over the continued spread of the Ebola virus there. Finda Diana Konomayi was cited in the local media on Wednesday following reports of an escalation of the epidemic situation in the district. "I am not happy with my [...]
Ebola end game in sight as new cases fall sharply in Sierra Leone
(Reuters) - A military-style operation to fight Ebola in Sierra Leone has helped to dramatically reduce new cases, in what health officials say is a major step towards defeating the deadly disease.
Young Life Liberia joins Ebola fight in Sierra Leone
Young Life Liberia joins Ebola fight in Sierra Leone As the Ebola scourge eases in Liberia, some organizations operating in the country are asking to lend support and share experiences with neighboring Sierra Leone. With the gains being achieved in Liberia, a local group Young Life, is bent on replicating that ;...
Sierra Leone: The Ebola Epidemic and the state of the cocoa sector in Sierra Leone
DW--The Ebola Epidemic in Sierra Leone?s Cocoa Belt The Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) has been raging in West Africa since the beginning of this year. Among the affected countries Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea have been hit hardest. The current outbreak is unprecedented in scale and has claimed more lives and displayed a greater spread than any other epis ode in history. To make matters worse, it has spilled from rural areas into urban centers, a factor which distinguishes it from previous outbreaks. In Sierra Leone the virus has spread across all of the country's 15 districts, infecting 5.06 people and claiming 1. 522 lives according to official figures from the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (as of.11.2014).
An inter-agency mission kicks off Ebola Recovery Assessment in Sierra Leone
An inter-agency mission kicks off Ebola Recovery Assessment in Sierra Leone Freetown, 15 January 2015-An inter-agency team has begun an Ebola Recovery Assessment (ERA) mission in Sierra Leone as part of international efforts to partner with Governments to address the impacts of the EVD crisis in the affected countries.
Sierra Leone: Sierra Leone Weekly Ebola Surveillance Report, 16th January 2015
Number of Cases After a downwards trend during week 47 and 48 the overall number of cases stabilised until week 51. The slight increase in weeks 49 and 50 is likely due to the uptake of active surveillance in the Western area. From week 52 th e VHF data is less reliable as the weeks 52 to 1 are incomplete due to ongoing data entry in th e districts (Fig. 1). The weekly reports generated from the district line lists during this period may be more reliable for confirmed cases as they are calculated based on laboratory results. Information from this data source confirmed a downward trend in confirmed cases in the time period that correlates to week 52 in the VHF reporting up until 17 January.
Every weekend the markets are packed with shoppers stocking up on their weekly groceries. The markets are always hot and buzzing with vendors shouting, buyers haggling, and children weaving in and out of stalls. This is what any weekend in Freetown looks like -- at least it was, before Ebola hit. Today businesses and vendors are lucky if they get their full shipments of food delivered and, when they do, the prices of food are now high enough to keeps buyers away, especially poor families whose breadwinners have lost their jobs as a result of the outbreak. But that's not the only reason the markets are quieter now. Ebola has created a real sense of fear in this city and across the country. What used to be Saturday nights out with friends is now Saturday indoors catching up with loved ones via the safety of the telephone. The government has enforced a 'time surge' to try to minimize the spread of the virus which means all businesses close by 6pm on weekdays and noon on Saturdays.
As Ebola vaccine trials near, raising awareness in Sierra Leone is next task
Magnus Conteh grew up in Sierra Leone, but when he returned to his home country in November after living in Europe for 25 years, the grim headlines hinting at Ebola?s devastation in West Africa took on a jarring form of reality.
SITREPS
UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) External Situation Report, 21 January 2015
UN General Assembly holds informal meeting on Ebola. WFP continues to ensure regular supply to health facilities in Sierra Leone IOM and partners support border surveillance initiatives in Liberia
UNHRD Operations Update - Response to the Ebola Outbreak, as of 9 January, 2015
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 coun-tries to provide technical assistance, train-ing and help establish staging areas.
20 January 2015: West Africa - Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) Outbreak
WHO has reported a total of 21 649 cases of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) and 8 609 deaths (21 614 cases, 8 594 deaths in the three countries with intense transmission), see table below. ?As in Sierra Leone, there is a positive evolution in Guinea with numbers of cases going down nationwide. Challenges persist with contact tracing notably due to resistance amongst the population in Guinea, in particular in the forest area. Contact tracing and issues such as safe burials are far less contentious in Sierra Leone. The number of cases in Liberia continues to go down and it is now possible to follow-up the transmission chains again. ?In Sierra Leone, one district, Pujehun, has been declared Ebola free. ?Mali was declared Ebola-free on 17 January.
