Contagion

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RECORDED - Congressional Seminar on the Ebola Outbreak: What’s Needed to End This Crisis? | September 24, 2014 - (12-1:30pm ET)

Wed, 2014-09-24 05:42 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Hosted by:

Senator Chris Coons, Chair, Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs

Senator Jeff Flake, Ranking Member, Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs

UPMC Center for Health Security

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Capitol Visitors Center, Room SVC201-00 (Event is full, please join us on our livestream video)

12:00pm - 1:30pm

The United States and many other nations and international organizations are helping to respond to the unprecedented Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Panelists will discuss: What are the latest updates on the ground? What have we learned so far? Are governments, WHO, and NGOs doing all that is needed to help stop the outbreak? What types of infrastructure vulnerabilities contributed to the current Ebola outbreak? What, if anything, should we be doing differently now or in the future to assist West Africa and other regions in containing future epidemics?

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http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/24/health/ebola-cases-could-reach-14-million-in-4-months-cdc-estimates.html?emc=edit_na_20140923&nlid=12644555&_r=0

CDC RELEASES ESTIMATES OF EBOLA CASES, COULD REACH 1.4 MILLION

Wed, 2014-09-24 04:00 — mike kraft

New York Times

CDC releases report on worst and best case estimates for Ebola cases.

Estimates cover Liberia and Sierra Leone, based on computer modeling. Guinea not included because data "cannot be reliably modeled."

Best case-model, which assures the dead are buried safely and 70 per cent of the patients are treated in settings that reduce the risk of transmission, suggest the epidemic could almost be ended by Jan. 20.

LINK TO THE CDC REPORT TEXT

http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/page/national/ebola-cases-could-skyrocket-by-2015-says-cdc/1337/

CDC RELEASES ESTIMATES OF EBOLA CASES, COULD REACH 1.4 MILLION
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/su6303a1.htm?s_cid=su6303a1_w

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http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidkroll/2014/09/23/nigeria-free-of-ebola-as-final-surveillance-contacts-are-released/

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Nigerian Health Minister Says Country is Completely Free of Active Ebola Cases

Wed, 2014-09-24 03:32 — mike kraft

FORBES September 23, 2014

By David Kroll

The Health Minister of Nigeria says that his country is completely free of active Ebola cases and has released the final victim contacts from surveillance.

In a telephone interview last night where he was preparing for a United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York, Minister of Health Onyebuchi Chukwu, MD, said, “Presently, there is no single case of Ebola virus disease in Nigeria – none.”

Dr. Chukwu provided further details, saying, “No cases are under treatment, no suspected cases. There are no contacts in Lagos that are still under surveillance, having completed a minimum of 21 days of observation.

Link to full story follows:

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London Group Plans to Start First Clinical Tests of Ebola Drugs in West Africa

Tue, 2014-09-23 21:49 — mike kraft

Washington Post

by Abby Ohlheiser September 23 at 11:45 AM

London based scientists, working with international aid groups, are planning to start the first clinical trials in West Africa for drugs to treat Eboa. The trials could begin in a matter of months.

Wellcome Trust's $5 million initiative will include drugs from Mapp Biopharmaceutical, Sarepta and Tekmira, according to Reuters. Mapp makes zMapp, the experimental cocktail administered to two Americans who contracted the disease in Liberia. Tekmira recently gained the approval of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to use its TKM-Ebola treatment on confirmed or suspected cases of the disease.

Both drugs are still in the experimental phase; researchers have not yet determined the safety or effectiveness of the treatments.

Text of full story:

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Africa

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Contagion

Disaster Response

Disaster Risk Reduction

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http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-ebola-may-be-endemic-in-people-20140922-story.html

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EBOLA MAY BECOME ENDEMIC TO WEST AFRICA WITH 71 PER CENT INFECTION RATE--WHO STUDY

Tue, 2014-09-23 18:47 — mike kraft

LOS ANGLES TIMES September 22, 10:25 PM

by Monte Morin

In a grim assessment of the Ebola epidemic, researchers say the deadly virus threatens to become endemic to West Africa instead of eventually disappearing from humans.

"The current epidemiologic outlook is bleak," wrote a panel of more than 60 World Health Organization experts in a study published Tuesday by the New England Journal of Medicine.

"We must therefore face the possibility that Ebola virus disease will become endemic among the human population of West Africa, a prospect that has never previously been contemplated."

In the absence of new control measures, the authors estimated that the total case load would exceed 20,000 by Nov 2.

Link to full story

Link to New England Journal of Medicine study

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1411100?query=featured_ebola

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http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/reporters-notebook-covering-ebola-nigeria-navigating-corruption/

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Reporter’s Notebook: Covering Ebola in Nigeria while navigating corruption

Mon, 2014-09-22 14:53 — Norea

Tom Adair and Fred de Sam Lazaro, near a police security guard on the streets of Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Photo by Nikki See By Fred de Sam Lazaro - Sep 22, 2014 - pbs.org

The story of Ebola in Nigeria is an unusual and frankly rare one about things going right somewhere in Africa, albeit with fingers crossed for fear that it could quickly change.

The numbers are remarkable: just 21 cases of Ebola and eight deaths, in a nation of 170 million, according to the latest World Health Organization report. Compare that to Liberia, with a population of just over 4 million, which has suffered nearly 1500 deaths so far.

Nigeria’s achievement truly hits home for a television crew working “in the trenches” of a country the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency describes as “hobbled by … insecurity and pervasive corruption.”

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http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-29231400?ocid=socialflow_twitter

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Obama says Ebola outbreak a 'global security threat'

Wed, 2014-09-17 23:00 — Norea

The WHO says the most urgent immediate need is more medical staff BBC News - 17 September 2014

President Barack Obama has called the Ebola outbreak in West Africa "a threat to global security", as he announced a larger US role in fighting the virus.

The world was looking to the US, Mr Obama said, but added that the outbreak required a "global response".

The measures announced included ordering 3,000 US troops to the region and building new healthcare facilities.

Ebola has killed 2,461 people this year, about half of those infected, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

The announcement came as UN officials called the outbreak a health crisis "unparalleled in modern times".

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/world-bank-warns-ebolas-economic-impact-could-be-catastrophic-if-virus-is-unchecked/2014/09/17/8c490a3c-3e79-11e4-b03f-de718edeb92f_story.html

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World Bank warns Ebola’s economic impact could be catastrophic if virus is unchecked

Wed, 2014-09-17 23:00 — Norea

By Lena H. Sun and Lenny Bernstein Sep 17 2014 - The Washington Post

If the Ebola epidemic continues to surge in the three worst-affected countries — Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone — its economic impact could grow eight fold next year, dealing a potentially catastrophic blow to the already fragile states, according to a World Bank analysis released Wednesday.

The largest economic effects of the crisis are from the “fear factor” — people’s concerns about contagion, officials said.

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