Category Archives: pandemic

New fears about Ebola spread after plane scare | Life , Health | THE DAILY STAR

{Thankfully, more and more news outlets are covering this epidemic now, even if a bit late into the process – any number of people exposed to ebola could fly anywhere in the world within 24 hours and potentially expose thousands – for real! The only saving grace is that, the disease requires direct contact with body fluids of someone infected – so it does not spread that quickly or by air. But! Someone could be exposed and not show symptoms for up toe 21 days!}

No one knows for sure just how many people Patrick Sawyer came into contact with the day he boarded a flight in Liberia, had a stopover in Ghana, changed planes in Togo, and then arrived in Nigeria, where authorities say he died days later from Ebola, one of the deadliest diseases known to man.

Now health workers are scrambling to trace those who may have been exposed to Sawyer across West Africa, including flight attendants and fellow passengers.

Health experts say it is unlikely he could have infected others with the virus that can cause victims to bleed from the eyes, mouth and ears. Still, unsettling questions remain: How could a man whose sister recently died from Ebola manage to board a plane leaving the country? And worse: Could Ebola become the latest disease to be spread by international air travel?

Sawyer’s death on Friday has led to tighter screening of airline passengers in West Africa, where an unprecedented outbreak that emerged in March has killed more than 670 people in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. But some health authorities expressed little confidence in such precautions.

via New fears about Ebola spread after plane scare | Life , Health | THE DAILY STAR.

Israel Creates Free Fire Zone of Death – warns displaced Gazans not to return home on threat of death | Maan News Agency

The Israeli army’s Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a statement that those who stayed on in the neighborhood past the end of the ceasefire would be “putting their lives in danger,” as the army is expected to resume a heavy assault that has taken nearly 1,000 Palestinian lives so far.

via Israel warns displaced Gazans not to return home on threat of death | Maan News Agency.

First Ebola victim in Sierra Leone capital on the run | Reuters

Koroma, 32, a resident of the densely populated Wellington neighborhood, had been admitted to an isolation ward while blood samples were tested for the virus, Health ministry spokesman Sidi Yahya Tunis. The results came back on Thursday.

“The family of the patient stormed the hospital and forcefully removed her and took her away,” Tunis said. “We are searching for her.”

Fighting one of the world’s deadliest diseases is straining the region’s weak health systems, while a lack of information and suspicion of medical staff has led many to shun treatment.

DOZENS UNACCOUNTED FOR

Earlier this year, a man in Freetown tested positive for Ebola although he is believed to have caught it elsewhere.

According to health ministry data and officials, dozens of people confirmed by laboratory tests to have Ebola are now unaccounted for in Sierra Leone, where the majority of cases have been recorded in the country’s east.

via First Ebola victim in Sierra Leone capital on the run | Reuters.

LI Residents Struck With “Disabling” Mosquito-Borne Disease: Gothamist

As if West Nile panic isn’t enough of a reason to crop dust your apartment, health officials on Long Island have diagnosed three cases of yet another mosquito-borne disease: Chikungunya virus. The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention says this baby boasts “severe and disabling” symptoms like fever and joint pain.

Three patients at the North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset have come down with the tropical disease after traveling in the Caribbean.

via LI Residents Struck With “Disabling” Mosquito-Borne Disease: Gothamist.

West Africa Ebola outbreak total tops 1,000 | CIDRAP

As 67 new Ebola virus disease (EVD) illnesses in Sierra Leone and Liberia pushed the outbreak total to 1,048 cases, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned about the risk of virus transmission from wildlife, especially fruit bats.

Along with new infections, 19 more deaths were reported in Sierra Leone and Liberia, raising the fatality count to 632, according to a Jul 19 update from the World Health Organization (WHO) that covers new cases reported from Jul 15 to Jul 17.

via West Africa Ebola outbreak total tops 1,000 | CIDRAP.

Distrust based on “double-talk?” – FAO warns of fruit bat risk in West African Ebola epidemic

“We are not suggesting that people stop hunting altogether, which isn’t realistic,” said FAO Chief Veterinary Officer Juan Lubroth. “But communities need clear advice on the need not to touch dead animals or to sell or eat the meat of any animal that they find already dead. They should also avoid hunting animals that are sick or behaving strangely, as this is another red flag.”

Fruit bats – usually eaten dried or in a spicy soup – are thought to be the most likely reservoir species for the virus, which they can carry without developing clinical signs of the disease, and should be avoided altogether, according to FAO.

via FAO – News Article: FAO warns of fruit bat risk in West African Ebola epidemic.

Some good common sense! The Ebola Denial Starts from the Top: Sierra Leone News

One of the major reasons behind the unprecedented scale of the Ebola crisis in Sierra Leone has been the aspect of denial. The denial is visible from top to bottom. Yesterday July 17th 2014, even as an ambulance raced through streets of Freetown with a dead Ebola patient to be hastily buried, it was interesting to see top government cadre is still in denial as to extent of catastrophe.

 

Minister of Tourism Peter Bayuku Conteh yesterday asked journalists to tell potential tourists that Ebola was only found “in one region” of Sierra Leone. He passionately urged journalists to report such false information as a means of making tourists comfortable to come and visit Sierra Leone.

 

The minister is in denial of what Ebola represents. We wonder if this minister knows the implication of just one tourist catching Ebola here? Is it not better for tourists to stay away until we stop active viral transmission in the country?

 

So, until top cadre in government develop the required maturity on this issue, every time these government officials point at denial amongst the ordinary citizens, four fingers will be pointing right back at them. We just hope Posterity will not harshly judge this government on how it managed this Ebola crisis.

via The Ebola Denial Starts from the Top: Sierra Leone News.

Fail Self-Promotion – Ebola sensitization is murderous…says Co-founder | Sierra Express Media

70-90% die – that’s a fact and any chance of surviving requires immediate treatment in hospital!

He warned health experts and the media to stop spreading the wrong message that Ebola is a death sentence, assuring that the disease is treatable.

Gabriel Pratt observed that since the outbreak of the dreaded disease in Guinea and, subsequently, in Sierra Leone, its killing potential has been exaggerated.

via Ebola sensitization is murderous…says Co-founder | Sierra Express Media.

US reports first locally acquired chikungunya cases | CIDRAP

A statement today from the CDC described the first of two local chikungunya cases reported in Florida, in a man who had not traveled outside the United States. The agency said it is working closely with the Florida Department of Health to explore how the patient got sick with the virus.

Meanwhile, the Florida Department of Health (FDH) said today it has detected two locally acquired cases, one in Miami–Dade County and the other in Palm Beach County. The counties are on Florida’s southern tip, about 70 miles apart: Palm Beach County to the west and Dade County to the east.

via US reports first locally acquired chikungunya cases | CIDRAP.