Its back!
It seemed like the number of people contracting Ebola in West Africa was on the decline. But now, officials say that trend has stalled, with dozens of new cases of the deadly virus reported so far this month.
Last week, there were 31 new cases of Ebola reported in a growing geographic area in Guinea and Sierra Leone, the World Health Organization said. At the beginning of this week, 14 additional cases were reported.
The latest figures mark the second straight week that the number of Ebola cases in West Africa has increased, officials said.
Investigators are working to trace how the latest cases of the disease were contracted, the WHO said.
“The outbreak is not over and the response efforts must be sustained until we get to zero cases throughout the region and are able to stay at zero for several months,” the U.N. Mission for Ebola Emergency Response said Thursday.
Last month, officials from the WHO declared Liberia free of the disease. But even as they trumpeted the news, officials warned that outbreaks in Guinea and Sierra Leone ran the risk of bringing the virus back to Liberia, where more than 4,000 people died after contracting Ebola.
This is from the PFIF —
Sierra Leone imposes Ebola curfew for northern districts
http://www.sierraleonetimes.com/index.php/sid/23376154
13th June, 2015
Sierra Leone is introducing new curfews for two northern districts after a spike in new Ebola cases to the highest level in months, President Ernest Bai Koroma said on Friday. The 18-month-long Ebola epidemic has killed more than 11,100 people in West Africa, although weekly numbers of new cases have fallen sharply from last year’s peaks. One of the three worst-affected countries, Liberia, was declared Ebola-free in May. Sierra Leone and Guinea, however, are still regularly reporting several new cases daily, prompting both to extend emergency measures. “I have instructed the security to...
One more from MSF —
Health authorities repeating mistakes in Ebola fight: MSF
http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/news/international/343723/health-authorities-repeating-mistakes-in-ebola-fight-msf
June 14, 2015
Health authorities are repeating the mistakes of the past in combatting Ebola, more than a year after its onset in Guinea and Sierra Leone, the international president of Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warned Saturday.
Joanne Liu’s remarks come a day after Sierra Leone imposed a three-week daytime curfew in the last Ebola-hit areas in a bid to curb a resurgence of the deadly virus, which has killed about 3,900 people in the country.
Neighbouring Liberia was declared Ebola-free in May, but hopes that Sierra Leone and Guinea would quickly follow suit have been dashed in recent weeks.
“We are still making the same mistakes as we did in the past,” said Liu.
“We know now that engaging the community in the response is essential,” she added. “But we also know that leadership at the government level... is absolutely essential.”
Liu said that when “certain political interests are prioritised over the response to the epidemic, this does not work,” an apparent reference to Guinea, where the issue of combatting Ebola has been a subject of debate between President Alpha Conde and the opposition.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday the retreat of the virus “has stalled”, after a second consecutive weekly increase in incidences of Ebola in Guinea and Sierra Leone.
One of the deadliest viruses known to man, Ebola is spread only through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person showing symptoms, such as fever or vomiting.
PJ Media has an article on the latest outbreak as well —
Ebola Could Be Back
Africa is poised for another disease outbreak and may not do any better than last time.
by James Jay Carafano
June 16, 2015 - 4:28 am
Just about a year ago, an outbreak of the deadly disease started jumping borders. Just about everybody freaked out.
Only a handful of cases made it to American shores. And, mostly what people worried about sounded more like the stuff out of a Hollywood movie. Still, there were legitimate concerns.
What was scarier was a White House response that was slow and wrong-headed. Not much of a confidence builder for folks worried about mass death.
When the outbreak subsided, the president and just about everyone else stopped stressing out.
Well, keep worrying. New cases of Ebola have been reported.
“While the virus is spreading more slowly than at the peak last year and Liberia has defeated the outbreak,” according to one news source, “cases have risen sharply in the past two weeks in Guinea and Sierra Leone.” There are also concerns that the region may not be much better prepared to stem an outbreak than it was last year.
The last time the disease threated to come here from there, the president appointed an Ebola czar when the bad press got really bad. The czar did little and left when the bad press died down.
Meanwhile, there is much needed to improve the U.S. response to a mass disease threat. It is debatable that the Oval Office cares much.
As a result, freaking out about Ebola may become summer fare once again.