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http://allafrica.com/stories/200508120457.html Over 18,000 People Sensitised About Marburg Virus
The Red Cross of Angola (CVA) sensitised, in the northern Uige province, 18,526 people about the Marburg virus that affects that region since October 2004, in ambit of the resources mobilization programme meant to eliminate the disease that have so far caused over 300 deaths.
Angop learnt this on Thursday, in Luanda, from CVA's national coordinator for disasters preparadness programme, Kiala SimÆo, who considered positive the work carried out during the months of June and July with the aid of 38 voluntary workers.
From the sensitised number 7,379 are men and 11,147 women in the districts of Uige, Songo, Quitexe, Puri, Negage and Bungo.
During the referred period, the Red Cross distributed 1,875 goods such as lixivium, soap, blankets, mosquito nets and untensils to help 355 people affected by the pathology.
Red Cross's work was supported by, among other entities, the World Health Organisation(WHO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the Ministry of Assistance and Social Welfare and the World Food Programme (FAO).
However, the erradication of the haemorrhagic fever caused by the Marburg virus is close from being declared, considering that since July 21, period when the seventh member of a victimised family passed away (Cazola village), Songo district, no more case has been detected.
From October 2004 to 25 July 2005 around 316 deaths caused by Marburg, from which 207 suspected and 152 confirmed at the laboratory, making a total of 359 cases.
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=30019&archive=true By Steve Mraz, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Tuesday, August 9, 2005
Steve Mraz / S&S
Master Sgt. Bradford Kelly receives an immunization Monday for his upcoming deployment to Angola.
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — Dozens of soldiers were lined up Monday and shot.
But instead of bullets, soldiers preparing to participate in MEDFLAG 05 were stuck with syringes containing immunizations against yellow fever and other sinister maladies.
A joint task force of 212 troops from the Army and Air Force, led by the 212th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, will begin deploying to the southwest African nation of Angola for MEDFLAG 05 later this month. Since the 1980s, U.S. European Command has organized military medical exercises in African nations under the MEDFLAG moniker.
At the heart of the deployment is a mass-casualty exercise with the Angolan military. Other missions include national disaster relief training with Angolan civilians and military; and humanitarian and medical assistance for Angolan citizens.
During the 30-day exercise, 212th MASH troops expect to perform between 80 and 100 surgeries and treat 1,500 patients, according to a mission fact sheet.
The troops, who will start deploying later this month, must have all the proper immunizations and medications against medical threats in Angola. The immunizations began Monday in Kaiserslautern at the Kleber Health Clinic, which is the deployment and reintegration medical hub in the Kaiserslautern military community. More shots and medical screenings will take place next week.
“The Kleber Health Clinic has a pretty big role in screening the medical records and making sure that we deploy with the right pharmaceutical products to ensure that we get protected from any medical threats that are down there and that we are up-to-date with our immunizations,” said Maj. Soo Lee Davis, 212th MASH executive officer.
With malaria, yellow fever, leishmaniasis, African sleeping sickness and the deadly Marburg hemorrhagic fever found in Angola, force protection for the troops is of the utmost importance. While an outbreak of Marburg occurred earlier this year in Angola, the area the troops will be in Angola does not have the lethal virus.
Since October 2004, the Kleber clinic has deployed or reintegrated about 1,300 soldiers, said Maj. Hugh McLean, commander of the Kleber Health Clinic.
“We take care of all their immunizations, their hearing, eyeglasses and anything that they medically need done,” he said. “All their prescriptions are given out here, and depending on where they’re going and for how long, we give them an amount sufficient enough to sustain them.”
In addition to medically preparing soldiers to deploy and reintegrating them, the clinic also inprocesses all soldiers in the KMC, provides troop medical care and conducts medical care for active-duty family members, retirees and Department of Defense civilians.