Ebola on the horizon?

[smokingman]

Emergency responders investigate possible Virginia Ebola case

From the article.

"Marchegiani said the patient had recently traveled to a country affected by Ebola and exhibited symptoms of the disease.

The patient was unlikely to be suffering from the disease, Marchegiani said."

I doubt there is ever an officially diagnosed case in the USA again.I think it would take thousands of bodies dead in the streets before the government admits another case to the media.

 

[T.Lex]

WHO update as of 28 Feb for G and SL, 23 Feb for L: 23,913 cases, 9,714 deaths.

We are coming up on the 1 year mark (roughly mid-March) for when this ebola outbreak was recognized. While cases are significantly down - which is a HUGE accomplishment - it looks like mortality is back up to ~50% for the new cases. Plus, at least one article I read suggests that most of these new cases are NOT found through contact tracing.

In other words, ebola is still "out there" and spreading without a known contagious person giving it to a new victim. Hard to tell how important that is at this point. It could be just a failure of contact tracing or it could be more ominous.

 

[LockStocksAndBarrel]

Thanks for keeping us updated, T.Lex.

Rep Nazis won't let me show my appreciation until I Obama it around some.

 

[T.Lex]

Well, the last ebola patient in Liberia is supposed to be released today:
Liberia to discharge last Ebola patient Thursday - Africa - News - StarAfrica.com

“There will be a discharge ceremony of the lone live confirmed Ebola case…” Nyenswah told reporters at the Information Ministry daily Ebola Press Conference in Monrovia on Wednesday.
...
“Thirteen of the 15 counties have completed more than two of their incubation periods without a single trace of any new case, which means, that most political sub-divisions of the county, except Montserrado and Margibi Counties, have gone 28 days or more without a confirmed case,” he said.

Ok. I'm a little skeptical, given the reporting issues Liberia had. But, it looks like this is what WHO is accepting, so who am I to argue?

Although the numbers in Sierra Leone and Guinea are way down, my impression is that they are struggling to really get to the "last" patient.

 

[LockStocksAndBarrel]

There's a glimmer, anyway.

 

[T.Lex]

Well, ladies and germs, March 14, 2014, is an arbitrary date that marks when the press started documenting the outbreak.
Santé : Une étrange fièvre se déclare à Macenta, plusieurs cas de morts signalés? | Africaguinee.com - Actualités sur la Guinée et l'Afrique

Latest WHO figures as of 10 Mar for SL and G, and 5 Mar for L: 24,350 cases, 10,004 deaths. About 400 more cases, with about 300 more deaths.

Following up on that is this article:
Sierra Leone sees worrying spike in Ebola cases over week - US News

Sierra Leone has seen a worrying spike in confirmed Ebola cases over the past week in four districts, the head of the national Ebola response center said Thursday.

As he says in the article, this bumpy ride is not quite over yet.

 

[ArcadiaGP]

U.S. Ebola patient arrives at hospital from Sierra Leone - CNN.com

 

[T.Lex]

This is kinda strange, even for this thread.
BBC News - Sierra Leone VP Samuel Sam-Sumana 'goes into hiding'

Sierra Leone's Vice-President Samuel Sam-Sumana has gone into hiding while he seeks political asylum at the US embassy in the capital, Freetown.
Mr Sam-Sumana told the BBC he and his wife fled their home after "a tip-off" that soldiers were surrounding it.
The move comes a week after his expulsion from the ruling party.
Two weeks ago, Mr Sam-Sumana said he was putting himself in quarantine for 21 days after one of his bodyguards died of the Ebola virus.

Dude. You may get asylum, but we're gonna wait 42 days before we get near you.

 

[T.Lex]

Oops.
Guinea Ebola cases rise, three doctors infected | GlobalPost

Guinea has suffered a setback in its fight against Ebola with a rash of new cases, including three doctors infected by the virus, with officials blaming weak surveillance and a failure to follow safety procedures.
...
Guinea officials said the new cases came from high risk Ebola contacts who had left Forecariah and developed symptoms elsewhere, pointing to poor surveillance.

 

[Thor]

Oops again...

Another four U.S. Ebola aid workers flown back to U.S. for monitoring

 

[ArcadiaGP]

MSF and WHO trade blame over slow global Ebola response

 

[smokingman]

MSF and WHO trade blame over slow global Ebola response

I have read enough without even touching that article(which I did read) to know MSF in early March made a public plea for help from the WHO,who ignored them.

WHO did drop the ball,and MSF certainly should get credit for their response,being the only ebola centers in operation for months.

 

[ArcadiaGP]

Breaking: 45-day Ebola 'health emergency' declared in five Guinea regions, president says

 

[T.Lex]

Yeah, Sierra Leone started a 3 day lockdown, too. Again.

 

[Jomibe]

Yeah, Sierra Leone started a 3 day lockdown, too. Again.

Bring 'em to America before it's too late!

 

[T.Lex]

Well, this is not a good sign.

Guinea deploys police as Sierra Leoneans flee Ebola lockdown - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

Guinea has deployed security forces to the country's southwest in response to reports that Sierra Leoneans are crossing the border to flee an Ebola lockdown intended to stamp out the deadly disease, an official said Saturday.
...
"Why would they leave their country if they didn't have Ebola?" said Forecariah resident Mamadou Kolibe. "We are opposed to their arrival and that has caused a stir here."

 

[dusty88]

A vaccine ring around the outbreak is the only real solution to this. I haven't followed the vaccine testing status the past few months.

 

[ArcadiaGP]

National Institutes of Health discharges American healthcare worker treated for Ebola

 

[LockStocksAndBarrel]

National Institutes of Health discharges American healthcare worker treated for Ebola

Great news!

 

[smokingman]

WHO leadership admits failings over Ebola, promises reform

The World Health Organization has admitted serious failings in its handling of the Ebola crisis and pledged reforms to enable it to do better next time, its leadership said in a statement seen by Reuters on Sunday. "We have learned lessons of humility. We have seen that old diseases in new contexts consistently spring new surprises," said the statement, attributed to the WHO Director-General Margaret Chan and the deputy director-general and regional directors.