WHO Declares Ebola Virus Outbreak Public Health Emergency ================================================= The World Health Organization declared the West African Ebola epidemic that has killed nearly 1,000 people an international public-health emergency. (Ebola virus: Nigeria and Ivory Coast restrict flights from countries hit by outbreak). Meanwhile, the worlds biggest steelmaker, ArcelorMittal, MT -0.65% joined other Western companies in scaling back business plans or travel in the region. Fridays WHO declaration represents a call to member states and private donors to boost funding and efforts to battle the worst Ebola outbreak in history, as a surge in cases over the past two days has overwhelmed major aid organizations. The threadbare health-care systems of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, three of the worlds poorest countries, lacked even the basics of a public-health network before the current Ebola epidemic, officials there said. Now they find their hospitals in disarray as supplies run out and as staff abandon posts after watching their colleagues succumb to the virus. The outbreak is moving faster than we can control it, said Margaret Chan, WHO director general. Countries affected to date simply do not have the capacity to manage an outbreak of this size and complexity on their own. Several doctors and aid workers on the ground said they had witnessed a surge in cases over the past 48 hours that has broken the predictable rhythm of the epidemic. Ebola usually takes eight to 12 days from the moment of infection to flare up and become symptomatic. Previous spikes in Ebola cases rose and fell to the pace of that incubation period. Now, doctors say, they see back-to-back surges in patient volumes. At a field clinic in Sierra Leone, 10 people died on Friday morning, Sierra Leone Red Cross spokesman Abubakar Tarawelly said. And 40 more arrived. The number keeps rising, he said. Its getting too much for our volunteers. Burgeoning caseloads and the WHOs terming the outbreak as beyond control, spells out the discouraging possibility that aid groups who came to relieve West Africas beleaguered government hospitals could themselves become swiftly overwhelmed by the volume of Ebola patients. The World Health Organization has declared the Ebola outbreak in West Africa to be an international public health emergency on Friday. Photo: EPA As of Wednesday, 1,779 cases had been reported to the WHO with 961 deaths. Some 140 or 150 health-care workers have been infected, 80 of them fatally. Those numbers dont capture the unknown numbers of patients who, having seen the chaotic state of local hospitals, have decided to treat their loved ones at home. We do believe there are more cases than whats being reported, Dr. Chan said. The epidemic is reverberating across the regions economy. ArcelorMittal said it was delaying plans to expand its iron-ore mine operations in Liberia. The 15 contracting companies working on the expansion have declared force majeure and are removing their 645 employees, it said. The companys highly profitable Liberian unit currently produces five million tons of iron ore a year, and the delayed expansion had been expected to produce an extra 10 million tons. The company said it hoped to resume the expansion at the earliest opportunity but didnt know when that might be. More Zambia Blocks Travelers From Ebola-Hit Nations Nigeria Declares National Emergency Spanish Government to Pay for Ebola Priests Air Evacuation Two African Nations Impose Quarantines Saudi Arabia Issues Travel Warning Priest With Ebola Returns to Spain Treatment Used on Humans Sooner Than Expected Five Things to Know About the Ebola Outbreak About 4,000 other employees and contractors in Liberia, are staying put for now and working to secure equipment and carrying out other critical activities related to logistics, engineering and procurement, it said.And British Airways PLC has canceled flights to West Africa, while mining companies, including London Mining PLC, have cut back nonessential travel to the region. On Friday, Nigerias government said it was ramping up screening for feverish arrivals at its airports and borders. The country is also building new medical wards to house contagious Ebola patients and acquiring supplies such as protective gear as part of what President Goodluck Jonathans office said was an $11 million national emergency plan. Eight Nigerians have so far tested positive for the Ebola virus, and one of them died—all of them infected by a single airline passenger who flew into the country last month, said Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu. The patients have been isolated, and people who may have touched them during their contagious moments are under surveillance, he said. The European Commission also on Friday said it would provide €8 million ($10.7 million) of additional aid to fight the spread of the Ebola outbreak. Enlarge Image A Liberian soldier in Bomi County restricted travel as a measure to try to curb the spread of Ebola virus on Thursday. European Pressphoto Agency The commission, which is the executive arm of the European Union, added it would deploy a group of specialists with a mobile laboratory to help with diagnostics and testing. The specialists, which would most likely go to Sierra Leone, would be the second such team the EU has sent to the region. Saving lives and providing further support to West Africa is now more than ever an urgent priority, said EU Commissioner for Development Andris Piebalgs. Aid groups in West Africa find themselves building a health-care system from scratch. Liberia is recovering from a 1989-2003 civil war that spilled into Sierra Leone. An entire generation in both countries spent its childhood fighting in or fleeing from conflict. Guinea was ruled by a series of military dictators from 1960 to 2010. None of them have more than a handful of ambulances, and hospital beds are few; in fact, Guinea had the least number of hospital beds per person of 63 mostly developing nations listed in a 2011 World Bank survey. In Sierra Leone, the Health Education Office in the District of Kenema has the job of teaching people in far-flung villages how to treat a loved one infected with Ebola. But the Health Education office only has one pickup truck: a beat-up Toyota Hilux that routinely breaks down and cant reach many of the villages where officials believe Ebola is flaring, said Education Officer Michael Vandi. There are only two Ebola treatment centers in the country—and none in the capital. There is only one laboratory where officials can test blood samples for Ebola and it lies deep in the countryside where roads fell into disrepair during the war
Posted on: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 07:21:31 +0000
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