While our focus is Ebola and its impacts, we begin with two items about an equally virulent virus making its deadly appearance in Uganda.
First, from the Daily Monitor in Kampala, Uganda:
Marburg: Five more suspects reported, 97 being monitored
The Ministry of Health yesterday sent five more samples of the suspected Marburg fever to the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) for more tests after they presented signs of the disease.
On Sunday, the ministry confirmed a health worker had succumbed to the disease following laboratory tests done on September 30.
The ministry is also awaiting results of a sample from the deceased’s brother, who has so far been listed as having developed signs of the deadly disease. He has since been quarantined and isolated for further monitoring.
According to the World Health Organisation country representative, Dr Alemu Wondimagegnehu, the five samples were drawn from people who were in contact with the deceased while at Mpingi Health Centre IV.
And a video report using earlier numbers via CCTV Africa:
Marbug in Uganda: One Confirmed Dead, 3 Suspected Cases Tested
Program notes:
Uganda has confirmed it is monitoring three people suspected of having contracted the Marburg virus, a day after the country’s Health ministry announced one person had died of the disease. The three men have all been isolated until lab results are complete. The Marburg virus is from the same family as Ebola. CCTV’S Isabel Nakirya reports.
Next up, the first transmission of the disease outside Africa from the Washington Post:
Spanish health-care worker contracts Ebola in first transmission case outside of Africa
In the first known case of Ebola transmission outside of Africa, a nurse in Spain has contracted the deadly virus after caring for a sick priest who had been flown back from West Africa for treatment, Spanish health minister Ana Mato said at a news conference Monday.
Two tests confirmed the diagnosis of the woman, Mato said. She was part of a medical team treating Manuel Garcia Viejo, the priest who died Sept. 25 of Ebola, according to the BBC.
The infected health worker’s only symptom so far is a fever and her condition remains stable, Mato said. Authorities are trying to determine how exactly she contracted Ebola and whether the team caring for the priest observed proper medical protocols, Mato added.
A broader perspective from the Los Angeles Times:
World continues to cope with Ebola in Spain, Texas and Nebraska
Officials continued to reassure people that Ebola, which has already killed more than 3,400 people in West Africa, was containable in the West because of the superior medical system. But calls were growing for added screening as a precaution.
At a televised news conference to announce his new 17-member task force to deal with infectious diseases, Texas Gov. Rick Perry called on federal officials to implement screening procedures at all U.S. points of entry. Screeners would take travelers’ temperature and conduct other assessments to determine their overall health.
Duncan did not have a fever when he left Liberia, but developed symptoms days after arriving in Dallas. He first sought medical care Sept. 25 but was sent home with antibiotics. When his condition worsened three days later, he was rushed back to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, where he has remained.
From the Guardian, more concerns about the first-ever infection outside Africa:
Spanish Ebola case requires rapid response to allay western fears
It is important to ascertain exactly how Madrid nurse was infected to prevent inaccurate scare stories circulating on internet
The news that a nurse in a Spanish hospital has been infected with the Ebola virus by a patient she was helping to treat will greatly dismay those trying to reassure people in Europe and the US that they are safe from the disease.
This should not happen. In countries with sophisticated healthcare systems, such as Spain and the US, it ought to be almost impossible for a nurse to become infected once the hospital is aware that it has an Ebola patient.
In Dallas, ambulance workers were put at risk and are now effectively in quarantine because of ignorance: the hospital did not know that Thomas Duncan might be infected with the virus when they responded to the call to transport a sick man.
But in Spain there does not seem to be that excuse. The priest Manuel Garcia Viejo, whom the nurse was helping to treat at Madrid’s Carlos III hospital, had been repatriated from Liberia precisely because he had Ebola.
From the Associated Press, confidence:
Mayor: New York City could handle Ebola outbreak
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio says he’s “very confident” the city’s hospital system could handle an Ebola outbreak.
De Blasio touts the public health system in the nation’s biggest city, the ability of its first responders and its ties to the leadership of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
De Blasio said Monday his city has a “much more aggressive and coherent game plan” than other U.S. cities to fight a potential Ebola case. He says anyone who suspects he or she has Ebola should call 911 or rush to the nearest emergency room.
More from the New York Times:
New York City Steps Up Preparations to Be Ready for Ebola Cases
Taking of a travel history by 911 dispatchers is one of a series of measures the city has been using in recent months to prepare for the arrival of the virus, efforts that have been stepped up since last week, when a man traveling from Liberia was told he had the disease in Dallas.
New York officials are also reaching out to the city’s West Africans, encouraging anyone who may be sick and who has been exposed to Ebola in recent weeks to be checked out at a hospital.
Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told reporters on Sunday that fear of the virus was not a bad thing.
“For health care workers, we want them to be scared,” Dr. Frieden said. That fear, he said, ensures a healthy respect for the virus that can be channeled into being “incredibly meticulous” about infection control.
The Christian Science Monitor takes a broader perspective:
States, cities examine best practices for stopping spread of Ebola in US
Texas is setting up an infectious disease task force. 911 operators in New York are asking callers if they’ve traveled recently to Africa. And the federal government is considering extra screening of airline passengers.
According to current protocols, health officials monitor anyone who may have been exposed to the virus through a process called “contact tracing.” They try to identify all persons known to have had contact with anyone diagnosed with Ebola and then monitor those persons for 21 days. In addition to Duncan, the lone US diagnosis to date, five Americans have been flown home for treatment.
Anyone who develops Ebola-like symptoms is then isolated and tested for the virus. If positive, that person would be isolated and treated, and the contact tracing process would begin again.
But more and more, public officials are turning their attention to the nation’s ports of entry. On Sunday, New York Sen. Charles Schumer (D) called for the Transportation Security Administration to screen passengers from Ebola-afflicted countries when entering the US and to have passengers fill out health surveys before being admitted into the country.
From Sky News, look to the skies:
Obama Signals New Ebola Passenger Screening
The White House is not considering a travel ban for West Africa, but Mr Obama said extra airport measures are in the works.
Barack Obama has said his administration is working on additional protocols for screening airplane passengers to identify people who might have ebola.
The President made the announcement after meeting health and security officials who are involved in attempting to prevent an outbreak of the disease in the US.
He told reporters the chance of an outbreak in the US was “extraordinarily low”, but that there was not a large margin for error.
More concerns aloft from the Los Angeles Times:
Ebola scare: Flight attendants told to be careful with bodily fluids
As health officials continue to monitor passengers who flew on two planes with an Ebola-infected flier, a flight attendants union has urged its members to be extra cautious handling bodily fluids.
The Assn. of Flight Attendants warned its 60,000 members on 19 airlines to be on the lookout for passengers exhibiting symptoms of Ebola, which has killed thousands in West Africa.
“Persons infected with the Ebola virus may exhibit symptoms such as a high fever, severe headache, nausea and/or abdominal pain,” the notice on the union’s Web page says. “If you observe these symptoms, report any concerns of a potentially infectious passenger to the captain and follow the reporting procedures as outlined by your airline.”
“Additionally, all bodily fluids should be treated as if they are known to be contagious.”
From the Washington Post, reaping fearful political capital:
Leading Republicans press for limits on travel to prevent spread of Ebola
Leading Republicans are racing to propose strict new limits on air travel to safeguard Americans against Ebola, the deadly virus that has reached the United States and left a Liberian man battling for his life in a Dallas hospital.
The latest to adopt that public position is Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R), a potential 2016 presidential candidate who is back in the national spotlight after doctors made the first Ebola diagnosis in the United States in his home state.
Unveiling a new state task force to combat infectious diseases on Monday, Perry called for federal officials to implement “enhanced screening procedures” at “all points of entry” to the United States and create “fully staffed quarantine stations” wherever people are entering the country.
From BuzzFeed, a polint and appointees:
White House Says Many Agencies Are Taking The Lead On Ebola
The White House says Lisa Monaco is the point person, but other departments are leading parts of the epidemic response.
There are a number different departments and agencies overseeing the U.S. Ebola response, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Monday.
Earnest described White House official Lisa Monaco as leading the “interagency response” to the epidemic.
From Government Executive, a serious question:
The Ebola Plan Was in Place, So Why Did It Falter in Dallas?
A patient displaying symptoms of Ebola was at large among the American public for several days last week, and it happened because of a hospital miscommunication.
This wasn’t supposed to happen, and it didn’t have to. In preparation for a possible case in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been educating the health community for months on the virus and offering guidelines to hospitals for detecting and treating potential Ebola patients.
CDC called for medical facilities to be alert for Ebola-like symptoms, including high fever, severe headache, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. They were also supposed to inquire about possible exposure, through contact with a suspected victim or travel to the West African countries suffering from the Ebola epidemic. And if they found a patient who had a fever within 21 days of high-risk exposure, they were supposed to test the individual for the virus.
But CDC’s plans are only as effective as the individual hospitals and doctors tasked with carrying them out. And a mix-up in Dallas last week is a red flag for potential future cases.
Al Jazeera America covers an arrival:
5th American with Ebola arrives in Nebraska
American journalist and Al Jazeera contributor Ashoka Mukpo, who contracted Ebola in Liberia, lands in Omaha
A plane carrying an American journalist who contracted Ebola while working in Liberia landed Monday in Nebraska, where he will undergo treatment for the deadly disease.
The specially equipped plane carrying Ashoka Mukpo landed at Eppley Airfield in Omaha at around 7:30 a.m. on Monday, where an ambulance was waiting to take him to the Nebraska Medical Center’s specialized isolation unit.
Mukpo was working in Liberia as a freelance cameraman for NBC News when he became ill last week. Mukpo has written for Al Jazeera on the epidemic.
He is the fifth American to return to the United States for treatment since the start of the latest Ebola outbreak, which the World Health Organization estimates has killed more than 3,400 people. Meanwhile, a Liberian man with Ebola who started showing symptoms while visiting the U.S. is in critical condition at a Dallas hospital.
While the London Daily Mail goes for the fear:
‘We thought he was crazy and begged him not to go back’: Parents of NBC reporter with Ebola reveal how he refused to listen to pleas to stay in the U.S. as they meet his air ambulance in Nebraska
Ashoka Mukpo, a freelance cameraman from Rhode Island, is being treated at Nebraska Medical Center and is in ‘good spirits’ but tired
He was flown in on a medical flight from Liberia on Monday
The 33-year-old returned to Liberia on September 4 and had been working with NBC when he fell ill last week
He may have contracted the virus while spray-washing a car that had carried someone who later died of Ebola
His father, Dr Mitchell Levy, mother British aristocrat Lady Diana Judith Mukpo and British girlfriend Helen, traveled to Nebraska
Dr Levy said: ‘I’m proud of him but I told him he was crazy’
CBC News covers epidemiology in Dallas:
Ebola update: Dallas officials say ‘crucial’ week’ for containment
Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan in critical condition
Officials in Dallas gave an update today on their investigation and containment processes connected with the first Ebola case diagnosed in the U.S., calling it a “crucial week” for people who have had direct contact with the patient.
Dallas Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan remains in critical condition. A spokeswoman for Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas said on Monday that Duncan is receiving an experimental drug for the disease. The drug, called brincidofovir, was developed by Chimerix Inc.
Dr. David Lakey, the Texas health commissioner, was asked whether Duncan would have benefited from earlier treatment with the drug. “I just can’t answer whether or not that would have helped him. We just don’t know with these experimental drugs, how well they work.”
Off to Europe and another evacuated Northerner from TheLocal.no:
Ebola virus victim to be treated in Norway
A Norwegian woman, diagnosed with the Ebola virus while working for a charity organisation out in Sierra Leone, will be treated in Oslo, it was confirmed on Monday.
The woman, who was working for Médecins Sans Frontières, fell ill at the weekend and was placed in isolation on Sunday. On Monday she was confirmed as having contracted Ebola.
Secretary general for Médecins Sans Frontières, Anne Cecilie Kaltenborn, said at a press conference in Sierra Leone on Monday: “We regrettably confirm that one of our Norwegian field workers tested positively for Ebola. The person was on a mission in Sierra Leone, where Médecins Sans Frontières has 1,200 employees. 86 of those are international aid workers.”
TheLocal.no again, with altruistic concern:
‘World needs aid workers taking Ebola risk’: Høie
Norway’s Minister for Health went on record on Monday to state those who take part in international aid work must run the risk of contracting diseases like Ebola if global society is to survive.
Bent Høie of the Conservative party hopes that Norwegian medical staff do not stop going to Ebola infected areas, even though a Norwegian aid worker was diagnosed with the disease at the weekend in West Africa.
Høie said to NTB: “Global society needs aid workers taking an Ebola risk.”
On Sunday, a Norwegian woman working for Médecins Sans Frontières in Sierra Leone was diagnosed with Ebola. On Monday she was flown to Oslo for treatment.
Høie says: “We are very thankful that Norwegian health workers are taking on the huge task of helping in these areas, and with the risk involved.”
From TheLocal.at, an Austrian Ebola alarm:
Salzburg activates Ebola emergency plan
A young Liberian refugee whose entire family died apparently from Ebola, then escaped in an epic voyage to Austria, has been isolated in the Salzburg Regional Hospital for observation.
Late in the afternoon on Monday, the Salzburg Regional Hospital enabled the existing contingency plan for a suspected case of Ebola for the first time.
A young refugee from Liberia had been housed in Flachgau, and since Liberia is a country affected by Ebola, he was admitted for evaluation in the provincial hospital, according to regional health officer Christian Stöckl (ÖVP).
“It is absolutely too early to speak of a suspected case. The patient must first be thoroughly examined for possible symptoms. Nevertheless, the emergency plan has been activated as a precaution. The case is being dealt with as a suspected case.”
And from the Japan Times, a corporate silver lining in a cloud of suffering:
Fujifilm share jumps as Ebola patient given drug leaves hospital
Fujifilm Holdings Corp. shares rose to their highest level in more than six years in Tokyo trading Monday after a French Ebola patient, who was given its Avigan drug with another experimental treatment, was sent home from the hospital.
The company’s shares rose 2.8 percent to close at ¥3,499.5, the highest level since July 2008. Fujifilm said last month that Avigan, its influenza drug, was being given to an Ebola patient at a French hospital along with another unidentified medicine.
With no approved Ebola therapies, doctors and international agencies have been forced to test experimental treatments to fight the deadly virus that has killed thousands in West Africa.
From the Associated Press, more belated beseeching:
Obama calls for greater foreign help against Ebola
President Barack Obama says some foreign countries are not doing enough to confront the Ebola crisis in West Africa. He says the international community has not been as aggressive as it needs to be to help contain what he’s calling a top national security issue for the United States.
Obama says he intends to put pressure on other foreign heads of state to “make sure that they are doing everything that they can to join us in this effort.”
He said the chances for an Ebola outbreak in the United States are low, but he says his administration is working on additional screening protocols for international airline passengers both in the U.S. and overseas.
From United Press International, an American false alarm:
Initial Ebola tests for South Florida teen are negative
South Florida is breathing a little easier Monday, after a teen visiting from West Africa tests negative for the Ebola virus.
Monday brought a sigh of relief to South Florida after the area went on high alert Sunday when a teen was admitted Sunday to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami Beach, Fla., showing symptoms of the Ebola virus.
The teen was visiting Miami Beach from West Africa.
On Monday, the mayor of Miami Beach, Philip Levine reported the initial test done by the Department of Health came back negative for the virus.
And from the Guardian, good news form Mecca:
Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca epidemic-free, says Saudi Arabia
Health chief hired thousands of health workers to protect pilgrims from Ebola and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus
The annual hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, which drew 2 million Muslims from around the world, has been epidemic-free, Saudi Arabia’s acting health minister has said.
Oil-rich Saudi Arabia, home to Islam’s holiest sites, engaged thousands of health workers to make sure pilgrims were protected from two deadly viruses, Ebola and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (Mers-CoV).
As pilgrims performed the final rituals of the hajj and began returning home, Adel Fakieh said: “I am pleased to announce the hajj was free of all epidemic diseases.”
After the jump, the latest from Africa, including concerns over economic impacts, an offer of help from the Fourth Estate, on to Sierra Leone and an overtaxed healthcare system, aid stalled on the docks, and workers at wit’s end, then on to Liberia, with the latest Ebola numbers, labs up and running, Healthcare workers ponder a walkout, hidden deaths, looters hit food aid for patients, flagrant violations of body handling, warnings over government tightening of media control, one orphan’s story of a double tragedy, and a defense of sending an infected man to America, plus an American Nigerian omission. . .
Voice of America covers economic concerns:
Ebola Clouds Paris Discussions on Africa’s Economic Prospects
African Union Chairwoman Nkosana Dlamini-Zuma is calling for more outside manpower to help “break the cycle” of the Ebola virus that is ravaging three West African countries. She spoke in Paris during a forum on ways to make Africa’s economic growth more sustainable and inclusive.
In remarks at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development [OECD], Dlamini-Zuma welcomed the help of several countries in fighting West Africa’s Ebola outbreak, but she said it was not enough.
“We are encouraged that we have seen the world pledging, and we have seen on the ground the Americans and others building infrastructure,” she said. “But what we have seen is still a gap on the human resource side in these countries.”
Dlamini-Zuma said the countries most affected — Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone — do not have enough health personnel and some of the health workers have been casualties of the deadly outbreak. African nations and others, like Cuba, are sending in health workers, but more are needed.
From SciDev.Net, an offer of help:
African journalists offer to help cut Ebola deaths
African science journalists are imploring governments to involve them in reporting on the Ebola crisis to help prevent needless deaths caused by inadequate or incorrect information.
The Ebola virus highlights the “urgent need to close the gap between the scientists, journalists and communities”, said a 17 September statement signed by science journalism associations from more than ten African nations.
Members of the associations say governments should report information about disease outbreaks at an early stage to trained science journalists who can then publish accurate information on risks and treatments before misinformation can be disseminated.
On to Sierra Leone with Voice of America:
Ebola Strains Sierra Leone Healthcare
The Head of World Hope International says Sierra Leone has a shortage of ambulances and isolation centers, making it much more difficult to contain the Ebola outbreak. The virus has killed more than 600 people in the country.
WHI President John Lyon said the Ebola virus continues its rapid spread in Sierra Leone.
“There are about five new infections per hour there. So the rate of infection is greatly outstripping the number of beds they have to hold patients.”
He said some hospitals have ambulances, some don’t. So, people often take taxis, which contribute to the spread of the disease. WHI has donated some of its vehicles to be used as ambulances.
Aid stalled on the docks from the New York Times:
Ebola Help for Sierra Leone Is Nearby, but Delayed on the Docks
It has been sitting idly on the docks for nearly two months: a shipping container packed with protective gowns, gloves, stretchers, mattresses and other medical supplies needed to help fight Sierra Leone’s exploding Ebola epidemic.
There are 100 bags and boxes of hospital linens, 100 cases of protective suits, 80 cases of face masks and other items — in all, more than $140,000 worth of medical equipment locked inside a dented container at the port since Aug. 9.
Hundreds of people have died of Ebola in Sierra Leone since then, and health workers have endured grave shortages of lifesaving supplies, putting them at even greater risk in a country reeling from the virus.
“We are still just hoping (!!!) — which sounds like BEGGING — that this container should be cleared,” one government official wrote in a frantic email to his superiors, weeks after the container arrived.
Deutsche Welle covers those on the front lines:
Sierra Leone: Aid workers under pressure
The Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone is becoming more uncontrollable. The most basic of isolation facilities and knowledgeable personnel to treat the sick are lacking.
Furthermore, aid workers are being met with great skepticism, because in addition to the job of treating the sick, they are also responsible for burying the dead.
On to Liberia and the latest Ebola numbers from Star Africa News:
2475 test positive to Ebola virus in Liberia in 4 months – officia
Liberia’s assistant Health Minister for preventive services, Tolbert Nyeswah has said that a total number of 4,500 Ebola cases were tested in Liberia between June and September 2014.Nyeswah told journalists at the daily Ministry of Information Ebola briefing in Monrovia on Monday that 55 percent of this number of cases tested positive, while the rest proved negative.
Nyeswah disclosed that the two Navy mobile laboratories brought into the country by the Government of the United States had been installed at the Ebola Testing Centres at Island Clinic on Bushrod Island in Montserrado County and in Gbarnga, Bong County.
According to him, the installation of the two additional laboratories has enabled the Ministry of Health and partners the ability to test 500 cases each day and make quick decisions on the results.
A positive headline from FrontPageAfrica:
Mobile Testing Labs Up and Running at Island Clinic, Bong ETUs
Two additional mobile testing labs from the U.S. Government, which were flown into Liberia last weekend, have already been installed and are up and running at the Ebola Treatment Units at Island Clinic and in Bong County.
The U.S. Navy laboratories, part of the ongoing Joint Forces Command-United Assistance, reduce the time needed to determine if a sick person has Ebola from several days to just a few hours, and are capable of processing about 80 samples a day. Members of a U.S. Navy Medical Research Unit will operate both laboratories.
“Having a laboratory on site will dramatically improve our ability to provide appropriate care to all of our patients,” Dr. Pranav Shetty, Emergency Medical Coordinator for International Medical Corps (IMC), said. “The sooner we can confirm patients who are positive (for Ebola), the sooner they can receive specialized care.” IMC is the organization running the Bong County site.
Healthcare workers ponder a walkout from BuzzFeed:
Liberia’s Ebola Workers Threaten To Strike
Some health care workers think newly announced hazard pay is too low. They say they’re giving the government until Friday to make a change.
Dissatisfied health care workers manning Liberia’s Ebola treatment wards may not turn up for work next week unless the government increases newly announced hazard pay.
Several health care workers told BuzzFeed News that plans for a strike are in the works after widespread dissatisfaction with a hazard pay scale announced by Liberia’s finance ministry on Oct. 1.
Nearly 200 Liberian health care workers have been infected with Ebola since the virus broke out in West Africa in March; 92 have died, according to the latest figures from the Liberian Health Ministry.
Sky News covers concealment:
Ebola Deaths Hidden As Fear Grips Liberia
Sky News Correspondent Alex Crawford gains rare access to burial teams doing one of the most dangerous jobs in the world.
Liberia’s few ebola treatment centres are overwhelmed with the sick and dying – with patients sharing beds and the dead laying near the desperately ill.
The country has accounted for more than half of the world’s deaths from the latest ebola outbreak in West Africa and despite assurances from President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf that it is under control, evidence on the ground seen by Sky News appears to suggest otherwise.
Whole communities are gripped with fear about the virus – and terrified citizens prefer to die alone, unaided because of the stigma attached to admitting to the disease.
And the video report from Sky News:
Special Report: On The Front Line In Fight Against Ebola
Program notes:
Sky News’ special correspondent Alex Crawford gains rare access to burial teams doing one of the most dangerous jobs in the world – treating ebola patients in Liberia.
Looters hit food aid for patients, via the New Dawn:
Ebola patients’ food diverted
Police in Ganta, Nimba County are investigating circumstances leading to a truckload of relief food destined for Ebola patients in Ganta taken to Saclepea for sale.
A Police source narrated to The NewDawn that the truck was intercepted with a consignment of 200 bags of 25kg rice, 10 bags of beans, and 15 containers of Argo oil.
An inside source of the Ganta Ebola Taskforce also hinted this paper that the food, provided by the World Food Programme or WFP for Ebola victims, was redirected for sale to a business woman in Saclepea.
Flagrant violations of body handling, from FrontPageAfrica:
Funeral Homes Still Collecting Dead Bodies Without Ebola Tests
Liberia continues to be challenged by denials and failure to follow simple health instructions by health workers, communities and morticians who own and run funeral homes around the country. On Saturday the Ebola Burial Team of the Ministry of Health arrived in the Gbankay Town Airfield Community to pick up the remains of a dead woman Kortee T. Gray after being called in by the family, but within less than five minutes after the team’s arrival, a van belonging to the St. Moses funeral home also pulled over into the compound to collect the same body.
Community dwellers watched in astonishment as two morticians dressed in black suits disembarked their vehicle demanding the corpse of the deceased, claiming the family had called them in to take the body away. “The family called us here to pick up the body of their mother and we are taking it,” said one of the men who did not disclose his name.
There was a little hesitation on the part of Samuel T. Nimley, Police Commissioner for Interpol and Intelligence and the Liberia National Police lead coordinator for the burial team, because he had not seen an Ebola free lab result. He said the body was going to be taken by the Ebola team until it can be clear that the elderly lady did not die of the deadly Ebola virus.
From Voice of America, warnings over government tightening of media control:
Liberia Press Union Says Government Limiting Ebola Coverage
The Press Union of Liberia (PUL) has urged the Liberian government to concentrate its energy on fighting the deadly Ebola virus outbreak and stop trying to prevent journalists from doing their work.
This comes as the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has released a new media order requiring journalists wanting to photograph, conduct interviews or do video recordings at an Ebola health care facility to first get written permission from the health ministry.
Assistant Health Minister and head of the Ebola incident management team Tolbert Nyenswah told journalists the new media access policy aims to protect the privacy of patients and healthcare workers as well as the health and safety of Liberian and international journalists.
One orphan’s story of a double tragedy from the National Journal:
Ebola Stole Her Parents. Then Liberia Stole Her Stability.
The story of one child orphaned by a disease, and the aid workers who tried to care for her
Not a month ago, Esther’s mother and father first started to feel sick. They drove several hours from their home to an Ebola testing center in Liberia’s capital, Monrovia, and were diagnosed with a disease that already has killed far more than 3,000 Africans. They were admitted for treatment, which by the most optimistic assessments is saving only half of those diagnosed with the disease.
Esther wasn’t showing symptoms but was tested anyway. The result came back positive: The 10-year-old had Ebola too. But that was only the beginning of her nightmare.
During her stay in the treatment center, Esther slipped into a coma. Her parents died while their daughter was unconscious, never to know that she would awake, delirious and weak, just days later, having beaten Ebola. As would be the case with any child, once the fogginess of returning to consciousness wore off, she began to ask for her parents. It was then that she was informed that they were both gone. Too weak to cry, she lay in stunned silence, unable to comprehend the finality of the news she just received. She had no one to care for her. She didn’t even have anyone to take her home.
Star Africa News defends:
Liberia: Duncan’s Ebola case could not be detected at airport – minister
Liberia’s Assistant Health Minister for Preventive Services Tolbert Nyenswah says that Thomas Eric Duncan could not have been diagnosed with Ebola at the Roberts International Airport (RIA) in spite of measures taken by the authorities to properly screen passengers. Thomas Eric Duncan is a Liberian currently being treated for Ebola at a medical facility in the State of Texas, US.
He tested positive with the deadly virus in late September after arriving in the US from Liberia.
Speaking at the regular Ebola update held at the Ministry of Information in Monrovia on Monday, Nyenswah said that testing for Ebola required a laboratory procedure where bodily fluids will be extracted from a subject and analyzed.
And for our final item, Punch Nigeria notes an omission:
Ebola: ‘US yet to request for assistance’
THE Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu on Monday said there had been no formal request from the United States for Nigeria’s assistance in combating the Ebola Virus disease.
“As at Friday really, there was no formal request by the United States, for assistance in the containment of Ebola Virus Disease”, the minister, who spoke through his Special Assistant (Media and Communications), Mr. Dan Nwomeh, said during an enquiry by our correspondent on Monday in Abuja.
The US had last week recorded its first case of EVD in circumstances similar to the importation of the virus to Nigeria by the Liberian-born American Diplomat, late Mr. Patrick Sawyer.
