We open with the latest official Ebola numbers — now topping 5,000 — from the World Health Organization:
Next, the latest outbreak continues, via the Sydney Morning Herald:
Ebola in Mali: Nurse dies after sick imam from Guinea was never tested for virus
Authorities in Mali have quarantined dozens of people at the home of a 25-year-old nurse who died from Ebola in the capital, Bamako, and at the clinic where he treated an imam from Guinea who died with Ebola-like symptoms.
The imam from the border town of Kouremale was never tested for the disease and his body was washed in Mali and returned to Guinea for burial without precautions against the virus.
Two aid workers said that another person who lived in the house where the imam stayed in Bamako had died this week and was buried without being tested.
A doctor at the Pasteur Clinic where the nurse worked – one of Bamako’s top medical centres – is also suspected to have contracted Ebola.
More from the New York Times:
The first case in the new outbreak was a 70-year-old religious figure, a grand imam, who fell ill in Guinea and traveled to Mali for better treatment at a major private clinic in Bamako, Mali’s capital.
He died there on Oct. 27, and because of his importance, his body was washed at a large Bamako mosque before being returned to Guinea for burial.
But the Pasteur Clinic, where he was treated, failed to diagnose Ebola as the underlying cause of the kidney failure it was treating him for. According to a World Health Organization description of the case, numerous tests were performed, but not one for Ebola.
It was only realized how infectious he was after a nurse at the clinic fell ill and died, and when the chief W.H.O. representative in Mali heard from his counterparts in Guinea that the imam’s family members were dying.
And a video report from Reuters filed earlier in the day:
Quarantines in Mali after Ebola claims second life
Program notes:
Ninety people have been quarantined in Mali following the death of a second person from Ebola. Gavino Garay reports.
From the New York Times, a crisis of needs:
U.N. Seeks a More Nimble Response to Ebola in Africa
A shortage of international health workers and delays in building Ebola treatment clinics in West Africa are forcing the United Nations to change course in fighting the virus, and to call for smaller and more mobile treatment units that make greater use of local staff — and in turn require more money.
The shift comes eight months after the Ebola outbreak in West Africa was first identified. The virus is waning in some places and growing stronger elsewhere, and the international response so far has been unable to get the outbreak under control.
The most prominent international efforts have so far been focused on building large treatment centers. But by the time they are completed, they may not be where they are most needed.
An effort to combat domestic collateral damage, via Public Radio International:
A new hotline fights Ebola-related stigma against African immigrants
There are no more Ebola cases in the United States, but that doesn’t mean the fear is gone. New immigrants from Africa are facing harassment and discrimination because of fears surrounding the Ebola virus.
So a Bronx-based non-profit organization for African immigrants has launched a hotline to help. The group’s new website, AfricanDefense.org, encourages African immigrants to write or call in with their stories. The organization is collecting and sharing cases of discrimination and harassment to help raise awareness about the problem.
“We’ve heard a range of stories, both from the immigrants we are working with here in New York and … from all across the country,” says Amaha Kassa, executive director for African Communities Together.
And from Voice of America, American medical boots on the ground:
US Opens Ebola Treatment Unit in Liberia
The United States has opened the first of several Ebola treatment units it is building in Liberia.
The new clinic opened Monday in Tubmanburg, about 60 kilometers north of the Liberian capital, Monrovia. A U.S. Agency for International Development statement said up to 17 such units will be constructed in Liberia, including three that will be operated by the International Organization for Migration.
According to the World Health Organization, the number of people infected with Ebola appears to be decreasing in Monrovia, but more cases are being detected in other areas of the West African country.
From Foreign Policy, cutting back:
DoD Sending Fewer Troops to Liberia to Battle Ebola
The military will scale back its Ebola operation in Liberia, citing recent success in stopping the spread of the disease as a second Ebola outbreak was detected in neighboring Mali.
Speaking at the Pentagon Wednesday afternoon, Army Maj. Gen. Gary Volesky said that the Defense Department will now dispatch 3,000, instead of the authorized 4,000, troops to Liberia as part of the Obama administration’s response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
Volesky said fewer troops were needed because contractors already in Liberia can lighten the Pentagon’s load. The 3,000 troops are expected arrive in Liberia by December.
The Associated Press covers a plea:
Ebola workers ask Congress for help
A top U.S. official outlined plans Wednesday for clinical trials of a possible Ebola vaccine in West Africa, as the global response to the outbreak took on added urgency with the disclosure of a new cluster of cases in Mali and reports that the death toll had surpassed 5,000.
Two studies of a U.S.-developed vaccine will begin in Liberia and Sierra Leone by January and if they go well, “we could know by the middle of 2015 whether or not we have an effective vaccine,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, infectious disease chief at the National Institutes of Health, told the Senate Appropriations Committee.
The confirmation of long-anticipated vaccine studies came as the Senate panel began evaluating the Obama administration’s request for $6.2 billion in emergency aid to fight Ebola.
“These resources are essential to stop the outbreak in Africa, and protect us,” said Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A settlement from the Los Angeles Times:
Family of Texas Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan settles with hospital
Relatives of Thomas Eric Duncan announced Wednesday that they had settled all legal claims against the Dallas hospital where the Liberian man was treated and died of Ebola last month.
They said the agreement with Texas Health Presbyterian of Dallas and all others involved in treating Duncan, 42, includes a settlement with his parents and four children — ages 12, 18, 19 and 22 — as well as creating a charitable foundation to improve Ebola treatment in Africa.
The hospital released a statement noting the matter had been “amicably resolved.”
The parties did not disclose the amount of the settlement, although the family’s attorney said the amount was comparable to what could have been obtained through a civil suit alleging gross negligence.
Thomson Reuters Foundation finds fault:
Half of G20 countries have failed to deliver in fight against Ebola – Oxfam
Nine of the world’s top 20 biggest economies have failed to deliver adequate support in the global fight against the Ebola outbreak that has killed more than 5,000 people in West Africa, Oxfam said on Wednesday.
Despite urgent calls for assistance, Argentina, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Turkey have made no contribution at all, while Brazil, India, Mexico, Russia and France should be doing more, the charity said in a statement.
Of the G20, the United States, Britain and the European Union have shouldered most responsibility, and need to convince other countries to do more at the G20 summit in Brisbane, Australia this weekend.
A parallel plea from the Associated Press:
UN’s Ban calls on Asia to step up Ebola fight
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Asian countries on Wednesday to step up their efforts in the global fight against Ebola.
He noted that Asia has more than half the world’s population. While it has not recorded any Ebola cases, experts worry that border control measures and other preparations are insufficient and that Asian countries should be doing more to fight the viral outbreak in West African nations.
Ban spoke in Myanmar’s capital, where world leaders are gathering for summits touching on security, health and economic issues.
He urged governments to help fill huge gaps in funding, equipment and medical personnel trying to stop the spread of Ebola.
From the Guardian, even worse:
Ebola: for-profit disaster capitalists are already out looking to make money from misery
NGOs with months of front line exposure were shunned in favour of a private company which was awarded a $20m contract to run an ebola response in Sierra Leone
The horror of ebola in West Africa has taken thousands of lives and spread fear around the world. This fact, coupled with ignorance and misinformation, has created the perfect storm. The risk is real, but you wouldn’t know the full picture from watching last weekend’s American 60 Minutes. Lara Logan’s report took her to Liberia, but it did not include any black African voices. It was as if colonialism never died, and the life-saving Americans were the only barrier between calm and chaos.
Meanwhile in Australia, last week’s news that private company Aspen Medical was awarded a $20m contract to run an ebola response in Sierra Leone was given surprisingly little scrutiny. Federal health minister Peter Dutton praised the company’s record and claimed that the firm was chosen because “they’ve got the capacity and the logistical capacity to deliver very quickly what governments want on the ground.” He played the patriotism card –“Aspen is an Australian company” – and said that Aspen “will have this up and running efficiently, effectively, saving lives.”
Non-government organisations with months of front line exposure in battling ebola were shunned for a corporation that won’t face any freedom of information requests because it’s a private entity. We have to take it on trust that taxpayer dollars will be spent appropriately. With former senior politicians and civil servants on Aspen’s board (a typical feature of companies that succeed in winning government contracts globally) financial benefits and political knowledge for the company are assured.
Raising questions with the Associated Press:
Ebola drug testing sparks ethics debate
Health officials are scrambling to begin human testing of a handful of experimental drugs for Ebola. But the effort has sparked an ethical debate over how to study unproven medicines amid an outbreak that has killed nearly 5,000.
U.S. officials say the studies must include one critical feature of traditional medical testing: a control group of patients who do not receive the drugs.
But many European and African authorities argue that withholding drugs from study participants is unethical, given that the current outbreak kills between 50 and 80 percent percent of those infected in West Africa, according to Doctors Without Borders. They favor alternative studies in which every patient receives drug therapy.
The split in testing philosophies means different researchers may wind up testing the same drugs using different approaches.
Another quarantine, via the Associated Press:
Island quarantine for Filipino troops from Liberia
More than 130 Filipino soldiers and police returned from peacekeeping duties in Liberia on Wednesday and immediately headed to an island quarantine as a precaution against the Ebola virus.
Although they passed rigid U.N. Ebola screening before they left the West African nation, they will still spend another 21 days on Caballo Island at the mouth of Manila Bay, the military said.
The troops arrived on a chartered flight but were not allowed to meet with relatives. The families applauded as they watched a video of arrival ceremonies at an air base from inside the Philippine air force museum building.
And from China Daily, prepared:
Nation’s rapid Ebola response ‘could prevent an outbreak’
Many of the lessons China learned during the SARS outbreak in the early 2000s have subsequently been applied to the management of infectious diseases such as the ongoing Ebola outbreak, despite the low probability of the disease becoming widespread in the country, according to Bernhard Schwartlander, the World Health Organization’s representative in China.
China’s response to SARS and Ebola has focused on preventing outbreaks, slowing infection rates, arranging treatment programs, and preparing the health services to respond effectively, Schwartlander told China Daily.
“The 2003 experience of SARS in China changed the way in which information was shared and communicated, and quick, transparent, accurate information is one of the key tools that can be used to address an outbreak and avoid miscommunication and panic,” he stressed.
After the jump, on to Africa and a call for quarantine, soccer match Ebolaphobia defense, Angolan Ebola fears covered, the Gambia welcomes West Africans, comics to the educational rescue, on to Sierra Leone and burial alarms sounding, healthcare workers stage a walkout, and another doctor falls victim, on to Liberia and another flareup, critical disease trackers angered over missing paychecks, the latest bed count, the African Union sends in more medics, and a dam delayed. . .A call for quarantines from AllAfrica:
West Africa: Ebola Fight – EFP Medical Tactical Group Calls for National Quarantines
A leading medical training organisation on the front line of the Ebola outbreak has asked the world’s governments to take the brave step of enforcing quarantines in the fight against the virus – adding the current “inexplicable delay” will result in an international epidemic.
EFP Tactical Medical Group employs 1,500 people worldwide and is training medics in West Africa to respond to the Ebola outbreak and related highly infectious emerging diseases. They say controversy surrounding national quarantines is putting thousands more lives at risk as it could allow Ebola to gain a foothold on another continent while governments debate the issue.
Chief executive Thomas Omogi says the response to Ebola, which has already killed more than 5,000 people, has been “badly designed and poorly implemented” and adds airport checks will fail to detect every case of the disease. He says governments should understand their reactions were “inadequate and ill-informed” and should now ignore public opinion and impose quarantines to prevent the disease from sweeping across the globe.
Ebolaphobia defended, via Bloomberg:
Africa Cup Loss Over Ebola to Aid Morocco Tourism, Minister Says
Morocco’s Tourism Minister said the decision by the African soccer authority to strip his country of hosting regional championships is a blessing.
CAF, the regional soccer body, said yesterday it won’t let Morocco host the Africa Cup of Nations, scheduled for Jan. 17 through Feb. 8, because Morocco had wanted to postpone the 16-team event by up to a year because of concerns about Ebola. The disease, which is spread through body fluids, has led to about 5,000 deaths, mainly in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
“We were chuffed,” Tourism Minister Lahcen Haddad said in a phone interview from his office in Rabat today. “It strengthens our image on behalf of tour operators and the industry as a secure and safe destination. I applaud and support this. This was a good decision.”
Angolan Ebola fears covered, via Agência Angola Press:
Health minister pledges continued response to Ebola rumours
The Health minister, José Van-Dúnem, Wednesday in Luanda pledged that the country is prepared to satisfactorily respond to the rumours of Ebola cases in the country.
José Van-dúnem was speaking at the opening of the provincial meeting on the plan against the Ebola virus.
According to the minister, the existence of an efficient response will ensure the smallest number of deaths and a reduction in possible infections, which will permit a good service for the people.
As an example, José Van-dúnem explained that there was a rumour recently that a nun was infected with the Ebola virus, which led to the necessary measures for her urgent admission in Josina Machel hospital, where she was instead diagnosed with malaria.
The News in Lagos, Nigeria, covers another country’s approach to travelers from the stricken lands:
Gambia welcomes travellers from Ebola-hit nations
The Gambia has reopened its land borders to travellers from Ebola-hit nations, the government said on Tuesday, admitting the restrictions were undermining the response to the epidemic.
Customs officials had announced in early September they would no longer be allowing in Guineans, Liberians, Nigerians and Sierra Leoneans.
“The border closure is not recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and as such the movement of people into the country should not be restricted,” Sanna Sambou, the government’s head of disease control, told AFP.
Sambou, who is in charge of the country’s response to the deadly epidemic, conceded that the closure had not been the best way of combatting the contagion, noting it was deemed “discriminatory” by the WHO.
Comics to the rescue with Cardiff University in Wales:
Comics created to help prevent the spread of Ebola
Young people in Ghana are helping in the fight to prevent the spread of Ebola through an innovative comic strip project developed by Cardiff University and delivered by Africaid WhizzKids United (WKU), an international NGO based in South Africa.
Thirty young people in Ghana – a country in West Africa so far not affected by the Ebola virus outbreak – have designed comic strips to help spread key messages to the community. The project follows in the footsteps of a similar HIV-focused campaign in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
Dr Lisa El Refaie, an expert in visual storytelling from Cardiff University’s School of English, Communication and Philosophy, designed the comic strip drawing workshops for both projects in South Africa and Ghana.
She explains the latest project: “Visual language is a formidable tool to convey messages quickly. Comics are enjoyed and shared by many young people in Africa, and they are easily produced and distributed. Our experience of the HIV-themed project in South Africa has demonstrated that.
“For this project we’ve taken the lead from young people in Ghana. In August WKU worked with the young people, aged 16-21, in drawing workshops in the Northern Region of Ghana asking for their main concerns in everyday life. Ebola emerged as a clear worry, alongside other diseases and issues such as domestic violence. Because Ebola poses such an overwhelming threat to people living in the region, we decided to focus on Ebola.”
Marcus McGilvray, HIV and Tropical Disease Nurse and CEO and Founder of WKU, who grew up in South Wales explains what the project aims to achieve: “In a youth friendly way and designed by the young people themselves, the comic strips will help to explain what Ebola is; how it’s transmitted, how to take precautions, and why the need for careful treatment and isolation of patients. We want to help stop the spread of Ebola by giving people the correct facts and information about the virus – before fear and ignorance can take hold.”
One example of their work, which is posted here [PDF]:
On to Sierra Leone and burial alarms sounding, via StarAfrica:
US embassy alarmed by resurgence of unsafe Ebola burials in Sierra Leone
The second in command at the United State embassy in Sierra Leone Tuesday expressed alarm at the resurgence of fresh Ebola cases as a result of unsafe and non-medical burials.
In recently weeks, despite growing cases of the disease, officials praised the improvement on burial practices after the military and the medical authorities assumed full control over the exercise. This, they said, had reduced infection by that route, which used to account for about 50 percent of infections.
“It is alarming that some 32 percent of Sierra Leoneans refuse to accept burials that do not involve touching or washing of a dead body,” Kathleen FitzGibbon, Deputy Chief of Mission at the US embassy, said in a statement which was shared via social media.
She said the denial was spreading the disease to many places.
Healthcare workers stage a walkout, from BBC News:
Ebola crisis: Sierra Leone health workers strike
Hundreds of health workers involved in treating Ebola patients have gone on strike at a clinic in Sierra Leone.
The staff are protesting about the government’s failure to pay an agreed weekly $100 (£63) “hazard payment”. A few are still assisting at the clinic.
The clinic, in Bandajuma near Bo, is the only Ebola treatment centre in southern Sierra Leone. The Bandajuma clinic is run by medical charity MSF, which said it would be forced to close the facility if the strike continued.
And another doctor falls victim, from StarAfrica:
Sixth Sierra Leone doctor contracts Ebola
A sixth Sierra Leonean doctor has contracted the deadly Ebola virus, reports said on Tuesday.Dr Martin Sallia tested positive for the virus Tuesday, three days after an earlier test result came out negative.
The 44-year-old doctor was a surgeon specialist at the country’s main referral hospital in Freetown, Connaught Hospital.
According to sources, when Dr Sallia had fallen ill he was tested at the Chinese-run lab in Jui, a few kilometers outside the capital. But the result came out negative.
And after persistent recurrence of signs and symptoms of the virus, his sample was then taken to an Italian-run lab in the west end of Freetown where the result proved positive.
On to Liberia and another flareup, via FrontPageAfrica — which continues to do a superb job of tracking the outcreak:
Resurging Ebola: New Cases Heighten Complacency Fears
Six cases connected to RiverCess County when residents of Grand Bassa crossed over to attend the funeral of a woman who reportedly died from the deadly virus. FrontPageAfrica has also gathered from active case finders and contact tracers that the Popo Beach community has become another epicenter of a new Ebola outbreak, joining the small town of Jenewonde in Grand Cape Mount County. There are four clusters of Ebola cases with associated high fatality rate and each of these four clusters have an independent index case.
Grand Bassa County was gearing up to celebrate at least more than 21 days without any new case of the deadly Ebola Virus until specimen of four sick people from the LAC Plantation came back positive. This brings to a total six new confirmed Ebola cases resurfacing between November 1 and 10th in Grand Bassa County.
Until November 4, the Liberian Agricultural Company (LAC) plantation remained one of the areas dubbed Ebola-free by many, thanks to several safety measures the management introduced together with instructions by the Ministry of Health and partners on how to prevent the virus from spreading.
When four people are said to have traveled to RiverCess County to attend a burial, they came back and started getting sick, thus the new cases. When it was confirmed that the four persons, including an 11-year-old girl were all positive with the virus, the management opted to quarantine the two camps where they resided before their illness.
Critical disease trackers angered over missing paychecks, via Foreign Policy:
Liberia Is Stiffing Its Contact Tracers as Ebola Epidemic Continues
Some 600 angry Ebola workers surrounded Liberia’s Ministry of Health Monday demanding back pay dating from early September. The ministry employees who track down anyone who may have come into contact with an Ebola victim — a critical process called contact tracing — have never received a dime.
Of the several thousand contact tracers who had been told that they would, at last, be paid, 600 converged on the ministry on Monday morning, but no paymaster could be found. A single paymaster appeared — at 3 p.m. — and departed two hours later, having processed salary payments for fewer than 50 people.
The enraged workers, whose labors are essential to stemming the Ebola epidemic, shouted angrily for hours. Holding up cellphone pictures to illustrate the conditions under which they toil, the contact tracers described fording raging rivers in dugout canoes, hiking through knee-high mud, and hunting for hours in blazing sun through slums that have no addresses.
The latest bed count, via StarAfrica:
Liberia: 205 Ebola patients still in ETUs-Report
Liberia’s Ebola situational report number 177 has shown that a total of 205 Ebola patients are still undergoing treatment at Ebola Treatment Units (ETUs) across the country as of November 8.According to the report, Montserrado accounts for 167 of the total number of patients, while the remaining 38 are in Bong and Nimba Counties. The report reveals 29 are in Bong while nine are in Nimba.
Of the 167 patients that are in ETUs in Montserrado County, the ELWA ETU-II, accounts for 41, while the ELWA ETU-III accounts for 44 Ebola patients. The Island Clinic facility is hosting 71, while the newly opened ETU at the new Ministry of Defense-I located in Congo Town accounts for 11 Ebola patients.
Meanwhile, the report has placed the total number of contacts being followed up nationwide at 6,222. According to the report, out of the 6,222, 5,957 of these contacts are being seen on a daily basis, while 246 contacts have completed 21-days follow up.
The African Union sends in more medics, from the NewDawn:
AU sends 2nd batch of Ebola medical team
A high-powered African Union (AU) Assistance Team, which comprises of 28 medical professionals including doctors and clinicians arrived in Liberia over the weekend from across East and West Africa to assist in the fight against the Ebola disease ravaging West Africa.
The AU Assistance Team will serve under the African Union Support to Ebola Outbreak in West Africa (ASEOWA) and is in West Africa to render medical and humanitarian assistance mainly in the areas of training, epidemiology and psychosocial support to the three countries highly affected by the Ebola disease including Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.
Speaking shortly upon arrival at the Roberts International Airport (RIA) in Margibi County, the head of the AU team, Maj. Gen. Dr. Julius F.Oketta said the AU team will be deployed in the three hardest hit countries with its Headquarters situated in Liberia.
And to close, a dam delayed from FrontPageAfrica:
Mount Coffee Rehab Setback: Minister Says Ebola Stalls Plan
The Mount Coffee Hydro power plant project has become the latest casualty of the deadly Ebola outbreak in Liberia. Lands, Mines and Energy minister Patrick Sendolo made a frank confession when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Lands, Mines & Energy Monday, suggesting that the project may not be up and running by December 15 of this year.
Making a presentation before the Senate Committee, Minister Sendolo said the contractors who should be implementing the project have all pulled out of the country because of the outbreak.
“In order to prepare to start the project, we needed to start doing the civil works and in order to do that, they should by now be mobilizing to do it but because of the health situation, no mobilization has taken place.”
