Liberia: ‘Ebola like disease’ hits Monrovia; health authorities Close schools.

Liberia: ‘Ebola like disease’ hits Monrovia; health authorities Close schools. HT: Crofs.

Via GNN Liberia: ‘Strange Disease’ Hits Monrovia, Health Authorities Say 1 Pronounced Dead. Excerpt:

The outbreak of what medical authorities considered as ‘Strange Disease’ in Greenville, southeastern Liberia, Sinoe County,  has reportedly taken the lives of eleven person and several being placed on critical list has reportedly crept in the populated City of Monrovia with one been pronounced dead by health authorities in Monrovia on Friday evening, and several quarantined in an undisclosed location. 

According to health authorities in Monrovia those infected with the “strange” disease showed symptoms of severe stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, fever and headaches, Liberia’s chief medical officer, Francis Kateh, said on national radio.  

Initial tests showed that the disease was not Ebola, said Dr. Francis Kateh, the Chief Medical Officer of Liberia during an interview with reporters in Monrovia recently. 

Liberia, as well as neighbouring Guinea and Sierra Leone, were the three countries most affected by an outbreak of Ebola, which killed more than 11 000 people between December 2013 and mid-2016. 

Blood samples have been sent for analysis to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States, said Kateh. 

Health authorities were made aware of the unknown disease on April 25, when several people died in south-eastern Sinoe County.  

Doctors suspect it is transmitted via body contact. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) said it had sent rapid response teams to the area to assist Liberian health officials with technical and logistical support.

2.  April 27 APA News report: Liberia: Authorities in Sinoe County shut down schools.

The local authorities in southeastern Sinoe County have shut down all schools in the county until the disease that has surfaced in the county is contained. 

According to a local radio report in Sinoe County, the residents of Greenville city are fleeing the city and seeking refuge in nearby villages apparently to escape the scourge of the disease.

At the same time, the spokesman of the Liberia National Police, Sam Collins, has disclosed that the Liberia National Police has dispatched a team of forensic officers to Greenville to help the ministry of health investigate the cause of the deaths from the strange disease.  

The Ministry of Health spokesman, Sorbor George, told Okay FM in Monrovia on Thursday that even though the symptoms of the strange disease resemble symptoms of the Ebola Virus Disease such as vomiting and abdominal pain, the strange disease is not Ebola.  

He, however, urged citizens to continue observing measures like hand washing, reporting deaths in communities and ill relatives in communities to prevent any disease outbreaks. 

Liberia’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Francis Kateh, told reporters in Monrovia on Thursday that the death toll from the strange disease has risen to 10, while another person has contracted the disease, bringing to 18, the number of persons who have so far contracted in disease.

ISIS incinerated the corpses of five militants suspected of contracting Ebola.

ISIS incinerated the corpses of five militants suspected of contracting Ebola. (Rudaw).

BAGHDAD, Iraq – The Islamic State (ISIS) incinerated the corpses of five militants who were suspected of contracting Ebola, an Iraqi health official indicated.

Faisal Ghazi, member of the Health Committee in Iraq’s council of ministries, said the five were incinerated in Mosul, the ISIS stronghold in Iraq.

“The Islamic State organization incinerated five militants infected with Ebola to prevent further spread of the disease in Mosul,” he said.

“ISIS had proof that these militants were infected with Ebola,” he added, without giving details of whether the fighters died of the disease or were killed and incinerated by the group.

The UN’s World Health Organization (WHO) had been investigating cases of Ebola in Mosul, following reports that some militants with Ebola symptoms had reported to a hospital in the city.

ISIS volunteers have poured into Iraq and Syria from around the world, including countries in Africa. Hmmm....the only facility able to determine if it is Ebola is in Baghdad and they have denied the story so far.



Related: Via Flutrackers, Ebola forum.

Revealed media official of the Kurdistan Democratic Party in Mosul, happy Mmousine, for the organization Daash burn the bodies of the five elements of skepticism infected with the plague, pointing out that the infectious disease began to spread significantly in the city.

Cremation

Mmousine said that the organization «burned the bodies of five of its elements in a hospital in Mosul to doubt infected with plague», indicating that «the cremation was a measure to curb the spread of the disease».

He added that «there is information we received indicates that the spread of the bodies and the contamination of water and food caused the spread of disease plague», adding that «has referred more than 200 people yesterday to hospitals in Mosul because of water pollution, after running out of supplies disinfectant».

The newspaper «morning» the official, yesterday reported for the registration of two cases of illness «Ebola» as well as the 26 infected with «AIDS» in Mosul, and an Iraqi doctor earlier revealed that the health departments in the province of Nineveh, recorded three virus infections «Ebola», noting that these three belong to al Daash.

Denied «Ebola»

However, the Iraqi Health Ministry denied news injuries «Ebola», confirming that it is just «rumors». A spokesman for the ministry said Ahmed Rudaini «Ebola virus could reach the area in the world, including Mosul, but there is no diagnostic capabilities to detect this virus». Rudaini He added that he «has not been any injury Register or suspected case of the virus so far

http://www.albayan.ae/one-world/arab...1-02-1.2279192

Iraqi Health Ministry denies registration of Ebola disease in Mosul.

Iraqi Health Ministry denies registration of Ebola disease in Mosul. HT: Flu trackers. (Almaalomah).[GoogleTranslate]

Date: 12/31/2014 14:14 Information / special / ..

The Ministry of Health denied , on Wednesday, reports that indicated the registration disease Ebola infections in the province of Mosul, indicating that the diagnostic capacity in Mosul will not enable them to diagnose injuries.

The ministry's spokesman, Ahmed Rudaini told / information / that " diagnostic capabilities of the disease Ebola there is only in the capital, Baghdad laboratory of the Central Public Health. "

He added Rudaini that "reports that indicated registration disease Ebola infections in the province of Nineveh is incorrect and unfounded in addition to the health of Nineveh alternative administration in Dohuk did not send any suspected cases . "

The official newspaper "morning" revealed on Wednesday, recording two goals disease "Ebola" and 26 injured disease "AIDS" in Mosul. Finished / 25

http://www.almaalomah.com/news/7188/...5%D8%B1%D8%B6-

Unconfirmed report: "Two Ebola cases in Mosul"

 Unconfirmed report: "Two Ebola cases in Mosul"(IraqNews).

3.UPDATE ! Iraqi Health Ministry denies registration Ebola disease in Mosul. 

On Wednesday, an official newspaper revealed, that two Ebola cases and 26 AIDS cases have been reported and registered in Mosul.

The Iraqi official newspaper ‘Al-Sabah’ said in its today’s issue, “Many diseases and epidemics have spread among residents of the city of Mosul,” and added, “Two Ebola and 26 HIV AIDS cases were registered.”

The newspaper quoted medical sources in the city,”These diseases moved to Nineveh by terrorists and expats from different countries, especially Africa.”

On November 23, 2014, the Parliamentary Committee of Health and Environment warned from the entry of the Ebola into Iraq by the Islamic State (IS), while confirming that the Commission had taken the necessary measures to prevent the entry and spread of this disease in the country.

On November 21, 2014, the United Nations Security Council expressed its grave concern about the Ebola outbreak on an unprecedented scale in Africa, which poses a threat to the international peace and security, at a time when the World Health Organization announced the rise of Ebola victims to more than 6000. Hmmmm......To be taken with a cup of salt until further notice. Probably two MERS cases instead of Ebola.

1. Update: 

Reports that Islamic State militants in Mosul have contracted Ebola swirled though Iraqi media sources on Wednesday. World Health Organization officials said they haven't confirmed the cases, but the organization has reached out to offer assistance.

Three outlets reported that Ebola showed up at a hospital in Mosul, a city 250 miles north of Baghdad that's been under ISIS control since June 2014. The reports, however, have perpetuated mostly in pro-government and Kurdish media.

"We have no official notification from [the Iraqi government] that it is Ebola," Christy Feig, WHO's director of communications told Mashable.

Feig added that WHO is in the process of reaching out to government officials in Iraq to see if they need help investigating the cases, a task that could be a challenge, given the restrictions that would come with operating in ISIS-controlled territory.

It's unclear if any disease experts or doctors in Mosul are even able to test for the Ebola virus.
A Kurdish official, who was convinced the cases are Ebola, told the Kurdish media outlet Xendan that the militants' symptoms were similar to those of the Ebola virus.

However, Ebola symptoms -- nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, bleeding and bruising -- are also similar to those associated with a number of other diseases, including malaria, Lassa fever, yellow fever viruses and the Marburg virus. Also, most confirmed Ebola cases in this recent outbreak have originated in West Africa.

Citing an unnamed source in a Mosul hospital, Iraq's official pro-government newspaper, al Sabaah, said the disease arrived in Mosul from "terrorists" who came "from several countries" and Africa.

While ISIS has recruited foreign fighters, very few of them -- if any at all -- are believed to have traveled from West Africa.

2. Update via Flu trackers.

 Iraq - Unconfirmed reports regarding Ebola cases in Mosul. Excerpt from a Google translation:

BAGHDAD - morning Tariq al-Ali Mowaffak revealed health information from inside Mosul, said in a statement singled out the "morning" for the spread of many diseases and epidemics among the inhabitants of the city, certain recording two goals disease "Ebola" dangerous, as well as 26 cases with HIV, "AIDS "indicating that these diseases moved to Nineveh by terrorists and arrivals from several countries, especially Africa.

This is the latest in a short thread of such FluTrackers reports, but it sounds very unreliable to me as well as to FluTrackers.

Fresh Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone raises fears of new infection chain

Fresh Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone raises fears of new infection chain. HT: Crof.

Via The Guardian: Fresh Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone raises fears of new infection chain. Excerpt:

A fresh outbreak of Ebola in a part of Sierra Leone where the virus was thought to have been contained has raised fears of a new, uncontrolled infection chain that could send the death toll soaring. 

A Red Cross ambulance team was sent to the remote district of Koinadugu, which had prided itself on being the only area to have kept Ebola at bay, on Tuesday to urgently collect 30 corpses for medical burial. 

The outbreak is a major setback for the Ebola response force and the district, which two weeks ago remained resolved to control the spread of the virus that has officially infected 5,338 people and claimed 1,510 lives in the country. 

Koinadugu has been operating a self-imposed quarantine for four months, thanks to the intervention of an expat businessman, Momah Konte, who returned from Washington and worked with local officials and tribal chiefs to try to prevent the spread. 

The Red Cross said an emergency burial team was making the five-hour journey from Freetown on Tuesday to collect the bodies in the Nenie chiefdom east of the district’s capital Kabala. 

A spokesman said that there were reports of a further 25 ill with Ebola and another 255 being monitored after coming into contact with the dead and the sick. 

The district, which is home to more than 260,000 people, borders on Guinea, where the current outbreak started. It is populated by many remote villages with the movement of traders and farmers difficult to control. 

The disease is widespread in the nearby districts of Bombali and Port Loko, where the Ebola response has been hampered by lack of resources. There are no treatment centres in either district.

Related:  Reuters: U.S. scientists say uncertainties loom about Ebola's transmission, other key facts.
 

State Dept. Doc Affirms JW’s Report on Obama Plan to Bring Foreign Ebola Patients to U.S.

State Dept. Doc Affirms JW’s Report on Obama Plan to Bring Foreign Ebola Patients to U.S. HT: JudicialWatch.

A shocking government document outlining the Obama administration’s outrageous plan to admit Ebola-infected non-U.S. citizens into the United States for treatment has surfaced, confirming a story that Judicial Watch broke almost two weeks ago.

On October 17 JW reported that the administration was actively formulating a deal to admit foreign nationals infected with Ebola into the country for treatment. Specifically, the goal is to bring the patients into the country within the first days of diagnosis, according to JW’s sources. The plan includes special waivers of laws and regulations that ban the admission of non-citizens with a communicable disease as dangerous as Ebola.

JW received details of the initiative from high-level government sources that also disclosed the administration was keeping the Ebola plan secret from Congress. The sources expressed concern that the proposal is illegal; endangers the public health and welfare; and should require the approval of Congress.

Following the initial report, JW contacted a number of government agencies that may be involved with the backdoor plan for comment but all except one shunned multiple requests to respond. Only the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offered this curt statement through spokeswoman Amesheia Buckner: “We have nothing for you on that.”

JW’s initial story also got Congress to get involved. Days after JW’s piece got published, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee fired off a letter to the secretaries of State and Homeland Security asking for details of the Ebola scheme and whether employees of their agencies had engaged in conversations regarding it.

“Please provide me any and all written memos or other documentation written by employees of your Departments regarding the formulation of a plan to allow non-U.S. citizens infected with Ebola to enter the U.S. to receive medical treatment,” says the letter signed by the committee’s chair, Bob Goodlatte of Virginia.


This week several media outlets have confirmed JW’s story, attributing the information to an unclassified State Department report.

It spells out a plan to rush foreigners into the U.S. for Ebola treatment, according to a British newspaper that links the actual four-page document. It would cost $300,000 to treat each patient and another $200,000 for transportation, the State Department memo shows.

The newspaper cites the White House Press Secretary issuing a “qualified denial” this week, saying that it hasn’t happened so far and that he doesn’t know of any plans to do it. “Despite the existence of a written plan, the State Department denies that it has any intention of bringing Ebola-infected noncitizens to the U.S. for treatment,” the news article points out. Read the full story here.

The post State Dept. Doc Affirms JW’s Report on Obama Plan to Bring Foreign Ebola Patients to U.S. appeared first on Judicial Watch.

Video - Gene Simmons: "Where’s the president? Where’s leadership?"

Study: Ebola Can Survive On Surfaces For 50 Days

Study: Ebola Can Survive On Surfaces For 50 Days. (DailyMail).

The number of confirmed Ebola cases passed the 10,000 mark over the weekend, despite efforts to curb its spread. And while the disease typically dies on surfaces within hours, research has discovered it can survive for more than seven weeks under certain conditions.

During tests, the UK’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) found that the Zaire strain will live on samples stored on glass at low temperatures for as long as 50 days.

The tests were initially carried out by researchers from DSTL before the current outbreak, in 2010, but the strain investigated is one of five that is still infecting people globally.

Ebola was discovered in 1976 and is a member of the Filoviridae family.

HOW LONG DOES EBOLA SURVIVE?

For their 2010 paper, ‘The survival of filoviruses in liquids, on solid substrates and in a dynamic aerosol’, the UK’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) tested two particular filoviruses on a variety of surfaces.

These were the Lake Victoria marburgvirus (Marv), and Zaire ebolavirus (Zebov).

Each was placed into guinea pig tissue samples and tested for their ability to survive in different liquids and on different surfaces at different temperatures, over a 50-day period.

When stored at 4° (39°F), by day 26, viruses from three of the samples were successfully extracted; Zebov on the glass sample, and Marv on both glass and plastic.

By day 50, the only sample from which the virus could be recovered was the Zebov from tissue on glass.

‘This study has demonstrated that filoviruses are able to survive and remain infectious, for extended periods when suspended within liquid and dried onto surfaces,’ explained the researchers.

‘Data from this study extend the knowledge on the survival of filoviruses under different conditions and provide a basis with which to inform risk assessments and manage exposure.’

The researchers do stress that these tests were carried out in a controlled lab environment, and not in the real world, but published their findings to highlight the survival rates.

Last week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its Ebola guidelines following the rise in infections.

Ebola (pictured) was discovered in 1976 and is a member of the Filoviridae family.

This family includes the Zaire ebolavirus (Zebov), which was first identified in 1976 and is the most virulent; Sudan ebolavirus, (Sebov); Tai Forest ebolavirus; Ebola-Reston (Rebov), and Bundibugyo ebolavirus (Bebov)

The centre explained that Ebola is not spread through the air, water, or food and a person infected with Ebola can’t spread the disease until symptoms appear.

The time from exposure to when signs or symptoms of the disease appear, known as the incubation period, is two to 21 days, but the average time is eight to 10 days. Read more: THE DAILY MAIL

Hmmm......You know those baggage handlers in little Belgium refusing to unload African planes......Not so stupid after all !

Ebola outbreak will hit China, outbreak would last another 6-12 months Peter Piot warns.

Ebola outbreak will hit China, outbreak would last another 6-12 months Peter Piot warns. HT: Crof.

Via the South China Morning Post: Ebola outbreak will hit China, virus pioneer Peter Piot warns. Excerpt:

One of the scientists who discovered Ebola has warned that China is under threat from the deadly virus because of the huge number of Chinese workers in Africa. 

Professor Peter Piot also made the grim prediction that Ebola would claim thousands more lives in the months ahead. 

"It will get worse for a while, and then hopefully it will get better when people are isolated," said Piot, who is in Hong Kong for a two-day symposium. "What we see now is every 30 days there is a doubling of new infections." 

He estimated the epidemic would last another six to 12 months.

West Africa is experiencing the worst Ebola outbreak in history. Cases have also been recorded in the United States, Germany, Spain, Norway, France and Britain. So far, 10,141 suspected cases have been reported and the death toll stands at 4,922. 

"In Africa, there are many Chinese working there. So that could be a risk for China in general, and I assume that one day [an outbreak of Ebola in China] will happen," said Piot, director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. 

He also said that infection control measures at mainland hospitals were not always "up to standard", which put public health at great risk. 

Piot stressed the importance of training people to spot at-risk air passengers before they boarded. And he said voluntary surveillance measures at Chek Lap Kok airport in Hong Kong were not effective enough. "Widespread screening [of arrivals] in airports is not that effective, to be honest … the most cost-effective method is to screen people before they take the plane." 

A patient feared to have Ebola in Hong Kong tested negative in a preliminary test yesterday. The 39-year-old man, who had been in Nigeria from October 13 to 20, went to Prince of Wales Hospital before being transferred to the Infectious Disease Centre at Princess Margaret Hospital. 

Piot said the best way to bring Ebola under control was the use of "safe and cheap" blood tests that took as little as 10 minutes.

VIDEO: Sign Language Interpreter Goes Viral During De Blasio Ebola Press Conference

VIDEO: Sign Language Interpreter Goes Viral During De Blasio Ebola Press Conference. Read the full story here.

Sierra Leone's Health Minister describes Chinese Ebola aid as "phenomenal."

Sierra Leone's Health Minister describes Chinese Ebola aid as "phenomenal." HT: Crof.

Via Xinhua: Feature: Life of Chinese Ebola laboratory members in Sierra Leone. Excerpt:

China sent a 59-member contingent of medical personnel to Sierra Leone in response to calls of the country for international aid to fight the deadly Ebola epidemic. 

The mobile laboratory from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention has so far tested 696 samples, with 375 positive of the virus since their arrival last month. 

The core part of the team is a group of eight people, with an average age of 35. Yang Fan and Su Haoxiang, one of the most shining duos in the team, were widely known as they have been working together as partners for four years in dealing with major epidemic outbreaks back at home. 

However, it's the first time they are confronted with Ebola, a virus requiring biosafety level 4-equivalent containment at laboratories where diagnostic testing is carried out. 

Testing in the Chinese mobile lab was based on Protection-3 platform developed by China. Medical personnel have to first inactivate the virus before the so-called PCR process to determine the nature of the sample.  

Yang, the most senior in the team, is charged with the toxin inactivation process. When Su, the youngest at the testing team, takes the sample for PCR, it is already detoxicated. 

It is therefore quite safe for Su to join Yang in the final process. Yang and Su were somewhat like the traditional master and disciple in their years of working together. 

It is common for them to have a kind of discussion following every testing process, where Su learns and matures. 

"Work in Sierra Leone will definitely be one of the most important experiences in my life," said Su. 

Sierra Leone's Health Minister Abu Bakarr Fofanah has described the Chinese aid as "phenomenal." 

He noted that China had airlifted 1.36 million dollars' worth of anti-Ebola drugs followed by a contingent of medical personnel. 

In addition, the Chinese Embassy also converted the Sierra Leone-Chinese Friendship Hospital, about 30 km east of Freetown, to a hospital capable of handling cases of highly infectious diseases like Ebola, said the minister. 

He said with Chinese aid, the country can now boast of a 100-bed hospital facility in the capital, Freetown, that can be readily "transformed to a management and treatment center."

NJ official: Female health care worker who'd been in Africa isolated with fever, symptoms have worsened.

NJ official: Female health care worker who'd been in Africa isolated with fever, symptoms have worsened. (CNN).

One day after New York officials announced a Doctors Without Borders physician had tested positive for Ebola, another person who treated patients in West Africa developed a fever and was put in isolation at a northern New Jersey hospital.

The second health care worker, a woman who hasn't been identified by name, did not have any Ebola symptoms upon arrival Friday at Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey health department spokesman Donna Leusner said.

Yet things changed in the hours that followed. According to Leusner, "This evening, the health care worker developed a fever and is now in isolation and being evaluated at University Hospital in Newark." That woman is being tested for Ebola, according to a government official who is receiving updates about the situation.

Unlike Dr. Craig Spencer, the 33-year-old now in isolation at Bellevue Hospital in nearby New York City, this second health care worker is not confirmed to have Ebola. Read the full story here.

#BREAKING: Sources tell @abcnews #Newark patient's symptoms have worsened. #Ebola test results likely tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/HONyMNnY6C
— G.Alexander(BRKNEWS) (@MajorNews911) October 25, 2014

Mali , where Ebola vaccine trials are underway, Becomes Sixth West African Nation Hit by Ebola.

Mali, where Ebola vaccine trials are underway, Becomes Sixth West African Nation Hit by Ebola. (Yahoo).

Mali confirmed its first case of Ebola on Thursday, becoming the sixth West African country to be touched by the worst outbreak on record of the hemorrhagic fever, which has killed nearly 4,900 people.

Mali’s Health Minister Ousmane Kone told state television that the patient in the western town of Kayes was a two-year-old girl who had recently arrived from neighboring Guinea, where the outbreak began.

“The condition of the girl, according to our services, is improving thanks to her rapid treatment,” the minister told state television.


A health ministry official, who asked not to be identified, said the girl’s mother died in Guinea a few weeks ago and the baby was brought by relatives to the Malian capital Bamako, where she stayed for 10 days in the Bagadadji neighborhood before heading to Kayes.

Coincidence: Ebola Vaccine Trials Under Way in Mali

Ebola Cover up? Almost all Turkish pilgrims informed about Ebola threat and under the medical supervision.

Ebola Cover up? Almost all Turkish pilgrims informed about Ebola threat and under the medical supervision. (Taz)

Almost all the pilgrims who returned from Saudi Arabia to Turkey were informed about the threat of Ebola and coronavirus (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, MERS), the Turkish news agency Anadolu said Oct. 23.

Reportedly, almost all the pilgrims who returned from the hajj, an annual Islamic pilgrimage to the Saudi city of Mecca, are under the medical supervision of doctors at home.

A Turkish citizen who returned from the hajj has been today admitted to a hospital in Istanbul with an Ebola suspicion.

Thus, the number of those admitted to hospitals in Turkey with an Ebola suspicion reached to six people.

Five of them are the hajj pilgrims, and one is a Turkish student studying in Somalia.

Earlier it was reported that 45 special hospitals were allocated in 36 provinces of Turkey in case of detection of people sick with Ebola. Special hospitals are allocated mainly in the provinces with international airports. In particular, three hospitals were allocated in Ankara, and two special hospitals in Istanbul.

According to the latest Ebola Response Situation Report from WHO, a total of 9936 confirmed, probable, and suspected cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD) have been reported in five affected countries (Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Spain, and the United States of America) and two previously affected countries (Nigeria and Senegal).

A total of 4877 deaths have been reported, according to the report.

The outbreaks of EVD in Senegal and Nigeria were declared over on 17 October and 19 October 2014, respectively. EVD transmission remains persistent and widespread in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.  Hmmmm.....Why do i get more and more the feeling Turkey is covering up Ebola cases?

Related:  More people hospitalized in Turkey, suspected having Ebola.

#Ebola I'm suspicious about the sudden surge in #MERS cases #Turkey,MERS in Saudi Arabia there Oct only 7 cases. http://t.co/q3wkuS7C8t
— MFS - The Other News (@MFS001) October 21, 2014

Obama Can Use Same Parole in Illegal Alien “Humanitarian Crisis” to Bring Ebola Patients to U.S.

Obama Can Use Same Parole in Illegal Alien “Humanitarian Crisis” to Bring Ebola Patients to U.S. HT: Judicial Watch.

The Obama administration has shunned multiple requests to respond to a disturbing report exposing its secret plan to admit Ebola-infected foreigners into the United States for treatment and now Congress has joined Judicial Watch to demand answers.

Will the administration blow off Congress the way it has Judicial Watch?

In the last couple of days JW has contacted a number of  government agencies that may be involved in the backdoor plan for comment but all except one have ignored the requests, both telephonic and by electronic mail. Only the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offered a response, albeit a curt one. “We have nothing for you on that,” CDC spokeswoman Amesheia Buckner told JW this week.


Other agencies, such as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), simply discounted JW’s requests—both verbal and in writing—for comment.

Specifically, the Obama administration’s goal is to bring Ebola patients into the United States for treatment within the first days of diagnosis, according to high-level sources that provided JW with details of the scheme.

It includes special waivers of laws and regulations that ban the admission of non-citizens with a communicable disease as dangerous as Ebola. Read the full story here.

More people hospitalized in Turkey, suspected having Ebola.

More people hospitalized in Turkey, suspected having Ebola. (Taz).

Three people suspected Ebola were hospitalized in the Turkish provinces of Izmir, Kahraman Marash and Konya, the Anadolu Turkish news agency said Oct.22.

One of the hospitalized is a Turkish student who studies in Somalia and returned to his homeland, and the rest returned from the Hajj in Saudi Arabia.

Thus, the number of hospitalized suspected Ebola in Turkey reached five people, four of whom are persons returned from the Hajj.

Earlier it was reported that 45 special hospitals were allocated in 36 provinces of Turkey in case of detection of people sick with Ebola.

Special hospitals are allocated mainly in the provinces with international airports. In particular, three hospitals were allocated in Ankara, and two special hospitals in Istanbul.

It is also reported that citizens of countries in which Ebola was revealed are checked at the airports in Turkey.

Ebola virus is rapidly spreading in West Africa, namely in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Nigeria, Congo and Senegal. The cases of Ebola infection have been registered in the US, Spain, Norway, Australia and other countries as well.

The World Heath Organization (WHO) reports 4,033 people have died so far, with 8,399 probable or suspected cases. However in reality, this number could be much higher due to under reporting of the disease.

The US Center for Disease Control claims cases in Liberia are doubling every 15-20 days while those in Sierra Leone are doubling every 30-40 days.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also estimate Liberia and Sierra Leone could see 1.4 million cases of Ebola within three months when under-reported cases are taken into account.

Third #Turk hospitalized for suspected #MERS case. Hmm...MERS OR #EBOLA? http://t.co/tTwB1eEKUu
— MFS - The Other News (@MFS001) October 21, 2014

#Ebola I'm suspicious about the sudden surge in #MERS cases #Turkey,MERS in Saudi Arabia there Oct only 7 cases. http://t.co/q3wkuS7C8t
— MFS - The Other News (@MFS001) October 21, 2014

The Lancet: Assessment of the potential for international dissemination of Ebola virus via commercial air travel.

The Lancet: Assessment of the potential for international dissemination of Ebola virus via commercial air travel during the 2014 west African outbreak. HT: Crof.

Thanks to Greg Folkers for sending the link to this report in The Lancet: Assessment of the potential for international dissemination of Ebola virus via commercial air travel during the 2014 west African outbreak. The summary:

Background 

The WHO declared the 2014 west African Ebola epidemic a public health emergency of international concern in view of its potential for further international spread. Decision makers worldwide are in need of empirical data to inform and implement emergency response measures. Our aim was to assess the potential for Ebola virus to spread across international borders via commercial air travel and assess the relative efficiency of exit versus entry screening of travellers at commercial airports. 

Methods 

We analysed International Air Transport Association data for worldwide flight schedules between Sept 1, 2014, and Dec 31, 2014, and historic traveller flight itinerary data from 2013 to describe expected global population movements via commercial air travel out of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. 

Coupled with Ebola virus surveillance data, we modelled the expected number of internationally exported Ebola virus infections, the potential effect of air travel restrictions, and the efficiency of airport-based traveller screening at international ports of entry and exit. 

We deemed individuals initiating travel from any domestic or international airport within these three countries to have possible exposure to Ebola virus. We deemed all other travellers to have no significant risk of exposure to Ebola virus. 

Findings 

Based on epidemic conditions and international flight restrictions to and from Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone as of Sept 1, 2014 (reductions in passenger seats by 51% for Liberia, 66% for Guinea, and 85% for Sierra Leone), our model projects 2·8 travellers infected with Ebola virus departing the above three countries via commercial flights, on average, every month. 91 547 (64%) of all air travellers departing Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone had expected destinations in low-income and lower-middle-income countries. Screening international travellers departing three airports would enable health assessments of all travellers at highest risk of exposure to Ebola virus infection. 

Interpretation 

Decision makers must carefully balance the potential harms from travel restrictions imposed on countries that have Ebola virus activity against any potential reductions in risk from Ebola virus importations. 

Exit screening of travellers at airports in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone would be the most efficient frontier at which to assess the health status of travellers at risk of Ebola virus exposure, however, this intervention might require international support to implement effectively.

Only three Ebola-infected travellers per month are likely to fly from West Africa

Only three Ebola-infected travelers per month are likely to fly from West Africa. HT: Crof.

Via The Guardian: Only three Ebola-infected travellers per month are likely to fly from west Africa. Excerpt:

Fewer than three people a month infected with the Ebola virus are likely to try to board planes out of west Africa, according to a study that says exit screening would be the most efficient way to try to prevent travellers spreading disease. 

The UK and US have set up entry screening at airports for passengers arriving from west Africa, but the paper in The Lancet medical journal says this will have little chance of detecting somebody infected with the virus and that it will cost money that could be better spent.

The paper is written by Dr Kamran Khan at St Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, Canada, and colleagues. The team analysed worldwide flight schedules from 2014, taking account of the routes that have been suspended because of the crisis, and flight itineraries from 2013 to establish the population’s normal travel patterns. They used World Health Organisation data on Ebola virus infections. 

The authors say that restricting air travel from Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, where the epidemic is raging, is damaging to the countries’ economies and may potentially handicap efforts to end the Ebola outbreak, which is the best way to safeguard the rest of the world. 

They found that most travellers from the three countries – more than 60% – fly to low- and middle-income countries, with Ghana and Senegal as the top destinations. The arrival of somebody infected with Ebola is a greater threat to less affluent countries than to the UK, which was the third most popular destination, with 8.7% of travellers, or to the USA, where 2% would be headed. 

“Given that these countries have limited medical and public health resources, they may have difficulty quickly identifying and effectively responding to imported Ebola cases,” said Khan. 

“The risk of international spread could increase significantly if the outbreak in west Africa persists and grows. Risks to the global community would further increase if Ebola virus were to spread to and within other countries with weak public health systems.” 

Screening passengers either at exit or entry will miss cases, the paper says, because of the long incubation period of the virus – up to 21 days. Because many direct flights to countries like the UK have been stopped, travellers anyway have to change planes or use additional forms of transport and may not be identified as coming from west Africa.

Ebola: No more Canadian health workers to Africa

Ebola: No more Canadian health workers to Africa. HT: Crof.

Via Canoe.ca, a QMI report: No more Canadian health workers to Africa: Feds. Excerpt:

Health Minister Rona Ambrose says no more Canadian health workers will be going to West Africa to help in the fight against Ebola until "medical evacuation is guaranteed." 

She said the countries most affected by Ebola don't have the necessary equipment to deal with an influx of health-care workers who could become infected with the virus. 

Canada has an agreement with a U.S. charter, but other countries have similar arrangements with the same company. 

"It's one thing to have an arrangement, but if there was more than a few people sick, a number of countries would be in a very difficult position," Ambrose said Monday. 

The government's reaction to the international crisis has already sparked criticism from some medical groups. 

The federal government's "paltry" response to the Ebola crisis in West Africa leaves it significantly responsible if a case arrives in Canada, Michael Hurley, president of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions/CUPE (OCHU), said earlier in the day. 

He said Canada should be encouraging health-care workers to volunteer their skills, as well as using its budget surplus to provide more than $65 million for the front-line battle. 

The federal government shouldn't wait for the virulent disease to show up on Canadian soil; it should be addressing the problem at its source, he said. "It is inevitable if we do nothing — there's no question about it," Hurley said Monday. "Their financial contribution has been paltry...I've seen no evidence of any mobilization of financial or health human resources behind the fight from Canada in West Africa." 

The number of cases of Ebola could hit 1.4 million by January. 

"The Harper government's theory that Ebola's coming to Canada is inevitable is true only if it remains committed to doing almost nothing to assist West Africa," Hurley said.

WHO: Nigeria is now free of Ebola virus transmission.

WHO: Nigeria is now free of Ebola virus transmission. HT: Crof.

WHO has published a situation assessment that reads more like a paid advertorial for the Goodluck Jonathan government: Nigeria is now free of Ebola virus transmission. Excerpt from the third of a three-page document and then a comment:

For some time now, with dedicated and enthusiastic support from President Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria has been running one of the world’s most innovative polio eradication campaigns, using the very latest satellite-based cutting-edge GPS technologies to ensure that no child misses out on polio vaccination. 

The country, which passed through the high-transmission season with only 1 single case of polio detected by a finely-tuned and sensitive surveillance system, is on track to interrupt wild poliovirus transmission from its borders before the end of this year. 

When the first Ebola case was confirmed in July, health officials immediately repurposed polio technologies and infrastructures to conduct Ebola case-finding and contact-tracing. 

The use of cutting-edge technologies, developed with guidance from the WHO polio programme, put GPS systems to work as support for real-time contact tracing and daily mapping of links between identified chains of transmission. 

This is a good public health story with an unusual twist at the end. As part of preparedness for an imported case, several advanced countries with good health systems are now studying technologies “made in Nigeria”, with WHO support, to improve their own contact tracing capacities. 

The story has another very clear message, as noted by Dr Margaret Chan, the WHO Director-General. “If a country like Nigeria, hampered by serious security problems, can do this – that is, make significant progress towards interrupting polio transmission, eradicate guinea-worm disease and contain Ebola, all at the same time – any country in the world experiencing an imported case can hold onward transmission to just a handful of cases.” 

World-class epidemiological detective work would eventually link every single one of the country’s 19 confirmed cases back to direct or indirect contact with that 20 July air traveller from Liberia. 

In another strategy, traditional, religious and community leaders were engaged early on and played a critical role in sensitizing the public. Like many others, the strategy drew on successful experiences in the polio programme. 

The awareness campaigns that worked so well to create public acceptance of polio immunization were likewise repurposed to encourage early reporting of symptoms, backed by the message that early detection and supportive care greatly increase an Ebola patient’s prospects of survival. 

All of these efforts were supported by social mobilization experts from UNICEF, CDC and Médecins sans Frontières, while the staff from the WHO Nigeria office, the Regional Office for Africa and headquarters boosted outbreak investigation, risk assessment, contact tracing and clinical care. 

In the end, Nigeria confirmed a total of 19 cases, of whom 7 died and 12 survived, giving the country an enviable case fatality rate of 40% – much lower than the 70% and higher seen elsewhere.

This document may have been generated in WHO's Regional African Office, which is effectively autonomous and run by political appointees. It certainly doesn't sound like the usual sitreps WHO publishes.

The Nigerians can be proud of the way they stopped Ebola, but a puff piece like this only undercuts their achievement.