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Experimental Ebola drugs should not be withheld, WHO says

Fri, 2014-11-07 15:07 — mike kraft

World Health Organisation doubts feasibility of placebo-controlled trials in west Africa, but FDA favours ‘gold standard’

THE GUARDIAN Nov. 6, 2014
By Sarah Bosley

Scientists involved in trials of experimental drug treatments for the Ebola epidemic in west Africa should not be compelled to withhold them from some patients, says the World Health Organisation, despite objections from the US that it is the only way to be sure they work.

Vials of the experimental VSE-EBOV vaccine for Ebola. Photograph: Mathilde Missioneiro/AP

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Obama Seeks $6.2 Billion for Ebola Fight

Wed, 2014-11-05 20:07 — mike kraft

UPDATE: Senate Appropriations schedules hearings for Wednesday, Nov. 12.

Moving quickly, the Senate Appropriation Committee announced it wil take up the administration's proposals at a hearng next Wednesday with a full slate of government officials from the key agencies. The committee will remaiend chaired bya Democat, Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, until the end of this Congressional session. The Republican controlled House Appropriations Committee has not yet announced hearings.

See Senate statement.

http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/news/chairwoman-mikulski-statement-funding-request-white-house-fight-ebola-here-and-abroad,

Text of White House letter to Congress

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/11/05/letter-president-emergency-appropriations-request-ebola-fiscal-year-2015

See earlier story

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Nov. 5, 2014

By JIM KUHNHENN and ANDREW TAYLOR

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Emergency Preparedness: Ebola Outbreak Response

Mon, 2014-11-03 17:51 — mike kraft

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MedEdPORTAL Nov. 3, 2014

The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC),in response to the Ebola, outbreak, has created on its MedEdPORTAL created this collection of peer-reviewed teaching materials, new and innovative resources (non peer-reviewed), and online continuing education activities for practicing healthcare providers focused on emergency preparedness for outbreaks.

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UK to build three new Ebola labs in Sierra Leone

Sun, 2014-11-02 02:07 — mike kraft

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH Nov. 1, 2014
By Colin Freeman

Britain has pledged £20 million to build three new Ebola testing laboratories in Sierra Leone, a move that will save lives by slashing the time required to tell whether a patient has the virus.

Chinese medical workers training staff in protection against ebola at the Sierra Leone-China Friendship Hospital, Freetown, Sierra Leone Photo: Xinhua News Agency/REX

At present, the sheer number of cases is overwhelming the ability of testing labs to cope, with a wait of up to five days or more for results to come back.

The building of the new labs is expected to reduce that time to a 24-hour turn around, meaning that patients who later get the all-clear do not have to spend several days waiting in treatment centres where they might be at risk of infection.

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WHO Updates Guidelines on Ebola Protective Gear

Sat, 2014-11-01 18:44 — mike kraft

WHO Oct. 31, 2014
GENEVA-- The World Health Organization \ WHO has conducted a formal review of personal protective equipment (PPE) guidelines for healthcare workers and is updating its guidelines in context of the current outbreak.

A U.S. doctor in a protective suit in Liberia adjust that of a colleague before entering an Ebola treatment unit in Monrovia in this photo released Sept. 16, 2014.

These updated guidelines aim to clarify and standardize safe and effective PPE options to protect health care workers and patients, as well as provide information for procurement of PPE stock in the current Ebola outbreak. The guidelines are based on a review of evidence of PPE use during care of suspected and confirmed Ebola virus disease patients.

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http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2014/ebola-ppe-guidelines/en/

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Better Staffing Seen as Crucial to Ebola Treatment in Africa

Sat, 2014-11-01 14:36 — mike kraft

NEW YORK TIMES Nov. 1, 2014

By Denise Grady

...The stark difference in the care available in West Africa and the United States is reflected in the outcomes...., In West Africa, 70 percent of people with Ebola are dying, while seven of the first eight Ebola patients treated in the United States have walked out of the hospital in good health. Only one died: Thomas Eric Duncan, a Liberian, whose treatment was delayed when a Dallas hospital initially misdiagnosed his illness.

Dr. Rick Sacra, a missionary who was infected with Ebola in Liberia and was successfully treated at the Nebraska Medical Center. Credit Brendan Sullivan/Omaha World-Herald, via Associated Press

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EBOLA EPIDEMIOLOGY: Strategies for containing Ebola in West Africa

Sat, 2014-11-01 00:52 — mike kraft

SCIENCE MAGAZINE Oct. 30, 2014

A study to assess the effectiveness of containment strategies, using a stochastic model of Ebola transmission between and within the general community, hospitals, and funerals, calibrated to incidence data from Liberia.

ABSTRACT

The ongoing Ebola outbreak poses an alarming risk to the countries of West Africa and beyond. To assess the effectiveness of containment strategies, we developed a stochastic model of Ebola transmission between and within the general community, hospitals, and funerals, calibrated to incidence data from Liberia. We find that a combined approach of case isolation, contact tracing with quarantine and sanitary funeral practices must be implemented with utmost urgency in order to reverse the growth of the outbreak. Under status quo intervention, our projections indicate that the Ebola outbreak will continue to spread, generating a predicted 224 (95% CI: 134 – 358) cases daily in Liberia alone by December, highlighting the need for swift application of multifaceted control interventions.

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World Bank funding for Ebola fight hits $500 million

Fri, 2014-10-31 03:18 — mike kraft

REUTERS Oct. 30, 2014

(GENEVA)- The World Bank pledged $100 million on Thursday to help recruit more foreign health workers in the fight against Ebola, taking its funding for the three worst-hit countries to more than half a billion dollars over the past three months.

People sit near a banner reading ''The Ministry of Agriculture, Dixinn Commune, Together to defeat Ebola,'' in Conakry, Guinea October 26, 2014.Credit: Reuters/Michelle Nichols

The latest tranche will go towards setting up a coordination hub to recruit, train and deploy qualified foreign health workers and support the three countries' efforts to isolate Ebola patients and bury the dead safely, the bank said.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/30/us-health-ebola-worldbank-idUSKBN0IJ1NV20141030

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Ebola outbreak: UK aid ship docks in Sierra Leone

Thu, 2014-10-30 21:41 — mike kraft

The Argus arrives with supplies and medical personnel to assist Serra Leone

BBC Oct. 30, 2010

By AndrewHarding

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone-- A British Navy support ship ship has arrived in Sierra Leone to help deal with the deadly Ebola outbreak in the West African country.

Royal Fleet Auxiliary Argus is carrying food, medical equipment, three helicipeters and 32 pick-up trucks, to help keep hard-pressed Ebola treatment centres going.

Doctors, nurses and military personnel are also on board.

The BBC's Africa correspondent Andrew Harding said it would act as an offshore base for the aid effort. and described it as an "important moment".

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http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-29836657

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