NIGERIA, LIBERIA TO SHUT DOWN EBOLA HOSPITALS

[Wilikon]

WHO, govt shut down hospital over Ebola virus


As part of measures to prevent the spread of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Federal Government have shut down the hospital, First Consultants Medical Centre Limited, Ikoyi Road, Obalende, Lagos, where the first victim died.

They have also begun testing of all passengers on the same flight with the first Ebola virus victim in Nigeria who died on Friday in a Lagos hospital. Already, the WHO African Region has opened a sub-regional outbreak coordination centre in Conakry, Guinea.

It is feared that all the over 200 passengers on board are exposed to the deadly virus and may continue to spread the disease if they are not quarantined.

http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/lead-story/172675-who-govt-shut-down-hospital-over-ebola-virus



Liberia: JFK to Shut Down! Ebola Kills Chief Medical Doctor

Authorities at the state run John F. Kennedy (JFK) Memorial Hospital here are said to be considering plans to shut down all activities at the hospital for 21-days due to the increasing number of reported Ebola cases, this paper have learnt.

JFK is one of the biggest state run referral hospitals here and has ushered in a number of Ebola suspected cases, many of whom have died.

The news come amidst unconfirmed reports of the death of one of the hospital’s senior medical practitioner, Dr, Samuel Brisbane, a former Chief Medical Doctor at the Firestone Rubber Plantation run Hospital from the deadly Ebola virus here on Thursday July 24, 2014.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201407251064.html

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[RodeoX]

Hemorrhagic fever is no joke. Scary shit happening right now and it looks like containment is lost. The disease experts have never been sure what would happen if Ebola got into an urban population. It looks like we may find out. 

[Daniel91]

Medical standard in this area is very low, people (specially from countryside) don't trust doctors and hospitals and I'm afraid that this countries can't win this battle alone, without support from international community.
Ebola is very dangerous virus and if we don't stop the spread of Ebola Virus Disease now, whole world can be affected very soon.

[Wilikon]

Nigeria government confirms Ebola case in megacity of Lagos


A Liberian man who died in Nigeria's commercial capital Lagos on Friday tested positive for the deadly Ebola virus, Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu said.

Patrick Sawyer, a consultant for the Liberian finance ministry in his 40s, collapsed on Sunday after flying into Lagos, a city of 21 million people, and was taken from the airport and put in isolation in a local hospital. Nigeria confirmed earlier on Friday that he had died in quarantine.

"His blood sample was taken to the advance laboratory at the Lagos university teaching hospital, which confirmed the diagnosis of the Ebola virus disease in the patient," Chukwu told a press conference on Friday. "This result was corroborated by other laboratories outside Nigeria."

However, at a separate press conference held by the Lagos state government at the same time, the city's health commissioner, Jide Idris, said that they were only "assuming that it was Ebola" because they were "waiting for a confirmative test to double check" from a laboratory in Dakar.

Paul Garwood, spokesman for the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, said the U.N. health agency was also still waiting for test results.

"We're still waiting for laboratory-confirmed results as to whether he died of Ebola or not," he said.

It could not be immediately determined why there was a contradiction in the comments from central government and city officials.

If confirmed, the man would be the first case on record of one of the world's deadliest diseases in Nigeria, Africa's biggest economy and with 170 million people, its most populous country. Ebola has killed 660 people across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone since it was first diagnosed in February.

Sawyer was quarantined on arrival and had not entered the city, a Nigerian official told Reuters.

"While he was quarantined he passed away. Everyone who has had contact with him has been quarantined," the official said.

Liberia's finance minister Amara Konneh said Sawyer was a consultant for the country's finance ministry.

"Our understanding is that the cause of death was Ebola," Konneh told Reuters.

The victim's sister had died of the virus three weeks previously, and the degree of contact between the two was being investigated by Liberian health ministry officials, he said.

Earlier on Friday, WHO spokesman Paul Garwood said: "I understand that he was vomiting and he then turned himself over basically, he made it known that he wasn't feeling well. Nigerian health authorities took him and put him in isolation."

Nigeria has some of the continent's least adequate healthcare infrastructure, despite access to billions of dollars of oil money as Africa's biggest producer of crude.

Some officials think the disease is easier to contain in cities than in remote rural areas.

"The fear of spread within a dense population would be offset by better healthcare and a willingness to use it, easier contact tracing and, I assume for an urban population, less risky funerary and family rites," Ian Jones, a professor of virology at the University of Reading in Britain, said.

"It would be contained more easily than in rural populations."

There have been 1,093 Ebola cases to date in West Africa's first outbreak, including the 660 who have died, according to the WHO.

(Reporting by Tom Miles; Additional reporting by Tim Cocks and Oludare Mayowa in Lagos, Kate Holtan in London, Clair MacDougall in Monrovia, Emma Farge in Dakar and Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; Writing by Stephanie Nebehay and Tim Cocks; Editing by Susan Fenton and Sonya Hepinstall)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/25/us-heath-ebola-nigeria-idUSKBN0FU1LE20140725?irpc=932

[Wilikon]

A Woman With Ebola Escaped Quarantine And Is On The Run In A City Of 1 Million


FREETOWN — Sierra Leone officials appealed for help on Friday to trace the first known resident in the capital with Ebola whose family forcibly removed her from a Freetown hospital after testing positive for the deadly disease.
Radio stations in Freetown, a city of around 1 million inhabitants, broadcast the appeal on Friday to locate a woman who tested positive for the disease that has killed 660 people across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone since an outbreak was first identified in February.

"Saudatu Koroma of 25 Old Railway Line, Brima Lane, Wellington," the announcement said. "She is a positive case and her being out there is a risk to all. We need the public to help us locate her."

Koroma, 32, a resident of the densely populated Wellington neighborhood, had been admitted to an isolation ward while blood samples were tested for the virus, Health ministry spokesman Sidi Yahya Tunis said. The results came back on Thursday.

"The family of the patient stormed the hospital and forcefully removed her and took her away," Tunis said. "We are searching for her."

Fighting one of the world's deadliest diseases is straining the region's weak health systems, while a lack of information and suspicion of medical staff has led many to shun treatment.

DOZENS UNACCOUNTED FOR

Earlier this year, a man in Freetown tested positive for Ebola, although he is believed to have caught it elsewhere.

According to health ministry data and officials, dozens of people confirmed by laboratory tests to have Ebola are now unaccounted for in Sierra Leone, where the majority of cases have been recorded in the country's east.

While international medical organizations have deployed experts to the field in an attempt to contain the outbreak, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said poor health infrastructure and a lack of manpower were hindering their efforts.

"We're seeing many of these facilities simply don't have enough people to provide the constant level of care needed," WHO spokesman Paul Garwood told a news briefing in Geneva on Friday.

There is no cure or vaccine for Ebola, which causes diarrhea, vomiting, and internal and external bleeding. It can kill up to 90 percent of those infected, although the mortality rate of the current outbreak is around 60 percent. 

The West African outbreak is the first time that Ebola, which was first discovered in what is now Democratic Republic of Congo in 1976, has appeared in heavily populated urban areas and international travel hubs.

Cases have already been confirmed in Conakry and Monrovia, the capital cities of Guinea and Liberia.

On Thursday authorities in Nigeria announced that they were testing a Liberian man for Ebola after he collapsed upon arrival at an airport in Lagos, the country's commercial capital and a mega-city of 21 million people.



http://www.businessinsider.com/r-first-ebola-victim-in-sierra-leone-capital-on-the-run-2014-25#ixzz38omv442b

[Mike Christ]

Very troubling, let's hope for the best.

[misterbowls]

60% mortality rate means you're 4 times more likely to not die. 

[gmx95]

This is starting to remind me horror movie scenarios

[MsCollec]

This is really sad that health aid workers are showing symptoms of the Ebola too.

[Wilikon]

Ebola Coming to D.C.? “Every Precaution” Being Taken by Obama Admin as African Summits Start


The Obama administration is taking “every precaution” to prevent the deadly Ebola virus from being brought to Washington D.C. as thousands of African government officials and young leaders, including those from countries affected by the current Ebola outbreak, gather in the nation’s capital for two summits hosted by President Barack Obama.

Speaking at Monday’s State Department briefing, spokeswoman Jen Psaki responded to a question about the Ebola outbreak affecting the summit(s):

“QUESTION: And can I just ask – sorry, Nicole, because I know you had other questions – but is this going to affect in any way the planning for next week’s summit of African leaders in the White House and State Department?

“MS. PSAKI: Obviously, we’re taking every precaution, but at this point we don’t believe it will.”

The death of Liberian government official Patrick Sawyer from the Ebola virus after he flew to Nigeria from Liberia via Togo has alarmed the international community as it showed that plane passengers could spread the virus around the world unnoticed until it is too late.

Sawyer was on his way to an international conference when he fell ill and died.

Two American health workers have recently been infected with Ebola in Liberia. The family of one Ebola victim that recently returned from Liberia to the United States is being observed for 21 days for signs of the virus though they have so far tested negative.

Sawyer’s family lives in Minnesota. His wife and three daughters were not at risk as they had not had recent contact with him.

As reported earlier by The Gateway Pundit, President Barack Obama invited the leaders of 50 African nations to the summit, in addition to holding a separate summit this week for young African leaders. Leaders from the four nations hit by Ebola deaths are on the list of invitees: Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Nigeria. The summits will affect large swaths of Washington, D.C. including Georgetown, Foggy Bottom, the Maine Avenue waterfront and areas around the White House.

Psaki did not specify what precautions the government was taking to prevent the Ebola virus from being brought to Washington, D.C. The virus can be spread by close contact with bodily fluids. The chance of the Ebola virus showing up at the summit is low, but should it infect people in Washington, D.C. it would cause global concerns.

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2014/07/ebola-coming-to-d-c-every-precaution-being-taken-by-obama-admin-as-african-summits-start/

[bryant.coleman]

I really hope that Ebola stays out of Lagos. If the infection spreads to Lagos, then mark my words, millions will die of the disease. It is 100% impossible to contain the epidemic if it spreads to the slums of Lagos. Ebola might be less mortal when compared to HIV (90% vs 99.9999%), but it is much more infectious and spreads much more rapidly.

[noviapriani]

So....let me get this straight.  Ebola outbreak is out of control, and we're flying people from Africa over to the U.S.?  Seriously....how do we know these people are not infected themselves?  Complete and total madness o the part of Obama, the CDC, and Homeland Security.    No planes from Africa should be allowed to land in the U.S until this virus is contained and under control.......period.

[solid12345]

Captain Trips

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUAvTn3uz5w

[Rigon]

Liberia shuts border crossings, restricts gatherings to curb Ebola spreading

(Reuters) - The Liberian government on Sunday closed most of the West African nation's border crossings and introduced stringent health measures to curb the spread of the deadly Ebola virus that has killed at least 660 people across the region.

The new measures announced by the government on Sunday came as Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone struggle to contain the worst outbreak yet of the virus.

Speaking at a task force meeting, Liberia President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said the government is doing everything to fight the virus including inspecting and testing all outgoing and incoming passengers by Liberia's airport authority.

"All borders of Liberia will be closed with the exception of major entry points. At these entry points, preventive and testing centers will be established, and stringent preventive measures to be announced will be scrupulously adhered to," she said.

Ebola can kill up to 90 percent of those who catch it, although the fatality rate of the current outbreak is around 60 percent. Highly contagious, especially in the late stages, its symptoms include vomiting and diarrhea as well as internal and external bleeding.

Under the new measures, public gatherings such as marches, demonstrations and promotional advertisements also will be restricted.

The outbreak has placed a great strain on the health systems of some of Africa's poorest countries.

"No doubt, the Ebola virus is a national health problem. And as we have also begun to see, it attacks our way of life, with serious economic and social consequences," Sirleaf said in a statement.

Still, despite efforts to fight the disease, the virus continues to spread. A 33-year-old American doctor working for relief organization Samaritan's Purse in Liberia tested positive for the disease on Saturday.

The charity said on Sunday a second American, who was helping a team treating Ebola patients at a case management center in Monrovia had also tested positive.

Samuel Brisbane, a senior Liberian doctor, who was also treating infected patients has died after contracting the virus, authorities said on Sunday. In Nigeria's commercial capital Lagos, a Liberian man who tested positive died in on Friday.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/28/us-health-ebola-africa-idUSKBN0FX00V20140728

[noviapriani]

Just saw a segment on Morning Joe in regards to Ebola. Dr. Nancy Snyderman stated that the latest victims to come down with Ebola, was not around any of the patients, but responsible for gathering up the hazmat suits for cleaning.  Obama bringing in potential disease via plane....besides what he's doing on our southern border.  What a POS!


As Ebola outbreak rages, medical community searches for answers

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ebola-outbreak-spreads-confusion-fear-in-medical-community/

[lepirate]

Awareness song from Liberia, and it sure does make me a bit scared:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_WOR22-SnY

[Tzupy]

The cruel irony is that Ebola is treatable now, but the idiots don't know and keep believing there is no treatment.
25 days ago I saw the CNN interview of Dr. Peter Piot, the dicoverer of the Ebola virus, and after doing some
superficial research I found that there are several chemicals with good activity in vivo against Ebola, the most
promising being clomiphene (others: toremiphene, chloroquine, amodiaquine, ketotifen, diphenoxylate,
amiodarone, dronedarone, verapamil). I sent an e-mail to CNN about this but nothing happened...

[RodeoX]

The cruel irony is that Ebola is treatable now, but the idiots don't know and keep believing there is no treatment.
25 days ago I saw the CNN interview of Dr. Peter Piot, the dicoverer of the Ebola virus, and after doing some
superficial research I found that there are several chemicals with good activity in vivo against Ebola, the most
promising being clomiphene (others: toremiphene, chloroquine, amodiaquine, ketotifen, diphenoxylate,
amiodarone, dronedarone, verapamil). I sent an e-mail to CNN about this but nothing happened...

There is a lot of confusion about this. It has been noted that some of the fertility / estrogen control drugs seem to provide some prophylaxis in mice. It may lead to something, but right now there is no specific treatment for ebola. Sadly patients receive only palliative care.

Fingers crossed. Let's hope something can be developed in the next 5-10 years.

[Tzupy]

Clomiphene provided 90% protection in mice. Of course it's not an approved treatment, because getting a treatment
approved takes lengthy clinical trials. But with Ebola it's not possible to go by the book, the best option is to try clomiphene now
on patients that have a meager chance to survive with only palliative care. And see what happens, IMO it's worth trying.

[foggyb]

60% mortality rate means you're 4 times more likely to not die.  

That makes the virus theoretically 4x more likely to be spread. A 90% mortality rate is ironically a containment benefit.

[bryant.coleman]

60% mortality rate means you're 4 times more likely to not die.  

That makes the virus theoretically 4x more likely to be spread. A 90% mortality rate is ironically a containment benefit.

If you get the treatment early, then there is a 40% chance of survival. But in case the epidemic spreads through the densely populated slums, no one will be there to provide medical treatment and more than 90% of the victims will die. Even now, large numbers of healthcare personnel who are taking care of the Ebola victims are themselves falling ill with the virus. The number of physicians and doctors willing to work with the Ebola patients is limited. Once they get infected with the virus, no one will be there to replace them.

[RodeoX]

60% mortality rate means you're 4 times more likely to not die.  

That makes the virus theoretically 4x more likely to be spread. A 90% mortality rate is ironically a containment benefit.

If you get the treatment early, then there is a 40% chance of survival. But in case the epidemic spreads through the densely populated slums, no one will be there to provide medical treatment and more than 90% of the victims will die. Even now, large numbers of healthcare personnel who are taking care of the Ebola victims are themselves falling ill with the virus. The number of physicians and doctors willing to work with the Ebola patients is limited. Once they get infected with the virus, no one will be there to replace them.

+1
This is important!
The S#!+ really hits the fan when the health pros stop showing up for work. It is already starting to happen at some hospitals.

[newflesh]

Reminds me of the bird flu scare a few years ago, basically a scam for Big Pharma to pimp some untested wonder drug on the masses. Not saying it's not serious but I'm always dubious of these health scares...

[lepirate]

Reminds me of the bird flu scare a few years ago, basically a scam for Big Pharma to pimp some untested wonder drug on the masses. Not saying it's not serious but I'm always dubious of these health scares...

This is something different. There is no known cure, healthy (except for the ebola infection) people actually die from it. And many of these people die as well. It should be monitored closely to make sure that it doesn't spread, because this is really dangerous.

[Wilikon]

Ebola outbreak: Victim who sparked fears of global epidemic was on way home to US
Patrick Sawyer could have brought Ebola to US but died in Nigeria while en route to family in Minnesota

[...]
The 40-year-old father-of-three is believed to have contracted the disease from his sister, whom he was caring for without knowing she had Ebola.
Mr Sawyer took two flights to get to Nigeria from Liberia, where he had attended his sister's funeral. The first took him from Monrovia to Lome in Togo, where he boarded a plane to Lagos. He collapsed at the airport on landing.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/10998222/Ebola-outbreak-Victim-who-sparked-fears-of-global-epidemic-was-on-way-home-to-US.html

[Wilikon]

EBOLA: DOCTOR QUARANTINED IN CANADA


A Canadian doctor has put himself in quarantine as a precaution after spending weeks in West Africa treating patients with the deadly Ebola virus alongside an American doctor who is now infected, local media said Tuesday.
Azaria Marthyman of Victoria, British Columbia had worked in Liberia, one of four countries hit by an outbreak, with the Christian relief organization Samaritan's Purse.
He has not tested positive for the virus, nor shown any symptoms since returning to Canada on Saturday, but one of his American colleagues, doctor Kent Brantly, is being treated for the disease.
"Azaria is symptom-free right now and there is no chance of being contagious with Ebola if you are not exhibiting symptoms," Melissa Strickland, a spokesperson for Samaritan's Purse, told broadcaster CTV.
Brantly, 33, became infected with Ebola while working with patients in the Liberian capital of Monrovia as he helped treat victims of the worst Ebola outbreak in history.
He "is not doing well. He is still in the early stages of the Ebola infection but having some daily struggles," David McRay, a friend and family medicine doctor in Fort Worth, Texas, told AFP by phone.
"He has requested that I not talk in detail about his symptoms and what he is experiencing, but he is weak and quite ill."

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2014/07/30/Canadian-doctor-quarantined-after-exposure-to-Ebola

[Wilikon]

Ebola: Germany accepts infected patient for treatment
As medical services across Europe are on high alert to prevent any risk of Ebola spreading here, a hospital in Germany accepts a patient with the virus



With medical services across Europe on high alert to prevent any risk of the Ebola virus spreading here, a hospital in Germany has agreed to accept an infected patient for treatment.
More than 670 people have died so far in West Africa, as doctors struggle to contain the deadliest outbreak of the virus in history.
The country of Liberia has closed most of its borders to prevent the spread of the disease.
But, amid speculation their patient may be one of the world’s leading Ebola experts, doctors in Germany insist there is no risk of the infection spreading from him.

He will be kept in a special isolation ward behind three separate air locks. The air inside the ward will be kept at lower pressure than outside, so none can escape – even though it is not believed Ebola can be transmitted by air.
Doctors and nurses will wear complete protective bodysuits with their own oxygen supplies whenever in contact with him. The suits will be replaced and burned every three hours.
The extreme precautions are an indication of how feared the Ebola virus is. The disease is spread by direct contact of blood or bodily fluids, including sweat and saliva. It causes massive internal bleeding, and is deadly in up to 90 per cent of cases.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/10998367/Ebola-Germany-accepts-infected-patient-for-treatment.html

[Tzupy]

The most effective drug against Ebola appears to be Favipiravir, an experimental anti-viral drug with
a broad spectrum, that is currently undergoing phase 3 clinical trials for influenza.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166354214000576

[lepirate]

The most effective drug against Ebola appears to be Favipiravir, an experimental anti-viral drug with
a broad spectrum, that is currently undergoing phase 3 clinical trials for influenza.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166354214000576

Then let's hope that it works on humans as well, and that it doesn't give any horrible side effects!

[newflesh]

Reminds me of the bird flu scare a few years ago, basically a scam for Big Pharma to pimp some untested wonder drug on the masses. Not saying it's not serious but I'm always dubious of these health scares...

This is something different. There is no known cure, healthy (except for the ebola infection) people actually die from it. And many of these people die as well. It should be monitored closely to make sure that it doesn't spread, because this is really dangerous.

Ahh right then it does sound pretty nasty, hadn't really paid much attention to the story to be honest.

[Mike Christ]

I really wish these people who go to Ebola-affected places, would stay there.  Maybe I'm just paranoid from playing Plague Inc., but this is how it starts

[lepirate]

I really wish these people who go to Ebola-affected places, would stay there.  Maybe I'm just paranoid from playing Plague Inc., but this is how it starts

In one way yes, because that would be the most effective way to prevent it from spreading to the rest of the world. But on the other hand, you can't really shut down a whole nation just because a few hundreds have died. The most important thing for governments in the world is to keep their eyes out for signs of infection and quarantine the infected people. One of the problems with many of the countries in western Africa is that people does not have any trust in government and doctors, and therefore they don't seek help themselves, and all the help the government and voluntary doctors wants to give will be rejected.

[2dogs]

Who saw this movies a few years ago?

At the time I saw it, it scared the ^%*# out of me.
Looks like its real, this time:

Contagion

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1598778/

[Wilikon]

http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/07/30/6005767/group-that-employs-brantly-orders.html?rh=1

[lepirate]

http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/07/30/6005767/group-that-employs-brantly-orders.html?rh=1

It only infects through body fluids, meaning that infected body fluids have to enter healthy persons bodies for ebola to spread. Driving the ambulance without police escort isn't that dangerous.

[Bizmark13]

It only infects through body fluids, meaning that infected body fluids have to enter healthy persons bodies for ebola to spread. Driving the ambulance without police escort isn't that dangerous.

I agree, however it might be dangerous for the next patient who has to use that ambulance if he started throwing up inside the ambulance or otherwise spreading bodily fluids everywhere. It might also be dangerous if he started vomiting halfway during the walk and someone else accidentally came into contact with it. Someone who uses the hospital's toilet facilities after him could potentially become infected too unless the hospital staff choose to keep him well separated from the other patients.

[RedDiamond]

The most effective drug against Ebola appears to be Favipiravir, an experimental anti-viral drug with
a broad spectrum, that is currently undergoing phase 3 clinical trials for influenza.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166354214000576

There are also some experiments treating Ebola with blood transfusions. For example this: http://jid.oxfordjournals.org/content/179/Supplement_1/S18.short

[Daniel91]

Ebola is real danger to all the world!
From 100 people infected, only 10 will survive.
I really hope that we will be able to stop Ebola in Africa.
If Ebola spread from Africa to other countries this will be real nightmare.

[Puberty]

Ebola is real danger to all the world!
From 100 people infected, only 10 will survive.
I really hope that we will be able to stop Ebola in Africa.
If Ebola spread from Africa to other countries this will be real nightmare.

Unlikely due to the high mortality rate and because you need direct contact with bodily fluids. It would be much more terrifying if it could be transmitted via airborne means.

[Wilikon]

Black market demand for monkey meat could see deadly Ebola virus hit UK

[...]
Eating bush flesh is one of main ways Ebola is transmitted to humans and 7,500 tonnes of illegal meat enters the UK every year.

The exotic meats are eaten by some sectors of African immigrants in Britain as a luxury dish and the trade has been defended on cultural grounds.

But the outbreak of Ebola in Guinea, which has killed more than 700 people, has raised concerns over the consumption of bush flesh.

A BBC investigation previously discovered the markets at Ridley Road, London sold giant rats among other smuggled meats.

It is known as a prime example of an area where black market meats are sold and is replicated all over the country.

Dr Yunes Teinaz, a former environment health official, warned the bush meat is sold “all over the country” and is a “huge” health risk.

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/494920/Ebola-Black-market-monkey-meat-could-see-virus-hit-UK


Scientists report that Ebola may be present in more animals than previously thought. So far, it has been detected in chimpanzees, gorillas, fruit bats, monkeys, antelopes, porcupines, rodents, dogs, pigs and humans.

[Wilikon]

Ebola terror at Gatwick as passenger collapses and dies getting off Sierra Leone flight


Airport staff tonight told of their fears of an Ebola outbreak after a passenger from Sierra Leone collapsed and died as she got off a plane at Gatwick.

Workers said they were terrified the virus could spread globally through the busy international hub from the West African country which is in the grip of the deadly epidemic.

The woman, said to be 72, became ill on the gangway after she left a Gambia Bird jet with 128 passengers on board. She died in hospital.

Ebola has killed 256 people in Sierra Leone. A total of 826 have died in West Africa since the outbreak began in February. Tests are now being carried out to see if the woman had disease.

The plane was quarantined as ­officials desperately tried to trace everyone who had been in contact with the woman.

Airport workers face an anxious wait to see if the woman had Ebola. One said: “Everyone’s just ­petrified.

“We’ve all seen how many people have died from Ebola, especially in Sierra Leone, and it’s terrifying.”



http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/ebola-terror-gatwick-passenger-collapses-3977051#ixzz39N7JCJb3
Follow us: @DailyMirror on Twitter | DailyMirror on Facebook


http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/ebola-terror-gatwick-passenger-collapses-3977051

[Tzupy]

An experimental monoclonal antibody ZMapp was used to treat US patients:
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/04/health/experimental-ebola-serum/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
IMO a combination of Favipiravir and clomiphene would have worked as well, and it would be
much easier to deploy on a larger scale, once it would be confirmed to work as expected.

[Wilikon]

An experimental monoclonal antibody ZMapp was used to treat US patients:
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/04/health/experimental-ebola-serum/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
IMO a combination of Favipiravir and clomiphene would have worked as well, and it would be
much easier to deploy on a larger scale, once it would be confirmed to work as expected.

Would this untested drug be forced on the population on a large scale for the greater good? What big Pharma will push for that bill?

[bryant.coleman]

The outbreak appears to have stabilized in Guinea, where it was first reported. However, new cases are being uncovered on a constant basis in both Liberia and Sierra Leone. How did the Guinean authorities controlled the outbreak, when their counterparts are struggling with the same?

[RedDiamond]

An experimental monoclonal antibody ZMapp was used to treat US patients:
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/04/health/experimental-ebola-serum/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
IMO a combination of Favipiravir and clomiphene would have worked as well, and it would be
much easier to deploy on a larger scale, once it would be confirmed to work as expected.

"An American doctor flown to the U.S. after being infected with Ebola in Liberia "seems to be improving" after receiving an experimental antibody serum"

http://www.wjla.com/articles/2014/08/u-s-doctor-with-ebola-improving-after-receiving-experiemental-serum-105720.html

[Tzupy]

An experimental monoclonal antibody ZMapp was used to treat US patients:
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/04/health/experimental-ebola-serum/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
IMO a combination of Favipiravir and clomiphene would have worked as well, and it would be
much easier to deploy on a larger scale, once it would be confirmed to work as expected.

Would this untested drug be forced on the population on a large scale for the greater good? What big Pharma will push for that bill?

ZMapp can't be used on a large scale because it's not yet ready for mass production.
On the contrary, the FDA approved and cheap clomiphene could be easily deployed.
And Favipiravir being in phase 3 clinical trials means it's safe at therapeutic doses and
is currently tested on 1000 - 2000 patients, so mass production is close.

[Wilikon]

An experimental monoclonal antibody ZMapp was used to treat US patients:
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/04/health/experimental-ebola-serum/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
IMO a combination of Favipiravir and clomiphene would have worked as well, and it would be
much easier to deploy on a larger scale, once it would be confirmed to work as expected.

Would this untested drug be forced on the population on a large scale for the greater good? What big Pharma will push for that bill?

ZMapp can't be used on a large scale because it's not yet ready for mass production.
On the contrary, the FDA approved and cheap clomiphene could be easily deployed.
And Favipiravir being in phase 3 clinical trials means it's safe at therapeutic doses and
is currently tested on 1000 - 2000 patients, so mass production is close.

I do not doubt mass production is close. I wonder how you can force people to take a drug that is untested. It does not matter if 2000 patients take it now. It is still experimental. Am I wrong to believe a drug needs at least, 5, 10 years of testing before being pushed to your local walgreens? Maybe that law changed and I wasn't aware of that.

[RedDiamond]

"ZMapp, the experimental treatment rushed to two Americans infected with Ebola in Africa, is grown in specially modified leaves of tobacco"

"Saphire says she expects the first human trials of ZMapp to begin in 2015"

http://www.webmd.com/news/20140804/ebola-virus-vaccine

[Wilikon]

Disease Expert Warns Terrorists Could Make Dirty Bomb Containing Ebola


A Cambridge University disease expert warns that terrorists could be able to build a dirty bomb containing the Ebola virus.
Speaking to The Sun, biological anthropologist Dr. Peter Walsh says that the risk should be taken seriously of terror groups getting their hands on the Ebola virus.
“A bigger and more serious risk is that a group manages to harness the virus as a powder, then explodes it in a bomb in a highly populated area,” Walsh told The Sun. “It could cause a large number of horrific deaths.”
Walsh states that groups might try to harness the virus out of west African nations where the outbreak is prevalent.
“Only a handful of labs worldwide have the Ebola virus and they are extremely well protected. So the risk is that a terrorist group seeks to obtain the virus out in West Africa,” Walsh told The Sun.
Walsh added this scenario could “cause a large number of horrific deaths.”
“It is a threat that is taken very seriously,” Walsh told The Sun.
Walsh also said that the chance Ebola reaches the United Kingdom is small.
Two Americans, Dr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol, contracted Ebola after working on the same medical mission team treating victims of the virus around Monrovia, Liberia. More than 1,300 people have been stricken, killing more than 800 of them in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.
A Liberian government official has confirmed that a medical evacuation team is scheduled to fly Writebol back to the United States early Tuesday. She will receive treatment at Atlanta’s Emory University Hospital alongside Brantly, who was admitted Saturday.
Brantly and Writebol contracted Ebola after working on the same medical mission team treating victims of the virus around Monrovia, Liberia. More than 1,300 people have been stricken, killing at least 729 of them in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.

http://atlanta.cbslocal.com/2014/08/04/disease-expert-warns-terrorists-could-make-dirty-bomb-containing-ebola/

[Wilikon]

AMERICA'S EBOLA RESPONSE IS 'MADNESS'


[...]
So here are some questions. All these experts on television are telling us it’s perfectly safe and we need not worry. And the lamest answer comes when you ask them how the medical doctor who they brought to Atlanta contracted Ebola in Africa. Their answer is always the same: “Oh, an accidental needle prick.”

This is nonsense. It is possible they were experimenting on the poor African villagers and the disease got out of control. Now, they are bringing in highly infectious patients into this nation that is Ebola-free. In doing so, they are violating the primary rule of contagion: isolation. They are now using this: “We must fight our fears or remain compassionate.” This story is unraveling.

Now let’s follow the money. A recent USA Today article had this headline: “NIH to launch early Ebola vaccine trial in September.” What does that mean? Well, what it means is this: Until the current outbreak of Ebola, many in the industry said there was not a great need for an Ebola vaccine, because the virus only caused 10-100 infections per year. But that’s all changed.

Now, according to Dr. Scott Lillibridge, assistant dean at the Texas A&M School of Public Health, “The current outbreak has somewhat changed our thinking.” More people now think the world needs an Ebola vaccine. Why? Because there’s going to be a call to vaccinate entire populations of nations or to vaccinate health workers in hospitals and clinics to protect them from getting and spreading the virus.

So what’s going on is that the FDA is making exceptions to its usually stringent rules for drug development in evaluating treatments for Ebola. And as a result, they’re speeding forward with a stage I trial with a man-made antibody treatment.

We all know that for the full-blown Ebola hemorrhagic virus, there is no drug on the planet that is going to cure it. But as of now, in the monkey model there are drugs that can arrest early stages of infection. Why have they brought an infected doctor and another patient from the area of contagion to Emory University in the U.S. when these individuals could treated just as well in Africa? Perhaps they are using these two patients as guinea pigs in a trial for a new vaccine from which billions are to be made if successful.


http://www.wnd.com/2014/08/ebola-madness-is-epidemic/

Editor’s note: This is the first of a series of columns on the Ebola epidemic by radio talk-show host Michael Savage, who has a Ph.D. in epidemiology.

[Wilikon]

Many US hospitals not prepared for Ebola


[...]
Many U.S. hospitals are poorly prepared to contain any pathogen. That’s why at least 75,000 people a year die from hospital infections.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/08/04/many-us-hospitals-not-prepared-for-ebola/

[elite3000]

It is still contagious in dead tissue. I don't have the info on how long, but the media's reporting that funeral and burial rites are spreading the virus to the family and friends of victims

[bryant.coleman]

Disease Expert Warns Terrorists Could Make Dirty Bomb Containing Ebola

I don't think that Ebola can be used as a biological weapon. The Ebola virus is not an airborne organism. It can be spread through contact with the infected people only. Also, it is very difficult to preserve the virus for long duration. If someone wants to make a biological weapon using the Ebola virus, then he will have to ensure a constant supply of infected individuals.

[dKingston]

Ebola is a very dangerous virus and whole world can be affected very soon.
Plus the epidemy continues to spread in Africa, more the possibilities that
Ebola continues the spread in whole world are.

[lepirate]

The thing is that Ebola is not really a threat to, at least, the western world. The only reason why it's spreading out of control in West Africa is the lack of trust against doctors, governments and other people who wants to help, as well as lack of knowledge.
In the western world people trust their governments and will not refuse to get help, they will probably even go get it themselves.
Also, the only way to get infected is to get infected body fluids inside your own system, so it's actually quite hard to get infected.
So it's not the threat that media tries to make us believe it is.

However, in poorer parts of the world (like west africa) it is a major threat, and more resources should be given to prevent further spreading.