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EBOLA
Painted Black
Ebola is winning and could become a global calamity on the scale of HIV, CDC director Tom Frieden warned leaders of global health and government gathered Thursday in Washington at the World Bank headquarters. Explaining exponential growth and using reproduction numbers, he showed how math favors the virus.
The Numbers: 70, 70 and 60. To bring the epidemic under control, officials should ensure that at least 70 percent of Ebola-victim burials are conducted safely, and that at least 70 percent of infected people are in treatment, within 60 days.
The Quote: “This has been a particularly difficult outbreak because of the difficulty getting a lot of data quickly out of the countries. My crystal ball is painted a deep black. It’s like tracking a hurricane,” said Martin Meltzer, a CDC researcher who models epidemics.
** Washington Post http://jhsph.us3.list-
"A Tragedy Not Seen In Modern Times”
Those are the words Sierra Leone's president Ernest Bai Koroma used to describe the Ebola outbreak ravaging West Africa in an International Monetary Fund and World Bank meeting yesterday.
Koroma, along with fellow leaders from Liberia and Guinea, pleaded for more help for the shattered region, and presented lists of needs emphasizing more health workers, money to pay local staff, medicine and food supplies. Liberia stressed the need to wrap up construction and staffing of new facilities by mid-November.
The UN estimates the response price tag will reach nearly $1 billion.
The Quote: “There should be absolutely no holding back on resources … there must be no postponement of financing decisions, no postponement of action because we haven't agreed on things,” said David Nabarro, the UN’s special envoy on Ebola.
** NPR Goats and Soda (http://jhsph.us3.list-manage.
Contagious Fears
An epidemic of fear is spreading throughout the US.
Airline cabin cleaners in New York walked off the job, concerned about being regularly exposed to waste and fluids that could transmit Ebola. A Wisconsin woman was moved into medical isolation by jail officials in Kenosha County, despite her showing no symptoms of the virus. And in Washington, 23 Republican and 3 Democratic members of the House signed a letter to the President asking the State Department to impose a travel ban and restrict visas issued to citizens of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
"They're frightened because they need to learn and understand what the facts are about that disease," said U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Burwell.
** Reuters http://jhsph.us3.list-manage.
MARBURG VIRUS
Uganda Case Confirmed
WHO reports today that Marburg virus has been confirmed as the cause of death in a health worker in Kampala, Uganda on September 28, according to Uganda’s Ministry of Health.
146 contacts have been traced and monitored as a result, but all contacts have tested negative so far Marburg, which is from the same family of viruses as Ebola.
WHO, MSF, and the CDC are all supporting the risk assessment and response effort along with Ugandan health authorities, including establishing isolation and treatment units, ensuring personal protective equipment is available if needed, and training health workers.
** WHO (Press Release) http://jhsph.us3.list-
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