Global Health NOW: Nigeria's Triumph Over Ebola; GHN Exclusive on the Pill's Birth Story, and Scarcity in the Sahel
** Global Health NOW
------------------------------ Nigeria's Triumph Over Ebola; GHN Exclusive on the Pill's Birth Story, and Scarcity in the Sahel ============================== EBOLA Nigeria's Public Health Triumph The global health community is lavishing praise on Nigeria for its dramatic success in putting down an Ebola outbreak, averting a potentially catastrophic epidemic in Africa's most populous country. Yesterday, WHO classified Nigeria as "Ebola free," declaring that the country had pulled off "a piece of world-class epidemiological detective work." There has not been a new case of the disease in the country since September 5. Authors of a paper in Eurosurveillance write that key elements in Nigeria's winning battle against Ebola were fast tracing of potential contacts, thorough monitoring of contacts and rapid isolation of potentially infectious contacts. The Quote: "Actually what Nigeria did is routine, regular—but vigorous and rigorous—public health practice," said William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University. ** Scientific American (http://jhsph.us3.list- Related: WHO Situation Assessment on Nigeria ** WHO (http://jhsph.us3.list-manage. Required Reading for the Ebola-ed Out There’s a cast of compelling characters in this tour de force about genomics research and Ebola by legendary science writer Richard Preston. One is a scientist who, when she’s not studying virus evolution in her Harvard lab, is the lead singer and songwriter for an indie band. Another, of course, is the virus itself, which Preston describes as “a life-form of mysterious simplicity.” “Ebola is not a thing but a swarm,” he writes. Preston’s piece will engage and enlighten you no matter how you’ve read about Ebola in the past months. Narrative gems like this make it impossible to stop reading once you start: “In this outbreak, everybody was flying in near-zero visibility. Below the helicopter, lost in the rain, Ebola was maneuvering in secret.” ** The New Yorker (http://jhsph.us3.list-manage. Post-Ebola Reckoning The idea that a stronger and more effective WHO could rise up—should rise up—in the aftermath of the Ebola crisis is argued for in this Lancet commentary by superstar editor Richard Horton. “Once Ebola has been contained, 2015 should be a moment to bring humbled nation-states together to reinvest in a WHO that still remains the only front-line institution designed to defeat health threats to global security,” he writes. Global health security is weaker today than a decade ago, during the SARS epidemic—the first global epidemic of the 21st century, Horton reports, adding: “Paradoxically, Ebola provides an opportunity to make it stronger once again.” ** The Lancet (http://jhsph.us3.list-manage. Keep the Skies Open Some Americans may want to stop flights to and from West Africa, but NPR blogger Michaeleen Doucleff speaks to how essential they are to stopping the epidemic and helping millions of people. Riding on a plane to Monrovia, Liberia, she sat among dozens of U.S. military personnel, medical teams from NGOs and a few guys wearing hats with "public health" emblazoned on them. Almost everyone on board was traveling to help with the epidemic. “There are only a handful of commercial flights still flying to Monrovia. Without them, how would these aid workers arrive?” asks Doucleff. “Liberia isn't an easy place to reach.” ** NPR (http://jhsph.us3.list- Related: CDC Releases Revised Ebola Gear Guidelines – ** Associated Press (http://jhsph.us3.list-manage. Related: No, a Surgeon General Couldn’t Stop Ebola – ** Mike Stobbe, Politico (http://jhsph.us3.list- Related: Talking all things Ebola with Laurie Garrett – ** Humanosphere (Podcast) (http://jhsph.us3.list- TRAINING Ebola Webinar for Health Workers Begins Today A webinar series, Training Health Workers for Ebola: Protection, Detection, and Response, led by ** mPowering Frontline Health Workers (http://jhsph.us3.list-manage. and ** IntraHealth International (http://jhsph.us3.list-manage. , starts today at 10:00 a.m. EDT and will run on October 21, 23, 28, and 30. Here's an overview of this week's segments: Tuesday, October 21: Learning and Information Needs for Frontline Health Workers * Join speakers from IntraHealth International, UNICEF and USAID Liberia to discuss frontline health worker learning & information needs related to Ebola response, tools and materials available to support frontline health worker and community volunteer training; and communication technology. ** Online Registration (http://jhsph.us3.list-manage. Thursday, October 23: Health System Support for Frontline Health Workers * Join speakers from Jhpiego, Last Mile Health, and IntraHealth International to discuss how frontline health workers can keep themselves safe; communication between health workers and supervisors or other actors in the health system; and tools and materials for support and supervision of frontline health workers. ** Online Registration (http://jhsph.us3.list-manage. |
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Global Health Now Update 10/21 Re: Ebola
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