Global Health Ebola Update 11/13

Over 5,000 Lives Lost
Ebola has now killed at least 5,160 people, and infected at least 14,098, mostly in West Africa, since the outbreak started last spring, the WHO reported.

New cases have increased sharply in Sierra Leone, according to the WHO, although there are encouraging signs that the incidence of new cases is declining in Guinea and Liberia.

Mali, meanwhile, hurried to quarantine 90 people, after a nurse died treating a Guinea man who died with Ebola-like symptoms.
** Reuters (http://jhsph.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0a43ad874dbe00d8f0545cfef&id=da2f259a1a&e=9c1fcebfa3)


Health Workers Strike

Angered by a lack of support in their efforts against Ebola, more than 400 health workers in southern Sierra Leone’s only treatment center have gone on strike. The government hasn’t paid extra risk allowances since September; the basic salaries are paid by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), ** reports the Thomson Reuters Foundation (http://jhsph.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0a43ad874dbe00d8f0545cfef&id=f1b2550c83&e=9c1fcebfa3)
.

The dispute comes as Ebola cases are surging in Sierra Leone, which has just 288 beds in its Ebola treatment centers.

Half a world away, thousands of US nurses took part in rallies and strikes to call attention to a lack of sufficient protection and preparation for dealing with Ebola patients. 19,000 nurses began a two-day strike on Tuesday against nearly 90 California hospitals and clinics, most of which are operated by Kaiser Permanente, according to ** Reuters (http://jhsph.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0a43ad874dbe00d8f0545cfef&id=635421078c&e=9c1fcebfa3)
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“The best way to protect our community is to protect our nurses," said Evan Brost, a nurse who joined more than 30 people in a protest outside the White House over Ebola measures.


Hunger in Liberia
Still reeling from Ebola, Liberians are now suffering from the long-term disruption of their food systems.

The epidemic has shuttered workplaces, killed breadwinners and disrupted farming. Closed borders with Sierra Leone, Guinea and Ivory Coast have curtailed trade, while markets have been shut down … all adding to the hardship of Liberians trying to feed their families in the midst of a health crisis.

90% of families have reduced the size of their meals, and 85% are eating fewer meals, according to a Mercy Corps survey, while the UN WFP reports food security now affects all areas of the country.
** The Washington Post (http://jhsph.us3.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=0a43ad874dbe00d8f0545cfef&id=2c5e96ebd3&e=9c1fcebfa3)