Global Health Update Re: Ebola

EBOLA

New Infections Slowing in Liberia
The WHO confirmed that an apparent decline in new infections in Liberia is real, as measured by empty beds in clinics, fewer confirmed positives in lab tests, and a drop in burials.

At the same time, the WHO remained wary over Ebola’s unpredictable nature. While crediting improved safe burial practices, contact tracing, and public education campaigns, Bruce Aylward of the WHO cautioned that it would only take a few unsafe burials to unravel the progress.

The Quote: “It’s like saying your pet tiger is under control,” Aylward said. “This is a very, very dangerous disease.”
** Washington Post (http://jhsph.us3.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=0a43ad874dbe00d8f0545cfef&id=4d59bd3241&e=9c1fcebfa3)


China Ready
The 2003 SARS epidemic taught China a brutal lesson, killing more than 300 people. The impetus to squelch news and pretend “Problem? What problem?” is long gone.

China has been preparing for months for its first case of Ebola. Good idea since there are more than 20,000 Chinese working in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. More than 8,500 travelers who have flown into the southern province of Guangdong alone have been screened and monitored for 21 days. (5,000 have surpassed the 3 weeks and are no longer followed.)

“In the last 10 years, they’ve built up massive capacity to respond to this kind of situation, to avoid damage to public health and prevent the socio-economic problems that arise with it,” said Ben Cowling, an associate professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the University of Hong Kong’s School of Public Health.
** Bloomberg (http://jhsph.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0a43ad874dbe00d8f0545cfef&id=2846dfa24a&e=9c1fcebfa3)

Related: Ebola in West Africa: China to build Liberia health system – ** H5N1 (http://jhsph.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0a43ad874dbe00d8f0545cfef&id=9e06096630&e=9c1fcebfa3)

Related: No Ebola, S'il Vous Plait, We're French: The Ivory Coast Mindset – ** NPR Goats and Soda (http://jhsph.us3.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=0a43ad874dbe00d8f0545cfef&id=8e7f83cdae&e=9c1fcebfa3)

Related: Ebola and U.S. Quarantines: Q&A with James Hodge and Kim Weidenaar of the Network for Public Health Law – ** New Public Health, Robert Wood Johnson (http://jhsph.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0a43ad874dbe00d8f0545cfef&id=c03cd8bf06&e=9c1fcebfa3)

Related: Why do some survive Ebola? Sierra Leone study offers clues – ** Reuters (http://jhsph.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0a43ad874dbe00d8f0545cfef&id=018bb9270b&e=9c1fcebfa3)