Ban Ki-moon travels to Ebola-hit African countries

Ban arrived in the Guinean capital, Conakry, on Saturday and was greeted at the airport by Guinea’s Foreign Minister Francois Louceny Fall and Health Minister Remy Lamah.

Head of the World Health Organization (WHO) Margaret Chan, the UN coordinator for the fight against Ebola, David Nabarro, and Anthony Banbury, the head of the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER), accompanied Ban in the trip.

The UN chief is due to hold a news conference later Saturday after meeting with Guinean President Alpha Condé.

On Friday, Ban flew to Liberia from the UN Ebola mission headquarters in Ghana. He also visited an Ebola treatment center outside Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, during his tour.

The developments come as nongovernmental organizations have censured UN agencies such as the WHO for the delay in their responsive actions regarding Ebola.

Ban has recently pledged to help the Ebola-ravaged countries restore health services disrupted by the Ebola outbreak. He also said last month that with international mobilization, the epidemic is highly likely to come under control in 2015.

First Ebola case in Mali Confirmed

According to BBC  report two-year-old girl had tested positive for the haemorrhagic virus. She recently returned from the neighbouring Guinea.

More than 4,800 people have died of Ebola - mainly in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone - since March.

Meanwhile, an international team of scientists has been set up to determine the effectiveness of using the blood of Ebola survivors as a treatment.

It is hoped the antibodies used by the immune system to fight Ebola can be transferred from a survivor to a patient. The study will start in Guinea.

In Maryland Hospital, A nurse after became a victim of Ebola virus she is in conscious state

A nurse who also suffered from Ebola virus Is now stable and is comfortable in a specialized hospital in Maryland ... the nurse left the the hospital where she was working free .. she got Ebola virus while she was treating Thomas Eric Duncan

Nina Pham, 26, “is quite stable now and resting comfortably”, Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) said at a press conference on Friday. “She’s a highly intelligent, aware person who knows exactly what’s going on,” he said.

Dr Kent Brantly transfuse her blood for antibodies production to fight  against the virus; for privacy reasons Fauci would not say if she had also received experimental drugs.

Fauci said “We fully intend to have this patient walk out of this hospital,”

After Duncan, who infected with virus before arriving in the US, died ,,two nurses, Pham and Amber Vinson, also diagnosed with Ebola.

In all, more than 135 people are being monitored for signs of Ebola, including 75 healthcare workers, 48 other people who may have had contact with Duncan and a handful of people who may have had contact with the nurses, and one dog.

Vinson was transferred to Emory University hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, earlier this week for treatment at a specialist facility there. A day before Vinson was diagnosed, she travelled on a Frontier airlines commercial flight from Ohio to Texas, despite having a low-grade fever.

Vinson, who was self-monitoring at the time, had called the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) before travelling to Ohio, and was not stopped from flying.

On Thursday, the CDC announced that it was expanding its search for possible contacts, and interviewing passengers who travelled on Vinson’s initial Frontier Airlines flight from Dallas to Cleveland on 10 October, because new information revealed that investigators could not rule out the possibility that she was ill as early as last Friday. It was initially thought she became ill on 13 October, the day she returned to Dallas. The agency has since changed its guidelines on travel for people being monitored for the virus.

The CDC director, Tom Frieden, said the agency will ensure that in future those being monitored for symptoms of the virus do not travel publicly. The CDC recommends only “controlled movement” for individuals being monitored, which can include travel by private plane or vehicle. In Dallas, county officials have asked all 75 healthcare workers under monitoring to pledge to stay away from the public.

Even so, on Friday morning, the state department announced that a hospital worker who may have had contact with Duncan’s blood samples, had left the country on a Caribbean cruise while self-monitoring. He has placed himself in voluntary quarantine, and the ship’s doctor said he is in good condition. The hospital worker left for his cruise before the CDC altered its rules.

In Texas, meanwhile, Governor Rick Perry on Friday urged the president to ban travel from the west African nations where Ebola is raging.

“Air travel is in fact how this disease crosses borders and it’s certainly how it got to Texas in the first place,” Perry said during a news conference in Austin. He said there should be an exception for aid workers, who are desperately needed to help fight the virus in west Africa. Several members of Congress, including the speaker of the House, John Boehner, have called for a travel ban, which the president has been reluctant to consider.

Public health officials have decried a ban that would prevent travellers from west Africa’s hardest-hit countries – Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea – from entering the US. They say it will restrict aid and healthcare workers from entering the countries, which could exacerbate the outbreak that has already claimed the lives of more than 4,500 people.

Perry also discussed preliminary recommendations from a task force he assembled last week charged with improving the state’s readiness to deal with additional Ebola cases.

The task force suggested designating Ebola treatment centres across the state where ill people can with the relevant travel history can seek treatment.

The centres would be equipped with protective equipment and specially trained healthcare workers.

The force also recommended that healthcare workers receive expanded training on how to tackle Ebola effected patients.

Ebola crisis ; All airports directed to screen passengers from affected countries in Pakistan

  There is a low risk of Ebola outbreak in Pakistan, for this purpose federal government  has chalked out a comprehensive plan in coordination with the provinces, UN agencies and the Pakistan Army to fight against disease if any case emerges in the country.
“There is no single case of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) has been reported in Pakistan, we are all set to deal with the fatal disease that has claimed over 4,000 lives across the world,” Minister of State for National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination (NHSRC) Saira Afzal Tarar told reporters on Wednesday.

According to her government should take measures for this proper provision of guidance, advice and capacity building to identify suspected cases of EVD and manage possible outbreak of the disease according to World Health Organisation (WHO) and International guidelines.

“Screening of passengers whose coming from Ebola affected countries at all major airports across the country .Notice given to all public hospitals to establish separate isolation wards for the treatment of its patients,” Tarar said.

The minister added that the Pakistan Army was also looking after all officers returning from Ebola-affected countries.

“Around 8,000 Pakistani soldiers are deployed as part of UN peacekeeping mission in African countries… the army has informed us it is regularly screening all soldiers returning to Pakistan [from peacekeeping duties in Africa].”
Tarar said that the government will keep a special check on all the entry and exit points of the country. The provinces, meanwhile, have been asked to immediately report any EVD case to the federal health ministry. All provincial and federal health departments have been directed to nominate a federal and provincial director general health as a focal person for the EVD coordinating body.
On Wednesday The NHSRC ministry also held a meeting on, which was attended by representatives from WHO, Unicef, provincial health departments and Civil Aviation Authority, among others.
According to a press release issued by the ministry, participants of the meeting agreed to notify a coordination body with representation of all partners and stakeholders, and responsibilities were assigned to undertake major tasks. It stated that the NHSRC minister depressed on an awareness campaign throughout the country.
Meanwhile, WHO committed to keep staff training and the Unicef Health Section committed to support the government of Pakistan in developing a comprehensive Communication Plan for EVD awareness.

On the other hand, vice-chancellor of the Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Medical University, Prof Javed Akram, said the administration of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) has not received any directions from the federal government to establish an isolation ward for EVD. “However Pims has taken this initiative on its own,” he added.

Might be Pakistan become next victim of Ebola

 Now Ebola star spreading to Asia ,today World Health Organization has warned that Ebola virus might spread to Pakistan sooner or later.

Speaking to British media, WHO Representative in Pakistan Dr Michel Thieren said that since Ebola now change its way to Asia , Pakistan was also at a high risk of it. He suggested Pakistan governmen should take  precautionary measures and steps against the deadly disease.

According to Dr Michel,so main cause of spreading is passengers who carry virus from one place to other. Michel stated that no measures at the airport can be taken to prevent the virus from spreading in the country. Enhanced screening for Ebola can be introduced at airports though. Therefore, government can’t be held responsible for it.

However, raising awareness about the possible indications of the virus amongst the masses and the security officials at the airport can be the most effective way to defend against Ebola.

On Wednesday, the Ministry of National Health developed an emergency plan to deal with the Ebola virus; as per which, the incoming passengers from African countries will be screened and medical personnel will be trained.

High level meetings held in islamabad to discuss prevention from deadly Ebola virus took place. Meeting conclusion is to creat  ‘Ebola counters’ at the airports, temporary clinics and special wards in the hospitals.

It was also decided that the Pakistan army personnel arriving from the peace keeping mission would be monitored for twenty one days. The provincial governments had also been directed to arrange screening and monitoring of passengers coming from African countries.

World Health Organization’s (WHO) Dr Michel has already termed Ebola virus a big threat and recommended training of medical staff.There is no Ebola patient in Pakistan yet, however,so security should be strick on airport if even a single affected patient entered in country without screening can cause the outbreak in Pakistan.

WHO : Ebola killed 4,000 people worldwide

Death rate due to outbreak of Ebola  has risen over 4,000, the World Health Organization says.

Total 4,024 confirmed or suspected deaths in the highly-affected West African nations of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Eight deaths are linked to the haemorrhagic fever in Nigeria and one in the US.
   In West Africa, there have been 8,399 confirmed or suspected cases.

In US hospital Ebola killed Thomas Eric Duncan

 Ebola victim in US has died, Texas hospital officials have said.
He was Thomas Eric Duncan, 42yr old , who was on experimental drugs who caught the virus in his native Liberia, was being kept in isolation in a Dallas hospital.
  For checking sign and symptoms of virus US has announced new screening measures.
Due to Ebola outbreak  3,865 people has died, mostly in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
"It is with profound sadness and heartfelt disappointment that we must inform you of the death of Thomas Eric Duncan this morning at 7:51 am," a spokesman said in a statement.
The news came shortly after US Secretary of State John Kerry urged all nations to boost their response to combat the virus.
"More countries can and must step up," he said in a joint press conference with his British counterpart Philip Hammond

Australia pledges $7 to fight against Ebola

The Ebola death toll is now estimated at 2500, but with 5,000 others infected that number is growing by the day. Ebola which killed thousand peoples in West Africa ,Australia has pledged $7 million to the international fight against deadly diesease.

Its another War for American president Barack Obama, he has committed to sending 3000 troops to the region, calling the outbreak a threat to global security.

In Liberia US hundreds healthcare workers will train by  military personnel  and build 17 health care centres.President Obama said “This is an epidemic that is not just a threat to regional security, it’s a potential threat to global security if these countries break down,”
doctors and nurses working in archaic conditions.

Dr.Kent who Recovered Ebola patient has compared the epidemic to an out of control bushfire.

Ebola death rate reached 70%

According to WHO in west Africa  70% of those infected with Ebola  have died, this rate higher than previous one.

the UN agency has warned. Ebola infections will treble to 20,000 by November so its mean outbreak of Ebola is not controlable.

According to US estimate, in January two nations could reach 1.4 million.Experts said the US numbers were ``somewhat pessimistic''.

The world's largest outbreak of Ebola n Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone has caused 2,800.

WHO said Outbreaks in Senegal and Nigeria were "pretty much contained",

Approximately 160 NHS staff have volunteered working  for UK efforts to help in the outbreak.
Chief medical officer for England, Prof Dame Sally Davies, confirmed that the British nurse who survived Ebola, William Pooley, has volunteered to give blood that could help treat patients.

For prevention and control Sierra Leone army has sealed off the country's border with Guinea and Liberia.
  British military and humanitarian staff have arrived in Freetown to oversee the construction of the UK's medical facility and assist with the response to the outbreak.
Scientists have warned that swift action is needed to curb the exponential climb in the Ebola outbreak.

According to Two new estimates suggest that cases of Ebola occur in the three countries with the majority of cases

At November there will have been nearly 20,000 cases.
According to analysis of confirmed cases also suggests death rates are higher than previously reported at about 70% of all cases, rather than 50%.

Director of Strategy for WHO Dr Christopher Dye, , said there is do something quickly for Ebola control  "these three countries will soon be reporting thousands of cases and deaths each week, projections that are similar to those of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)".

The CDC said that in Liberia and Sierria Leone at the end of this month there could be up to 21,000 reported and unreported cases.

The predictions which released on Tuesday, the US health agency said till Mid January cases could reach as many as 1.4 million by mid-January, if efforts to control the outbreak are not scaled up

Different Treatment for Ebola by Health Care Specialists

According to , the World Health Organization the Ebola virus has so far infected over 3,700 people and killed over 1,800. There is no cure for disease, and a potential vaccine could be months, or years, away so some health care professionals are busy at alternative approaches for helping Ebola patients survive the virus.

There are different treatment

1.Those who have recovered Ebola give blood transfusion to infected patient.Their plasma, the liquid part of the blood, contains antibodies that have successfully fought off the virus.The process of separating the plasma and its antibodies from the blood of survivors is called plasmapheresis.

After listening report an American doctor infected in Liberia, Kent Brantly, received a transfusion from an Ebola survivor. And, the New York Times cites a professor of virology in Nigeria who says the procedure is being considered using the blood taken from five survivors in the country.

Dr. David Heymann, a professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, says it was used in the 1970's during the first Ebola outbreak in Kikwit, in what was then Zaire – now the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Dr. Heymann was involved in treating infected persons in that emergency, and also led a response team during another in Kikwit 19 years later.

"I stayed two and half months after the first Ebola outbreak in 1976 and did plasmapheresis on survivors [so] that that blood could be stored [at various points] around Africa," he said. "[It was used one time to treat a laboratory scientist in the UK who had been exposed to Ebola in a laboratory accident.] Then in 1995 in [another] Kikwit outbreak, the government decided that it would use [blood containing antibodies] collected from survivors to treat eight patients. Seven of them survived.

Dr. Heymann said it’s not clear whether the antibodies were behind the survival of the seven infected patients, and further study is necessary to verify the effectiveness of the procedure.

2 .  test existing drugs that may help Ebola patients. Many of these are generic and inexpensive.  drugs that modulate the immune system’s inflammatory response.

That’s the defensive action taken by the body against the virus, which can sometimes lead to organ failure and other deadly complications.

Among these drugs is a class of drugs called statins, such as Lipitor, which reduce cholesterol.

Dr. Heymann and others support the approach of studying medicines shown to be effective against Ebola in animal studies."I think that before any medication could be used [to treat Ebola patients]," said Heymann, " it would need to be shown to be effective, at least in an animal model. They should not be used unless they are in a clinical trial setting [that can demonstrated whether they are effective in humans]. It’s the countries themselves that make the decisions [to allow these medications] and hopefully the [World Health Organization] would support their decision."

3. Currently, some countries are quarantining neighborhoods and villages. They’ve also created road blocks and patrols to prevent infected persons from crossing borders. And some are proposing protective barriers or buffers around infected villages, called cordons sanitaires. Dr. Heymann says in his view, that’s not the most effective approach.

"All cordons sanitaires would do is stop [some persons with Ebola infection from moving, but also disrupt] legal and legitimate travel and commerce," he said. " But with porous borders [as in many African countries]…it could be setting up a feeling of false security. What’s more important is that everybody should understand the disease and how to deal with it.

"In the 1995 Kikwit outbreak, for example, the government of DRC put up a cordon sanitaire [to quarantine] the area where the outbreak was occurring. People, however, were just [moving out of] the area where there were no [roadblocks]…. [Some] went [to neighboring villages] by boat on a nearby river. "

4 . Dr. Heymann said the best response was learned in Kikwit nearly 40 years ago. Stopping an outbreak means improving hospitals so infections do not spread to health workers and other patients -- and tracing everyone who’s come in contact with a person infected with Ebola. They would be put under surveillance and hospitalized if they develop a fever caused by the virus.

The community must also understand how the virus is spread. It’s transmitted by contact with the infected person’s bodily fluids, including vomit, urine or diarrhea. Transmission often occurs during care giving, transport, or as part of traditional burial practices that include touching the body.

According to Dr. Heymann,if these precautions may be taken the outbreak would likely have been under control in Guinea.

Ebola decline economic growth in W.Africa

On Thursday IMF due to outbreak of ebola Economic growth decline in Liberia and Sierra Leone as much as 3.5 percentage , agriculture and services sectors in the two West African countries, the IMF said on Thursday.
 
The IMF said in this year economic growth in Sierra Leona is likely to fall to 8 percent from 11.3 percent , Liberia's growth may decline to 2.5 percent from 5.9 percent, and in Guinea, economic output could fall to 2.4 percent from 3.5 percent.

Bill Murray whose spokesman at the International Monetary Fund said Growth in Guinea, where industrial mining has been unaffected so far, could fall by about 1.5 percentage points.

If we focus  Sierra Leone and Liberia, the largest sectors of these already fragile economies ... are being affected," Murray said. "This is in turn engendering significant financing gaps for the fiscal and external accounts of these two countries, and triggering higher inflation."

He said in these three countries the crisis has exposed financing gaps totaling $100 million to $130 million , and that the IMF doing their work with authorities to figure out additional funding. All three countries are already getting IMF loans under programs that predate the Ebola outbreak.

Murray said
"Urgently need of large-scale and well-coordinated intervention by the international community is to  bring the epidemic under control," 

Ebola Outbreak in US.Woman in Us suffering by Ebola went to Atlanta for Treatment

Ebola Outbreak in US.Woman in Us suffering by Ebola went to Atlanta for Treatment On Tuesday US woman suffering with the dangerous Ebola virus arrived at a US military base in Atlanta, Georgia, and is headed for treatment at a specially equipped hospital. She is to carry by ambulance to Emory University Hospital, where her colleague, missionary doctor Kent Brantly, is also receiving care. In liberian care 33, was sickened with Ebola while taking care of patients. He arrived in the United States on Saturday. Making Ebola history by two Americans are among more than 1,600 people infected with the hemorrhagic fever in since March, marking the largest outbreak of Ebola.A total of 887 people have died of the virus in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and Nigeria, a 55 percent fatality rate, according to the World Health Organization.........