Ebola Virus Disease

The United Nations migration agency has halted Ebola screenings at five border crossings in East Africa after three of its aid workers were killed. The International Organization for Migration said several of its volunteers were caught in the crossfire during clashes between rival groups on Saturday morning in South Sudan's Central Equatoria region. Two men and one woman died, and two male volunteers sustained non-life-threatening injuries. A female volunteer and the 4-year-old son of the slain female aid worker were both abducted during the attack, and their whereabouts were unknown, according to a press release from the agency, which did not identify any of the victims by name. “We grieve alongside our staff in South Sudan, for the families of the victims and reiterate that humanitarians and civilians are not and should never be subjected to such heinous acts of violence," the International Organization for Migration's director-general, Antonio Vitorino, said in a s...

The ongoing Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in the North Kivu and Ituri provinces saw a stabilization in the number of new cases this past week, with 19 confirmed cases reported in the past week (23–29 October), essentially equivalent to the 20 confirmed cases the week before. The majority (63%) of newly confirmed cases link back to chains of transmission in Biakato Mine Health Area, Mandima Health Zone, including a further three cases detected outside of Mandima in individuals who recently travelled from Biakato. Onward local transmission has been observed in a limited number of towns and villages within family/social networks or health centers where cases visited prior to their detection and admission to treatment. In Mabalako, seven new cases were reported, of which two were linked to Biakato, two reported local family contact, and two were contacts within local health facilities, suggesting possible nosocomial exposure; investigations are ongoing for the remaining case. In Mam...

The United Nations migration agency has halted Ebola screenings at five border crossings in East Africa after three of its aid workers were killed. The International Organization for Migration said several of its volunteers were caught in the crossfire during clashes between rival groups on Saturday morning in South Sudan's Central Equatoria region. Two men and one woman died, and two male volunteers sustained non-life-threatening injuries. A female volunteer and the 4-year-old son of the slain female aid worker were both abducted during the attack, and their whereabouts were unknown, according to a press release from the agency, which did not identify any of the victims by name. “We grieve alongside our staff in South Sudan, for the families of the victims and reiterate that humanitarians and civilians are not and should never be subjected to such heinous acts of violence," the International Organization for Migration's director-general, Antonio Vitorino, said in a s...

T he Democratic Republic of the Congo will begin using a second Ebola vaccine as early as next week, the company developing the experimental product, Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ), said Thursday. J&J announced it is donating enough of the product to vaccinate up to 500,000 people. The vaccine will be used as part of a clinical trial, but the aim is as much to help extinguish the long-running outbreak in the country’s northeast as it is to gather data on the effectiveness of the vaccine, which does not yet have a brand name. “We are very excited to be able to contribute,” Dr. Johan van Hoof, global head of Janssen Infectious Diseases and Vaccines, J&J’s vaccines division, told STAT. “We see this as a significant milestone having worked so long on this that this is now going to be used.” advertisement In recent weeks the outbreak has appeared to be waning, with fewer cases in October than any month since September 2018. Should the outbreak end in the next couple of months, i...

T he Democratic Republic of the Congo will begin using a second Ebola vaccine as early as next week, the company developing the experimental product, Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ), said Thursday. J&J announced it is donating enough of the product to vaccinate up to 500,000 people. The vaccine will be used as part of a clinical trial, but the aim is as much to help extinguish the long-running outbreak in the country’s northeast as it is to gather data on the effectiveness of the vaccine, which does not yet have a brand name. “We are very excited to be able to contribute,” Dr. Johan van Hoof, global head of Janssen Infectious Diseases and Vaccines, J&J’s vaccines division, told STAT. “We see this as a significant milestone having worked so long on this that this is now going to be used.” advertisement In recent weeks the outbreak has appeared to be waning, with fewer cases in October than any month since September 2018. Should the outbreak end in the next couple of months, i...

DAKAR (Reuters) - The World Health Organization and Congolese authorities are proposing changes to how some Ebola patients are cared for, new guidelines show, after a patient’s death challenged the accepted medical theory that survivors are immune to reinfection. FILE PHOTO: A health worker wearing Ebola protection gear enters the Biosecure Emergency Care Unit (CUBE) at the ALIMA (The Alliance for International Medical Action) Ebola treatment centre in Beni, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, April 1, 2019. Picture taken April 1, 2019.REUTERS/Baz Ratner/ There are many unanswered questions surrounding the circumstances of the woman’s death in Democratic Republic of Congo, which has not previously been reported. But it has raised concerns because the woman, whose name has not been released for confidentiality reasons, was thought to have had immunity after surviving infection, but fell ill again with Ebola and died. “That was a big red flag event for all of us,” said Jane...

It comes after the island nation's health department issued a “high alert” for the viruses potential arrival in the form of international visitors. Doctors and support workers from abroad flocked to the nation to assist local teams after the Bahamas endured Hurricane Dorian in September. This led the Bahamas’ Ministry of Health to keep a close watch on visitor‘s travel history. Related articles Officials want to make sure to know whether any visitors had previously been in places where Ebola is present. Minister of Health Dr Duane Sands told reporters this week: “We are absolutely on high alert.” He added: “As you know we live in a world of Ebola and there are international health regulations that define what constitutes a risk or hazard. “We don’t want any cases of Ebola. These international health regulations are there to protect the public.” Ebola horror: The Bahamas is on 'high alert' (Image: Getty Images) Ebola horror: The risk comes from doctors ...

It comes after the island nation's health department issued a “high alert” for the viruses potential arrival in the form of international visitors. Doctors and support workers from abroad flocked to the nation to assist local teams after the Bahamas endured Hurricane Dorian in September. This led the Bahamas’ Ministry of Health to keep a close watch on visitor‘s travel history. Related articles Officials want to make sure to know whether any visitors had previously been in places where Ebola is present. Minister of Health Dr Duane Sands told reporters this week: “We are absolutely on high alert.” He added: “As you know we live in a world of Ebola and there are international health regulations that define what constitutes a risk or hazard. “We don’t want any cases of Ebola. These international health regulations are there to protect the public.” Ebola horror: The Bahamas is on 'high alert' (Image: Getty Images) Ebola horror: The risk comes from doctors ...

The Bahamas Health Department says it remains on “high alert” for the Ebola virus's potential arrival in international visitors. Since Hurricane Dorian  passed over the Bahamas in September 2019, personnel from the international support community have traveled to the Bahamas to provide relief assistance.  This influx of visitors has led The Bahamas Ministry of Health to closely evaluate the travel history of these international visitors. In an interview with Eyewitness News Online on October 28, 2019, the Minister of Health Dr. Duane Sands said, “We have been in the process of doing a number of sensitization training sessions with customs, airport, immigration, and health personnel.” “If you have been in an area where there is an Ebola outbreak, such as central Africa, red flags go off,” the health minister said. The airport screening process includes historical information, presence or absence of fever, and any of the symptoms typically associated with Ebola. “Whe...

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) today reported one new Ebola case, alongside a new report of a security clash in South Sudan that killed three aid workers who were staffing an Ebola screening checkpoint. In other developments, a new assessment from the World Health Organization (WHO) of the outbreak said the incidence of new cases over the past week remained steady, but the movement of patients from the few remaining hot spots still pose a risk of spread to other areas. New cases include 1 in Beni The 1 new case reported today, reflected on the WHO's online Ebola dashboard, raises the overall outbreak total to 3,269 cases, which includes 117 probable infections. Health officials are still investigating 475 suspected Ebola cases. One more person died from Ebola, putting the fatality count at 2,182. In a daily update today, the DRC's Ebola technical committee (CMRE) detailed locations for four cases reported yesterday, including one from Beni. The report didn...

BUTEMBO, Democratic Republic of Congo—The Ebola virus kills in terrifying ways, shutting down the body’s organs and draining victims of the fluids that keep them alive. In outbreaks, it has claimed as many as 9 in 10 patients. In a medical breakthrough that compares to the use of penicillin for war wounds, two new drugs are saving lives from the virus and helping uncover tools against other deadly infectious diseases. They were proven effective in a gold-standard clinical trial conducted by an international coalition of doctors... https://ift.tt/2WnHxQS

In the past week, from 21 to 27 October, 20 new confirmed Ebola virus disease (EVD) cases were reported from five health zones in two affected provinces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The incidence of new confirmed EVD cases remains steady as response teams are being strengthened in hotspot areas. The majority (75%) of newly confirmed cases this past week continue to be reported from or linked to Biakato Mine Health Area, Mandima Health Zone, including four new cases detected outside of Mandima in individuals who recently travelled to Biakato. However, within three health zones beyond Mandima, local transmission was observed. In Mabalako, seven new cases were reported, of which three were linked to Biakato, one case reported local family contact, and one case was a copatient of a confirmed case within a local health facility, suggesting possible nosocomial exposure; investigations are ongoing for the remaining two cases. Kalunguta Health Zone reported two confirmed cases th...

The Bahamas Health Department says it remains on “high alert” for the Ebola virus's potential arrival in international visitors. Since Hurricane Doran  passed over the Bahamas in September 2019, personnel from the international support community have traveled to the Bahamas to provide relief assistance.  This influx of visitors has led The Bahamas Ministry of Health to closely evaluate the travel history of these international visitors. In an interview with Eyewitness News Online on October 28, 2019, the Minister of Health Dr. Duane Sands said, “We have been in the process of doing a number of sensitization training sessions with customs, airport, immigration, and health personnel.” “If you have been in an area where there is an Ebola outbreak, such as central Africa, red flags go off,” the health minister said. The airport screening process includes historical information, presence or absence of fever, and any of the symptoms typically associated with Ebola. “When...

More than a year after the Ebola outbreak began in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the chance of the virus spreading to neighboring countries remains high. On August 7, 2019, Jean Louison Miango Makunda, UNICEF Burundi's Communication for Development (C4D) consultant on Ebola preparedness (center) distributes leaflets during an awareness event in Gatumba, Burundi. © UNICEF/UN0337077/Boujrada By Zineb Boujrada The ongoing outbreak of Ebola virus disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which started in August 2018, has been declared a  public health emergency of international concern . At least 3,200 cases have been reported and more than 2,100 people have died. The risk of the outbreak spreading into neighboring border countries such as Burundi remains high. An Ebola awareness campaign organized by UNICEF Burundi informs local communities on how to prevent the virus from spreading One of the critical crossing points is the border town of Gatumba: an average of...

More than a year after the Ebola outbreak began in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the chance of the virus spreading to neighboring countries remains high. On August 7, 2019, Jean Louison Miango Makunda, UNICEF Burundi's Communication for Development (C4D) consultant on Ebola preparedness (center) distributes leaflets during an awareness event in Gatumba, Burundi. © UNICEF/UN0337077/Boujrada By Zineb Boujrada The ongoing outbreak of Ebola virus disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which started in August 2018, has been declared a  public health emergency of international concern . At least 3,200 cases have been reported and more than 2,100 people have died. The risk of the outbreak spreading into neighboring border countries such as Burundi remains high. An Ebola awareness campaign organized by UNICEF Burundi informs local communities on how to prevent the virus from spreading One of the critical crossing points is the border town of Gatumba: an average of...