Sierra Leone’s vice president in quarantine for Ebola
FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (AP) — Sierra Leone’s vice president has put himself in quarantine following the death from Ebola of one of his security guards.
WHO urges developing countries to fund tropical diseases fight
By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) – The World Health Organization called on developing countries on Thursday to invest $1 per person per year until 2030 to tackle 17 neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and improve the health and well-being of more than 1.5 billion people. “Increased investments by national governments can alleviate human misery, distribute economic gains more evenly and free masses of people long trapped in poverty,” WHO director-general Margaret Chan said in a report.
British health worker being tested for Ebola after needle injury
A British military healthcare worker was flown back to England from Sierra Leone on Saturday following a needle-stick injury sustained while treating a person with Ebola, the Public Health England (PHE) service said on Saturday. The patient, who has not been named, has been taken for testing to the Royal Free Hospital in London. “They are likely to have been exposed to the Ebola virus but, at this time, have not been diagnosed with Ebola and do not have symptoms,” PHE said in a statement. The Royal Free, Britain's main center for Ebola cases, also successfully treated British aid worker William Pooley who contracted the virus in West Africa last year.
Medical charity MSF opens Ebola clinic for pregnant women
By Umaru Fofana FREETOWN (Reuters) – Medical charity Medicins Sans Frontiers (MSF) has opened the first care centre in the current Ebola epidemic for pregnant women, whose survival rate from the virus is virtually zero, the charity said on Saturday. There is currently one patient in the clinic, which is perched on a hill in the compound of a disused Methodist boys high school in the Sierra Leone capital. …
Ebola volunteers should be praised, not stigmatized: UK charities
By Liisa Tuhkanen LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Volunteer medics returning to Britain after fighting the Ebola outbreak in West Africa face unfounded stigma that can be made worse by official safety guidelines, charities said on Tuesday. “These people are putting their lives at risk and instead of being appreciated many of them are facing unfounded stigma on their return,” said Sarah Wilson, communication manager for Ebola response at World Vision. “They should be lauded when they come back home… not discouraged from volunteering. …
UK nurse suffering from Ebola in critical condition: hospital
LONDON (Reuters) – The condition of a British nurse being treated for Ebola in a London hospital is critical after deteriorating over the last two days, the hospital said in a statement on Saturday. The Royal Free Hospital has been treating Pauline Cafferkey with blood plasma from an Ebola survivor and an experimental anti-viral drug. She was diagnosed with the disease last week after returning to Britain late on Dec. 28 from Sierra Leone, where she had been working. Cafferkey is the first person to have been diagnosed with Ebola in Britain. …
Malaria killing thousands more than Ebola in West Africa
GUECKEDOU, Guinea (AP) — West Africa’s fight to contain Ebola has hampered the campaign against malaria, a preventable and treatable disease that is claiming many thousands more lives than the dreaded virus.
Liberian voter turnout low as Ebola overshadows senate election
By James Harding Giahyue MONROVIA (Reuters) – Turnout for Liberian parliamentary elections on Saturday appeared to be low as concerns about Ebola kept many voters at home. Polling stations were largely empty after voting began at 8 a.m. (3.00 a.m. ET) in the seafront capital Monrovia, with voters occasionally drifting in, despite precautions put in place by the National Elections Commission (NEC). Staff with temperature guns at polling stations checked voters for any signs of the hemorrhagic fever, which is spread via bodily fluids. …