Ebola outbreak scale ‘vastly underestimated’

Ebola outbreak scale ‘vastly underestimated’ – WHO
“[WHO] staff at the outbreak sites see evidence that the numbers of reported cases and deaths vastly underestimate the magnitude of the outbreak,” the organization wrote on its website. While no new cases surfaced, the outbreak is expected to continue “for some time” in West African states affected by the virus, the WHO said, adding that the “operational response plan extends over the next several months.” 

Ebola crisis to last ‘at least six months’ – MSF
The outbreak of Ebola in West Africa will take at least six months to bring under control, medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) says. Speaking in Geneva, MSF President Joanne Liu said the situation was “deteriorating faster, and moving faster, than we can respond to”. Earlier, the World Health Organization (WHO) said the scale of the outbreak appeared to be “vastly underestimated”.

The One Question About Ebola That Nobody Can Seem To Answer
How in the world is it possible that more than 170 health workers have been infected by the Ebola virus? That is the one question about Ebola that nobody can seem to answer. The World Health Organization is reporting this as a fact, but no explanation is given as to why this is happening. We are just assured that Ebola “is not airborne” and that getting infected “requires close contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person”. 

Spanish Priest With Ebola Dies; West Africa Death Toll Passes 1,000
Pajares died Tuesday at Carlos III Hospital, the hospital and his order said. The hospital would not confirm that he had been treated with the drug, but his order said earlier that he would be. He is one of only three Ebola patients thought to have received the experimental drug. The others are two Americans evacuated to Atlanta. 

Ethical to use untested Ebola drugs, says WHO
Untested drugs can be used to treat patients infected with the Ebola virus, the World Health Organization says. The WHO said it was ethical in light of the scale of the outbreak and high number of deaths – over 1,000 people have died in west Africa.. The statement was made after its medical experts met in Switzerland on Monday to discuss the issue. 

Nigeria confirms new Ebola case in Lagos: minister
President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday branded a Liberian-American a “madman” for bringing Ebola into Nigeria, as the country announced its 10th confirmed case of the deadly virus.

Eight Chinese quarantined as panic grips Ebola-hit west Africa
Eight Chinese medical workers have been placed in quarantine in Sierra Leone, as health experts grappled with ethical questions over the use of experimental drugs to combat the killer Ebola virus.

Ebola virus: Liberia health system ‘falling apart’
The charity Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) has told the BBC that Liberia’s medical services have been completely overwhelmed by the Ebola outbreak. The MSF co-ordinator in Liberia said official figures were “under-representing the reality”, and that the health system was “falling apart”. Nearly 1,000 people have died and 1,800 have become infected in West Africa.

Battle to contain Ebola outbreak intensifies
A day after the World Health Organisation declared the epidemic an international health emergency, countries as far afield as India were scrambling to impose measures to prevent contagion of the virus which has claimed almost 1000 lives. The UN health agency stopped short of calling for global travel restrictions, but some countries on Sunday began imposing bans.

Nigeria reports tenth Ebola infection
A Nigerian female nurse has tested positive for the Ebola virus, bringing to ten the number of confirmed infections, including two fatalities, registered in Africa’s most populous nation. “[She] has been quarantined in Lagos,” Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu told reporters in capital Abuja. He said the nurse was newly wedded and that her husband had since been placed under observation.  

Ebola outbreak disrupts business and hurts local economy, but damage unlikely to be widespread
Caterpillar has evacuated a handful of employees from Liberia. Canadian Overseas Petroleum Ltd. has suspended a drilling project. British Airways has canceled flights to the region. ExxonMobil and Chevron are waiting to see whether health officials can contain the danger. 

W.H.O. Declares Ebola in West Africa a Health Emergency
Facing the worst known outbreak of the Ebola virus, with almost 1,000 fatalities in West Africa, the World Health Organization declared an international public health emergency on Friday, demanding an “extraordinary” response — only the third such declaration of its kind since regulations permitting such alarms were adopted in 2007.  

Ebola’s spread to US is ‘inevitable’ says CDC chief
Ebola’s spread to the United States is “inevitable” due to the nature of global airline travel, but any outbreak is not likely to be large, US health authorities said Thursday. Already one man with dual US-Liberian citizenship has died from Ebola, after becoming sick on a plane from Monrovia to Lagos and exposing as many as seven other people in Nigeria.