Ebola outbreak spreads panic in West Africa

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Ebola outbreak spreads panic in West Africa

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http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/worl ... a/7214213/
Ebola outbreak spreads panic in West Africa
Jennifer Lazuta, Special for USA TODAY 5:30 p.m. EDT April 2, 2014
Ebola

(Photo: Seyllou, AFP/Getty Images)
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DAKAR, Senegal — The rising death toll and the wide spread of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa has sparked fear across the region with at least 80 already having died from the nearly always fatal virus.

"Every day we're reading about it in the newspaper, hearing about it on the radio, and wondering when it's going to come here," said 32-year-old Mossa Bau, who lives in Dakar, Senegal. "Everyone is very scared because, really, it's a dangerous disease and no one has the means to stop it."

The World Health Organization says that as many as 125 people across three countries are now believed to have contracted the highly contagious disease. Senegal shut off its border with Guinea, where the outbreak is believed to have originated, in the hopes of keeping the disease from spreading its way.

The outbreak was initially contained in four remote towns in south Guinea and health officials had hopes it could be contained there. But the country's Ministry of Health confirmed last week that eight cases arose in the capital, Conakry.

Conarky has a population of almost 2 million people, many of whom live in slums without proper water or sanitation that make an opportune breeding ground for the highly contagious virus.

Two people, including one person who died, tested positive for Ebola in neighboring Liberia. The Ministry of Health there says at least six more people are suspected of contracting the virus, five of whom died. Sierra Leone recorded the same number of fatalities from the virus.

Senegal is north of Guinea and home to a large population of Guineans who frequently travel back and forth to their home country. Health officials in Liberia say that the first suspected cases of Ebola in Liberia came from someone who returned from a trip to Guinea.

"We just keep hoping it won't do any harm here in our country," said Becaye Fall, in Dakar. "The government says it has taken all the necessary measures to keep people in good health, but I'm still worried."

Ebola is one of the most contagious viral diseases known. It is spread throughout contact with bodily fluids, such as the sweat, blood or saliva, of an infected person or animal. One can get it through sex as well.

There is no vaccine against it and there is no known cure. About 90% of people who contract Ebola die. It is spread to humans from other humans and animals. Bats are believed to be a natural carrier of the Ebola virus, but it is also found in primates and so-called bush meat such as antelope.

The first sign one has the virus is a high fever followed by vomiting, diarrhea and body aches. Some people will begin to bleed externally through the eyes, ears and nose.

This is the first time an Ebola outbreak has occurred in West Africa. Countries in central Africa, such as Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the virus is endemic, usually see outbreaks every two to three years.

Health workers have been working to identify and treat suspected cases as well as warn people what to look for in a suspected case and how to avoid infection.

"What we have been doing is giving people the right information," said Roland Berehoudougou, the regional director of Disaster Risk Management for the humanitarian organization Plan International.

"People are really panicked about what is happening there, so providing information about how they can protect themselves is key."

Large quantities of medical supplies have been flown into Guinea, and health workers have been given protective gear. Ester Sterk, a doctor and tropical disease specialist for the international medical organization Doctors Without Borders, said the only way to stop the outbreak is to stop the virus from being passed on.

"It's very important that sick patients be isolated and receive treatment in isolation wards, and also if there are people that have been in contact with patients when they were sick, they need to be closely followed during the period of incubation (which lasts between two and 21 days)," she said. "This is to cut the so-called transmission chain."

The World Health Organization says an Ebola outbreak cannot be declared over until no new cases have been reported for at least 21 days after the last patient shows any symptoms. Berehoudougou said the most important thing now is for people remain calm.

"Yes, there is a risk that it could spread further," he said. "But mitigation measures are in place and the health authorities in the country ... are doing their best to contain it and to prevent it from becoming widespread."
"I fancied myself as some kind of god....It is a sort of disease when you consider yourself some kind of god, the creator of everything, but I feel comfortable about it now since I began to live it out.” -- George Soros
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Re: Ebola outbreak spreads panic in West Africa

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http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/ebola-epid ... -1.2591338
Ebola epidemic could become global crisis, experts warn
8 confirmed cases in capital of Conakry, city of 2 million with an international airport

The Associated Press Posted: Mar 29, 2014 1:24 PM ET Last Updated: Mar 29, 2014 1:24 PM ET
Health officials in Guinea say they are now treating eight cases in the capital Conakry, a port city of two million with an international airport. At least 70 people have died in the country from Ebola infection since last week.

Health officials in Guinea say they are now treating eight cases in the capital Conakry, a port city of two million with an international airport. At least 70 people have died in the country from Ebola infection since last week. (Kjell Beraas/MSF/The Associated Press)


Ebola, one of the world's most deadly viruses, has spread from a remote forested corner of southern Guinea to the country's seaside capital, raising fears that the disease, which causes severe bleeding and almost always death, could spread far beyond this tiny West African nation's borders.

Ebola outbreak in Guinea: 5 things you should know
Ebola virus confirmed in Guinea's capital

In the first outbreak of its kind Guinea, Ebola already has killed at least 70 people including one man whose family brought him to Conakry, the capital, for medical treatment. Now six of his relatives and two others exposed to him are being kept in isolation at a hospital.

Health officials warn that the arrival of Ebola in this sprawling city of some 2 million people with an international airport could spell disaster. Among the poorest countries in the world, Guinea has severely limited medical facilities and a large population living in slums where the virus could spread quickly.

"Poor living conditions and lack of water and sanitation in most parts of Conakry poses a serious risk of this epidemic spiralling into a crisis," said Ibrahima Toure, country director for the aid group Plan International.

Panic already has grown among residents since the government announced the Conakry cases late Thursday on national television. While most days up to 300 patients seek treatment at Donka Hospital, less than 100 came on Friday as news spread that the Ebola patients were being quarantined there.

"My daughter is sick and coughing but I prefer to keep her at home. I wouldn't set foot inside Donka Hospital for anything in the world right now," said Djalikatou Balde, a teacher.
No known cure

International aid groups like Doctors Without Borders and Plan International are trying to educate Guineans about how the disease is spread, and working to identify and isolate anyone who may have been exposed.

There is no cure for the disease and the virus strain in Guinea has a fatality rate of up to 90 percent. Some 111 people have fallen ill already and authorities in neighbouring Liberia and Sierra Leone are also investigating suspected cases.
hi-ebola-virus

Ebola virus, also known as hemorrhagic fever, has a 90 per cent fatality rate in those infected. There is no known cure for the virus, which is believed to be spread by bats and birds.

"Above all, we must avoid widespread panic," said Marie-Christine Ferir, emergency coordinator for Doctors Without Borders. "That is why it is so important to spread correct information so people understand the disease and how to protect themselves."

Medical teams have been travelling on foot to villages where cases have been reported. The number of people possibly contaminated expanded exponentially when the Conakry patient travelled some 430 kilometres across the country in search of help.

The Ebola virus causes severe hemorrhagic fever in patients, in some cases leading to grisly deaths as patients bleed both internally and externally. Its initial symptoms — high fever, headache and weakness — can mimic malaria.

Joseph Gbaka Sandouno, a program unit manager with Plan International in the village of Gueckedou, said it's been especially difficult for people to stay calm after having witnessed "frightening scenes where people have died with severe bleeding."

"People are getting desperate as every other day somebody is dying," he said, noting that 51 of the deaths had taken place there. "People are saying only God can save us now."
"I fancied myself as some kind of god....It is a sort of disease when you consider yourself some kind of god, the creator of everything, but I feel comfortable about it now since I began to live it out.” -- George Soros
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Re: Ebola outbreak spreads panic in West Africa

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http://www.euronews.com/2014/04/04/ebol ... lly-fatal/
Ebola virus in Guinea ‘most aggressive, near totally fatal’

04/04 18:33 CET
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Western Africa is bracing against an unprecedented outbreak of the deadly ebola virus. Guinea is the country affected the worst by the viral hemorrhagic fever. Since January, 86 people have died from it, out of 137 cases.

Shutting down the body’s immune system, ebola is highly contagious, transmitted by contact with the fluids of infected people or animals.

Epidemiologist Michel Van Herp, in Guinea with the non-governmental organisation MSF (Doctors Without Borders) said: “We are facing a scale that has never been seen before, looking at the number of cases in different areas.”

Death tolls in the past have been higher than in Guinea so far, such as in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2001 and Uganda the year before. But this time cases have been found far apart, not geographically concentrated. MSF describes ebola as one of the world’s deadliest diseases. There is no cure.

Van Herp said: “We are facing the most aggressive strain of ebola, the Zaire strain. It kills more than nine out of 10 people infected.”

Identified in 1976 in former Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of Congo, this is the first time ebola has struck in Guinea. It is also thought to have spread to Liberia, Sierra Leona and Mali.

The natural host of this virus is thought to be essentially bats and other animals. Health officials have told people not to eat wild meat. Infected humans can pass the virus on through sex and direct contact with blood, mucus and other bodily fluids.

Research Professor Jean-Jacques Muyembe says: “We think the big bats who eat fruit are the main carriers, but we still have to confirm this. The only way to fight ebola is by practising good hygiene and interrupting the train of transmission, meaning detect the disease rapidly — the people who are already infected — and isolate them.”

Ebola goes from sore throat to fever, muscle pain, headaches, vomiting, diarrhoea, organ failure and blood loss.

Death can take from days to weeks
.
"I fancied myself as some kind of god....It is a sort of disease when you consider yourself some kind of god, the creator of everything, but I feel comfortable about it now since I began to live it out.” -- George Soros
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