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African Leaders and W.H.O. Intensify Effort to Combat Ebola Virus African Leaders and W.H.O. Intensify Effort to Combat Ebola Virus
(about 4 hours later)
ABUJA, Nigeria — The leaders of West African nations ravaged by the worst known outbreak of the Ebola virus were set to meet on Friday with the head of the World Health Organization to introduce a $100 million plan to deploy hundreds more medical professionals in support of overstretched regional and international health workers. ABUJA, Nigeria — The leaders of West African nations ravaged by the worst known outbreak of the Ebola virus gathered on Friday to meet with the head of the World Health Organization for the introduction of a $100 million plan to deploy hundreds more medical professionals in support of overstretched regional and international health workers.
The gathering will come a day after West African leaders seemed to quicken the pace of efforts to combat the disease, in what some analysts depicted as a belated acknowledgment that the response so far had been inadequate. The encounter was set a day after West African leaders seemed to quicken the pace of efforts to combat the disease, in what some analysts depicted as a belated acknowledgment that the response so far had been inadequate.
The outbreak, identified in March, has claimed 729 lives, according to the W.H.O., and shows no sign of abating. This has prompted prompting two of the three most affected countries — Sierra Leone and Liberia — to announce emergency measures including the closure of schools, house-to-house searches for infected people and the deployment of the army and the police. Indeed, before the meeting, there were indications of discord. The leader of Guinea’s Ebola task force said that emergency measures in Liberia, where schools have been closed, and Sierra Leone could set back efforts to control the worst outbreak of the virus since it was identified almost four decades ago.
The meeting on Friday will be held in Conakry, the capital of Guinea — the third of the most affected countries. “Currently, some measures taken by our neighbors could make the fight against Ebola even harder,” Aboubacar Sidiki Diakité, the Ebola task force leader, told Reuters.
One person, a traveler from Liberia, died in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, which introduced airport screening of travelers from the stricken region on Thursday. “When children are not supervised, they can go anywhere and make the problem worse. It is part of what we will be talking about.”
“The scale of the Ebola outbreak, and the persistent threat it poses, requires W.H.O. and Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone to take the response to a new level,,” said Margaret Chan, the director general of the W.H.O., which is based in Geneva. “This will require increased resources, in-country medical expertise, regional preparedness and coordination.” The outbreak, identified in March, has claimed 729 lives, according to the W.H.O., and shows no sign of abating, prompting emergency measures that, in Sierra Leone, included house-to-house searches for infected people and the deployment of the army and the police.
The meeting on Friday will be held in Conakry, the capital of Guinea.
One person, traveling from Liberia, died in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, which introduced airport screening of travelers from the stricken region on Thursday.
“The scale of the Ebola outbreak, and the persistent threat it poses, requires W.H.O. and Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone to take the response to a new level, and this will require increased resources, in-country medical expertise, regional preparedness and coordination,” said Margaret Chan, the director general of the W.H.O., which is based in Geneva.
A W.H.O. statement said the $100 million plan “identifies the need for several hundred more personnel to be deployed in affected countries to supplement overstretched treatment facilities.”A W.H.O. statement said the $100 million plan “identifies the need for several hundred more personnel to be deployed in affected countries to supplement overstretched treatment facilities.”
Hundreds of international aid workers and W.H.O. specialists “are already supporting national and regional response efforts,” the statement said. “But more are urgently required. Of greatest need are clinical doctors and nurses, epidemiologists, social mobilization experts, logisticians and data managers.”Hundreds of international aid workers and W.H.O. specialists “are already supporting national and regional response efforts,” the statement said. “But more are urgently required. Of greatest need are clinical doctors and nurses, epidemiologists, social mobilization experts, logisticians and data managers.”
“The plan also outlines the need to increase preparedness systems in neighboring nations and strengthen global capacities,” the statement said. The new strategy is intended to stop the transmission of the Ebola virus within the most affected countries and to prevent the spread of the virus to neighboring countries across the region’s largely porous borders. “The plan also outlines the need to increase preparedness systems in neighboring nations and strengthen global capacities,” the statement said. The new strategy is intended to stop the transmission of the Ebola virus within the most affected countries and prevent the spread of the virus to neighboring countries across the region’s largely porous borders.
Part of the plan would involve improved communication “so that people know how to avoid infection and what to do if they fear they may have come into contact with the virus,” the statement added. “Improving prevention, detecting and reporting suspected cases, referring people infected with the disease for medical care, as well as psychosocial support, are key.”Part of the plan would involve improved communication “so that people know how to avoid infection and what to do if they fear they may have come into contact with the virus,” the statement added. “Improving prevention, detecting and reporting suspected cases, referring people infected with the disease for medical care, as well as psychosocial support, are key.”
The W.H.O. called the outbreak “unprecedented” in its scale, although there has been criticism of the response so far. “The whole thing has been very incompetently handled,” said Lansana Gberie, a historian from Sierra Leone.The W.H.O. called the outbreak “unprecedented” in its scale, although there has been criticism of the response so far. “The whole thing has been very incompetently handled,” said Lansana Gberie, a historian from Sierra Leone.
In addition to fatalities, 1,323 confirmed and suspected cases have also been reported. In addition to fatalities, 1,323 confirmed and suspected cases have also been reported. As the alarms about the outbreak grew, so, too, have concerns that the disease will be carried further afield by travelers from the stricken countries. The African Union, for instance, announced on Friday that it was postponing a routine rotation of its peacekeeping force in Somalia for fear that new soldiers arriving from Sierra Leone could be infected.
The outbreak has raised concerns far beyond Africa, despite official efforts to tamp down such fears.The outbreak has raised concerns far beyond Africa, despite official efforts to tamp down such fears.
At the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Moses Sesay, a cyclist from Sierra Leone, told the British tabloid The Daily Mirror that he had been quarantined for four days and tested for Ebola after feeling ill. The Philippines said Friday that it was introducing health travelers from Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, who would be screened when they arrived and monitored for a month. Lebanon was reported to have suspended work permits for residents of the same three countries, news reports said. Dubai’s Emirates airline said it was suspending flights to Conakry as of Saturday.
At the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Moses Sesay, a cyclist from Sierra Leone, told the British tabloid The Daily Mirror that he had been quarantined for four days and tested for Ebola after feeling ill. He has since been pronounced healthy.
“I was sick. I felt tired and listless,” he said. “All the doctors were in special suits to treat me — they dressed like I had Ebola. I was very scared.”“I was sick. I felt tired and listless,” he said. “All the doctors were in special suits to treat me — they dressed like I had Ebola. I was very scared.”
The Ebola tests were negative. Jackie Brock-Doyle, a spokeswoman for the games, told reporters on Friday: “Just to be really clear, there is no Ebola in the athletes’ village, there is no Ebola virus in Scotland.”
Only weeks after the beginning of the outbreak, the Italian authorities tightened health checks at airports and on ships from West Africa. But epidemiologists in Italy suggested there was little risk that the hundreds of undocumented migrants that reach southern Italy every day, often after long boat journeys from North Africa, were carrying the virus. Ms. Brock-Doyle said there had been no confirmation of newspaper reports that a second athlete from Sierra Leone, the mountain biker Mohamed Tholley, had gone missing in Scotland.
Only weeks after the beginning of the outbreak, the Italian authorities tightened health checks at airports and on ships from West Africa. But epidemiologists in Italy suggested there was little risk that the hundreds of unauthorized migrants that reach southern Italy every day, often after long boat journeys from North Africa, were carrying the virus.
“Migrants cross the desert in journeys that take weeks, if not months, before getting on a boat to Europe. They would manifest the disease long before arriving,” Dr. Massimo Galli, a specialist in infectious diseases at University Hospital in Milan, said in a telephone interview. “The incubation time is about a week. No one would survive the trip on land.”“Migrants cross the desert in journeys that take weeks, if not months, before getting on a boat to Europe. They would manifest the disease long before arriving,” Dr. Massimo Galli, a specialist in infectious diseases at University Hospital in Milan, said in a telephone interview. “The incubation time is about a week. No one would survive the trip on land.”
“The only way in which a sick patient could spread the virus is if he or she gets on a plane to Europe,” he said. “With such an emergency level, it’s extremely unlikely.”“The only way in which a sick patient could spread the virus is if he or she gets on a plane to Europe,” he said. “With such an emergency level, it’s extremely unlikely.”
The White House press secretary, Josh Earnest, said on Thursday that the United States was considering a medical evacuation to bring home American aid workers diagnosed with Ebola. Two health workers who were infected in Liberia were in grave condition, according to a statement on the website of the organization Samaritan’s Purse.The White House press secretary, Josh Earnest, said on Thursday that the United States was considering a medical evacuation to bring home American aid workers diagnosed with Ebola. Two health workers who were infected in Liberia were in grave condition, according to a statement on the website of the organization Samaritan’s Purse.