News for today's 2018

Ebola outbreak in West Africa

7:08 PM Anonymous 0

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the Ebola outbreak in West Africa to be an international public health emergency that requires an extraordinary response to stop its spread.<br />
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WHO declared similar emergencies for the swine flu pandemic in 2009 and for polio in May.<br />
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The WHO chief, Dr Margaret Chan, said the announcement on Friday is "a clear call for international solidarity" but acknowledged that many countries would probably not have any Ebola cases.<br />
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"Countries affected to date simply do not have the capacity to manage an outbreak of this size and complexity on their own,'' Chan said at a news conference in Geneva.<br />
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"I urge the international community to provide this support on the most urgent basis possible," she added.<br />
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The agency had convened an expert committee this week to assess the severity of the ongoing epidemic - the largest and longest in history.<br />
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The current outbreak of Ebola began in Guinea in March and has since spread to Sierra Leone and Liberia.<br />
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The WHO said the situation is likely to get worse in the coming months.<br />
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There is no licensed treatment or vaccine for Ebola and the death rate has been about 50 percent.<br />
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Unclear impact<br />
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The impact of the WHO declaration is unclear; the declaration about polio does not yet seem to have slowed the spread of virus.<br />
Stopping the world's worst Ebola outbreak?<br />
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During a WHO meeting last week to reconsider the status of polio, experts noted countries had not yet fully applied the recommendations made in May, that there have been more instances of international spread and that outbreaks have worsened in Pakistan and Cameroon.<br />
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Meanwhile, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan declared a national state of emergency on Friday over the Ebola outbreak in Africa's most populous country.<br />
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He approved 1.9bn naira ($11.6m) of emergency funds to contain Ebola in the country, where seven cases have been confirmed since a man fell sick on arrival from Liberia, two of whom have died.<br />
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In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have already elevated their Ebola response to the highest level and has recommended against travelling to West Africa.<br />
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On Thursday, CDC director Dr Tom Frieden told a Congressional hearing that the current outbreak is set to sicken more people than all previous outbreaks of the disease combined.<br />
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"I don't know what the advantage is of declaring an international emergency," said Dr David Heymann, who directed WHO's response to the SARS outbreak and is now a professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.<br />
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"This could bring in more foreign aid but we don't know that yet," he said.

WHO to convene ethical review of experimental treatment for Ebola

11:08 PM Anonymous 0

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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Early next week, WHO will convene a panel of medical ethicists to explore the use of experimental treatment in the ongoing Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Currently there is no registered medicine or vaccine against the virus, but there are several experimental options under development.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The recent treatment of two health workers from Samaritan’s Purse with experimental medicine has raised questions about whether medicine that has never been tested and shown to be safe in people should be used in the outbreak and, given the extremely limited amount of medicine available, if it is used, who should receive it.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“We are in an unusual situation in this outbreak. We have a disease with a high fatality rate without any proven treatment or vaccine,” says Dr Marie-Paule Kieny, Assistant Director-General at the World Health Organization. "We need to ask the medical ethicists to give us guidance on what the responsible thing to do is.”</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The gold standard for assessing new medicine involves a series of trials in humans, starting small to make sure the medicine is safe to use. Then, the studies are expanded to more people to see how effective it is, and how best to use it.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The guiding principle with use of any new medicine is ‘do no harm’. Safety is always the main concern.</span></div>
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Media contact:</h4>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Gregory Hartl<br />WHO Department of Communications<br />Telephone: +41 22 791 44 58<br />Mobile: +41 79 203 67 15<br />E-mail: <a href="mailto:hartlg@who.int" rel="nofollow" style="border: 0px; color: #723475; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">hartlg@who.int</a></span></div>

WHO to convene ethical review of experimental treatment for Ebola

Doctor Who Ebola Ebola Virus Disease hot news New York Daily News news review WHO WHO to convene ethical review of experimental treatment for Ebola

Early next week, WHO will convene a panel of medical ethicists to explore the use of experimental treatment in the ongoing Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Currently there is no registered medicine or vaccine against the virus, but there are several e…

Ebola Outbreak in West Africa 'WHO'

11:05 PM Anonymous 0

<h1 class="headline" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 20px 12px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
WHO Statement on the Meeting of the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee Regarding the 2014 Ebola Outbreak in West Africa</h1>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The first meeting of the Emergency Committee convened by the Director-General under the International Health Regulations (2005) [IHR (2005)] regarding the 2014 Ebola Virus Disease (EVD, or “Ebola”) outbreak in West Africa was held by teleconference on Wednesday, 6 August 2014 from 13:00 to 17:30 and on Thursday, 7 August 2014 from 13:00 to 18:30 Geneva time (CET).</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Members and advisors of the Emergency Committee met by teleconference on both days of the meeting<span style="background-color: whitesmoke; border: 0px; bottom: 0.8ex; font-family: inherit; font-size: 9px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 1px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">1</span>. The following IHR (2005) States Parties participated in the informational session of the meeting on Wednesday, 6 August 2014: Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">During the informational session, the WHO Secretariat provided an update on and assessment of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. The above-referenced States Parties presented on recent developments in their countries, including measures taken to implement rapid control strategies, and existing gaps and challenges in the outbreak response.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-right: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">After discussion and deliberation on the information provided, the Committee advised that:</span></div>
<ul class="disc" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13px; list-style: none outside; margin: 0px 20px 18px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<li style="background-image: url(http://www.who.int/sysmedia/media/style/img/list.gif); background-position: 0% 0.5em; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 2px 0px 1px 18px; vertical-align: baseline;">the Ebola outbreak in West Africa constitutes an ‘extraordinary event’ and a public health risk to other States;</li>
<li style="background-image: url(http://www.who.int/sysmedia/media/style/img/list.gif); background-position: 0% 0.5em; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 2px 0px 1px 18px; vertical-align: baseline;">the possible consequences of further international spread are particularly serious in view of the virulence of the virus, the intensive community and health facility transmission patterns, and the weak health systems in the currently affected and most at-risk countries.</li>
<li style="background-image: url(http://www.who.int/sysmedia/media/style/img/list.gif); background-position: 0% 0.5em; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 2px 0px 1px 18px; vertical-align: baseline;">a coordinated international response is deemed essential to stop and reverse the international spread of Ebola.</li>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">It was the unanimous view of the Committee that the conditions for a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) have been met.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The current EVD outbreak began in Guinea in December 2013. This outbreak now involves transmission in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone. As of 4 August 2014, countries have reported 1 711 cases (1 070 confirmed, 436 probable, 205 suspect), including 932 deaths. This is currently the largest EVD outbreak ever recorded. In response to the outbreak, a number of unaffected countries have made a range of travel related advice or recommendations.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In light of States Parties’ presentations and subsequent Committee discussions, several challenges were noted for the affected countries:</span></div>
<ul class="disc" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13px; list-style: none outside; margin: 0px 20px 18px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<li style="background-image: url(http://www.who.int/sysmedia/media/style/img/list.gif); background-position: 0% 0.5em; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 2px 0px 1px 18px; vertical-align: baseline;">their health systems are fragile with significant deficits in human, financial and material resources, resulting in compromised ability to mount an adequate Ebola outbreak control response;</li>
<li style="background-image: url(http://www.who.int/sysmedia/media/style/img/list.gif); background-position: 0% 0.5em; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 2px 0px 1px 18px; vertical-align: baseline;">inexperience in dealing with Ebola outbreaks; misperceptions of the disease, including how the disease is transmitted, are common and continue to be a major challenge in some communities;</li>
<li style="background-image: url(http://www.who.int/sysmedia/media/style/img/list.gif); background-position: 0% 0.5em; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 2px 0px 1px 18px; vertical-align: baseline;">high mobility of populations and several instances of cross-border movement of travellers with infection;</li>
<li style="background-image: url(http://www.who.int/sysmedia/media/style/img/list.gif); background-position: 0% 0.5em; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 2px 0px 1px 18px; vertical-align: baseline;">several generations of transmission have occurred in the three capital cities of Conakry (Guinea); Monrovia (Liberia); and Freetown (Sierra Leone); and</li>
<li style="background-image: url(http://www.who.int/sysmedia/media/style/img/list.gif); background-position: 0% 0.5em; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 2px 0px 1px 18px; vertical-align: baseline;">a high number of infections have been identified among health-care workers, highlighting inadequate infection control practices in many facilities.</li>
</ul>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Committee provided the following advice to the Director-General for her consideration to address the Ebola outbreak in accordance with IHR (2005).</span></div>
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States with Ebola transmission</h3>
<ul class="disc" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13px; list-style: none outside; margin: 0px 20px 18px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<li style="background-image: url(http://www.who.int/sysmedia/media/style/img/list.gif); background-position: 0% 0.5em; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 2px 0px 1px 18px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Head of State should declare a national emergency; personally address the nation to provide information on the situation, the steps being taken to address the outbreak and the critical role of the community in ensuring its rapid control; provide immediate access to emergency financing to initiate and sustain response operations; and ensure all necessary measures are taken to mobilize and remunerate the necessary health care workforce.</li>
<li style="background-image: url(http://www.who.int/sysmedia/media/style/img/list.gif); background-position: 0% 0.5em; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 2px 0px 1px 18px; vertical-align: baseline;">Health Ministers and other health leaders should assume a prominent leadership role in coordinating and implementing emergency Ebola response measures, a fundamental aspect of which should be to meet regularly with affected communities and to make site visits to treatment centres.</li>
<li style="background-image: url(http://www.who.int/sysmedia/media/style/img/list.gif); background-position: 0% 0.5em; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 2px 0px 1px 18px; vertical-align: baseline;">States should activate their national disaster/emergency management mechanisms and establish an emergency operation centre, under the authority of the Head of State, to coordinate support across all partners, and across the information, security, finance and other relevant sectors, to ensure efficient and effective implementation and monitoring of comprehensive Ebola control measures. These measures must include infection prevention and control (IPC), community awareness, surveillance, accurate laboratory diagnostic testing, contact tracing and monitoring, case management, and communication of timely and accurate information among countries. For all infected and high risks areas, similar mechanisms should be established at the state/province and local levels to ensure close coordination across all levels.</li>
<li style="background-image: url(http://www.who.int/sysmedia/media/style/img/list.gif); background-position: 0% 0.5em; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 2px 0px 1px 18px; vertical-align: baseline;">States should ensure that there is a large-scale and sustained effort to fully engage the community – through local, religious and traditional leaders and healers – so communities play a central role in case identification, contact tracing and risk education; the population should be made fully aware of the benefits of early treatment.</li>
<li style="background-image: url(http://www.who.int/sysmedia/media/style/img/list.gif); background-position: 0% 0.5em; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 2px 0px 1px 18px; vertical-align: baseline;">It is essential that a strong supply pipeline be established to ensure that sufficient medical commodities, especially personal protective equipment (PPE), are available to those who appropriately need them, including health care workers, laboratory technicians, cleaning staff, burial personnel and others that may come in contact with infected persons or contaminated materials.</li>
<li style="background-image: url(http://www.who.int/sysmedia/media/style/img/list.gif); background-position: 0% 0.5em; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 2px 0px 1px 18px; vertical-align: baseline;">In areas of intense transmission (e.g. the cross border area of Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia), the provision of quality clinical care, and material and psychosocial support for the affected populations should be used as the primary basis for reducing the movement of people, but extraordinary supplemental measures such as quarantine should be used as considered necessary.</li>
<li style="background-image: url(http://www.who.int/sysmedia/media/style/img/list.gif); background-position: 0% 0.5em; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 2px 0px 1px 18px; vertical-align: baseline;">States should ensure health care workers receive: adequate security measures for their safety and protection; timely payment of salaries and, as appropriate, hazard pay; and appropriate education and training on IPC, including the proper use of PPEs.</li>
<li style="background-image: url(http://www.who.int/sysmedia/media/style/img/list.gif); background-position: 0% 0.5em; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 2px 0px 1px 18px; vertical-align: baseline;">States should ensure that: treatment centres and reliable diagnostic laboratories are situated as closely as possible to areas of transmission; that these facilities have adequate numbers of trained staff, and sufficient equipment and supplies relative to the caseload; that sufficient security is provided to ensure both the safety of staff and to minimize the risk of premature removal of patients from treatment centres; and that staff are regularly reminded and monitored to ensure compliance with IPC.</li>
<li style="background-image: url(http://www.who.int/sysmedia/media/style/img/list.gif); background-position: 0% 0.5em; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 2px 0px 1px 18px; vertical-align: baseline;">States should conduct exit screening of all persons at international airports, seaports and major land crossings, for unexplained febrile illness consistent with potential Ebola infection. The exit screening should consist of, at a minimum, a questionnaire, a temperature measurement and, if there is a fever, an assessment of the risk that the fever is caused by EVD. Any person with an illness consistent with EVD should not be allowed to travel unless the travel is part of an appropriate medical evacuation.</li>
<li style="background-image: url(http://www.who.int/sysmedia/media/style/img/list.gif); background-position: 0% 0.5em; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 2px 0px 1px 18px; vertical-align: baseline;">There should be no international travel of Ebola contacts or cases, unless the travel is part of an appropriate medical evacuation. To minimize the risk of international spread of EVD:</li>
<ul class="disc" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; list-style: none outside; margin: 0px 0px 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 36px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<li style="background: url(http://www.who.int/sysmedia/media/style/img/list.gif) 0% 0.5em no-repeat; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 2px 0px 1px 18px; vertical-align: baseline;">Confirmed cases should immediately be isolated and treated in an Ebola Treatment Centre with no national or international travel until 2 Ebola-specific diagnostic tests conducted at least 48 hours apart are negative;</li>
<li style="background: url(http://www.who.int/sysmedia/media/style/img/list.gif) 0% 0.5em no-repeat; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 2px 0px 1px 18px; vertical-align: baseline;">Contacts (which do not include properly protected health workers and laboratory staff who have had no unprotected exposure) should be monitored daily, with restricted national travel and no international travel until 21 days after exposure;</li>
<li style="background: url(http://www.who.int/sysmedia/media/style/img/list.gif) 0% 0.5em no-repeat; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 2px 0px 1px 18px; vertical-align: baseline;">Probable and suspect cases should immediately be isolated and their travel should be restricted in accordance with their classification as either a confirmed case or contact.</li>
</ul>
<li style="background-image: url(http://www.who.int/sysmedia/media/style/img/list.gif); background-position: 0% 0.5em; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 2px 0px 1px 18px; vertical-align: baseline;">States should ensure funerals and burials are conducted by well-trained personnel, with provision made for the presence of the family and cultural practices, and in accordance with national health regulations, to reduce the risk of Ebola infection. The cross-border movement of the human remains of deceased suspect, probable or confirmed EVD cases should be prohibited unless authorized in accordance with recognized international biosafety provisions.</li>
<li style="background-image: url(http://www.who.int/sysmedia/media/style/img/list.gif); background-position: 0% 0.5em; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 2px 0px 1px 18px; vertical-align: baseline;">States should ensure that appropriate medical care is available for the crews and staff of airlines operating in the country, and work with the airlines to facilitate and harmonize communications and management regarding symptomatic passengers under the IHR (2005), mechanisms for contact tracing if required and the use of passenger locator records where appropriate.</li>
<li style="background-image: url(http://www.who.int/sysmedia/media/style/img/list.gif); background-position: 0% 0.5em; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 2px 0px 1px 18px; vertical-align: baseline;">States with EVD transmission should consider postponing mass gatherings until EVD transmission is interrupted.</li>
</ul>
<h3 class="section_head1" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 20px 9px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
States with a potential or confirmed Ebola Case, and unaffected States with land borders with affected States</h3>
<ul class="disc" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13px; list-style: none outside; margin: 0px 20px 18px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<li style="background-image: url(http://www.who.int/sysmedia/media/style/img/list.gif); background-position: 0% 0.5em; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 2px 0px 1px 18px; vertical-align: baseline;">Unaffected States with land borders adjoining States with Ebola transmission should urgently establish surveillance for clusters of unexplained fever or deaths due to febrile illness; establish access to a qualified diagnostic laboratory for EVD; ensure that health workers are aware of and trained in appropriate IPC procedures; and establish rapid response teams with the capacity to investigate and manage EVD cases and their contacts.</li>
<li style="background-image: url(http://www.who.int/sysmedia/media/style/img/list.gif); background-position: 0% 0.5em; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 2px 0px 1px 18px; vertical-align: baseline;">Any State newly detecting a suspect or confirmed Ebola case or contact, or clusters of unexplained deaths due to febrile illness, should treat this as a health emergency, take immediate steps in the first 24 hours to investigate and stop a potential Ebola outbreak by instituting case management, establishing a definitive diagnosis, and undertaking contact tracing and monitoring.</li>
<li style="background-image: url(http://www.who.int/sysmedia/media/style/img/list.gif); background-position: 0% 0.5em; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 2px 0px 1px 18px; vertical-align: baseline;">If Ebola transmission is confirmed to be occurring in the State, the full recommendations for <i>States with Ebola Transmission</i> should be implemented, on either a national or subnational level, depending on the epidemiologic and risk context.</li>
</ul>
<h3 class="section_head1" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 20px 9px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
All States</h3>
<ul class="disc" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13px; list-style: none outside; margin: 0px 20px 18px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<li style="background-image: url(http://www.who.int/sysmedia/media/style/img/list.gif); background-position: 0% 0.5em; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 2px 0px 1px 18px; vertical-align: baseline;">There should be no general ban on international travel or trade; restrictions outlined in these recommendations regarding the travel of EVD cases and contacts should be implemented.</li>
<li style="background-image: url(http://www.who.int/sysmedia/media/style/img/list.gif); background-position: 0% 0.5em; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 2px 0px 1px 18px; vertical-align: baseline;">States should provide travelers to Ebola affected and at-risk areas with relevant information on risks, measures to minimize those risks, and advice for managing a potential exposure.</li>
<li style="background-image: url(http://www.who.int/sysmedia/media/style/img/list.gif); background-position: 0% 0.5em; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 2px 0px 1px 18px; vertical-align: baseline;">States should be prepared to detect, investigate, and manage Ebola cases; this should include assured access to a qualified diagnostic laboratory for EVD and, where appropriate, the capacity to manage travelers originating from known Ebola-infected areas who arrive at international airports or major land crossing points with unexplained febrile illness.</li>
<li style="background-image: url(http://www.who.int/sysmedia/media/style/img/list.gif); background-position: 0% 0.5em; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 2px 0px 1px 18px; vertical-align: baseline;">The general public should be provided with accurate and relevant information on the Ebola outbreak and measures to reduce the risk of exposure.</li>
<li style="background-image: url(http://www.who.int/sysmedia/media/style/img/list.gif); background-position: 0% 0.5em; background-repeat: no-repeat; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 2px 0px 1px 18px; vertical-align: baseline;">States should be prepared to facilitate the evacuation and repatriation of nationals (e.g. health workers) who have been exposed to Ebola.</li>
</ul>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-right: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Committee emphasized the importance of continued support by WHO and other national and international partners towards the effective implementation and monitoring of these recommendations.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-right: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Based on this advice, the reports made by affected States Parties and the currently available information, the Director-General accepted the Committee’s assessment and on 8 August 2014 declared the Ebola outbreak in West Africa a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). The Director-General endorsed the Committee’s advice and issued them as Temporary Recommendations under IHR (2005) to reduce the international spread of Ebola, effective 8 August 2014. The Director-General thanked the Committee Members and Advisors for their advice and requested their reassessment of this situation within 3 months</span></div>

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WHO Statement on the Meeting of the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee Regarding the 2014 Ebola Outbreak in West Africa The first meeting of the Emergency Committee convened by the Director-General under the International Health Re…

PLAGUES & PESTILENCES: MERS Contagion - Deadly MERS Coronavirus Reported In Spain, Patient Just Returned From Hajj In Saudi Arabia; As New Cases Are Reported In Abu Dhabi In The United Arab Emirates!

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<div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: yellow;">November 08, 2013 - SPAIN </span></b>- A woman in Spain has contracted the country’s first case of the Middle  East respiratory syndrome, or MERS, a deadly coronavirus that affects  the respiratory system. According to <a href="http://www.trust.org/item/20131106190453-511ry" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Reuters</a>,  the woman had just returned from Saudi Arabia, where the disease first  cropped up in September 2012. Spain’s Health Ministry announced the  woman’s prognosis on Wednesday.  <br /><br /><br /><div style="background-color: yellow;"><span style="color: red;"><b>Deadly MERS Virus In Spain, Patient Arrives Back From Hajj.</b></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9N8YC9l0lnI/Unw2CViAI5I/AAAAAAABNZ4/7Ae9gJrRwSs/s1600/mers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9N8YC9l0lnI/Unw2CViAI5I/AAAAAAABNZ4/7Ae9gJrRwSs/s1600/mers.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="slide-caption">An electron microscope image of a  coronavirus. A new form of the virus emerged in the Middle East last  year, <br />known as MERS, has killed 64 people, the majority of whom lived in  Saudi Arabia.         </span>                           <span class="slide-credit">          Reuters        </span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><br />The patient, who is originally from Morocco but lives in Spain, is  being treated at a Madrid hospital and is stable, according to a  statement from the health ministry. She was in Saudi Arabia in October.  It is unclear whether she was there to attend the annual Hajj  pilgrimage, during which hundreds of thousands of faithfuls assembled in  Mecca. According to <a href="http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-11-spain-case-deadly-mers-coronavirus.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Medical Express</a>, officials monitored the pilgrimage for a MERS outbreak.<br /><br />MERS was first detected in September 2012. It is caused by a  coronavirus, a common virus throughout the world of which five are known  to infect people and cause illness. According to <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gcyx0QzveaIATh-qvqYGi5iCXkDQ?docId=1266ab1b-464c-4397-b0f4-54d05c61cef4" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">AFP</a>,  MERS is considered the deadlier but less-communicable cousin of the  SARS virus, which infamously spawned an outbreak in Asia in 2003,  infecting more than 8,200 people. Nearly one in 10 of those individuals  died.<br /><br />Of the 150 laboratory-confirmed cases of MERS worldwide since 2012,  64 were deadly. The greatest number of deaths from MERS was in Saudi  Arabia, according to the <a href="http://www.who.int/csr/disease/coronavirus_infections/en/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">World Health Organization</a>,  or WHO. In Europe, there have only been a handful of cases of MERS.  Three of them were in the U.K., two occurred in France and one occurred  in Italy, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/mers/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">reported</a>.<br /><br />The virus, for which there is no vaccine, is spread from ill people  to others through close contact. Recently, WHO announced infections of  MERS in Saudi Arabia and Oman. The cases occurred in two men and one  woman, all between the ages of 49 and 83. At least one of the patients  was known to have been in contact with a previous MERS patient.<br /><br />“The Centre for Health Protection of the DH will seek more  information on the cases from the WHO and the relevant health  authorities,” a Hong Kong Department of Health spokesperson <a href="http://vaccinenewsdaily.com/medical_countermeasures/328268-four-new-cases-of-mers-cov-reported-to-who/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">said</a>.  “The CHP will stay vigilant and continue to work closely with the WHO  and overseas health authorities to monitor the latest developments of  this disease.”<br /><br />Symptoms of MERS coronavirus infection include a severe acute  respiratory illness. Patients experience fever, coughing and shortness  of breath. It differs from SARS in that it causes rapid kidney failure  and has an extremely high death rate; nearly half of all MERS patients  die.<br /><br />Experts are still struggling to understand MERS, which some believe is widespread among camels in the Middle East, according to <a href="http://www.trust.org/item/20131106190453-511ry" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Reuters</a>. - <a href="http://www.ibtimes.com/deadly-mers-coronavirus-reported-spain-patient-just-returned-saudi-arabia-1459114"><span style="color: orange;"><b>IBT</b></span></a>.<br /><br /><br />Health officials in Spain have detected a case of MERS in a woman who recently returned to the country after attending last month’s Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.<br />The above comments confirm that the MERS case in Spain (see map) was infected while on a Hajj pilgrimage, as suggested by statements in the Spain Ministry of Health press release, which noted that she (61F) flew to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) on October 1 and returned on November 1.  Shortly thereafter MERS was confirmed.<br /><br />However, media reports noted that she had been hospitalized in KSA on October 15 and diagnosed as having pneumonia.  However, the etiological agent was not identified.  Disease onset on or about October 15 raises the strong possibility that she contracted MERS somewhere along the Hajj route but KSA failed to identify MERS in the above case or the source of her infection.<br /><br />Moreover, travel after the KSA hospitalization increased the potential for transmission to other travelers and significant spread.<br /><br />KSA has maintained that no Hajj pilgrim was diagnosed with MERS, although cases in Riyadh and the Eastern Region (Jubail) were confirmed, with disease onset dates similar to the above case.<br /><br />The confirmation of a Hajj pilgrim in Spain raises serious surveillance and transparency concerns. - <a href="http://www.recombinomics.com/News/11061301/MERS_Spain_Hajj.html"><span style="color: orange;"><b>Recombinomics</b></span></a>.<br /><br /><br /><b><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></b><br /><div style="background-color: yellow;"><b><span style="color: red;">MERS Diagnosed In Patient In Abu Dhabi Hospital.</span></b></div></div></div></div> A 75-year-old Omani is in hospital in Abu Dhabi suffering from the <a href="http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/health/emirati-82-dies-in-abu-dhabi-after-contracting-mers-virus">MERS</a> coronavirus.<br /><br />The victim, who was visiting the UAE, began to suffer from respiratory symptoms last month and is now in intensive care. <br /><br />The diagnosis of Middle East respiratory syndrome was revealed by the Health Authority Abu Dhabi today, reported the state news agency Wam. <br /><br />The health authority is coordinating with the Ministry of Health and other organisations as it treats the patient. <br /><br />The authority said it had taken the necessary precautionary measures in line with international standards and recommendations set out by the World Health Organisation (WHO). <br /><br />The ministry said WHO issued the first international alert about the disease in September last year. <br /><br />So far, the organisation has confirmed 150 cases of infection of Mers.<br /><br />WHO has said the virus was now not a public health concern, and the current situation did not require travel bans to any country, screening at points of entry, or any trade restrictions. <br /><br />The ministry assured the public that it was monitoring the situation closely to ensure everyone’s health and safety. - <a href="http://www.thenational.ae/uae/health/mers-coronavirus-diagnosed-in-patient-in-abu-dhabi-hospital"><span style="color: orange;"><b>The National</b></span></a>.<br /><br /><br />Her symptoms began Oct 15 with cough and fever, and she was seen at a hospital emergency department of a Mecca hospital on Oct 28 and 29, where health workers diagnosed her as having pneumonia, based on chest x-ray findings.<br /><br />According to the ECDC, the patient was sick during the flight and needed oxygen treatment while she was aboard.<br /><br />The health ministry said she was in Medina from Oct 2 through Oct 10 and in Mecca from Oct 11 through Nov 1.<br /><br />The above comments confirmed media reports which noted a disease onset date of October 15 for the above case (61F) as well as a Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) diagnosis of pneumonia.  The peak of Hajj activity was between Oct 13-18, corresponding with the patient’s travel to Mecca.<br /><br />The disease onset date of Oct 15 suggests she was infected in Medina, where KSA reported confirmed cases at the end of Ramadan, which was also linked to a Qatari who traveled from Medina to Qatar and developed symptoms on the day of his arrival, which was subsequently linked to onward transmission in Qatar.  Although WHO noted that the Qatari did not perform Umrah or visit the Grand Mosque, his MERS infection became symptomatic after his attendance at a Medina clinic.<br /><br />Thus, the presence of MERS in Medina after Ramadan raised concerns that Hajj pilgrims would be at risk and even though KSA cited the absence of any confirmed cases in Hajj or Ramadan pilgrims. MERS is widespread in KSA, including the Ramadan large cluster in Medina.<br /><br />The recent MERS case was traveling and attending the Hajj in KSA while symptomatic and flew from Jeddah (see map)  to Madrid after she was diagnosed with pneumonia in Mecca.<br /><br />This extensive travel strongly suggest the number of MERS infections in Hajj pilgrims is high, KSA detection / reporting failures notwithstanding. - <a href="http://www.recombinomics.com/News/11071301/MERS_Hajj_Journey.html"><span style="color: orange;"><b>Recombinomics</b></span></a>.<br /><br /><br /><br /></div>

PLAGUES & PESTILENCES: MERS Contagion - Deadly MERS Coronavirus Reported In Spain, Patient Just Returned From Hajj In Saudi Arabia; As New Cases Are Reported In Abu Dhabi In The United Arab Emirates!

China Coronavirus Diseases Epidemic France Hajj Infections MERS Novel Coronavirus Outbreak Pestilences Plagues Pneumonia-Like Symptoms Qatar SARS-Related Virus Saudi Arabia Spain WHO PLAGUES & PESTILENCES: MERS Contagion - Deadly MERS Coronavirus Reported In Spain, Patient Just Returned From Hajj In Saudi Arabia; As New Cases Are Reported In Abu Dhabi In The United Arab Emirates!

November 08, 2013 - SPAIN - A woman in Spain has contracted the country’s first case of the Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS, a deadly coronavirus that affects the respiratory system. According to Reuters, the woman had just returned from…

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PLAGUES & PESTILENCES: MERS Contagion - Deadly MERS Coronavirus Reported In Spain, Patient Just Returned From Hajj In Saudi Arabia; As New Cases Are Reported In Abu Dhabi In The United Arab Emirates!

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