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  • Red Cross Ups Its Response to Ebola Crisis in West Africa, Death Toll Continues To Rise

    The Red Cross says it plans to train more than 2,000 extra volunteers in an effort to combat the deadly Ebola outbreak in west Africa.

    “With dozens of new cases emerging daily, this outbreak is showing no signs of slowing down,” said Alasan Senghore, head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies’ Africa unit, in a statement on Thursday.

    “People are dying. If we are serious about stopping Ebola, we cannot afford to delay ramping up our response,” he said.

    Since the outbreak began in March, IFRC said it has already trained approximately 3,500 volunteers in the three hardest-hit countries of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. With the additional trainees, the IFRC hopes to bring that number to over 5,600 volunteers.

    A reported 2,296 deaths attributed to Ebola have been reported in those three countries, according to the World Health Organization.

    “Engaging communities through our trained volunteers will have an immediate and large pay-off, as messages of prevention will be shared by community members themselves,” Senghore said.

    IFRC said it was significantly revising its fundraising goals to $32.3 million, an increase of more than $25 million, in oder to address the devastation in west Africa.

    With increased funding, the organization plans to reach 21.9 million people — more than double the number it had originally targeted — by expanding its operations into new districts and countries.

    Much of the funding will be used for increased communication and awareness-raising in affected communities. It would also help pay for a new 60-bed Ebola treatment center in Sierra Leone.

    In addition to the three hardest-hit countries, IFRC said it has also launched an emergency appeal for $1.6 million to fund operations in Nigeria, where eight people have died from Ebola.

    It has also upped its response in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where 35 people have died from a different strain of Ebola.

  • Ebola Virus: Fears Mount as Mob Attacks Aid Workers

    Recent media coverage seems to be focusing on the missing MH370 plane, but reports coming out of Ebola-stricken Guinea are becoming very disconcerting.

    Fear, anger and uncertainty led a mob to attack international aid workers struggling to contain a deadly outbreak of the Ebola virus Saturday in Guinea.

    Doctors without Borders — which goes by its French initials MSF (Médecins Sans Frontières) — suspended treatment in the southeastern town of Macenta Friday after crowds attacked one of its centers.

    Sam Taylor, a spokesman for MSF, said no one was seriously injured when rocks were thrown at workers.

    “We understand very well that people are afraid because it is a new disease here,” Taylor said. “But these are not favorable working conditions so we are suspending our activities.”

    Conakry officials said the attack occurred following rumors that the virus was “imported into Guinea or that Ebola fever does not exist in our country.”

    According to reports, 137 suspected or confirmed Ebola cases have been recorded since the beginning of the year leading to 86 deaths so far.

    MSF said the outbreak is an “unprecedented epidemic” and warns that it is struggling to contain the hemorrhagic fever.

    In a statement Saturday, Guinea officials said lawbreakers would be punished and called “for calm and serenity to enable our partners to support us to eradicate this epidemic.”

    “The government has protested against such information and reiterates that only the recognition of the existence of the disease will help in the fight against it,” it said.

    “The contribution of (MSF) and all international organisations that are supporting Guinea in the fight against the pandemic is invaluable and has helped so far to contain the disease,” the government said. “Without these partners, the disease would not be under control today.”

    Several other west African countries have geared up to tackle the epidemic including Mali, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

    The Ebola virus — transmitted to humans from wild animals, and between humans through direct contact with another’s blood, faeces or sweat — leads to hemorrhagic fever, which causes muscle pain, weakness, vomiting, diarrhoea and, in severe cases, organ failure and unstoppable bleeding.

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  • Ebola Outbreak Spreads To Liberia And Sierra Leone

    The outbreak that had medical officials scrambling in an effort to contain the Ebola virus which struck Guinea last week, is suspected to be spreading to outlaying areas.

    There are no known treatments or vaccines for the Ebola (hemorrhagic fever,) virus which kills up to 90 percent of those who become infected. Once humans are infected with Ebola, they become highly contagious and pass the virus on to others who come in close contact with them either by exposure to contaminated objects that carry bodily fluids or blood of the infected persons, or the infected persons themselves.

    Considered the biggest Ebola outbreak in seven years, which has claimed nearly 60 lives, and sickened hundreds, might have spread to Liberia and threatens Sierra Leone.

    Five people are suspected to have died from the disease in Lofa county in northern Liberia, Bernice Dahn, Liberia’s chief medical officer, said at a briefing today.

    “The forest region where Unicef delivered the emergency assistance on Saturday is located along the border with Sierra Leone and Liberia with many people doing business and moving between the three countries,” said Laurent Duvillier, a Unicef spokesman, in an e-mail today. “Risk of international spread should be taken seriously.”

    Unicef plans to dispatch 5 metric tons of aid, including medical supplies, to the worst-affected areas. Suspected cases of the lethal hemorrhagic disease were being investigated in Guinea’s southeast border areas, the World Health Organization said yesterday.

    “The three cases, which were registered in Conakry, have no link with Ebola,” Government spokesman Damantang Albert Camara said. “The analyses were made abroad. The outbreak of the disease may be heavier than 59 but the health ministry will release a statement on the disease soon.”

    The World Health Organization (WHO) is closely monitoring the situation and said that similar cases demonstrating symptoms have also been reported in nearby area of Sierra Leone.

    Dr. Brima Kargbo, the chief medical officer in Sierra Leone is currently investigating the case of a 14-year-old boy who died in the town of Buedu after returning from Guinea. In addition, Kargbo has dispatched a medical team to the town of Buedu to test anyone who came in contact with the 14-year-old boy prior to his death from Ebola viral hemorrhagic fever.

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