Ebola crisis: Nigeria declared free of virus

[Zippyjuan]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29685127

Nigeria has been declared officially free of Ebola after six weeks with no new cases, the World Health Organization (WHO) says.

WHO representative Rui Gama Vaz, speaking in the capital Abuja, said it was a "spectacular success story".

Nigeria won praise for its swift response after a Liberian diplomat brought the disease there in July.

The outbreak has killed more than 4,500 people in West Africa, mostly in Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone.

An estimated 70% of those infected have died in those countries.

The WHO officially declared Senegal Ebola-free on Friday.

Meanwhile, European Union foreign ministers are meeting in Luxembourg to discuss how to strengthen their response to the threat posed by Ebola.

Speaking on the sidelines, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said he expected the meeting to appoint a co-ordinator to galvanise the EU's response to the epidemic.

"My colleagues are unanimous in saying that this idea of a European co-ordinator for the fight against Ebola is a good idea. The name will be chosen in the coming days. I think it's a very important step."

European countries have committed more than 500m euros (£400m; $600m) but the UK is pressing to double that amount.

More at link.

[donnay]

Nigeria has been officially declared Ebola-free today after containing the disease that has killed more than 4,500 people.

Africa’s most populous country, with more than 170 million people, has seen eight people die out of the 20 infected.

But there have been no new cases confirmed since 8 September, meaning Nigeria has passed the 42-day period needed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to confirm it has quashed its Ebola outbreak.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/wo...s-9805484.html


Yet Thomas Eric Duncan's family were given the "All Clear" after 21 days.

The first wave of people who had contact with the original Dallas Ebola patient were taken off a watch list early Monday, marking a moment of relief for more than 40 people even as dozens more continue to be monitored by officials.

Midnight (1 a.m. ET) marked the end of 21 days since the diagnosis of Thomas Eric Duncan, who was treated and died at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas. Ebola has a 21-day incubation period, and when a case is confirmed officials monitor anyone who had contact with that person for three weeks.

Authorities in Texas said Monday that 43 people were cleared from monitoring for symptoms and could resume normal life.

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ebo...duncan-n229491

[FindLiberty]

Good!

[donnay]

[ifthenwouldi]

Don't wanna jinx the Nigerians, but from a distance it looks like they did an excellent job.

[roho76]

That's because they've all been shipped here. Lol

[luctor-et-emergo]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/wo...s-9805484.html


Yet Thomas Eric Duncan's family were given the "All Clear" after 21 days.



http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ebo...duncan-n229491

The incubation period for individuals is 21 days, the time period that has been chosen to determine if the virus is gone has been set at two full incubation periods. There is nothing sinister about this.

[donnay]

The incubation period for individuals is 21 days, the time period that has been chosen to determine if the virus is gone has been set at two full incubation periods. There is nothing sinister about this.

Is 21 days in isolation enough? New study suggests Ebola patients could still be contagious after three-week quarantine

By Snejana Farberov

Twenty one days has been embraced by health experts as the appropriate quarantine time for Ebola patients, but a new study suggests the virus may pose a serious threat beyond the three-week mark.

In his new research paper titled ‘On the Quarantine Period for Ebola Virus‘ published in PLOS Currents: Outbreaks on Tuesday, Dr Charles Haas, of Drexel University, argues that some patients may remain contagious longer than 21 days, thus raising the risk of an epidemic.

According to Haas, a professor of environmental engineering specializing in microbiological risk assessment, the 21-day isolation period that has been recommended by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization is based on potentially flawed data from the 1976 Ebola outbreak in Zaire.

Continued...

[Carlybee]

8 out of 20 infected died...which means 40% of those infected died. Obviously
Nigeria didn't have the same pandemic numbers as the other parts of Africa, but those odds should tell you something.

[donnay]

Forty-nine new Ebola cases in a day leaves bodies piling up in Sierra Leone, as the deadly virus spreads through the teeming capital of Freetown

By Annabel Grossman

So many are dying from Ebola that removing bodies is becoming a problem
Lawmaker Claude Kamanda said more than 20 deaths are reported daily
Sierra Leone is one of three West African nations at epicenter of outbreak
Growing number of Ebola cases are being reported in two western zones
In eastern districts of Kenema and Kailahun the virus appears to be slowing

Dozens of people are being infected with the deadly Ebola virus each day in Sierra Leone, as the terrifying disease tears through the country's capital city, Freetown.

Yesterday, forty-nine new cases were confirmed in just 24 hours, the National Ebola Response Center (NERC) reported. So many people are succumbing to the deadly virus that removing the dead bodies is becoming a serious problem.

Lawmaker Claude Kamanda who represents a western area of the country said that more than 20 deaths are being reported each day.

Continued...

[Cutlerzzz]

8 out of 20 infected died...which means 40% of those infected died. Obviously
Nigeria didn't have the same pandemic numbers as the other parts of Africa, but those odds should tell you something.

Nigeria has three times the per capita income Liberia has and 400 times the GDP.

[Carlybee]

Nigeria has three times the per capita income Liberia has and 400 times the GDP.

Of course they do. They make a lot of money scamming Americans. J/k sorta. My point is Nigeria isn't where the bulk of the infection is and they have hospitals etc whereas some of the dirt poor areas don't so it's no surprise it was easier for them to contain it. My real point though was that 40% of those who were infected died.

[juleswin]

Yay, lets hope its stays that way forever.

First time I am hoping Zippy is right on a story

[juleswin]

Nigeria has three times the per capita income Liberia has and 400 times the GDP.

But 3x of a very small number is still a small number. Its more about good health policy and a bit of luck than money.

[The Freethinker]

Of course they do. They make a lot of money scamming Americans. J/k sorta. My point is Nigeria isn't where the bulk of the infection is and they have hospitals etc whereas some of the dirt poor areas don't so it's no surprise it was easier for them to contain it. My real point though was that 40% of those who were infected died.

I'm not an expert on Africa, but what I do know is that we should all be wise and not lump all African countries together as a gigantic landmass of ultra-corrupt governments ruling over people with precarious facilities and infrastructure. This may be true for parts of Africa and Nigeria's government isn't known for transparency. But Nigeria isn't, say, the Ethiopia of the mid-1980s. They do have oil wealth. Sure, they got plenty of corruption. And so do first-world countries, albeit in different extents and in different manifestations.

I'm glad Nigeria is free of Ebola. The people there can move on with their lives. And it gives us hope. If a 3rd World country like Nigeria has enough leadership and resources to eliminate Ebola, the United States of America, which is far wealthier and enjoys far greater and more diverse resources, can do the same. I know many of us dislike the current chief executive, but him notwithstanding, America is still able to get things done. And America WILL defeat Ebola, at least on its own territory.