Sierra Leone

Ebola pioneer, stem cell researcher honoured with Canada Gairdner Awards

Thu, 2015-03-26 20:38 — mike kraft

CANADIAN PRESS March 25, 2015
One of the co-discoverers of the Ebola virus and a leading Canadian stem cell researcher are among this year's winners of the prestigious Canada Gairdner Awards.

Dr. Peter Piot is the recipient of the Canada Gairdner Global Health Award, recognizing his work on the discovery of the Ebola virus in 1976 and his leadership in the global response to the HIV-AIDS epidemic.

Dr. Janet Rossant, chief of research at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children, is the recipient of the 2015 Canada Gairdner Wightman Award, which honours a Canadian who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in medicine and medical science.

Five international scientists are also being honoured with Canada Gairdner Awards, two each from the United States and Japan and one from Switzerland....

Dr. Peter Piot won the 2015 Canada Gairdner Global Health Award in recognition of his work on the discovery of the Ebola virus in 1976 and his leadership in the global response to the HIV-AIDS epidemic. (David Azia/Associated Press)

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'You cannot stop Ebola' US experts warned British troops

Sun, 2015-03-15 18:28 — mike kraft

THE TELEGRAPH by Ben Farmer March 15, 2015

British commanders were warned last year it was impossible to halt Ebola in Sierra Leone and they were about to lose control of the deadly outbreak in its capital, it has been disclosed.

British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon on the RFA Argus hospital ship in Sierra Leone Photo: Will Wintercross/The Telegraph

United Nations and American experts said there was nothing British troops could do to stop the virus rampaging through the country and they were about to “lose Freetown”.

Loss of the capital would have triggered an international evacuation from the country, the commander of British troops revealed, as he explained for the first time the scale of the outbreak they have been fighting....

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Sierra Leone sees worrying spike in Ebola cases over week

Fri, 2015-03-13 14:12 — mike kraft

ASSOCIATED PRESS by Clarence Roy-Macaulay March 12, 2015
FREETOWN -- Sierra Leone has seen a worrying spike in confirmed Ebola cases over the past week in four districts, the head of the national Ebola response center said Thursday.

New measures must now be put into place to contain the surges, said the head of the National Ebola Response Centre, Alfred Palo Conteh.

Fifteen cases were recorded Wednesday, along with 16 on Monday and Tuesday respectively, according to Sierra Leone's Ministry of Health and Sanitation.

"We are now on a bumpy road to zero number of cases to get to President Ernest Bai Koroma's target of March 31," said Palo Conteh. "It is frustrating."

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http://news.yahoo.com/sierra-leone-sees-worrying-spike-ebola-cases-over-141214859.html;_ylt=AwrBEiTD7gJVy2QANdbQtDMD

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2 Aid Workers In West Africa Are Infected With Ebola

Fri, 2015-03-13 01:15 — mike kraft

NEW YORK TIMES by Sheri Fink and Allan Cowell March 12, 2015

A worker from Partners In Health, the prominent American medical aid organization, and an emergency worker from the British military have been infected with the deadly virus in Sierra Leone, health officials said Thursday.

The Partners In Health worker was the first in that group to be infected since it made an ambitious commitment last fall to help combat Ebola in West Africa, and was the first American health worker in months to get the disease while working in the region. ...

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British Army medic with Ebola evacuated with two other suspected cases

Thu, 2015-03-12 14:15 — mike kraft

THE TELEGRAPH by Victoria Ward and Ben Farmer March 12, 2015

A female Army medic who has caught Ebola while working in Sierra Leone is being flown back to Britain by the RAF, along with two workers who have been in close contact with her.

Beatrice Yordoldo (Seated), an Ebola patient, poses for photographs with medical staff Photo: AFP

Two further health workers who have been exposed to the unnamed soldier are being tested in Sierra Leone and could be evacuated later...

The woman is the third British health care worker confirmed to have caught the deadly virus...

Justine Greening, the Development Secretary, said the checks on the four other workers were "purely precautionary" after they had close contact with the female patient.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/ebola/11466376/British-Army-medic-with-Ebola-being-flown-back-to-UK.html

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Ebola nurse Pauline Cafferkey allowed to work

Sat, 2015-03-07 13:27 — mike kraft

THE SCOTSMAN March 6, 2015

PAULINE Cafferkey, the Scottish nurse who contracted Ebola while working in Sierra Leone, is free to continue working while under investigation, a medical council has ruled.

Pauline Cafferkey flew back to the UK via Casablanca and London Heathrow before landing at Glasgow Airport late on December 28.

She was admitted to hospital in Glasgow early the next morning after feeling feverish, before being diagnosed with the disease.

Last month, Public Health England said it had passed information to the General Medical Council and Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) on three nurses and two doctors after assessing the screening of healthcare workers returning to the UK.

An NMC spokeswoman said:

“The panel decided not to impose an interim order. Pauline Cafferkey is free to practise without restriction.” The full case is likely to be held later this year.

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UK Ebola medics under investigation

Mon, 2015-02-23 14:19 — mike kraft

BBC Feb.23, 2015

Five UK Ebola nurses and doctors are under investigation by regulators, Public Health England says.

They are looking into the screening of medics who flew back to England on 28 December after treating patients in Sierra Leone.

Pauline Cafferkey was diagnosed with Ebola in December after volunteering work in Sierra Leone

On this flight was Scottish nurse Pauline Cafferkey - who developed Ebola - and some of her colleagues.

Questions have arisen over the health assessments and protocols that were followed.

Media reports have suggested Ms Cafferkey may have had signs of Ebola before leaving Sierra Leone but regulators have not commented on this.

http://m.bbc.com/news/health-31586074

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3 pitfalls Ebola recovery must avoid

Thu, 2015-02-19 14:15 — mike kraft

DEVEX by Molly Anders Feb. 19, 2015

...While the Ebola crisis is far from over, officials in government and the international development community have begun to think more the medium and long term. What can they learn from past post-crisis recovery initiatives?

Health worker Alivin Davis poses next to the a board featuring handprints of Ebola survivors in Liberia. Photo by: Neil Brandvold / USAID / CC BY-NC

Devex asked aid officials and government officials from the region how to avoid some of the most common pitfalls that can plague — haunt, even — recovery and reconstruction efforts. Here are three of them.

1. Quality over quantity.

....By not paying closer attention to the economic effects of foreign aid on the local market, humanitarian groups hurt livelihoods and slowed reconstruction in the country.

2. Prioritize local ownership....

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Ebola infection 'linked to visor'

Wed, 2015-02-04 12:54 — mike kraft

THE PRESS ASSOCIATION Feb. 4, 2015
LONDON --A British nurse who contracted Ebola while working in Sierra Leone possibly caught the virus by wearing a visor and not goggles, an investigation has suggested.
Press Association - Save the Children said Pauline Cafferkey, pictured on her return to health, may have contracted Ebola by wearing a visor rather than goggles when treating patients in Sierra Leone

The report by Save the Children said it cannot be completely certain how Pauline Cafferkey contracted Ebola but said both pieces of equipment are "equally safe".

The nurse, from Cambuslang in South Lanarkshire, had volunteered with the charity at the Ebola Treatment Centre (ETC) in Kerry Town before returning to the UK in December....

Save the Children published the findings of an independent review into the possible causes of how the 39-year-old caught the virus. The report said both visors and goggles are safe but there are slight differences in the type of clothing worn with each and in the protocols for putting them on and removing them....

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Ebola tests for UK military worker

Mon, 2015-02-02 15:08 — mike kraft

PRESS ASSOCIATION Feb. 2, 2015

LONDON --A second UK military healthcare worker has been transported back to England after likely exposure to Ebola via a needle-stick injury while treating someone with the virus in Sierra Leone, Public Health England said.

Press Association - The healthcare worker has been admitted to the Royal Free Hospital in London

The healthcare worker arrived in the UK today and has been admitted to the Royal Free Hospital in London where they are undergoing an assessment.

They have not been diagnosed with Ebola and do not have symptoms, Public Health England added.

It comes after another British military healthcare worker was flown back to England for monitoring after suffering a needle-stick injury, also in Sierra Leone.

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https://uk.news.yahoo.com/ebola-tests-uk-military-worker-105839068.html#tDyqh5N

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