ROTTERDAM, December 5 -- Doctors at Utrecht’s main hospital UMC are preparing to receive the country’s first ebola patient, broadcaster Nos says on Friday. The Dutch cabinet has allocated four beds at a special unit in the hospital for international aid workers who have become infected with ebola and need treatment. The patient is a Nigerian man who is being brought to the Netherlands at the request of the World Health Organisation, the Dutch health ministry is quoted as saying. He is said to be a soldier who was serving with the UN peace-keeping forces in Liberia. He will be brought to the Netherlands on a special flight but it is not yet known when he is due to arrive.
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BEIJING, November 6 -- China plans to send around 1,000 medical workers and experts to West Africa to help combat Ebola outbreak. China says it plans to send around 1,000 medical workers and experts to West Africa to help in the fight against the deadly Ebola outbreak that has claimed nearly 5,000 lives. China's National Health and Family Planning Commission said on Wednesday, it was planning to send "1,000 medical workers and public health experts" to Ebola-afflicted countries. "In the months to come, more than 1,000 medical workers and public health experts will be sent by China to assist in the battle against Ebola in West African countries," state-run Xinhua news agency reported. China, Africa's biggest trade partner, has come under fierce criticism for not doing enough in the fight against the worst outbreak of Ebola on record. While Beijing has already sent a total of 252 people to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, the three hardest-hit countries, Cuba has sent 165 doctors and nurses to help efforts in Sierra Leone and plans to send 296 others soon to Liberia and Guinea. On Friday, China's Foreign Ministry said it would send an elite unit of the People's Liberation Army to help Liberia, the country worst-hit by the outbreak that has killed 4,951 people out of 13,567 infected in eight countries. Doctors and nurses have been the most vulnerable to contracting Ebola, because the virus is spread through bodily fluids. More than 500 health workers have contracted Ebola, and around half have died. The World Health Organisation (WHO) says 4,500 health workers are still needed. SEOUL. October 4 -- Asian countries are not contributing enough to the global effort to fight Ebola, despite having a wealth of trained medical personnel who could help stop the spread of the deadly virus, World Bank Group president, Jim Yong Kim, said. Addressing a news conference in South Korea's capital Seoul on Tuesday, Kim called on leaders across Asia to send trained health professionals to the three West African countries hardest hit by the epidemic. "Many countries in Asia who could help simply are not [helping], especially when it comes to sending health workers," Kim told the news conference. Thousands of healthcare workers are needed to help combat the deadliest outbreak of Ebola since records began in 1976. The virus has killed nearly 5,000 people, mainly in the West African countries of Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone. South Korea has pledged to contribute $5.6m to combat the virus, and both Japan and China have sent equipment or medical staff to the Ebola-stricken countries in West Africa. China has so far donated $123m to 13 African countries and international organisations to combat Ebola, according to the government. It has also sent hundreds of health workers. But the overall response from Asia has lagged contributions from the United States, which has sent thousands of troops and has pledged $1bn. "We need thousands of health workers, and we're going to need them over the next six months to a year. The fight against Ebola is not over until we get to zero cases in those three countries," Kim said. OTTAWA, November 1 -- Visa applications from worst-affected nations suspended in move slammed as ineffective and disheartening by critics. Canada has suspended visa applications for residents and nationals of countries with "widespread transmission" of the Ebola virus, becoming the second nation after Australia to introduce such a measure. The countries most severely hit by the worst Ebola outbreak ever are Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. Canada has not yet had a case of the disease. The similar move by Australia was slammed on Wednesday by Dr Margaret Chan, the World Health Organisation's director general, who said closing borders won't stop spread of the Ebola virus. Canadians, including healthcare workers, in West Africa will be permitted to travel back to Canada, the government said. Kevin Menard, a spokesman for Canada's immigration ministry, said the government has "instituted a pause" in issuing visas for foreigners from risky countries, but noted "there was room for discretion if we can be assured that someone is not infected with the virus," according to the Associated Press news agency. Nancy Caron, a spokesman for Citizenship and Immigration Canada, said that "a number of African countries have imposed stricter travel bans as have several other countries around the world. Other countries such as the United States have started to place restrictions on travelers from countries with Ebola outbreaks". The government also noted that all travelers, including Canadian citizens, will continue to be screened at ports of entry in Canada and will be subject to appropriate health screening. Menard said the move is similar to, but a bit less restrictive than, the Australian measure. Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for the UN secretary-general, said the body welcomed Canada's support in fighting the Ebola outbreak but advocated "against isolating the three most impacted countries and stigmatising its citizens". GENEVA, October 24 -- Mass trials of an experimental Ebola vaccine could start in West Africa in December and several hundred thousand doses could be available by the first half of next year, the World Health Organisation has said. The WHO's assistant director general Marie-Paule Kieny said on Friday that two potential vaccines were undergoing clinical trials. Larger trials in West Africa could begin in December if those tests proved effective. "All is being put in place to start efficacy tests in the affected countries as early as December," she said at the agency's headquarters in Geneva. "Before the end of first half of 2015 we could have available a few hundred thousand doses. That could be 200,000 - it could be less or could be more. "Vaccine is not the magic bullet but when ready, it may be a good part of the effort to turn the tide of the epidemic." She said that the organisation had held talks on Thursday with medical experts, officials from affected nations, pharmaceutical firms and funding agencies about the trials. The candidates currently undergoing clinical trials are the Canadian-made rVSV, and ChAd3, which is made by British firm GlaxoSmithKline. There are five other potential vaccines that will be tested next year, Kieny said. More than 4,800 people have died in West Africa of Ebola. Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone are the worst affected countries. Nigeria and Senegal were declared free of the disease last week after no new cases were reported for 42 days - twice the virus's maximum incubation period. However, Mali recorded its first case on Friday, and a total of 42 people who were in contact with the sufferer have been isolated. The disease continues to alarm countries outside of West Africa, with the US on Thursday confirming a New York doctor had contracted the virus while working for the medical charity, Doctors Without Borders in Guinea NEW YORK, October 24 -- A physician with Doctors Without Borders who returned from West Africa recently has tested positive for Ebola at a New York City hospital, the city's mayor confirmed. The doctor developed a fever and gastrointestinal symptoms, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said in a statement on Thursday. The doctor has been identified as Craig Spencer, who lives in Manhattan's Harlem neighbourhood, according to New York City Councilman Mark Levine. "A person in New York City, who recently worked with Doctors Without Borders in one of the Ebola-affected countries in West Africa, notified our office this morning to report having developed a fever," Doctors Without Borders said in a statement. Mayor Bill de Blasio at a news conference early on Friday said "New Yorkers have no reason to be alarmed... Every hospital in the city is prepared in case other patients come forward.""It is our understanding very few people were in direct contact with him... Every protocol has been followed." "We're hoping for a good outcome for this individual," he said. New York State Governor Mario Cuomo also said that proper procedures are being followed in treating the patient. "We have the situation under control," he said. "The more facts you know, the less frightening the situation is." The doctor reported his fever on Thursday morning, and Doctors Without Borders said it promptly notified the city health department. The patient, who returned to the United States within the past 21 days, is being treated at Bellevue Hospital, the health department said. Twenty-one days is the maximum incubation period for Ebola. Bellevue, a historic city hospital, is one of the eight hospitals in New York state designated earlier this month as part of an Ebola preparedness plan. Spencer's Facebook page showed a photo of him clad in protective gear. It shows he went to Guinea around September 18 and then to Brussels on October 16. Spencer has been a fellow of international emergency medicine at Columbia University-New York Presbyterian Hospital in New York City since 2011, according to his profile on the LinkedIn career website. NEW YORK, October 22 -- NBC News cameraman Ashoka Mukpo, who contracted Ebola while working in Liberia, has been declared free of the virus and can leave the Nebraska Medical Centre in Omaha, where he has been treated for the past two weeks, the centre reported on Tuesday. Earlier reports said the experimental drug Brincidofovir developed by U.S. Chimerix company was used to treat the Ebola patient. Mukpo contracted the virus while on an assignment in Liberia. After he began showing symptoms, he was immediately isolated and soon brought to the United States for medical treatment. His colleagues returned from Liberia a bit later and were examined by medics who found no Ebola symptoms. Also on Tuesday, the U.S. National Institutes of Health upgraded from “fair” to “good” the condition of another Ebola patient, Texas nurse Nina Pham. She was also diagnosed with Ebola earlier in October after taking care of Thomas Eric Duncan, the first Ebola patient diagnosed on U.S. soil. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported last week that the Ebola epidemic was spreading geographically and the death toll exceeds 4,500, while the number of probable and suspected cases nears 9,000. GENEVA, October 21 -- The clinical trials of perspective vaccines against the Ebola virus in coordination with the World Health Organization (WHO) are due to begin in Switzerland by November 1, WHO Assistant Director-General Marie Paule Kieny told journalists on Tuesday.The trials are set to start in Switzerland’s Lausanne late this month or on the first day of the next month. A total of 125 volunteers are to be injected two various doses of chimpanzee-based adenovirus vaccine, she said. Clinical tests of this vaccine are already underway in the United States, the United Kingdom and Mali, in West Africa. Simultaneously, Geneva is due to carry out clinical trials of a second vaccine, containing a recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus. Five various doses of the vaccine are to be tested in Geneva. The trials will also involve 125 volunteers.These tests will last for between 6 months and one year, but the first results on their safety and antigenicity will be ready in December. If the vaccine proves to be successful, it will be delivered to the West African states in January 2015. Kieny said there is yet no talk of a massive vaccination. Some 10,000 people are expected to be vaccinated, she added. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported last week that the Ebola epidemic was spreading geographically and the death toll exceeds 4,500, while the number of probable and suspected cases nears 9,000. GENEVA, October 20 -- Nigeria has been declared officially free of Ebola after a 42 day period with no new cases elapsed, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday. The WHO can declare an Ebola outbreak over if two incubation periods of 21 days pass with no new cases detected. Senegal was the first West African country declared free of the deadly virus on Friday. The Ebola epidemic has killed more than 4,500 people in West Africa and infected more than twice as many this year, the vast majority of them in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, according to the WHO. Ebola virus The death toll of the Ebola outbreak reached 4,447 last Tuesday. and the number of probable and suspected cases stood at more than 8,900. The World Health Organization describes Ebola virus disease (formerly known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever) as a severe, often fatal illness, with a case fatality rate of up to 90%. Symptoms include sudden onset of fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat. This is followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, impaired kidney and liver function, and in some cases, both internal and external bleeding. T The infection is transmitted by direct contact with the blood, body fluids and tissues of infected animals or people. People are infectious as long as their blood and secretions contain the virus. The incubation period is 2 to 21 days. There is no known cure or vaccine for the disease. The only treatment offered is “supportive intensive care.” During an outbreak, those at higher risk of infection are health workers, family members and others in close contact with sick people and deceased patients. WASHINGTON, October 19 -- The US, for its part, has already deployed hundreds of soldiers as well as health care workers to help control the disease. Washington has pledged to send up to 4000 military personnel to the region by the end of October. Pentagon officials estimate Obama's plan to tackle Ebola could cost up to $750million for a six-month period, a figure that includes airlifting personnel, medical supplies, protective suits and temporary housing for Ebola victims. With three cases of Ebola diagnosed in the US and dozens being monitored for potential exposure, President Barack Obama urged Americans on Saturday not to give in to "hysteria" about the virus. "This is a serious disease, but we can't give in to hysteria or fear-because that only makes it harder to get people the accurate information they need,'' Obama said Obama has made it clear that he will not bow to demands from some lawmakers for a ban on flights from region. "We can't just cut ourselves off from West Africa," Obama said in his weekly radio address. "Trying to seal off an entire region of the world - if that were even possible - could actually make the situation worse," he said. British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Saturday European Union leaders should raise the amount of money pledged to fight Ebola to $1.3 bn and mobilise at least 2,000 workers to head to West Africa. The worst Ebola outbreak on record has killed more than 4,500 people, most of them in the West African countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. "We will gladly cooperate with American personnel in that task, and not in search of peace between the two states that have been adversaries for so many years, but ... for peace in the world, a goal that can and should be attempted," Castro wrote. "The medical personnel who heads anywhere to save lives, even at the risk of losing theirs, are the greatest example of solidarity that a human being can offer, especially when one is not driven by material interest." Cuba has already sent 165 doctors and nurses to help fight Ebola in Sierra Leone and it plans to send 296 others soon to Liberia and Guinea. Cuban officials said on Saturday that their health ministry would try to organise more aid for the affected countries in West Africa at a meeting with Cuban allies and international health organisations on Monday. The South American county's efforts have already brought unusual praise from US Secretary of State John Kerry, who was quoted saying that countries like Cuba had taken impressive steps to tackle Ebola. MILAN, October 17 -- Beijing plans to earmark $16 million in aid to West African countries to combat the Ebola virus, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has told the summit of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). The Chinese premier said the country is highly prepared to fight against the Ebola virus, which poses a huge danger to the health of the whole population on the planet. Beijing will be together with the international community “until the final victory,” he stressed. Chinese President Xi Jinping said earlier this week China will ramp up efforts against Ebola. In September, China earmarked $32.5 million in humanitarian aid to West African states, in particular, for medical treatment and equipment. Beijing has also sent a group of Chinese doctors to the epidemic zone. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported earlier this week that the Ebola epidemic was spreading geographically and the death toll neared the figure of 4,500, while the number of probable and suspected cases is around 9,000. AMSTERDAM, October 16 -- Charity Doctors without Borders is launching a training programme for medical personnel and support staff who are being sent to countries where ebola is rife in Amsterdam. The charity is constructing a reproduction field hospital in an old factory, without electricity and running water and will start offering courses in November. A similar training programme already takes place in Brussels. The charity has found 13 doctors who are willing and sufficiently skilled to go to Africa to try to help combat the epidemic but says it needs 600. Utrecht University’s teaching hospital has set aside four beds in its special ‘calamity unit’ for international medical staff who have become infected with the disease. The unit has 200 beds but is only used during emergencies. If ebola patients are brought to the hospital, the unit will be sealed off and no other patients will be admitted, medical manager Loek Leenan said. WASHINGTON, October 16 -- US President Barack Obama has vowed "much more aggressive" response to Ebola cases in the United States and warned that in an age of frequent travel the disease could spread globally if the world does not respond to the "raging epidemic in West Africa".' Obama sought on Wednesday to ease growing anxiety in the US, as a second nurse was diagnosed with Ebola after treating a patient in a Dallas hospital. That patient, Thomas Eric Duncan, died of Ebola on October 8. In an interview with a local US television station, that nurse said she informed authorities several times that she had a slight fever before boarding a commercial flight, and was told that it was okay to fly. She has now been transferred to a hospital in the city of Atlanta for treatment. The president said he had directed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to step up its response to new cases. "We want a rapid response team, a SWAT team essentially, from the CDC to be on the ground as quickly as possible, hopefully within 24 hours, so that they are taking the local hospital step by step though what needs to be done," he said. Obama spoke after cancelling a political campaign trip to convene a session of top Cabinet officials involved in the Ebola response both in the US and in the West African region, where the disease has been spreading at alarming rates. The meeting included the top military commander General Martin Dempsey and defence chief Chuck Hagel. Obama has been pressing the international community to step up its assistance in combating the disease. Hours before Obama canceled his trip, officials confirmed the infection of the second nurse who helped treat Duncan. The Texas developments added a new domestic element to what has developed into an Ebola crisis in the West African countries of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. 'Controlled environment' US government officials on Wednesday said the nurse should never have got on the plane. Tom Frieden, director of the CDC, said no one else involved in Duncan's care will be allowed to travel "other than in a controlled environment''. "We could've sent a more robust hospital infection control team and been more hands-on with the hospital from day one about exactly how this should be managed,'' he said Tuesday. Infected Ebola patients are not considered contagious until they have symptoms. Frieden said it was unlikely that other passengers or airline crew members were at risk because the nurse did not have any vomiting or bleeding. However, the CDC has alerted the 132 passengers aboard Monday's Flight 1143 from Cleveland to Dallas' Fort Worth on Monday "because of the proximity in time between the evening flight and first report of illness the following morning''. The woman is being treated in Texas and will be flown to a specialist hospital in Atlanta where some previous Ebola patients have recovered. NEW YORK, October 15 -- Infection said to be killing seven out of 10 patients in W Africa as German hospital reports death of UN medical worker. The Ebola outbreak in West Africa kills seven out of 10 victims and new cases could hit 10,000 a week within two months if it is not brought under control, the World Health Organisation has said. Dr Bruce Aylward, WHO's assistant director-general, said on Tuesday that the death rate was higher than the official 50 percent rate and that "a lot more people will die" if the West Africa outbreak was not stopped. "What we're finding is 70 percent mortality," Aylward said, adding that he had a "working forecast" of 5,000 to 10,000 new cases a week by December to guide the international response. "It's been running at about a thousand cases a week now for about three to four weeks. The labs sometimes can't keep up with the amount of specimens they're getting." The announcement comes as the Texas Department of Health Services announced a second health worker at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital has tested positive for Ebola. WHO figures released on Tuesday show 8,914 confirmed cases and a total of 4,447 people dead. However, WHO has said several times that the tallies are unreliable due to difficult recording conditions and workload. Hardest hit countries Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia have been hardest hit. "There are this many cases that we're aware of, this many deaths that have been reported to us, but that doesn't mean you divide one by the other and get how many this disease kills," Aylward said. "To get that number, you need to take a bunch of people, follow them right through the course of their disease, and understand how many survive. "That subset of people, who we know were sick, and we know their final outcome, what we're finding is 70 percent mortality. "It's almost the exact same number across the three countries," he said. Aylward said WHO needs to isolate 70 percent of cases within two months to contain the outbreak. "Every time you isolate another patient, every time you have a safe burial, you're taking some of the heat out if this outbreak," he said. "But this is Ebola. This is a horrible, unforgiving disease. You've got to get to zero." Death in Germany Aylward's comments came on a day a UN medical worker infected with Ebola in Liberia died in Germany. The St Georg hospital in Leipzig said on Tuesday that the 56-year-old man, whose name has not been released, died overnight of the infection. The man tested positive for Ebola on October 6, prompting Liberia's UN peacekeeping mission to place 41 other staff members under "close medical observation". Also on Tuesday, a UN official gave warning that the world was failing to gain the upper hand against the deadly outbreak. "Ebola got a head start on us," Anthony Banbury, the British head of the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response, said. Addressing the UN Security Council in New York by remote link from UNMEER headquarters in Accra, Banbury said: "It is far ahead of us, it is running faster than us, and it is winning the race. "If Ebola wins, we the peoples of the United Nations lose so very much. "We either stop Ebola now or we face an entirely unprecedented situation for which we do not have a plan." |
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