Pathfinder
Editor, Senior Moderator
Hat tip Crof
ECDC (European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control)
Rapid risk assessment: Outbreak of Ebola virus disease in West Africa
10 Jun 2014
Main conclusions
The outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in West Africa with onset in early December 2013 in Guinea now involves three countries: Guinea, Liberia and most recently Sierra Leone. This is the first documented EVD outbreak in these countries. By week 14 of 2014, it looked like the control measures would bring the outbreak to a halt but the situation has now evolved in another direction. In week 22 of 2014, there was an unexpected surge in the number of new cases and the outbreak spread to previously unaffected areas in Guinea and Sierra Leone. As of 9 June 2014, the outbreak situation is the following:
? in Guinea, 344 clinically compatible cases (207 of which were laboratory-confirmed by PCR) including 215 deaths;
? in Liberia, one new suspected death clinically compatible with EVD, resulting in 13 cases including nine deaths reported since March 2014; and
? in Sierra Leone, 81 cases (31 confirmed, 3 probable and 47 suspected) including six deaths.
The surge in cases in weeks 22 and 23 of 2014 and the expanding geographical spread involving previously unaffected areas are reasons for concern. Media reports and personal accounts indicate that the outbreak response operation may have failed to gain the trust and community support required to effectively trace and monitor all contacts of EVD patients and to isolate contacts who develop symptoms. A new wave of human-to-human transmission is currently unfolding and it is therefore likely that additional cases will be identified in the coming weeks.
For tourists, visitors or residents in affected areas, the risk of infection is still considered very low if elementary precautions are followed: avoiding contact with symptomatic patients or dead bodies and their bodily fluids. In addition, generic precautions for travelling in West African countries also apply for preventing infection with Ebola virus, e.g. avoiding close contacts with live or dead wild animals and consumption of ?bushmeat?, washing and peeling fruit and vegetables before consumption, practising ?safe sex? and following hand-washing routines. Healthcare workers in the affected area are advised to apply standard precautions and contact point of care risk assessment in the care of all patients. When caring for suspected and confirmed cases of EVD they should strictly adhere to recommended infection prevention and control measures, including the use of appropriate personal protective equipment. The risks associated with seeking medical care in affected countries depend on how well the precautionary measures are implemented in those settings.
...
Full report:
http://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/public...essment-virus-Guinea-Liberia-Sierra-Leone.pdf
http://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/public...=4f55ad51-4aed-4d32-b960-af70113dbb90&ID=1117
ECDC (European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control)
Rapid risk assessment: Outbreak of Ebola virus disease in West Africa
10 Jun 2014
Main conclusions
The outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in West Africa with onset in early December 2013 in Guinea now involves three countries: Guinea, Liberia and most recently Sierra Leone. This is the first documented EVD outbreak in these countries. By week 14 of 2014, it looked like the control measures would bring the outbreak to a halt but the situation has now evolved in another direction. In week 22 of 2014, there was an unexpected surge in the number of new cases and the outbreak spread to previously unaffected areas in Guinea and Sierra Leone. As of 9 June 2014, the outbreak situation is the following:
? in Guinea, 344 clinically compatible cases (207 of which were laboratory-confirmed by PCR) including 215 deaths;
? in Liberia, one new suspected death clinically compatible with EVD, resulting in 13 cases including nine deaths reported since March 2014; and
? in Sierra Leone, 81 cases (31 confirmed, 3 probable and 47 suspected) including six deaths.
The surge in cases in weeks 22 and 23 of 2014 and the expanding geographical spread involving previously unaffected areas are reasons for concern. Media reports and personal accounts indicate that the outbreak response operation may have failed to gain the trust and community support required to effectively trace and monitor all contacts of EVD patients and to isolate contacts who develop symptoms. A new wave of human-to-human transmission is currently unfolding and it is therefore likely that additional cases will be identified in the coming weeks.
For tourists, visitors or residents in affected areas, the risk of infection is still considered very low if elementary precautions are followed: avoiding contact with symptomatic patients or dead bodies and their bodily fluids. In addition, generic precautions for travelling in West African countries also apply for preventing infection with Ebola virus, e.g. avoiding close contacts with live or dead wild animals and consumption of ?bushmeat?, washing and peeling fruit and vegetables before consumption, practising ?safe sex? and following hand-washing routines. Healthcare workers in the affected area are advised to apply standard precautions and contact point of care risk assessment in the care of all patients. When caring for suspected and confirmed cases of EVD they should strictly adhere to recommended infection prevention and control measures, including the use of appropriate personal protective equipment. The risks associated with seeking medical care in affected countries depend on how well the precautionary measures are implemented in those settings.
...
Full report:
http://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/public...essment-virus-Guinea-Liberia-Sierra-Leone.pdf
http://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/public...=4f55ad51-4aed-4d32-b960-af70113dbb90&ID=1117