Re: Liberia - Ebola: 1,923 clinical cases, 1,125 deaths as of September 4, 2014 (MoH situation report 112 September 6, 2014)
Re: Liberia - Ebola: 1,923 clinical cases, 1,125 deaths as of September 4, 2014 (MoH situation report 112 September 6, 2014)
UNICEF-Liberia
Ebola Virus Disease: SitRep #50(1)
5 September 2014
*This report provides an update on UNICEF’s response to the Ebola emergency in Liberia. All statistics,
other than those related to UNICEF support, are from the SitReps issued by the Ministry of Health and
Social Welfare (MoHSW) through the Ebola National Task Force.
Summary
According to the MoHSW, in the past week,2 321 new suspected, probable and confirmed cases of
Ebola and 222 new deaths were reported in Liberia.
With the additional cases, as of 3 September, the cumulative number of suspected, probable and
confirmed Ebola cases reported during Outbreak #23 stood at 1,863; the total number of suspected,
probable and confirmed Ebola deaths reported during Outbreak #2 stood at 1,078; and the total
number of suspected, probable and confirmed Ebola cases reported among health care workers
during both outbreaks stood at 153.
4
Confirmed Ebola cases have been reported in 10 of Liberia’s 15 counties, and suspected and
probable Ebola cases have been reported in three additional counties.
The Ebola Treatment Units (ETUs) at JFK Medical Center in Montserrado County, ELWA Hospital in
Montserrado County and Foya Hospital in Lofa County remain filled beyond capacity. ELWA-3 is
being expanded, which will ease some but not all of this burden.
The mobile lab at ELWA-3 is now operational, and plans are going forward to establish additional
mobile labs in the country.
The UN Country Team has decided to activate the cluster approach for the emergency response, in
which UNICEF will play active and lead roles.
Over the past week, UNICEF trained 120 general Community Health Volunteers (gCHVs) to conduct
outreach in Monsterrado County; finalized two new posters carrying revised key messages on Ebola;
field tested newly developed training materials for use in preparing Ebola outreach workers; recruited
and oriented additional field coordinators for key counties; commenced distribution of Water,
Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) materials to households in West Point community, Montserrado
County; provided four additional tents for use in establishing an Ebola holding centre in Bong County;
and donated 6,000 additional kg of chlorine to the MoHSW. Meanwhile, the Child Protection,
Education and Nutrition sections began planning and implementing new Ebola-related interventions
and activities.
The total budget for UNICEF’s six-month Ebola response plan, which covers a six-month period,
currently stands at US$ 6,085,255, of which US$ 3,794,664 remains unfunded. Due to the severity of
the outbreak, UNICEF expects this budget to increase up to eightfold. Support is urgently needed to
implement and sustain the plan in the medium- to long-term.
Situation Overview
Over the past week, 321 new suspected, probable and confirmed Ebola cases and 222 additional
Ebola deaths were reported in Liberia.
o
16 of the new cases and five of the new deaths were among health care workers.
o Montserrado reported the highest number of new cases (141), followed by Lofa (65), Margibi (62),
Bong (20), Bomi (12), Nimba (9), Grand Bassa (6), River Gee (4), and Grand Cape Mount (2).
o No new cases were reported in Gbarpolu, Grand Gedeh, Rivercess and Sinoe.
(1) UNICEF will shift to the new, emergency SitRep form mandated by UNICEF HQ next week. The old format was
maintained this week to provide time for the development of appropriate indicators for inputting into the emergency
format.
2
“The past week” refers to the period from 28 August, the date of the last UNICEF Ebola SitRep, to 3 September,
the date of the latest MoHSW Ebola SitRep.
3 Outbreak #2 began on 29 May.
4 All cumulative statistics are drawn from MoHSW Ebola SitRep #111, which reports cumulative cases as of 23:00
on 3 September.
With these changes, the total number of suspected, probable and confirmed Ebola cases reported in
Liberia during Outbreak #2 now stands at 1,863 (369 suspected, 886 probable and 608 confirmed);
5
the total number of suspected, probable and confirmed Ebola deaths stands at 1,078 (254 suspected,
399 probable and 425 confirmed); and the case fatality rate for probable and confirmed cases stands
at 55 per cent. Breakdown by County is as follows:
o Bomi: 64 cases (one suspected, 32 probable, 31 confirmed), 34 deaths.
o Bong: 150 cases (85 suspected, 41 probable, 24 confirmed), 43 deaths.
o Gbarpolu: One case (suspected); no deaths.
o Grand Bassa: 46 cases (21 suspected, 12 probable, 13 confirmed), 19 deaths.
o GCM: 11 cases (two suspected, five probable, four confirmed), 10 deaths.
o Grand Gedeh: Three cases (suspected), two deaths.
o Lofa: 636 cases (53 suspected, 345 probable, 238 confirmed), 327deaths.
o Margibi: 245 cases (126 suspected, 89 probable, 30 confirmed), 111 deaths.
o Montserrado: 584 cases (50 suspected, 309 probable, 225 confirmed), 451 deaths.
o Nimba: 111 cases (20 suspected, 50 probable, 41 confirmed), 75 deaths.
o River Gee: Nine cases (six suspected, three probable); five deaths.
o Rivercess: One case (confirmed), one death.
o Sinoe: Two cases (one suspected, one confirmed), no deaths.
The total number of suspected, probable and confirmed Ebola cases among health workers since the
epidemic began now stands at 153, of which 76 have resulted in death.
To date, confirmed Ebola cases have been reported in 10 counties – Bomi, Bong, Grand Bassa,
Grand Cape Mount, Lofa, Margibi, Montserrado, Nimba, Rivercess and Sinoe Counties; and
suspected and probable cases have been reported in three counties – Gbarpolu, Grand Gedeh and
River Gee.
Developments and Challenges
The Government of Liberia and international partners on the ground continue to struggle to control
the Ebola epidemic. The primary challenges remain:
o
Too few facilities where suspected Ebola cases can be isolated, and/or treated. This includes the
existing ETUs in Lofa (Foya ETU) and Montserrado (JFK and ELWA Hospitals), which are
constantly full.
o Too few burial, case investigation and contact tracing teams to meet the needs.
o Difficulty establishing stringent infection control measures, as illustrated by continued reports of
Ebola cases among health care workers.
The utility of case totals for Liberia has come into question, with many deeming the statistics highly
unreliable due to a number of challenges to comprehensive contact tracing, timely case investigation
and rapid Ebola testing.
ELWA-3 ETU, which is run by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), is under expansion, and a mobile
lab has been established at the unit to expedite testing. The lab is being run by the US Center for
Disease Control (CDC) and National Institute of Health (NIH).
Two US naval personnel have arrived in country for the purpose of establishing an additional lab.
The mobile labs are urgently needed to improve turn-around on Ebola testing.
The World Food Progamme (WFP) expects to increase its food supply by 700 per cent in the next six
months, which could aid families affected by Ebola, as well as the rising cost of food that has
accompanied the outbreak.
...
continues at;
http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefwe... Epidemic SitRep No. 50, 5 September 2014.pdf
