Ebola Update

Imported cases
Many locations are testing people who have travelled to Ebola-affected countries and returned with a fever and other symptoms. Senegal and the United States have confirmed imported cases of Ebola. International SOS is monitoring these closely.

1 October
Liberia: Media sources report that soldiers at the Edward Beyan Kesselley Barrack have been quarantined and the facility has been closed for 21 days. The step was initiated after at least seven soldiers from the Liberian army were infected with Ebola. The soldiers have been admitted to John F Kennedy Ebola Treatment Centre. It is reported that one of the soldier’s may have acquired the infection from his spouse, which then spread to his close contacts at the barrack.

Sierra Leone: Ministry of Health and Sanitation has reported more new cases. ...

30 September
United States: An Ebola case has been confirmed in Dallas, Texas, in a traveller from Africa. He arrived in the United States from Liberia on 20 September and was admitted to hospital in Dallas, Texas, eight days later. The patient did not have symptoms during travel, and so passengers on his plane and in the airports are not considered at risk for infection. He is in a critical condition and being treated in strict isolation. Contact tracing is underway. Public health authorities have responded promptly and taken full precautions to prevent spread. 

UN: The United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) has started operating from its headquarters in Accra, Ghana. The main objective of the mission is to coordinate international aid and channel support to the Ebola-affected countries. Headed by Anthony Banburry, the UNMEER will also open regional offices in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. 

Sierra Leone: The Ministry of Health has reported that at least 90 new cases were confirmed on 28 September.

United States: The US CDC has sent Epidemic Intelligence Service Officers (also called "disease detectives") to help in curbing the Ebola outbreak.

Aid: The World Bank is helping Guinea-Bissau implement an emergency plan to prevent Ebola from spreading in the country.

Ghana: As part of the nation's Ebola readiness preparation, Ghana's first designated Ebola Treatment Centre is nearing completion at the Tema General Hospital, located to the east of Accra. Two other ETCs are planned in Kumasi and Tamale. Although more than 95 suspected cases have been tested in Ghana, none had Ebola. There have been no cases in the country.

Outlook: In a study published in PLOS Current Outbreaks, researchers have modelled the population flow in West Africa using historical mobile phone call data. Although the available data is limited to movement within countries rather than across borders, the data suggests that even "rural areas near porous borders remain vulnerable to Ebola importation." This is likely given the connections between border areas and larger population centers within the country and based on the model, "The border between Liberia and Cote d’Ivoire highlights this vulnerability. "

CDC: The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have published three papers on the Ebola outbreak in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The success of the Senegalese Ministry of Health in containing the single imported case is championed, and the authors praise the nation's preparedness and collaboration between the health personnel in Guinea and Senegal. Likewise, in an article about the Nigerian response, the rapid public health actions and deployment of an Incident Management System (IMS) are credited with the early containment of the outbreak in a complex environment. The third update is a review of the escalating count and distribution of historical and newly emerging cases in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

UNICEF: The UN Children's Fund estimates that more than 3,700 children have lost one or both parents to Ebola since the start of the outbreak.