Ebola & Travel Health Related Updates

Ebola Outbreaks – Updates:

Ebola - the cap of 5.000 deaths is exceeded: The number of deaths due to the epidemic of hemorrhagic fever Ebola exceeded the cap 5.000, with 5.160 deaths recorded for 14.098 cases, according to the last balance of the World Health Organization (WHO). This information was issued on Wednesday, November 9^th.  

UN sees Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea at the verge of a food crisis: The principal expert of the UN in right to the feeding, Hilal Elver, today ensured that Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, the countries that suffer the epidemic of the Ebola, are "at the verge of a serious food crisis." In those countries there are more than one million people who they need assistance in food to mitigate the lack of supply of commodities, pointed out in Geneva the special rapporteur of United Nations for the Right to the Feeding. Agriculture is the principal economic activity in West Africa, where two-thirds of the population depend on her. In that context, "the closing of borders and maritime steps, the reduction of the intraregional trade, the slope of the foreign investments, and the reduction of the purchasing power of tens of thousands of already vulnerable homes leaves those countries in very precarious situation", aimed Elver. The problem of food supplies has also had to do with the quarantine imposed by the governments of the three countries in different areas affected by the epidemic. That measure has left isolated and disabled entire communities to be supplied of essential food. Furthermore, many lands have remained abandoned since the farmers have fled for fear, which in turn it has reduced the crop production and it has caused that the prices of the food are shot. The World Food Program, the largest humanitarian agency of the UN, today announced that Germany has become its first donor for the concrete objective of fueling the communities affected by the Ebola. The organism specified that has received more than 30 million dollars of the German Government in order to finance the growing need for food in the areas where it circulates the virus and where already has succeeded providing food to 1.3 million people.

Canada - Begins to isolate people who have been in areas with the Ebola: Canada today began to isolate those people who have traveled to Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia during the pasts 21 days, as a part of the hardening of the measures to prevent the emergence of Ebola outbreaks in the country.
The Canadian Government announced yesterday Monday that "it will order to the travelers with a history of trips to Guinea, Sierra Leone, or Liberia during the pasts 21 days that go to the local health authorities in Canada and are auto monitored during a maximum of 21 days", incubation period of the disease.
"The travelers with a history of trips to countries affected by the Ebola that to its arrival in Canada symptoms present will be immediately isolated and sent to a hospital for its examination medical", they added the health authorities. Canada has been criticized for the World Health Organization (WHO) by the measures that it has imposed as a result of the appearance of the Ebola outbreak in the countries of West Africa. At the end of October, the Government of the Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, announced that it will deny the visa from entry to the country to those people who have been in the countries most affected by the Ebola epidemic. WHO and international experts have pointed out that the measures adopted by the Canadian Government violate the Sanitary International Regulation adopted by 196 countries in order to strengthen national, regional, and global health security. Canada has replicated that, as the denial of visa does not affect Canadians, cannot be interpreted as a general prohibition that contravenes the Sanitary International Regulation. Paradoxically, the Sanitary International Regulation was reviewed after Canada suffered from in 2003 a severe outbreak of so-called `Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome` (`SARS`), that forced WHO to temporarily recommend that one did not travel to Toronto, where more than 40 people died. The recommendation, that was criticized for Canada, caused that the Canadian authorities requested to review the Sanitary International Regulation in order to avoid the imposition of prohibitions of trip.

Mali - New case of Ebola unrelated to the previous: Mali recorded a new fatal case of Ebola, unrelated to one previous, and just when they had raised the quarantine to 25 likely people to have infected with the virus. The victim is a nurse "who was in contact with an of Equatorial Guinea citizen who died because of the disease" indicated to AFP the one responsible for the clinic Pasteur in Bamako.

WHO adopts protocol for safe and dignified burial of people who die from Ebola: A new World Health Organization (WHO) protocol for safe and dignified burial of people who die from Ebola virus disease emphasizes inclusion of family members and encouraging religious rites as an essential part of safe burials. Ebola infections occur during burials when family and community members perform religious rites that require directly touching or washing the body, which still contains high levels of Ebola virus; and when family members distribute personal property of the loved one, which may be infected with the virus. Developed by an interdisciplinary team at WHO, in partnership with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and faith-based organizations including World Council of Churches, Islamic Relief, Caritas International and World Vision, this updated protocol outlines step-by-step processes for safe and dignified burials. The protocol encourages inclusion of family and local clergy in the planning and preparation of the burial, as well as at the burial event itself, giving specific instructions for Muslim and Christian burials. A team of medical anthropologists also contributed meaningful, safe alternatives for touching and bathing dead bodies, developed from research into the cultural significance and values of burial practices in affected countries. The research included consultations with religious leaders in affected countries to define what is meant by "dignified burial" in both the Muslim and Christian context. The protocol also includes ways for Ebola burial teams to carry out their work safely while respecting family sensitivities. These include abstaining from wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) when first meeting with the family, and asking the family if there are specific requests for managing the burial and personal effects of the deceased. As the protocol is applied in affected countries, feedback from religious leaders, communities and people managing burials will be used to update and improve the protocol.

Other Health Related Updates:

Brazil – Dengue fever cases: São Paulo already recorded 193 thousand cases: The State of Sao Paulo recorded over 193,239 cases of the mosquito-borne dengue fever, with 186,389 cases qualified as “indigenous” i.e. they were transmitted within the State itself from January until October 2014. To date, there was 23 cases of Chikungunya, all imported, which 12 were in Campinas, in the interior of Sao Paulo, and 6 in the capital.

Portugal - Head of health board addresses Legionnaire’s disease outbreak – update: Four people have now died and 24 others are said to be in critical condition following an outbreak of Legionella in Portugal, which causes Legionnaire's disease. The majority of cases so far have emerged from the central Portuguese region of Vila Franca de Xira and are being treated in hospitals in the Greater Lisbon area. In a press conference yesterday afternoon the head of Portugal’s health board Francisco George recommended people take baths instead of showers and avoid Jacuzzis and hydro-massage tubs until the source of the outbreak is known. In 24 hours the number of people in this country believed to be infected with Legionnaires Disease, caught by inhaling water particles, has soared to close to 120. One of the victims who died from the infection, a 59-year-old man, reportedly had other pre-existing lung and breathing conditions which lent added complications. Portuguese specialists have said the outbreak is unexpected and very unusual.

From Around the World

Virus found in green algae affects human mental capacities: A virus that affects the green algae--some of which are foods--alters slightly some mental capacities in humans, revealed American studies that pointed out that at present should not be considered a danger for the public health. The agency, called ATCV-1 (Acanthocystis turfacea Chlorella), until now thoughtful harmless, was discovered in the throat of people in good health condition and that apparently "had a set of affected cognitive functions, among them those responsible" for "processing of visual information and by the sense of the orientation."
These preliminary results, recently published in the proceedings of the Academy of Sciences of the United States, illustrate the capacity of certain microorganisms to induce psychological alterations without inducing a disease, explained the researchers. "It is a surprising example, that sample as a microorganism, apparently harmless, present in our body, can affect our behavior and our cognition", said Robert Yolken, virologist of the center hospital university Johns Hopkins, in Baltimore, and principal author of the studies. However, second information provided to AFP, the scientists do not believe that "the virus should be considered a threat to the public health." As a part of another one study, the scientist and its team discovered the presence of virus ATCV-1 by chance, upon analyze DNA of the viruses and bacteria that formed the microbial flora in the throat of 92 healthy people. The viruses, acquaintance to infect the green algae (or clorofíceas) present in the seas, lakes and oceans, was present in 42 of the 92 cases. The infected group had worse results in a series of tests than they measured the speed of processing of visual information by the brain. Immediately, experiences were done in laboratory mice in order to analyze as the virus affected the capacity to carry out certain tasks and they confirmed effects similar to the ones observed in humans. For example, the infected mice presented more difficulty in finding the road in the labyrinth and smaller capacity for attention. An analysis of its cerebral tissues showed changes in the expression of multiple genes in the hippocampus, region of the brain responsible for the memory and spatial orientation.

Coronavirus (MERS) Update:

Saudi Arabia - Camel breeding, weather spread MERS infection: Saudi Arabia's health experts have blamed the camel breeding season for new infections of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in the country. Twenty-four new confirmed MERS cases were registered in November and October respectively, compared with ten cases both in August and July, the command and control center of the Health Ministry said. Dr. Mohammed Halwani, associate professor of contagious diseases at the College of Medicine in Al-Baha University, attributed the case rise to the breeding season of camels. "The newly-born camels have more viruses than the adults. People will infect the virus when they come into contact with them or inhale their nasal secretions," he said. The virus has not been completely wiped out from the kingdom, Halwani said. "It has been in existence since it was discovered in late 2012." The moderate weather in the country nowadays is another factor in the spread of the virus, the professor added. "In cold weather the virus spreads quicker." Saudi Arabia has registered 802 MERS coronavirus cases since the virus was discovered, of which 447 have recovered, 340 died and 15 are still receiving treatment. The oil-rich country has registered the highest number of MERS cases in the world, but the number of new cases has drastically declined thanks to tough measures taken by medical institutions.