EBOLABorder Tensions Threaten Guinea Bissau Violent protests over steps to control Ebola in a north Guinea town, accompanied by a spike in new cases, hindered Red Cross efforts against the virus and stirred fears that the virus could drift across the border into Guinea Bissau. Guinea's Boke border province, Ebola-free for months, reported 6 new cases in May, according to the WHO. As officials sought to trace and contain the new cases, protesters crowd attacked a police station and public buildings. The Red Cross withdrew workers from the area after the angry crowd targeted its vehicles, an employee’s home and a warehouse for Ebola equipment. Officials and aid workers have been working hard to prevent the virus’s spread to Guinea Bissau, which has a fragile health system even by regional standards. Reuters
Liberia’s Post-Ebola Moment A year ago, at the height of the Ebola epidemic, Liberia’s Redemption Hospital on the outskirts of Monrovia was woefully unequipped to handle the tidal wave of Ebola patients who landed at the facility desperate for treatment. Now, after an overhaul funded through international donor agencies, Monrovia’s only free general hospital has stringent Ebola screening procedures at the door, an isolation unit and effective infection prevention measures in place. This story chronicles the hospital’s evolution—from Ebola seeding ground to a model of care in the country—and examines Liberia’s ability to direct resources and political will to build a health system prepared for the next public health crisis. The Atlantic
Related: Veteran scientist warns 'Ebola will return' – Business Insider
Related: UN official says Ebola will end in Sierra Leone in weeks – Yakima Herald Related: Crisis level food insecurity persists in Sierra Leone – Famine Early Warning System Network |