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If we look a the bigger picture Ebola and pestilence is possibly one of the greatest threats to the human population as a result of 7+ billion humans living in close proximity; human-enduced climate change and destruction of natural habitat.
For the first time in human history we are looking at simultaneous outbreaks; at the same time as Ebola there has been an outbreak of Marburg's virus (with an 80 % fatality rate) in Uganda. What the northern hemisphere flu season will bring remains to be seen.
While it is clear that the Ebola virus has likely mutated into an airborne form it is highly contagious via contact with the skin (the body's largest organ).
Note that the Spanish nurse contracted the virus by touching her face with her glove.
Meanwhile the media and the authorities continue to downplay the outbreak and repeat the false mantra that it is difficult to contract.
The Australian nurse has been 'cleared' of the virus when, as In understand it takes numerous tests over the 21-day incubation period (and 'the first test is always negative') to establish this.
Meanwhile these journalists caught off-guard probably indicate the real situation.
Here are a few stories giving an update on a fast-developing story
---SMR
Latest
updates from overnight about the worldwide Ebola outbreak.
Latest
updates from overnight about the worldwide Ebola outbreak.
A man looks out of a hotel in Skopje where a Briton is thought to have died, a health worker cleans an apartment of a hospitalised Spaniard and Spain's newspaper feature the infected nurse.
NZ Herald,
10 October, 2014
More contacts of Spanish nurse hospitalised
Seven more people have
been admitted to a Spanish hospital for monitoring for Ebola,
including two hairdressers who had contact with a nurse infected with
the deadly disease, health officials say.
The nurse, Teresa Romero,
helped treat two elderly Spanish missionaries who died after
returning from west Africa with Ebola.
The 44-year-old tested
positive for the disease on Monday, making her the first person known
to have caught Ebola outside of Africa.
Romero went on leave
after the second of her Ebola patients died on September 25 at
Madrid's La Paz-Carlos III hospital, which Spain has designated to
handle Ebola cases.
She started to feel ill
on September 29 but was not admitted to hospital until seven days
later, creating a large window of time in which other people may have
been exposed.
Five women and two men
were admitted to the hospital for monitoring today as a precaution,
the hospital said in a statement.
They included three
nurses and two hairdressers who had contact with Romero while she was
on leave from her job.
Meanwhile one person who
had previously been under observation at the hospital has been
discharged.
In total there are now 14
people isolated at the hospital including Romero who is the only
person confirmed to have the disease.
Seven more people have
been admitted to a Spanish hospital for monitoring for Ebola,
including two hairdressers who had contact with a nurse infected with
the deadly disease, health officials say.
The nurse, Teresa Romero,
helped treat two elderly Spanish missionaries who died after
returning from west Africa with Ebola.
The 44-year-old tested
positive for the disease on Monday, making her the first person known
to have caught Ebola outside of Africa.
Romero went on leave
after the second of her Ebola patients died on September 25 at
Madrid's La Paz-Carlos III hospital, which Spain has designated to
handle Ebola cases.
She started to feel ill
on September 29 but was not admitted to hospital until seven days
later, creating a large window of time in which other people may have
been exposed.
Five women and two men
were admitted to the hospital for monitoring today as a precaution,
the hospital said in a statement.
They included three
nurses and two hairdressers who had contact with Romero while she was
on leave from her job.
Meanwhile one person who
had previously been under observation at the hospital has been
discharged.
In total there are now 14
people isolated at the hospital including Romero who is the only
person confirmed to have the disease.
Australian nurse tests negative for Ebola
A Queensland nurse has
been cleared of Ebola, Queensland Health says.
Cairns nurse Sue-Ellen
Kovack had returned to Brisbane after spending a month volunteering
at an Ebola hospital with the Red Cross in Sierra Leone.
The 57-year-old was
admitted to Cairns Hospital yesterday with a "low-grade fever"
raising fears she may have become infected with the deadly virus.Q
ueensland's Chief Health
Officer said on Friday that blood tests had returned negative results
and no virus was detected in Ms Kovack's blood.
However she will remain
under observation.
Queensland Premier
Campbell Newman said the negative test result was heartening but the
World Health Organisation required three full days of negative tests.
"Let's keep our
fingers crossed for the patient involved," he told reporters in
Canberra.
Sue-Ellen
Kovack did everything right in making sure she didn't endanger anyone
else, Queenland's health chief says.
A Queensland nurse has
been cleared of Ebola, Queensland Health says.
Cairns nurse Sue-Ellen
Kovack had returned to Brisbane after spending a month volunteering
at an Ebola hospital with the Red Cross in Sierra Leone.
The 57-year-old was
admitted to Cairns Hospital yesterday with a "low-grade fever"
raising fears she may have become infected with the deadly virus.Q
ueensland's Chief Health
Officer said on Friday that blood tests had returned negative results
and no virus was detected in Ms Kovack's blood.
However she will remain
under observation.
Queensland Premier
Campbell Newman said the negative test result was heartening but the
World Health Organisation required three full days of negative tests.
"Let's keep our
fingers crossed for the patient involved," he told reporters in
Canberra.
Sue-Ellen Kovack did everything right in making sure she didn't endanger anyone else, Queenland's health chief says.
Dallas hospital defends actions
The Texas hospital that
treated a Liberian man who died of Ebola defended its actions, saying
the medical staff did all they could to save him.
The statement was issued
a day after Thomas Eric Duncan died of Ebola and followed accusations
of unfair treatment by members of Duncan's family.
Duncan was the first
person diagnosed of Ebola in the United States and the first to die
in a US hospital of the hemorrhagic fever that has killed 3,900 in
West Africa this year.
Yesterday Duncan's nephew
Joe Weeks told ABC News he felt Duncan had received "unfair"
medical treatment.
Unlike three of the
American patients who were infected with Ebola and transported back
to the United States for treatment, Duncan was not given a blood
transfusion from a survivor of Ebola.
The effectiveness of this
treatment is unknown, but the World Health Organization supports it
because it is believed to convey potent antibodies from a survivor to
a patient."
Mr. Duncan did not
receive the same type of serum transfusion as the patient in Nebraska
(NBC freelance cameraman Ashoka Mukpo) because his blood type was not
compatible with the serum donors," said Texas Health
Presbyterian Hospital Dallas.
Duncan was given an
experimental drug brincidofovir on Saturday, almost a week after he
was first hospitalised.
"The investigative
drug was administered as soon as his physicians determined that his
condition warranted it, and as soon as it could be obtained,"
the statement said.
The Texas hospital that
treated a Liberian man who died of Ebola defended its actions, saying
the medical staff did all they could to save him.
The statement was issued
a day after Thomas Eric Duncan died of Ebola and followed accusations
of unfair treatment by members of Duncan's family.
Duncan was the first
person diagnosed of Ebola in the United States and the first to die
in a US hospital of the hemorrhagic fever that has killed 3,900 in
West Africa this year.
Yesterday Duncan's nephew
Joe Weeks told ABC News he felt Duncan had received "unfair"
medical treatment.
Unlike three of the
American patients who were infected with Ebola and transported back
to the United States for treatment, Duncan was not given a blood
transfusion from a survivor of Ebola.
The effectiveness of this
treatment is unknown, but the World Health Organization supports it
because it is believed to convey potent antibodies from a survivor to
a patient."
Mr. Duncan did not
receive the same type of serum transfusion as the patient in Nebraska
(NBC freelance cameraman Ashoka Mukpo) because his blood type was not
compatible with the serum donors," said Texas Health
Presbyterian Hospital Dallas.
Duncan was given an
experimental drug brincidofovir on Saturday, almost a week after he
was first hospitalised.
"The investigative
drug was administered as soon as his physicians determined that his
condition warranted it, and as soon as it could be obtained,"
the statement said.
US military planes arrive at epicentre of Ebola
Six US military planes
have arrived at the epicentre of the Ebola crisis, carrying more aid
and American Marines into Liberia, the country hardest hit by the
deadly disease that has devastated West Africa and stirred anxiety
across a fearful world.
At a World Bank meeting
in Washington, the presidents of several West African countries
struggling with Ebola pleaded for help, with one calling the epidemic
"a tragedy unforeseen in modern times".
Alpha Conde of Guinea
said the region's countries are in "a very fragile situation."
"This disease is
today an international threat and deserves an international
response," he said, speaking through a translator.
Tom Frieden, director of
the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said he was
reminded of the start of the Aids epidemic.
"We have to work now
so this is not the next Aids," Frieden said.
The fleet that landed
outside the Liberian capital of Monrovia consisted of four MV-22
Ospreys and two KC-130s. The 100 additional Marines bring to just
over 300 the total number of American troops in the country, said
Major General Darryl A Williams, the commander leading the US
response.
- AP
Six US military planes
have arrived at the epicentre of the Ebola crisis, carrying more aid
and American Marines into Liberia, the country hardest hit by the
deadly disease that has devastated West Africa and stirred anxiety
across a fearful world.
At a World Bank meeting
in Washington, the presidents of several West African countries
struggling with Ebola pleaded for help, with one calling the epidemic
"a tragedy unforeseen in modern times".
Alpha Conde of Guinea
said the region's countries are in "a very fragile situation."
"This disease is
today an international threat and deserves an international
response," he said, speaking through a translator.
Tom Frieden, director of
the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said he was
reminded of the start of the Aids epidemic.
"We have to work now
so this is not the next Aids," Frieden said.
The fleet that landed
outside the Liberian capital of Monrovia consisted of four MV-22
Ospreys and two KC-130s. The 100 additional Marines bring to just
over 300 the total number of American troops in the country, said
Major General Darryl A Williams, the commander leading the US
response.
- AP
'British national dies of deadly virus in Macedonia'
UK officials are
investigating reports that a British national has died of a disease
believed to be Ebola in Macedonia.
The patient was admitted
to the Clinic for Infectious Diseases in Skopje showing symptoms
associated with Ebola and died shortly afterwards. Tests to confirm
the disease have yet to be completed.
The UK Foreign Office
(FCO) are now looking into the reports from a senior Macedonian
government official.
A second Briton had shown
symptoms of the virus, the official told Reuters on a condition of
anonymity.
"We are aware of the
reports and are urgently looking into them," an FCO spokesman
said.
If confirmed, the person
would be the first UK national to die from the deadly virus, after
British nurse Will Pooley was cured of Ebola last month.
It was unclear last night
whether the British national was living in Macedonia or had recently
travelled there from one of the African countries battling the
outbreak of the disease.
The reports came as
Downing Street announced that enhanced screening for Ebola will be
introduced at Heathrow and Gatwick Airports and Eurostar terminals
following advice from the Chief Medical Officer.
Two months ago the
Macedonian authorities announced they had introduced prevention
measures at all airports. Passengers with ebola-like symptoms were to
be immediately isolated and taken to the Clinic for Infectious
Diseases.
Macedonian airports
commenced all necessary prevention measures confronting possible
suspicious cases of Ebola on Wednesday, according to Macedonian
Commission for Infectious Diseases, according to Dr Jovanka
Kostovska, of the Commission for Infectious Diseases at the Ministry
of Health.
- Independent
UK officials are
investigating reports that a British national has died of a disease
believed to be Ebola in Macedonia.
The patient was admitted
to the Clinic for Infectious Diseases in Skopje showing symptoms
associated with Ebola and died shortly afterwards. Tests to confirm
the disease have yet to be completed.
The UK Foreign Office
(FCO) are now looking into the reports from a senior Macedonian
government official.
A second Briton had shown
symptoms of the virus, the official told Reuters on a condition of
anonymity.
"We are aware of the
reports and are urgently looking into them," an FCO spokesman
said.
If confirmed, the person
would be the first UK national to die from the deadly virus, after
British nurse Will Pooley was cured of Ebola last month.
It was unclear last night
whether the British national was living in Macedonia or had recently
travelled there from one of the African countries battling the
outbreak of the disease.
The reports came as
Downing Street announced that enhanced screening for Ebola will be
introduced at Heathrow and Gatwick Airports and Eurostar terminals
following advice from the Chief Medical Officer.
Two months ago the
Macedonian authorities announced they had introduced prevention
measures at all airports. Passengers with ebola-like symptoms were to
be immediately isolated and taken to the Clinic for Infectious
Diseases.
Macedonian airports
commenced all necessary prevention measures confronting possible
suspicious cases of Ebola on Wednesday, according to Macedonian
Commission for Infectious Diseases, according to Dr Jovanka
Kostovska, of the Commission for Infectious Diseases at the Ministry
of Health.
- Independent
Guinea player leaves team for Ebola fears
Guinea forward Lass
Bangoura says he left his national team to calm the fears of his
Spanish club teammates who were worried about the Ebola outbreak.
Lass was called to play
for Guinea in its 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Ghana
on Friday, which had been moved from Guinea to Morocco because of
concerns about Ebola.
But Lass says "when
they told me my teammates were worried, I made the decision to come
back, speak with them, and tell them that they shouldn't be afraid."
The first cases of Ebola
were confirmed in Guinea in March. The outbreak has killed more than
3,800 people, mainly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Ebola has reached Spain
also. A Spanish nursing assistant caught Ebola after treating a sick
missionary brought back to Madrid.
- AP
Guinea forward Lass
Bangoura says he left his national team to calm the fears of his
Spanish club teammates who were worried about the Ebola outbreak.
Lass was called to play
for Guinea in its 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Ghana
on Friday, which had been moved from Guinea to Morocco because of
concerns about Ebola.
But Lass says "when
they told me my teammates were worried, I made the decision to come
back, speak with them, and tell them that they shouldn't be afraid."
The first cases of Ebola
were confirmed in Guinea in March. The outbreak has killed more than
3,800 people, mainly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Ebola has reached Spain
also. A Spanish nursing assistant caught Ebola after treating a sick
missionary brought back to Madrid.
- AP
Ebola: Nurse's costly mistake
The nurse in Madrid who
became the first person infected with Ebola outside West Africa
repeatedly reported her symptoms to health authorities but was fobbed
off with paracetamol before being finally diagnosed with the deadly
virus and put in isolation.
Maria Teresa Romero Ramos
admits she probably caught the virus when she touched her face with a
contaminated glove as she removed her protective suit after visiting
the room of the infected missionary priest who was repatriated to
Madrid from Sierra Leone.
Spanish health officials
struggled to contain the virus and placed two more nurses in
quarantine and dozens of others under observation for symptoms of
Ebola.
Ms Romero is at "serious
risk" of dying from the disease after her condition worsened,
officials said.The nurse, so far the only person to have been
diagnosed after catching the disease outside Africa, "is at this
time very ill and her life is at serious risk as a consequence of the
virus," the Madrid regional president Ignacio Gonzalez told
parliament.
A spokeswoman for the La
Paz-Carlos III hospital where Romero is being treated told reporters
earlier: "Her clinical situation has deteriorated but I can't
provide more information," because of the express wishes of the
patient.
The nurse in Madrid who
became the first person infected with Ebola outside West Africa
repeatedly reported her symptoms to health authorities but was fobbed
off with paracetamol before being finally diagnosed with the deadly
virus and put in isolation.
Maria Teresa Romero Ramos
admits she probably caught the virus when she touched her face with a
contaminated glove as she removed her protective suit after visiting
the room of the infected missionary priest who was repatriated to
Madrid from Sierra Leone.
Spanish health officials
struggled to contain the virus and placed two more nurses in
quarantine and dozens of others under observation for symptoms of
Ebola.
Ms Romero is at "serious
risk" of dying from the disease after her condition worsened,
officials said.The nurse, so far the only person to have been
diagnosed after catching the disease outside Africa, "is at this
time very ill and her life is at serious risk as a consequence of the
virus," the Madrid regional president Ignacio Gonzalez told
parliament.
A spokeswoman for the La
Paz-Carlos III hospital where Romero is being treated told reporters
earlier: "Her clinical situation has deteriorated but I can't
provide more information," because of the express wishes of the
patient.
'Our people are dying'
The presidents of three
Ebola-stricken West African nations have made urgent pleas for money,
doctors and hospital beds and representatives of nations gathered for
a World Bank meeting promised to send more aid quickly.
"Our people are
dying," said President Ernest Bai Koroma. He spoke by video from
Sierra Leone to an Ebola summit at the annual meeting of the
International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Washington.Koroma
described devastating effects of "this evil virus" -
children made orphans, doctors and nurses dying, an overwhelmed
medical system that can't keep up with the need.
The world's response
hasn't kept pace with the spread of Ebola, Koroma said, and "a
tragedy unforeseen in modern times" is threatening
everyone.United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for a
20-fold surge in international aid to fight the outbreak and
representatives gathered for a World Bank pledged medical evacuations
for health care responders who catch the virus."For those who
have yet to pledge, I say please do so soon," he said. "This
is an unforgiving disease."
Read
more: Summit
will thrash out Ebola support
The presidents of three
Ebola-stricken West African nations have made urgent pleas for money,
doctors and hospital beds and representatives of nations gathered for
a World Bank meeting promised to send more aid quickly.
"Our people are
dying," said President Ernest Bai Koroma. He spoke by video from
Sierra Leone to an Ebola summit at the annual meeting of the
International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Washington.Koroma
described devastating effects of "this evil virus" -
children made orphans, doctors and nurses dying, an overwhelmed
medical system that can't keep up with the need.
The world's response
hasn't kept pace with the spread of Ebola, Koroma said, and "a
tragedy unforeseen in modern times" is threatening
everyone.United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for a
20-fold surge in international aid to fight the outbreak and
representatives gathered for a World Bank pledged medical evacuations
for health care responders who catch the virus."For those who
have yet to pledge, I say please do so soon," he said. "This
is an unforgiving disease."
Read
more: Summit
will thrash out Ebola support
What you need to know
The
toll: As
of Wednesday, Ebola has killed about 3800 people in West Africa and
infected at least 8000, according to the World Health Organisation.
The virus has taken an especially devastating toll on health care
workers, sickening or killing more than 370 of them in the
hardest-hit countries of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone - places
that already were short on doctors and nurses.
The
way it spreads: The
virus that causes Ebola is not airborne and can only be spread
through direct contact with bodily fluids - blood, sweat, vomit,
feces, urine, saliva or semen - of an infected person who is showing
symptoms.
The
Treatments: There
are no approved medications for Ebola, so doctors have tried
experimental treatments in some cases, including drugs and blood
transfusions from others who have recovered from Ebola. The
survivor's blood could carry antibodies for the disease that will
help a patient fight off the virus.
- AP
60
People Locked In Building After 4 Suspected Ebola Cases Near Paris
9
October, 2014
As
The Local reports, it
looks like Paris is all-clear
However
later in the evening Nevache confirmed that the "suspicion was
over" and the people were allowed to leave.
Le
Parisien newspaper reported that the alarm was raised when one of
four people "of African origin" who had recently visited
Gunea fell ill in the building and two others showed flu-like
symptoms.
Following
news of the death of a British man in Macedonia from Ebola, RTL
reports that 60
people are locked inside a Department of Medical and Social
Coordination (DASS) building in Cergy-Pontoise (on the northeast edge
of Paris) following Ebola-like symptoms in 4 people.
The
premises of the DASS in Cergy-Pontoise (Val-d'Oise) is currently
curly.Authorities
suspect an Ebola case and locked sixty people.
An
attending physician on the premises has been warning noting troubling
symptoms in four people who had returned from Guinea.
Specific
first aid arrived on the scene there for over an hour, a
perimeter was set up and a crisis enabled prefecture.
Workforce
of UAS equipped accordingly are expected on site a moment's notice.
A
building of the DASS of Cergy -Pontoise , near Paris , was cordoned
off tonight after the unrest in the premises of a person who may be
from Guinea and features similar to those of Ebola like symptoms, a-
was learned from sources.
The
building, owned by the General Council , was completed " to
carry out checks ," said the prefect of the Val- d'Oise , Jean
-Luc Nevache . Besides the person who feels unwell a second person
had flu-like symptoms , said Dr. Nevache , evoking a simple measure
of "precaution" .
According
to RTL , the authorities shut sixty in total. A security perimeter
has been established .
*
*
It
appears the reach of this deadly disease is growing..
*
* *
And
then there's this...
Another
UN staff tests positive for Ebola – U.S. to install quarantine
stations in 5 airports
The
toll: As
of Wednesday, Ebola has killed about 3800 people in West Africa and
infected at least 8000, according to the World Health Organisation.
The virus has taken an especially devastating toll on health care
workers, sickening or killing more than 370 of them in the
hardest-hit countries of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone - places
that already were short on doctors and nurses.
The
way it spreads: The
virus that causes Ebola is not airborne and can only be spread
through direct contact with bodily fluids - blood, sweat, vomit,
feces, urine, saliva or semen - of an infected person who is showing
symptoms.
The
Treatments: There
are no approved medications for Ebola, so doctors have tried
experimental treatments in some cases, including drugs and blood
transfusions from others who have recovered from Ebola. The
survivor's blood could carry antibodies for the disease that will
help a patient fight off the virus.
- AP
60
People Locked In Building After 4 Suspected Ebola Cases Near Paris
9
October, 2014
As
The Local reports, it
looks like Paris is all-clear
However later in the evening Nevache confirmed that the "suspicion was over" and the people were allowed to leave.
Le Parisien newspaper reported that the alarm was raised when one of four people "of African origin" who had recently visited Gunea fell ill in the building and two others showed flu-like symptoms.
Following
news of the death of a British man in Macedonia from Ebola, RTL
reports that 60
people are locked inside a Department of Medical and Social
Coordination (DASS) building in Cergy-Pontoise (on the northeast edge
of Paris) following Ebola-like symptoms in 4 people.
The premises of the DASS in Cergy-Pontoise (Val-d'Oise) is currently curly.Authorities suspect an Ebola case and locked sixty people.
An attending physician on the premises has been warning noting troubling symptoms in four people who had returned from Guinea.
Specific first aid arrived on the scene there for over an hour, a perimeter was set up and a crisis enabled prefecture.
Workforce of UAS equipped accordingly are expected on site a moment's notice.
A building of the DASS of Cergy -Pontoise , near Paris , was cordoned off tonight after the unrest in the premises of a person who may be from Guinea and features similar to those of Ebola like symptoms, a- was learned from sources.
The building, owned by the General Council , was completed " to carry out checks ," said the prefect of the Val- d'Oise , Jean -Luc Nevache . Besides the person who feels unwell a second person had flu-like symptoms , said Dr. Nevache , evoking a simple measure of "precaution" .
According to RTL , the authorities shut sixty in total. A security perimeter has been established .
*
*
It
appears the reach of this deadly disease is growing..
*
* *
And
then there's this...
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