TWO ARTICLES ON EBOLA CONCERNS DURING THE HAJJ

Al Jazeera                              Oct 5, 2014

Millions of pilgrims from all corners of the world traveled to Saudi Arabia for the start of the hajj in the past week, but some West African Muslims will not be able to take part in the sacred journey this year because of public health fears surrounding the Ebola outbreak.

Saudi Arabia issued a travel ban on citizens of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone as what it called a “precautionary measure,” saying the risk of Ebola infection is too high for travelers from those countries to be allowed entry now.

The Ebola-stricken countries each have sizable Muslim populations... Saudi authorities have turned down about 7,000 requests for hajj visas from the three countries because of Ebola concerns, according to the United Nations.

UPDATE with comments from interviw with CDC Director Tom Frieden.   Scroll below.

huffingtonpost.com - October 2nd, 2014 - Jeffery Young

The world has known about Ebola for almost 40 years, yet there's no cure or vaccine on the market.

That could change amid worldwide attention to the ongoing outbreak of the virus in West Africa, which has claimed more than 3,000 lives already, and the first diagnosis of a patient with the disease in the United States. But not for a few more years -- at least.

(VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Update: Comments by CDC Director on Sunday TV interview

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ebola-virus-outbreak/cdc-director-tom-frieden-ebola-drug-pipeline-will-be-slow-n218666

BBC            October 3, 2014

A hospital in the German city of Frankfurt-on-Main has taken in an Ebola patient after he was flown in during the night under tight security.

He is a Ugandan doctor who worked with Ebola patients in Sierra Leone. After arriving on a medical flight, the man was brought to Frankfurt University Hospital where he was placed in an isolation ward.

It is Germany's second case, with a man undergoing treatment in Hamburg after arriving from West Africa in August.

The Frankfurt hospital said the patient's arrival had gone well.

Hesse Minister of Social Affairs Stefan Gruettner said the patient had been working for an Italian aid organisation in Sierra Leone and had helped Ebola sufferers there before becoming infected himself.

Full Story
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-29473623

Medical staff in protective equipment attend the arrival of the Ebola patient at Frankfurt University Hospital

NEW YORK TIMES              October 3, 2014

MONROVIA, Liberia — The arrival in the United States of a Liberian man infected with the Ebola virus shows how difficult it is to control or restrict the disease from spreading, and how porous current procedures are in a world of globalized air travel.

Liberian officials said on Thursday that they planned to prosecute the passenger, Thomas E. Duncan, for lying on an airport questionnaire about not having contact with a person infected with Ebola before his travel — a pivotal part of the country’s screening process.

Mr. Duncan took three planes as he flew from Monrovia, the Liberian capital, to Dallas last month, connecting in Brussels and Washington.