cnn.com - by Christabelle Fombu and Susanna Capelouto - March 23, 2014

(CNN) -- An Ebola outbreak has killed at least 59 people in Guinea, UNICEF said, as the deadly hemorrhagic fever has quickly spread from southern communities in the West African nation.

Experts in the country had been unable to identify the disease, whose symptoms -- diarrhea, vomiting and fever -- were first observed last month.

Health Minister Remy Lamah said Saturday initial test results confirm the presence of a viral hemorrhagic fever, which according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention refers to a group of viruses that affect multiple organ systems in the body.

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Abstract

The earth temperature has increased by 1°F since 1950s, causing climate change, therefore, the proliferation of climate change-related disasters (CCRDs). Scientists believe that humans caused about half of the increase. CCRDs can result in serious disruptions of the functioning of society and cause widespread human, material, or environmental losses that exceed the local capacity to respond, resulting in the need for external assistance. Poor countries are the most vulnerable to CCRDs as they are lacking adequate resources to cope with these crises.

Conakry vulnerability to CCRD was assessed by answering to a series of questions designed for that purpose. The questions were answered, based on available literature on GOOGLE online search engine and documents received from government employees in Conakry.

MSF vaccination campaign in Guinea shows feasibility of oral cholera vaccine for control of future epidemics

Paris/New York, October 17, 2013—In a report published today in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and its scientific research arm, Epicentre, present results of one of the first-ever, large-scale uses of an oral cholera vaccine during a cholera outbreak—a major breakthrough in the understanding and future control of deadly cholera epidemics.

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CURRENT CONDITIONS Guinea has a tropical climate with two alternating seasons, a November–March dry season and an April–October rainy season. In general, rainfall increases from north to south. Average annual rainfall is 1,988 mm. Rice is the staple crop, and other important food crops are corn, fonio groundnuts, and cassava. Most of the population is rural, and the agricultural sector is the major employer. Urbanization is a growing phenomenon in Guinea. Agricultural GDP remained at about 20 percent of total GDP between the mid-1980s and 2005. By 2009, that share declined to less than 10 percent, reflecting a stagnation in agricultural productivity and the growth of other sectors like mining and the service sector.  

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Super Typhoon Haiyan -- perhaps the strongest storm ever -- plowed Friday across the central Philippines, leaving widespread devastation in its wake.

It roared onto Samar at 4:30 a.m., flooding streets and knocking out power and communications networks in many areas of the hilly island in the region of Eastern Visayas, and then continued its march, barreling into four other Philippine islands as it moved across the archipelago.

The World Health Organization (WHO) unveiled 5 priority actions to strengthen the fight against one of the world’s leading infectious killers - tuberculosis (TB) - at the 23 October launch of a new report on the epidemic. The 2013 TB report calls for more attention to multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) and reaching those who are being missed by the system.

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A rigorous assessment of drug and vaccine development for neglected diseases that shows some improvement over the last decade but still major gaps has been published in the Lancet today. Only 4% of the new therapeutic products registered between 2000-11 were for 11% of the global disease burden, and only 4 new chemical entities that can lead to truly new products were approved. 

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A call for action in 4 areas was put out at the World Health Summit in Berlin, held 20-22 October. The 1000 decision makers and representatives of health-related fields from more than 80 countries were there to address pressing issues of medicine and health care systems. The M8 Alliance released a joint statement on what was needed in research and innovation; education and leadership; evidence to policy; and global health for development. 

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Many of the ills of the modern world -- starvation, poverty, flooding, heat waves, droughts, war and disease -- are likely to worsen as the world warms from man-made climate change, a leaked draft of an international scientific report forecasts.

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SETH BORENSTEIN
AP Science Writer

In its sixth annual Climate Change Vulnerability Index, risk consultancy firm Maplecroft revealed the countries most likely to suffer from the effects of warming climates by 2025. Please click here to read more.

Many may be struggling to a clear understanding of the real meaning of "resilience". According to this article, the term really expanded in this post 9/11, tsunami and hurricane katrina era to acquire new meanings. This article contains detailed description about how the term "resilience" becomes widely used to describe how people, communities, nations strive to minimize impact of natural and manmade desasters. Click here to read the article.

On July 2013, the International Monetary Fund leased the poverty reduction strategy (2013-2015) for Guinea. The document is divided into three chapter. The first chapter presents the most recent socio-economic situation, the second, the strategic framework for the alleviation of poverty and the third, the framework for implementation of the strategy. The document elaborated extensivelly among other topics, on health and human security, eduction, as well as climate change. Please click here to read more.

Cholera is usually due to inadequate sanitation and water treatment systems. Tropical countries like Guinea and Sierra Leone are known to have very poor sanitation system which condition creates a breeding ground for diseases like cholera. According to The New York Times, from February to August of year 2012, cholera killed 392 while infecting more than 25,000 in Guinea and Sierra Leone. Please click here to read more.

Organizations such as Terre des homme make tremendous efforts to improve sanitation and promote health in Conakry. On January of last year, Terre des hommes launched a project to improve the conditions of hygiene in seven health centres in Conakry. The organization is hoping that the intervention will greatly improve the quality of the healthcare given to 262,000 mothers and children. Click here to read more.

This report provides a brief assessment of Conakry sanitation status. It shares information about water sources and supply systems, sanitation access, sewage system and treatment, and sanitation in low-income areas. It further describes agencies within the administration in charge of sanitation, as well as outside donors efforts to improve sanitation in Conakry. Please click here to read more.