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In Ebola Outbreak, Bad Data Adds Another Problem

ASSOCIATED PRESS -By MARIA CHENG and SARAH DiLORENZO Dec. 14, 2014

LONDON--As health officials struggle to contain the world's biggest-ever Ebola outbreak, their efforts are being complicated by another problem: bad data.

Having accurate numbers about an outbreak is essential not only to provide a realistic picture of the epidemic, but to determine effective control strategies. Dr. Bruce Aylward, who is leading the World Health Organization's Ebola response, said it's crucial to track every single Ebola patient in West Africa to stop the outbreak and that serious gaps remain in their data.

"As we move into the stage of hunting down the virus instead of just slowing the exponential growth, having good data is going to be at the heart of this," Aylward said. "We are not there yet and this is something we definitely need to fix."

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Sierra Leone Baffled by Doctors' Ebola Deaths

VOICE OF AMERICA  by James Butty                             Dec. 8, 2014
FREETOWN --Sierra Leone’s chief medical officer has said he is baffled by the deaths of three doctors from Ebola over a three-day period.  

Dr. Brima Kargbo said a survey conducted jointly with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) found that 70 percent of infections did not come from either the country’s Ebola holding centers or treatment facilities. 

FILE - A health worker prepares to disinfect a van used for burial purposes in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

Kargbo said Dr. Aiah Solomon Konoyeima died Saturday, becoming the 10th Sierra Leonean physician to die of the virus. 

“We have Dr. Tom Rogers and Dr. [Dauda] Koroma, who were buried yesterday, and also Dr. Konoyeima,” Dr. Kargbo said.

Rogers was a surgeon at the Connaught Hospital, the main referral unit in the capital, Freetown. He was reportedly being treated at the British-run Kerry Town Ebola treatment center. He was said to be responding well to treatment when his condition deteriorated dramatically on Friday.

Koroma died at the Hastings Treatment Center, which is run entirely by local Sierra Leone medics.

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An Ebola Doctor’s Return From the Edge of Death

Detailed description of one Doctor’s Story of Fighting Back From Ebola’s Deadly Grip

NEW YORK TIMES by Denise Grady                                Dec. 8, 2014

Dr. Ian Crozier, 44, contracted Ebola in Sierra Leone while treating patients. He was evacuated to Atlanta on Sept. 9 and had an agonizing illness, with 40 days in the hospital and dark stretches when his doctors and his family feared he might sustain brain damage or die. His identity was kept secret at his request, to protect his family’s privacy.

 

Now, for the first time, he is speaking out. His reason, he said, is to thank Emory for the extraordinary care he received, and to draw attention to the continuing epidemic.

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Ebola fight sees Canadian Forces medical team deployed to Sierra Leone

CBC NEWS                                                                                                                     Dec.6, 2014

A Canadian Forces medical team left CFB Trenton in Ontario on Saturday en route to Britain, where they’ll undergo training before deploying to Sierra Leone as part of the effort to combat the Ebola outbreak, the military said.

Judith Bosse, (left to right), Assistant Deputy Minister at the Public Health Agency of Canada, Defence Minister Rob Nicholson, Health Minister Rona Ambrose and Dr. Gregory Taylor, Canada's Chief Public Health Officer, watch a nurse demonstrate how to remove protective clothing after treating a hypothetical Ebola patient. (Patrick Doyle/Canadian Press)

The Forces said about 40 nurses, doctors, physicians’ assistants, medics and support are to train alongside U.K. military personnel, and most of them will continue on to Sierra Leone by later this month.

The Canadian Forces team will be working at a British-built clinic in Sierra Leone treating local and international health care workers, who themselves have become infected in the course of treating Ebola patients from the general population.

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10th Sierra Leonean Doctor Dies From Ebola

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone --Another Sierra Leonean doctor has died from Ebola, the 10th to succumb to the disease, a health official said Sunday.

Dr. Aiah Solomon Konoyeima died Saturday, according to Chief Medical Officer Dr. Brima Kargbo. His death came a day after two other doctors died from Ebola, emphasizing the tremendous toll the disease has taken on health care workers.

Konoyeima worked at a children's hospital in the capital and tested positive for Ebola about two weeks ago. He was treated at the Hastings Ebola Treatment Center, which is staffed exclusively by Sierra Leonean medical personnel, as compared to many other treatment units, which are run by international organizations or employ some foreign staff.

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http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/10th-sierra-leonean-doctor-dies-ebola-27424222

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As Ebola Rages, Poor Planning Thwarts Efforts

NEW YORK TIMES --by Jeffrey Gettleman                      Dec. 7, 2014

KERRY TOWN, Sierra Leone —On a freshly cleared hillside outside the capital, where the trees have been chopped down and replaced with acres of smooth gravel, the new Ebolatreatment center seems to have everything. There are racks of clean pink scrubs and white latex boots, bathrooms that smell like Ajax, solar-powered lights, a pharmacy tent, even a thatch-roofed hut to relax in.

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