EMERGING & RE-EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES
VIRAL HEMORRHAGIC FEVERS
DEADLY EBOLA HF
SCENARIO 011
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Sierra Leone quarantines Ebola affected area as death toll mounts
Authorities in Sierra Leone have declared an emergency in the Ebola affected district of Kailahun, near Gueckedou, Guinea, ordering closure of all schools.
“All public gatherings and cultural activities are banned and cross-border trade fairs halted until the Ebola virus is contained, ” the health authorities said.
Ebola HF has killed at least 19 people in Sierra Leone, with 117 suspected cases, CDC reported.
Outbreak of Ebola in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone [CDC]
Highlights
As of June 10, 2014, the Guinea Ministry of Health announced a total of 376 suspect and confirmed cases of Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), including 241 fatal cases, in the districts of Conakry, Guéckédou, Macenta, Kissidougou, Dabola, Djingaraye, Télimélé, Boffa, and Kouroussa (see map).
233 cases across Guinea have been confirmed by laboratory testing to be positive for Ebola virus infection.
In Conakry, 75 suspect cases are reported to meet the clinical definition for EHF, including 32 fatal cases.
June 9, 2014, the Ministry of Health and Sanitation of Sierra Leone reported 43 laboratory confirmed cases of EHF from 3 districts: Kailahun, Kambia, and Port Loko.
An additional 117 suspect cases and 19 fatal cases were also reported in Sierra Leone on June 9.
The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare of Liberia reported 1 new laboratory confirmed case and one death on June 7, 2014. This is the first case reported since early April.
Genetic analysis of the virus indicates that it is closely related (97% identical) to variants of Ebola virus (species Zaire ebolavirus) identified earlier in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Gabon (Baize et al. 2014External Web Site Icon).
The Guinean Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Health and Sanitation of Sierra Leone, and the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare of Liberia are working with national and international partners to investigate and respond to the outbreak.
Guinea at a Glance
Suspected and Confirmed Case Count: 376
Suspected Case Deaths: 241
Laboratory Confirmed Cases: 233
Liberia at a Glance
Suspected and Confirmed Case Count: 13
Suspected Case Deaths: 9
Laboratory Confirmed Cases: 6
Sierra Leone at a Glance
Suspected and Confirmed Case Count: 160
Suspected Case Deaths: 19
Laboratory Confirmed Cases: 43
Outbreak Update
June 11, 2014
On June 10, 2014, The Ministry of Health (MoH) of Guinea reported 376 suspect and confirmed cases of Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), including 241 fatal cases and 233 laboratory confirmed cases. New cases were reported in Gueckedou, Telimele, and Boffa districts and follow-up investigations continue in Conakry, Boke, and Dubreka districts in the west, and Macenta, and Kouroussa districts in the south (see map).
The Ministry of Health and Sanitation of Sierra Leone reported 117 suspect cases, 19 fatal cases, and 43 laboratory confirmed cases on June 9, 2014. Confirmed cases have been reported from the Kailahun district, near Gueckedou, Guinea, and for the first time in Kambia and Port Loko districts in northwest Sierra Leone. Reports of and investigations of suspect cases continue in Kailahun, Kenema, Kono, Bo, Moyamba , Kambia, Koinadugu, Port Loko, Tonkolili, Bombali, and Western area districts. Laboratory testing is being conducted in Kenema city. Sierra Leone and WHO have sent experts to aid in the response and investigation.
On June 7, 2014, the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare of Liberia reported 1 laboratory confirmed EHF case and 1 new death in the Foya District of Liberia. This is the first reported case since April 6, 2014.
Possible Outbreak in Senegal and Gambia
News of a possible outbreak in Senegal may have been suppressed. As of early April, Gambia had placed at least two people with suspected EHF under quarantine.
Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever(EHF)
EHF is a highly contagious virus that spreads via close personal contact and kills up to 90% of the victims.
Five subspecies of Ebolavirus have so far been found. Four of those have caused disease in humans: Ebola virus (Zaire ebolavirus); Sudan virus (Sudan ebolavirus); Taï Forest virus (Taï Forest ebolavirus, formerly Côte d’Ivoire ebolavirus); and Bundibugyo virus (Bundibugyo ebolavirus). The fifth, Reston virus (Reston ebolavirus), has caused disease in nonhuman primates, but not in humans, according to CDC.
There are no known cure or vaccine for the Ebola virus.
In Africa, confirmed cases of Ebola HF have previously been reported in the following countries:
- Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
- Gabon
- South Sudan
- Ivory Coast
- Uganda
- Republic of the Congo (ROC)
- South Africa (imported)
The current outbreak is the first known occurrence of Ebola HF in Guinea.
“The natural reservoir host of ebolaviruses, and the manner in which transmission of the virus to humans occurs, remain unknown. This makes risk assessment in endemic areas difficult. With the exception of several laboratory contamination cases (one in England and two in Russia), all cases of human illness or death have occurred in Africa; no case has been reported in the United States,” said CDC.
Ebola virions (image 2 colorized 1), diagnostic specimen from the first passage in Vero cells of a specimen from a human patient — this image is from the first isolation and visualization of Ebola virus, 1976. In this case, some of the filamentous virions are fused together, end-to-end, giving the appearance of a “bowl of spaghetti.” Negatively stained virions. Magnification: approximately x40,000. Micrograph from F. A. Murphy, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas.
12 deadly pathogens could spread into new regions aided by climate change
A report by Wildlife Conservation Society released on October 7, 2008 lists 12 deadly pathogens that could spread globally as a result of climate change. “All have potential impacts to both human and wildlife health as well as global economies.” Report said.
Titled ‘The Deadly Dozen: Wildlife Diseases in the Age of Climate Change,’ the report illustrates examples of diseases that could spread due to temperatures changes and variations in regional precipitation levels.
The “Deadly Dozen” list [ABC]
- Avian influenza
- Babesia
- Cholera
- Ebola
- Intestinal and external parasites
- Lyme disease
- Plague
- Red tides
- Rift Valley fever
- Sleeping sickness (trypanosomiasis)
- Tuberculosis
- Yellow fever
RELATED LINKS
- Ebola Kills 100 in West Africa April 5, 2014
- Ebola Spreads to Liberia, Senegal Shuts Border March 31, 2014
- Ebola Outbreak Kills Dozens March 23, 2014
- Marburg Hemorrhagic Fever Breaks Out in SW Uganda October 20, 2012
- Disaster Calendar – 28 July 2012 July 28, 2012
- Climate Change Spreads “Deadly Dozen” Diseases October 8, 2008
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