Sierra Leone to lock down Ebola hotspots next week – officials
Reuters
March 20, 2015 2:39 AM
FREETOWN (Reuters) – Residents in Sierra Leone’s remaining Ebola hotspots will be confined to their houses for three days next week, officials said, as the government tries to snuff out an outbreak that has killed over 10,200 people across West Africa.

The number of Ebola cases in the region has fallen in recent months, though a spike in Guinea highlights the risk of complacency, over a year into the worst outbreak on record.
Sidi Yaya Tunis, an official at Sierra Leone’s National Ebola Response Centre, said health officials would carry out house-to-house searches from March 27-29 to identify the sick in the north and west, where the virus is spreading fastest.

Elsewhere, where transmission is lower, officials will focus on education and prevention, he said.

Health officials said a previous lockdown in Sierra Leone in September was a success and helped identify more than 100 cases.

“If we don’t get on top of this before the rains come, it will be a horror show,” said a Sierra Leone health official who asked not to be named because the details of the lockdown have not been made public. “Many people are still not following the basic rules.”

The rains are due to begin in May. The World Health Organization has said they could greatly complicate the fight against Ebola by washing away roads and making it harder for aid and healthcare workers to get to affected areas…

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Sierra Leone Ebola lockdown welcomed by Plan International
20 March 2015: Plan International has welcomed the 3 day Ebola lockdown announced by Sierra Leone this week, but has emphasised the need to help families cope during the curfew.

The children’s rights organisation says the campaign at the end of March to try to stamp out the Ebola outbreak is a welcome measure, as long as appropriate mechanisms are put in place to support families and vulnerable children.

“We heartily welcome this campaign and fully support this move from the government to address the surge in Ebola cases,” said Casely Coleman, Plan’s Country Director in Sierra Leone.

“However, we believe that government should put adequate mechanisms in place to ensure families cope during this period of lockdown, so that the situation for vulnerable children and women does do not worsen further.

“This should include early payment of salaries to enable families to buy essential supplies needed at home, and enough prior awareness raising through the media to ensure that citizens can make safety and security arrangements, and to enlist their support and cooperation during the period.”..

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Ebola case undermines Liberia disease-free hopes
BBC – 20 March 2015 Last updated at 17:30 ET
Liberia has confirmed a new case of Ebola, undermining growing hopes in the country that it might soon be declared free of the disease.
There had not been a new case for 20 days until a woman tested positive on Friday in the capital, Monrovia.
The World Health Organization requires 42 days to elapse from the last known case before a country can be declared free of the virus..

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International Rescue Committee [to 21 March 2015]
http://www.rescue.org/press-release-index
The IRC statement on confirmed case of Ebola in Liberia’s capital
March 20, 2015 by The IRC
NEW YORK—Confirmation today of a new case of Ebola in Monrovia – the first in 17 days – re-emphasizes the need for strict infection prevention control at all health clinics and hospitals in Liberia. Health care workers at Redemption Hospital’s emergency ward, managed by the International Rescue Committee, had the infection prevention and control resources they needed to respond to this case in a way that minimized the risk of infection. Such protection measures must be in place across the board.
The Montserrado Consortium, led by the IRC, has deployed contact tracers and case investigators to contact and monitor all of those who have come in contact with this patient so as to do everything they can to ensure that this remains an isolated case, without further risk of transmission

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NIH Watch [to 21 March 2015]
http://www.nih.gov/news/index.html
:: Update on clinical status of patient with Ebola virus disease at the NIH Clinical Center
March 16, 2015 — Status changes from serious to critical condition.

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UNICEF Watch [to 21 March 2015]
:: Ebola: Getting to zero – for communities, for children, for the future
UNICEF Report
March 2015 :: 19 pages
As slight hints of recovery begin to surface in West Africa, UNICEF is looking at the impact of Ebola on children and the response and work of the affected communities… The document traces some of the outbreak’s history along with the stories of survivors, health care workers and those working to make things better on the ground. The report also helps map out the actions that urgently must continue to help build resiliency and resuscitate basic services and systems decimated by Ebola.
Pdf: http://www.unicef.org/emergencies/ebola/75941_81198.html

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ICRC – International Committee of the Red Cross [to 21 March 2015]
http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/index.jsp
Ending Ebola requires continued resources and “the right words”
News release
20 March 2015
The Ebola epidemic in West Africa, which has affected thousands of people and left deep scars on whole communities and countries, was confirmed one year ago. The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement says complacency and silence are now the greatest enemies in defeating the disease, and today it is launching an international awareness-raising campaign centred on using “the right words” to help end the disease.

‘Ebola-proof’ tablet device developed
BBC 19 March 2015 Last updated at 22:09 ET
By Smitha Mundasad Health reporter, BBC News
A tablet device that can withstand being doused in chlorine has been developed to help medics caring for patients with Ebola.
Designed by technology volunteers and Google, it can be used even wearing gloves and in storms and high humidity.
Medecins Sans Frontieres put out a call for an Ebola-proof tablet to help teams record vital patient information.
At the height of the current outbreak, doctors were shouting patient notes across fences to avoid contamination…