EBOLA/EVD [to 17 October 2015]
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC); “Threat to international peace and security” (UN Security Council)

Ebola Situation Report – 14 October 2015
[Excerpts]
SUMMARY [excerpt]
No confirmed cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD) were reported in the week to 11 October. This is the second consecutive week with zero confirmed cases. However, 150 registered contacts remain under follow-up in Guinea, of which 118 are high risk, and an additional 259 contacts remain untraced. There remains a near-term risk of further cases among both registered and untraced contacts. In Sierra Leone, 2 high-risk contacts associated with the 2 most recently active chains of transmission in the country were lost to follow-up and have not yet been found. In addition, a patient who was reported as a case in the United Kingdom on 29 December 2014, and who later recovered, was hospitalised on 6 October in the United Kingdom after developing late EVD-related complications. As of 13 October, 62 close contacts have been identified in the UK for follow-up…
WHO: Preliminary study finds that Ebola virus fragments can persist in the semen of some survivors for at least nine months
Freetown, 14 October 2015 – Preliminary results of a study into persistence of Ebola virus in body fluids show that some men still produce semen samples that test positive for Ebola virus nine months after onset of symptoms.

The report, published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, provides the first results of a long-term study being jointly conducted by the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Sierra Leone Ministry of Defence, the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Sierra Leone is committed to getting to zero cases and to taking care of our survivors, and part of that effort includes understanding how survivors may be affected after their initial recovery,” said Amara Jambai, M.D., M.Sc., Deputy Chief Medical Officer for the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health and Sanitation. “Survivors are to be commended for contributing to the studies that help us understand how long the virus may persist in semen.”

The first phase of this study has focused on testing for Ebola virus in semen because of past research showing persistence in that body fluid. Better understanding of viral persistence in semen is important for supporting survivors to recover and to move forward with their lives.

“These results come at a critically important time, reminding us that while Ebola case numbers continue to plummet, Ebola survivors and their families continue to struggle with the effects of the disease. This study provides further evidence that survivors need continued, substantial support for the next 6 to 12 months to meet these challenges and to ensure their partners are not exposed to potential virus,” said Bruce Aylward, WHO Director-General’s Special Representative on the Ebola Response…

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Two new Ebola cases in Guinea confound hopes of end to outbreak
Reuters – Friday 16 October 2015
Weeks away from west African country being declared free of disease, two men have contracted virus, one having had no contact with registered victims
Two people have fallen ill with Ebola in Guinea, the World Health Organisation has said, dashing hopes of an imminent end to the worst recorded outbreak of the disease after a two-week spell without any new cases across west Africa.

Guinea was weeks away from joining Liberia in being declared free of the virus that has killed more than 11,000 people in a near two-year rampage. Neighbouring Sierra Leone is also halfway through the 42-day countdown to being Ebola-free…

Authorities in Guinea said on Friday one of the cases in Forécariah, western Guinea, appeared to be linked to a previously known chain of infection, while the other in the capital, Conakry, seemed to be new.

“On the bumpy road we keep talking about – the high risk of recurrence – once again we are navigating a few bumps,” Margaret Harris, a WHO spokeswoman, told a briefing in Geneva. “Of course we didn’t want it, but we did expect it. Guinea hadn’t got to the stage where we were looking at 42 days.”…