EBOLA/EVD [to 21 November 2015]
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC); “Threat to international peace and security” (UN Security Council)

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Ebola Situation Report – 18 November 2015
[Excerpt]
SUMMARY
:: Guinea reported no confirmed cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in the week to 15 November. The most recent case from Guinea was reported on 29 October. That case is a child who was born in an Ebola treatment centre, and who was delivered by medical staff wearing full personal protective equipment (PPE). As such, no contacts are associated with this case, and all contacts associated with previous cases have completed their 21-day follow-up period. A second consecutive blood sample from the child tested negative for Ebola virus on 16 November.
:: On 7 November WHO declared that Ebola virus transmission had been stopped in Sierra Leone. The country has now entered a 90-day period of enhanced surveillance, which is scheduled to conclude on 5 February 2016. Both Liberia and Sierra Leone have now achieved objective 1 of the phase 3 response framework: to interrupt all remaining chains of Ebola virus transmission…

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New Ebola cases hit Liberia after country declared virus free
Reuters – Health | Fri Nov 20, 2015 3:10pm EST
MONROVIA | By James Harding Giahyue
Three new cases of Ebola emerged in Liberia on Friday, a setback for a country that had been declared free of the disease on September 3 and also a blow for the wider region as it struggles to end an epidemic that has killed around 11,300 people.

The first of the new patients was a 10-year-old boy who lived with his parents and three siblings in Paynesville, a suburb east of the capital Monrovia, said Minister of Health Minister Bernice Dahn. Two direct family members have also since tested positive, officials said.

All six family members, as well as other high risk contacts, are in care at an Ebola Treatment Unit in Paynesville, she said.

“The hospital is currently decontaminating the unit. All of the healthcare workers who came into contact with the patient have been notified,” she told a news conference.

“We know how Ebola spreads and we know how to stop Ebola but we must remain vigilant and work together,” she said.

Bruce Aylward, who leads the Ebola response for the U.N. World Health Organisation, said the patient had no history of contact with an Ebola survivor or victim.

“The family obviously is at particular risk and is being investigated right now,” he told a news conference in Geneva, speaking before confirmation that two of the first patient’s siblings had also tested positive.

Liberia has seen more than 10,600 cases of the disease and 4,808 Ebola deaths since it was first announced in March, 2014, WHO figures show…

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Dr. David Nabarro (Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Ebola) on Ebola – Press Conference (18 November 2015) (English)
18 Nov 2015
Video – 00:37:45
Dr. David Nabarro, the Special Envoy on Ebola, providing an update on the Ebola outbreak, and also speaking in his capacity as Chair of the Advisory Group on Reform of the World Health Organization’s Work in Outbreaks and Emergencies.