EBOLA/EVD [to 19 March 2016]
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC); “Threat to international peace and security” (UN Security Council)

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Ebola Situation Reports
[While no announcement of a change in reporting cycle is evident, we deduce that Ebola Situation Reports have been reduced to a bi-weekly cycle given the spacing of the last few reports – previous update: Ebola Situation Report – 2 March 2016]

Ebola Situation Report – 16 March 2016
SUMMARY
:: Human-to-human transmission linked to the most recent cluster of 2 cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD) first reported from Sierra Leone on 14 January will be declared to have ended on 17 March, 42 days after the second and last case in the cluster provided a second consecutive negative blood sample (RT-PCR) and was discharged. Human-to-human transmission linked to the most recent cluster of cases in Liberia was declared to have ended on 14 January 2016. Guinea was declared free of Ebola transmission linked directly to the original outbreak on 29 December 2015, and will complete its 90-day period of enhanced surveillance on 27 March 2016.

:: With guidance from WHO and other partners, ministries of health in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone have plans to deliver a package of essential services to safeguard the health of the estimated more than 10 000 survivors. So far over 350 male survivors in Liberia have accessed semen screening and counselling services. In addition, over 2600 survivors in Sierra Leone have accessed a general health assessment and eye exam.

:: To manage the residual risks of Ebola reintroduction or re-emergence, WHO has supported the implementation of enhanced surveillance systems in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone to alert authorities to cases of febrile illness or death that may be related to EVD. In the week to 13 March, 1611 alerts were reported in Guinea from all of the country’s 34 prefectures. All alerts were reports of community deaths. Over the same period, 9 operational laboratories in Guinea tested a total of 370 new and repeat samples (17 samples from live patients and 353 from community deaths) from 17 of the country’s 34 prefectures. In Liberia, 663 alerts were reported from all of the country’s 15 counties, most of which (544) were related to live patients. The country’s 5 operational laboratories tested 595 new and repeat samples (399 from live patients and 196 from community deaths) for Ebola virus over the same period, compared with 921 samples the previous week. In Sierra Leone 1494 alerts were reported from the country’s 14 districts. The majority of alerts (1142) were for community deaths. 952 new and repeat samples (19 from live patients and 933 from community deaths) were tested for Ebola virus by the country’s 7 operational laboratories over the same period.

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WHO: New Ebola cases confirmed in Guinea as WHO warns of more possible flare ups
18 March 2016
Conakry — WHO has dispatched a team of specialists to the southern prefecture of Nzérékoré after 2 new cases of Ebola were detected and confirmed in a rural village.
Guinean health officials in the region alerted WHO and partners on 16 March to 3 unexplained deaths in recent weeks in the village of Koropara and said other members of the same family are currently showing symptoms characteristic of Ebola.
Guinea’s Ministry of Health, WHO, the US Centers for Disease Control and UNICEF sent in investigators on 17 March. Samples were taken from 4 individuals. A mother and her 5-year-old son, relatives of the deceased, confirmed positive for Ebola virus disease in lab tests. The 2 have been taken to a treatment facility.
In coordination with Guinea’s Ministry of Health, WHO has deployed an initial team of epidemiologists, surveillance experts, vaccinators, social mobilizers, contact tracers and an anthropologist today to support an inter-agency response. More specialists are expected to arrive in the coming days. Response teams will work to investigate the origin of the new infections and to identify, isolate, vaccinate and monitor all contacts of the new cases and those who died.
Guinea’s National Emergency Response Centre is convening a meeting 18 March to further coordinate a rapid response to contain the country’s first re-emergence of Ebola since its original outbreak was declared over on 29 December 2015…

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WHO statement on end of Ebola flare-up in Sierra Leone
WHO statement
17 March 2016
WHO joins the government of Sierra Leone in marking the end of the recent flare-up of Ebola virus disease in the country. As of today, 17 March, 42 days have passed, two incubation cycles of the virus, since the last person confirmed to have Ebola virus disease in the country tested negative for a second time.

This latest flare-up of Ebola brings to 3,590 the number of lives lost in Sierra Leone to an epidemic that devastated families and communities across the country and disrupted every aspect of life.
Today marks another milestone in the country’s effort to defeat Ebola. WHO commends Sierra Leone’s government, partners and people on the effective and swift response to this latest outbreak. From nurses, vaccinators and social mobilizers to contact tracers, counsellors and community leaders, Sierra Leoneans in affected districts mobilized quickly and their involvement and dedication was instrumental and impactful.

The rapid containment of the flare-up was also a real-time demonstration of the increased capacity at the national, district and community level to respond to Ebola outbreaks and other health emergencies and mitigate their impact. Investments made in rapid response teams, surveillance, lab diagnostics, risk communication, infection prevention and control measures and other programmes were put to the test and clearly paid off.

However, WHO continues to stress that Sierra Leone, as well as Liberia and Guinea, are still at risk of Ebola flare-ups, largely due to virus persistence in some survivors, and must remain on high alert and ready to respond…

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IOM / International Organization for Migration [to 19 March 2016]
http://www.iom.int/press-room/press-releases
Infectious Disease Holding Units Installed at Four Border Posts in Ghana
03/15/16
Ghana – IOM Ghana in partnership with the Government of Ghana installed four infectious disease holding units at Sampa and Elubo Points of Entry (border with Cote d’Ivoire), as well as the Hamile and Paga Points of Entry (border with Burkina Faso), to enhance the screening and surveillance capacities for Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) and other communicable diseases at these key border posts.
The holding units will facilitate the isolation of suspected cases of infectious diseases prior to their referral to the nearest health facilities for further management.

The holding units are equipped with examination couches, washrooms, hand washing sinks and a store room which is stocked with Personal Protective Equipment (including disposable gloves, disposable face masks, hand sanitizers, disposable aprons) as well as hygiene and cleaning equipment, and laser infra-red thermometers. The units also have their own individual sewer systems which are separate from the general public sewage system to avoid contamination…

…The IOM Chief of Mission in Ghana, Sylvia Lopez-Ekra said…“The Ebola epidemic in West Africa taught us two important things: First that the spread of Ebola was fueled among other things by the inability to control and screen population movements across borders, and second, that sick travelers should be swiftly identified and cared for with extra caution. With these new infectious disease holding units we are making an important contribution to addressing those two issues.”…

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Trials of a New Vaccine for Ebola to Take Place at RUSAL’s Medical Centre in Guinea
MOSCOW, March 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ —
UC RUSAL, a leading global aluminium producer, co-organized a roundtable discussion “Ebola vaccine from Russia: the first lessons and outlook into the future”. The Minister of Health, Veronika Skvortsova and the Head of the Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (“Rospotrebnadzor”), Anna Popova joined RUSAL President Oleg Deripaska at the event. Via a teleconference facility, the Guinean President Alpha Conde addressed the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin and the entire world community to express his appreciation.

The Minister of Health, Veronika Skvortsova noted that the Ebola vaccine has been developed in Russia under the working directive of the President and has obtained Russian state registration. In addition, the Russian Federation has allocated financing for “field trials” of the new vaccine. Two thousand citizens of the Republic of Guinea will be vaccinated at the first stage with trials planned at the Research and Clinical Diagnostics Centre for Epidemiological and Microbiological Studies, founded by RUSAL in Guinea.

RUSAL has been operating in Guinea for over 10 years and is the largest foreign employer in the country. RUSAL opened a specialized Centre for the treatment of Ebola in Kindia, with total investment in the Centre amounting to around USD10 million…