[stem-ebola] PRO/AH/EDR> Ebola virus disease - ex Africa (22): Canada, C

[alex@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

EBOLA VIRUS DISEASE - ex AFRICA (22): CANADA, CHINA, FRANCE, UK, USA,
GUIDELINES
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In this update:
[1] Canada: preparedness
[2] China, Taiwan: false alarm
[3] France: rapid bedside diagnostic test
[4] UK: more airports beginning Ebola screening
[5] USA: American video journalist free of Ebola
[6] USA: new CDC guidelines
[7] USA: CDC will monitor people arriving from West Africa
[8] USA: Ohio Ebola Daily Contact Report
[9] USA: requiring passengers from Ebola-stricken countries to fly
into 5 airports

******
[1] Canada: preparedness
Date: Mon 20 Oct 2014
Source: Canoe News [edited]
<http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2014/10/20/22019126.html>


No more Canadian health workers to Africa, until...
---------------------------------------------------
Health minister Rona Ambrose says no more Canadian health workers will
be going to West Africa to help in the fight against Ebola until
"medical evacuation is guaranteed". She said the countries most
affected by Ebola don't have the necessary equipment to deal with an
influx of health care workers who could become infected with the
virus. Canada has an agreement with a US charter, but other countries
have similar arrangements with the same company. "It's one thing to
have an arrangement, but if there was more than a few people sick, a
number of countries would be in a very difficult position," Ambrose
said on Monday [20 Oct 2014]...

Meanwhile, drills held on the weekend to ensure medical experts can
quickly respond to a 1st Ebola case in Canada have been declared a
success. On Sunday [19 Oct 2014] in Halifax, members of the Ebola
rapid response team from Ottawa practised how they would help local
and provincial health officials. A smaller drill in Ottawa on Friday
[17 Oct 2014] looked at how quickly the team could get together with
the proper gear and equipment in one of 4 designated aircraft. Gregory
Taylor, the chief public health officer of Canada, announced on Monday
that organizers were "delighted and said (the Halifax trial) went
extremely well. We have other provinces put up their hands to say that
we would like to try this as well," he said. As part of the response,
vials of Canada's experimental Ebola vaccine go to the affected
hospital as an added precaution. Taylor said previous experience with
SARS, H1N1 and H5N1 has "strengthened Canada's preparedness for public
health risks or outbreaks..." -- more

--
communicated by:
ProMED-mail rapporteur Mary Marshall

******
[2] China, Taiwan: prevention, aid
Date: Mon 20 Oct 2014
Source: Voice of America [edited]
<http://www.voanews.com/content/china-working-to-prevent-ebola-at-home-provinding-aid-to-africa/2489602.html>


China working to prevent Ebola at home, providing aid to Africa
---------------------------------------------------------------
It remains to be seen how China's health care system and tightly
scripted state media, will respond if and when the country registers
an Ebola case within its borders. Last week [12-18 Oct 2014], a
Nigerian man with Ebola symptoms was quarantined after flying to the
Chinese city Ningbo, following a stopover in Taiwan. The man's
temperature later returned to normal and authorities determined he was
not carrying the disease. But that information was relayed to the
public [not by Beijing but] by health officials in neighboring Taiwan,
who said they had spoken to their counterparts in China.

China has not yet confirmed any cases of Ebola within its borders, but
the country is taking steps to help fight the disease in West Africa,
and prevent it from entering its borders. Beijing invested heavily in
Africa over the last decade, and Chinese state media estimate there
are more than 20 000 Chinese citizens living in the 3 countries worst
hit by Ebola: Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea. State media also
estimate that the country's southern Guangdong province is home to
hundreds of thousands of Africans, with some 40 000 visitors arriving
from Africa every month.

"With international travel and the high number of cases that there
currently are in West Africa, and we've seen in the last few weeks the
cases reported in the US and Spain, I wouldn't say it's a matter of
time, but there is the need to remain vigilant," said Martin Taylor,
who leads the World Health Organization's work in preventing Ebola
from spreading to China.

He said China increased screening at all ports of entry and provided
guidance for health care workers throughout the country on monitoring
Ebola. China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei said Beijing has
been in close communication with the US and African countries to fight
Ebola, and China has sent medical experts to Africa and delivered
emergency assistance in cash and food.

Drug development
----------------
A Chinese pharmaceutical company with close links to the military
requested quick approval from the Chinese government for an
experimental drug to treat Ebola. The Sihuan Pharmaceutical Holdings
Group Ltd hopes to file for approval from China's Food and Drug
Administration for the drug. So far the company has only tested the
treatment on mice, but wants to stage clinical trials of the medicine
before the end of this year.

Food aid
--------
The UN announced on Monday [20 Oct 2014] that China so far has donated
USD 6 million to the World Food Program to help alleviate food
shortages in the 3 African countries worst affected by the Ebola
virus. "I am asking where are the Chinese billionaires and their
potential impact?" said Brett Rierson, the World Food Program's
representative in China. "Because this is the time that they could
really have such a huge impact. I think you can ask the same thing of
the corporate sector, being the largest investors in West Africa right
now, this would be the time that the corporates could really step up
and have a massive impact, a life-saving impact."

[byline: Shannon Van Sant]

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[In China, "Unlike public foundations, private foundations are not
allowed to engage in public fundraising... few private foundations
have tax exempt status, which only dampens the enthusiasm of potential
donors." -- Forbes
(<http://www.forbes.com/sites/yanzhonghuang/2014/05/30/why-has-philanthropy-failed-to-take-off-in-china>).
- Mod.JW]

******
[3] France: rapid bedside diagnostic test
Date: Tue 21 Oct 2014
Source: RFI (English) [edited]
<http://www.english.rfi.fr/africa/20141021-french-researchers-develop-quick-ebola-diagnosis-device>


French researchers develop quick Ebola diagnosis device
-------------------------------------------------------
The new tool, developed by France's Atomic Energy Commission, could
allow doctors to diagnose a patient with suspected Ebola in under 15
minutes.

France's Atomic Energy Commission said that the device, which has
undergone trials at a high-security institute for validating the
technique and prototype, would be available in Ebola-hit countries by
the end of October [2014] for a clinical trial. It further added that
the tool, not yet approved by regulators, works by monoclonal
antibodies reacting to the presence of virus in a tiny sample, which
can be a drop of blood, plasma or urine.

French pharmaceutical company Vedalab is turning the process into a
user-friendly kit called Ebola eZYSCREEN. Similar to a DIY pregnancy
test, a positive result sees a small stripe showing up in a results
window on the hand-held device. The kit is simple to use in the field
without any additional equipment, said the CEA, which also does
non-nuclear research with a possible military or security application.
"Current tests, which are based on genetic detection of the virus, are
highly sensitive but need special equipment, take between 2 and a
quarter and 2 and a half hours and can only be carried out in a lab,"
the commission explained...

Other pharmaceutical teams are also working on fast diagnostic tools
for Ebola. They include Primerdesign, a spinoff company of Britain's
University of Southampton, and Corgenix Medical Corp of the United
States. The test is for the so-called Zaire ebolavirus, the strain now
circulating in West Africa.

--
communicated by:
Ryan McGinnis
<ryan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

******
[4] UK: more airports beginning Ebola screening
Date: Tue 21 Oct 2014
Source: The Guardian [edited]
<http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/21/gatwick-begins-ebola-screening>


Passengers from West Africa will be questioned and have temperatures
checked
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Screening for Ebola has begun at Gatwick airport as of Tuesday [21 Oct
2014], Public Health England (PHE) has announced. It will start in the
north terminal, followed by the south terminal from Wednesday [22 Oct
2014], then the St Pancras Eurostar train station later in the week.
"This expands the screening initiated at Heathrow last week, which is
going well," a PHE spokesman said. "Manchester and Birmingham airports
will follow in the coming weeks." The screening is taking place for
passengers identified by Border Force officers as having travelled
from Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia.

Passengers have their temperature taken and complete a questionnaire
asking about their current health, recent travel history and whether
they might be at potential risk through contact with Ebola patients.
Based on the information provided and their temperature, passengers
will
- either be given advice and allowed to continue their journey
- or undergo a clinical assessment by PHE staff and if necessary be
transferred to hospital for further tests.

"Screening is being undertaken to help ensure individuals arriving
from high-risk areas know what to do if they start feeling ill, and
can receive expert advice immediately," said the PHE spokesman. "We
are also providing all general practices, emergency departments, and
pharmacies in England with awareness posters from this week. Public
Health England will continue to consider other appropriate additional
measures."

Canadian researchers have argued that screening on exit is the best
way to stop Ebola-infected people boarding flights out of Africa. The
team from St Michael's hospital in Toronto, Canada, said only 3 people
a month with Ebola were likely to try and fly out of west Africa --
and that restricting air travel was harmful to the economies of the
countries fighting the epidemic, while doing little to protect the
west.

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******
[5] USA: American video journalist free of Ebola
Date: Tue 21 Oct 2014
Source: MSN, AP (Associated Press) report
<http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/hospital-american-video-journalist-free-of-ebola/ar-BBauJj3>

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******
[6] USA: new CDC guidelines
Date: Mon 20 Oct 2014
Source: CDC
Tightened guidance for US healthcare workers on personal protective
equipment for Ebola
<http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2014/fs1020-ebola-personal-protective-equipment.html>

----
Date: 20 Oct 2014
Source: CDC
When caring for suspect or confirmed patients with Ebola
<http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/hcp/caring-for-ebola-suspects.html>

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******
[7] USA: CDC will monitor people arriving from West Africa
Date: Wed 22 Oct 2014
Source: USA Today [edited]
<http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/10/22/cdc-ebola-press/17715281>


The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] has announced a
new program to monitor the health of anyone returning to the USA from
Ebola-affected countries in West Africa. The program will begin Monday
[27 Oct 2014], Thomas Frieden, director of CDC, said on Wednesday [22
Oct 2014]. Passengers will be monitored for 21 days, the incubation
period for Ebola.

The program goes beyond the screening at airports that passengers
arriving from Ebola-affected countries have been getting since [11 Oct
2014]. It will be done in the 6 states where 70 percent of travelers
from Ebola-affected countries arrive: New York, Pennsylvania, Georgia,
Maryland, Virginia and New Jersey, Frieden said." ...

[byline: Liz Szabo]

--
communicated by:
Jonathan Ezekiel
<jezekiel@xxxxxxx>

******
[8] USA: Ohio Ebola daily contact report
Date: Wed 22 Oct 2014
Source: WLWT [edited]
<http://www.wlwt.com/news/odh-daily-report-142-ohioans-being-monitored-for-ebola/29238078>


Ohio Ebola daily contact report: 164 Ohioans being monitored for
Ebola
----------------------------------------------------------------
Ohio Department of Health [ODH]: no confirmed cases of Ebola in Ohio

The list consists of people who came into some kind of contact with
the nurse who contracted Ebola from her [caring for] an infected man
at a Dallas hospital. That man later died from the disease...

It is anticipated that the contacts on ODH's list will be removed from
the list between [31 Oct and 4 Nov 2014].

Of the 3 people that are being quarantined, one is Vinson's
stepfather. The other 2 newly quarantined people reside in Cuyahoga
County and Summit County, according to authorities...

Tier No. 1 is the group that is in quarantine. According to the ODH,
this tier has enforced restrictions on movement and travel, their
temperature is taken twice daily, they're in communication with a
public health contact and they are not allowed to do any commercial
traveling. This group had direct skin contact with an Ebola patient...
-- more

[byline: Ben Petracco]

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******
[9] USA: requiring passengers from Ebola-stricken countries to fly
into 5 airports
Date: Tue 21 Oct 2014
Source: Wall Street Journal [edited]
<http://online.wsj.com/articles/u-s-to-require-passengers-from-ebola-stricken-countries-to-fly-into-5-airports-1413906804>


The Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday [22 Oct 2014] will
begin limiting flights carrying passengers from 3 West African
countries affected by Ebola to arrival at 5 US airports. The move
represents only a slight change to flight traffic from Liberia, Sierra
Leone and Guinea because most passengers from these countries already
arrive in the US at the 5 designated airports, where extra Ebola
screening measures are in place... -- more

[byline: Kristina Peterson & Siobhan Hughes]

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[See Also:
Ebola virus disease - ex Africa (21): USA, TX free, control, ebook
20141021.2884364
Ebola virus disease - ex Africa (20): Spain negative, India, USA,
China 20141019.2880692
Ebola virus disease - ex Africa (19): Spain, USA, travel bans,
prevention 20141018.2875795
Ebola virus disease - ex Africa (18): Ethiopia NOT, USA nurses,
prevention 20141016.2872362
Ebola virus disease - ex Africa (17): USA (Texas) 2nd nurse update
20141015.2868385
Ebola virus disease - ex Africa (16): USA (TX) 2nd nurse case
20141015.2866172
Ebola virus disease - ex Africa (15): USA (Texas) 2nd nurse case
20141015.2866172
Ebola virus disease - ex Africa (14): UN doctor dies, USA, prevention
20141014.2863794
Ebola virus disease - ex Africa (13): Ethiopia susp., USA (TX)
prevention 20141013.2859164
Ebola virus disease - ex Africa (12): USA new case, Spain, more
quarantined 20141012.2856660
Ebola virus disease - ex Africa (11): Europe, threat to N. America,
recurrence 20141011.2854247
Ebola virus disease - ex Africa (10): WHO, UN, Liberia, medevac, S.
Leone, USA 20141010.2851248
Ebola virus disease - ex Africa (09): WHO, Spain, Australia, Canada,
USA 20141009.2848352
Ebola virus disease - ex Africa (08): US death, concern re. spread,
travel ban 20141008.2843902
Ebola virus disease - ex Africa (07): Europe cases, USA quarantine
stations 20141007.2840925
Ebola virus disease - ex Africa (06): Spain case, USA case, US case
medevaced 20141006.2837374
Ebola virus disease - ex Africa (05): USA ex Liberia, prevention
20141005.2834301
Ebola virus disease - ex Africa (04): USA ex Liberia, prevention
20141004.2832236
Ebola virus disease - ex Africa (03): USA ex Liberia, Germany case ex
S. Leone 20141003.2830392
Ebola virus disease - ex Africa (02): USA ex Liberia, prevention,
false alarms 20141002.2827166
Ebola virus disease - ex Africa: USA ex Liberia, WHO 20141001.2823539
Ebola virus disease - West Africa (184): USA (TX) first case ex
Liberia 20140930.2819341]
.................................................jw/je/sh
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