Ethiopia - Suspected case(s) Ebola - Media report - Denied

[Ray]

First Case of Ebola In Ethiopia Reported (Hara Ethiopia)

A disease that medical doctors believe is Ebola appears to be suspected in the Ethiopian capital. One west African origin diplomat has been admitted for flu like symptoms in Saint Yared General Hospital. Three more people have been also admitted to the black lion hospital, with a reported cases of bleeding and fever. Doctors in black lion hospital, speaking anonymously because of the sensitivity of the issue and afraid of reprisal action from government officials, are saying it is Ebola. The safety of the health staff and other patients still unknown. Lions hospital employees have been instructed not to speak of suspected Ebola cases under threat of imprisonment. One of Hara Ethiopia source in Black Lion Hospital said ?unless the governments take action early and announce to the people for public health prevention, it will not be easy to bring Ebola outbreak under control.?
? It may be spreading very quickly in parts of the city where sanitation is poor ? a doctor said.
There are no reliable estimates so far of severity, mortality and morbidity rates of the disease due to severe restriction of free media in the country and it is difficult to verify it in this most secretive and totalitarian state in the world.

Keseteberhan Admassu (MD), Minister of Health, said that Ebola was not a national security for Ethiopia and banning flights to and from West Africa was unnecessary. Most health experts smash the minister remarks and the government?s passive response for the disease.

The Ethiopian Government has so far refused to confirm the existence of the disease. On several occasions, the Government has denied the existence of Ebola in Ethiopia for fear that acknowledging it will deprive the tourism and the economy and inflame the current public anger.

Recently the Ethiopian Ministry of Health announced the establishment of a new specialized Ebola treatment hospital. But Hara Ethiopia sources reported that the facility hasn?t adequately equipped and set up with Bio safety level 3 and 4 recommendation. Ethiopia?s health care system is among the least developed in Sub-Saharan Africa and is not, at present, able to effectively cope with the Ebola outbreak. A lack of leadership from government to devise and implement emergency public health strategies has contributed to an alarming level of vulnerability to Ebola epidemics.

http://wp.me/p5b0ic-F h/t @Crof

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Ethiopia - Suspected case(s) Ebola - Media report


Health Official: No Ebola case in Ethiopia

Published: Oct 12, 2014

Addis Ababa, Dire Tube - A Health Official in Ethiopia has dismissed rumors on social media that Ebola patients that arrived to the capital Addis Ababa from West Africa have been admitted to the Tikur Anbessa and other hospitals in the city.

Abel Yeshaneh, Public Relations Manager of the Ethiopia Public Health Institute, told exclusively to DireTube on Sunday evening that no Ebola related cases have been registered in the country and all the necessary preparations have been done to deal with the virus if cases happen in the future.

?Two thermostat scan machines that have the capacity to scan one person every three seconds have been installed at the Bole International Airport. We have also set up two quarantine centers in the Yeka Sub-City Hospital and at the new Amanuel Hospital in Kotebe,? Abel told DireTube.


He added that every passenger that arrives to the country passes through the state of the art thermostat machine that is only found in the US and some European countries.

?There is no way the government would hide the presence of the virus in the country if it really exists. But I can confirm to you now that we don?t have any Ebola related cases yet,? Abel explained.

Diretube

[MedStudent_18]

Re: Ethiopia - Suspected case(s) Ebola - Media report - Denied

If I'm reading this correctly, the diplomat is from west Africa (ie. Guinea, Liberia, or Sierra Leone)?

[Ray]

Re: Ethiopia - Suspected case(s) Ebola - Media report - Denied

Black Lion Hospital conditions
"I was immediately aware of one problem: cleanliness. There are people whose job it is to keep the hospital clean. They do their job, but they're no match for the people getting it dirty. What's more, windows are open, doors are open. It's very open-air. That's great for a market, bad for a hospital. The Ministry of Health doesn't collect statistics on hospital-acquired infections, but several isolated studies have been done and the number hovers around a 20 percent infection rate. In the U.S., the rate is 4 percent.

The first place I visited was the neonatal unit on the sixth floor of the eight-story building. With 40 patients and 40 beds, the place was full. Well, I thought it was full, but head nurse Berhena Mulat said they could usually treat many more. Three to a bed was capacity."

http://www.npr.org/blogs/goatsandsoda/2014/08/14/337792969/reporters-notebook-a-not-so-grand-tour-of-ethiopias-top-hospital

[Nordica]

Re: Ethiopia - Suspected case(s) Ebola - Media report - Denied

Breaking News Suspected Ebola Patient dies in Ethiopia capital and Ethiopian government intentionally suppressed the reports of Ebola cases

Doctors and health workers across the country have been instructed not to speak of suspected Ebola cases under threat of death and imprisonment.
?We are instructed not to report any case of Ebola, cholera, malnutrition and famine without the prior approval of the government officials? a doctor said.

http://haraethiopiadotcom.wordpress.com/2014/10/15/breaking-news-suspected-ebola-patient-dies-in-ethiopia-capital-and-ethiopian-government-intentionally-suppressed-the-reports-of-ebola-cases/

[MHSC]

Re: Ethiopia - Suspected case(s) Ebola - Media report - Denied

More info about the hospital... 800 beds times 3 per bed.... and it's full of students, who may not use PPE properly yet.

Black Lion Hospital (Tikur Anbesa in Amharic), located in the nation’s capital Addis Ababa, is Ethiopia’s largest general public hospital and one of only two University Hospitals in the country.
In 1998 Black Lion Hospital, which is also the largest referral hospital in the country was given to Addis Ababa University (AAU) by the Ministry of Health (MoH) for the faculty as a main teaching hospital. The faculty is the oldest and the largest among the health training institutions in the country, staffed with the most senior specialists.

The hospital provides a tertiary level referral treatment and is open 24 hours for emergency services. The hospital is administered by Addis Ababa University and is the largest and oldest teaching hospital among all in Ethiopia providing teaching for about 300 medical students and 350 Residents every year.

Black Lion hospital offers diagnosis and treatment for approximately 370,000- 400,000 patients a year. The hospital has 800 beds, with 130 specialists, 50 non-teaching doctors. The emergency department sees around 80,000 patients a year.


- See more at: http://www.missbdesign.com/clients/T....rbJL9T2D.dpuf

[MHSC]

Re: Ethiopia - Suspected case(s) Ebola - Media report - Denied

Sounds like Ethiopia is in worse condition than Liberia as far as sanitation.

?In Ethiopia, it is estimated that about 35 million people do not have access to sanitation services and over half a million children under the age of five die every year from diarrhea. … Safe and adequate water supply, improved sanitation and hygienic practices can save thousands of children?s lives each year, [Zewde] added,? the newspaper writes (Tesfaye, 11/23).

Inter Press Service examines the health effects of poor sanitation in Liberia. ?Over three million Liberians have no access to safe sanitation facilities,? says Muyatwa Sitali, of Oxfam UK, a group that works on Liberia’s water, sanitation and hygiene consortium – a contributing factor to disease.

http://kff.org/news-summary/news-outlets-examine-sanitation-in-ethiopia-liberia/

[Treyfish]

Re: Ethiopia - Suspected case(s) Ebola - Media report - Denied

Government of Ethiopia (Addis Ababa)


14 October 2014
Ethiopia Launches Ebola Testing Laboratory As Part of Prevention Precautions

Dr. Kesetebirhan Admasu, Ethiopia's Minister of Health, announced that Ethiopia has established a modern laboratory centre with the view to step up the national Ebola prevention efforts. The modern laboratory, Bio-safety Level 3 and 4 began operations on Monday (October 13) for screening and testing purposes. It is staffed by well-trained Ethiopian professionals.
The Minister noted the country had also launched a new screening machine, a Thermo Scan Thermo Meter, with the capacity to test up to a thousand individuals per hour. The new machine and two other thermo-screening machines are presently operating at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport to test passengers.
Dr. Kesetebirhan said the Government had so far spent more than US$3 million for precautionary emergency medical services, and he emphasized that technical committees were being established in regions across the country to prevent the entry of the Ebola virus. Dr Daddi Gimma, Head of National Technical Committee of Ebola disease protection, noted that Ebola testing and control measures were now available 24 hours a day. The Minister added "there are no Ebola suspected cases in Ethiopia."http://allafrica.com/stories/201410150391.html

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: Ethiopia - Suspected case(s) Ebola - Media report - Denied

Imagine it spreading to their neighbors - Somalia, Yemen, etc. It's hard to imagine ebola in a country with 88 million people, of which about 1/3 don't have good sanitation.

.

[MHSC]

Re: Ethiopia - Suspected case(s) Ebola - Media report - Denied

October 13, 2014
By Hara Ethiopia

Anxiety has gripped Kenya after a female passenger from South Sudan died on Saturday night from Ebola-like symptoms after arriving in the country

Ethiopia?s Ministry of Health on Sunday said that a modern laboratory center will start operating on Monday for tasting of four suspected cases of Ebola

Health officials at Kenya?s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) told Xinhua on Sunday that the female passenger on board Kenya Airways flight alighted at 6:45 p.m. with high fever and bleeding from the openings of her body.

?We have not established what exactly caused the death but medical officials including director of medical services are carrying out tests to establish the cause,? an official who sought anonymity told Xinhua by telephone.

The official said the female passenger who had arrived from Juba was later rushed to the hospital but died in the evening. The health ministry is expected to issue a formal statement concerning the incident later on Sunday to confirm whether the patient had Ebola. The incident caused panic at the busy airport which was immediately deserted for hours after the death of the passenger.

However, the fate of the other passengers on the flight is still unknown.

http://ogadentoday.info/ebola-outbreak-spreads-in-ethiopia-kenya-and-south-sudan-as-passenger-dies-at-kenyas-jomo-kenyatta-international-airport-hara-ethiopia/

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Ethiopia - Suspected case(s) Ebola - Media report - Denied

(October 14, 2014)

Message for U.S. Citizens: Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) Update - Information and Resources

The U.S. Embassy would like to provide an update to our August 12, 2014 Information Message for U.S. Citizens regarding the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).

Ethiopia continues to have no confirmed or suspected cases of Ebola.

The Embassy is aware of erroneous media reporting regarding suspected or confirmed cases of Ebola in Ethiopia. Ethiopian government officials have also recently dismissed such rumors. U.S. Embassy officials, including the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), continue to maintain a close working relationship with the Ethiopian Federal Ministry of Health and the Ethiopian Public Health Institute in both preparation and prevention of EVD.

Read more: US Embassy -Ethiopia