Skip to main content

Ebola Update

The head of the UN Ebola response mission in West Africa has told the BBC there is still a "huge risk" the deadly disease could spread to other parts of the world.

Tony Banbury declined to say if targets he had set in the fight against Ebola, to be achieved by Monday, had been met.

The targets were for the proportion of people being treated and for the safe burial of highly infectious bodies.

The UN boss was speaking in Freetown, one of the worst-affected areas.

On Sunday in Sierra Leone's capital, bulldozers were clearing large areas for a new burial ground.

At the clearance site, near a rubbish tip, car after car was arriving with bodies, and several hundred workers were digging graves.



In October, Mr Banbury told the UN Security Council that by 1 December, "70% of all those infected by the disease must be under treatment and 70% of the victims safely buried if the outbreak is to be successfully arrested".

Mr Banbury said the 70% targets were being met in "the vast majority" of areas in the three worst-affected countries - Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

"But in some areas", he said, "including here in Sierra Leone - especially in the capital Freetown and in the town of Port Loko - we are falling short. And it is in those areas where we really need to focus our assets and our capabilities".

The American UN boss added that, even so, "there is a huge risk to the world that Ebola will spread. It may spread around this sub-region, or someone could get on a plane to Asia, Latin America, North America or Europe... that is why it is so important to get down to zero cases as quickly as possible".

Ebola deaths in West Africa

Up to 24/25 November

6,928
Deaths - probable, confirmed and suspected
(Includes one death in US and six in Mali)
  • 4,181 Liberia
  • 1,463 Sierra Leone
  • 1,284 Guinea
  • 8 Nigeria
Continue reading the main story


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Christ the Rock Foundation Annual December Retreat

Come and receive d abundant blessing of God. Date: 23rd - 27th December. Venue: Mercyland, Afao rd, Ado-Ekiti.

President Goodluck Unveils the New N100 Notes

The new N100 commemorative notes was formally unveiled by President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Owing to the fact that the ceremony was initially scheduled for last week Wednesday but was postponed due to the president's visit to Burkina Faso. The President was joined by the Vice President Namadi Sambo and the Central bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele during the Federal Executive Council meeting.

Microsoft Rolls Out Cortana Collection To Help You Save Your Favorite Item

Cortana is an intelligent personal assistance created by Microsoft for Window 10, Window 10 Mobile, Window Phone 8.1, Microsoft Band, Xbox One, iOS, Android, Window Mixed Reality and soon Amazon Alexa. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cortana)  Microsoft's Cortana assistant can now remember what you've searched for on your device like books, TV shows, movies, recipes, and places you plan to visit (restaurants and movie theater). As stated on the official web page of Contana: "Because life isn’t limited to one device, neither is she. Set a reminder on your PC and have it pop up on your phone, or home speaker and vice versa." So AI is really taking over It will pops up whenever a user is on a webpage that might have content worth saving, like on a page to buy a book. Cortana can set reminders, recognize natural voice without the requirement for keyboard input, and answer questions using information from the Bing search engine. It is currently availab...