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Published Date: 2014-09-08 21:12:48
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Ebola virus disease - West Africa (155): hospital ships, military medical
Archive Number: 20140908.2758805
EBOLA VIRUS DISEASE - WEST AFRICA (155): HOSPITAL SHIPS, MILITARY MEDICAL
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A ProMED-mail post
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International Society for Infectious Diseases
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In this update:
[1] USA: hospital ship
[2] USA: to deploy military to combat EVD
[3] Liberia: Welcomes US Military Role in EVD Fight
[4] Sierra Leone: UK military/civilian treatment centre
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[1] USA: hospital ship
Date: 9 Sep 2014
From: Leonard Peruski <lperuski@iun.edu> [edited]
If the USA deployed a hospital ship to West Africa, it would likely be USNS Comfort from Norfolk, Virginia. Comfort is currently docked at her berth, and I am not aware of any scheduled deployments.
As for the number of days it would take to deploy a hospital ship to West Africa, these ships (Comfort and Mercy) are set up to depart 5 days after receiving orders. Given their speed (a maximum of 17 knots/hour), it would take roughly 15-17 days for Comfort to arrive in a port in West Africa.
--
Leonard F. Peruski, PhD, MSc
Regional Director, Division of Global Health Protection
Director, Global Disease Detection Regional Center
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Central American Region Office (CDC-CAR)
Guatemala
<lperuski@cdc.gov>
[ProMED thanks Dr Peruski for his knowledgeable communication. - Mod.JW]
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[2] USA: to deploy military to combat EVD
Date: 7 Sep 2014
Source: Washington Post [edited]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/obama-us-military-to-provide-equipment-resources-to-battle-ebola-epidemic-in-africa/2014/09/07/e0d8dc26-369a-11e4-9c9f-ebb47272e40e_story.html
President Obama said Sunday [7 Sep 2014] that the U.S. military will begin aiding what has been a chaotic and ineffective response to the EVD epidemic in West Africa, arguing that it represents a serious national security concern.
The move significantly ramps up the U.S. response and comes as the already strained military is likely to be called upon further to address militant threats in the Middle East. The decision to involve the military in providing equipment and other assistance for international health workers in Africa comes after mounting calls from some unlikely groups -- most prominently the international medical organization Doctors Without Borders [MSF] -- demonstrating to the White House the urgency of the issue.
The epidemic, which has killed at least 2100 people in 5 African countries, is unlikely to spread to the USA in the short term, Obama said Sunday [7 Sep 2014] on NBC's "Meet the Press." But if the USA and other countries do not send needed equipment, public health workers and other supplies to the region, that situation could change, and the virus could mutate to become more transmissible, he said. "And then it could be a serious danger to the United States," Obama said.
"We're going to have to get U.S. military assets just to set up, for example, isolation units and equipment there," he said, "to provide security for public health workers surging from around the world." Even so, he warned that it would still take months to control the epidemic.
Experts say the U.S. Air Force would be well suited to supply transport flights and personnel, as well as warehousing and logistics support at the airport. ...
[Byline: Lena H. Sun and Juliet Eilperin]
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[3] Liberia: Welcomes US Military Role in EVD Fight
Date: 8 Sep 2014
Source: VOA News [edited]
http://www.voanews.com/content/liberia-welcomes-us-military-role-in-ebola-fight/2442108.html
Liberia's Defense Minister Brownie Samukai has welcomed President Barack Obama's announcement that the U.S. military will help in the fight against the Ebola virus disease. Samukai, who is currently in the USA, said his visit is part of his government's effort to bring to the attention of the international community the scale of EVD and to solicit their support. Samukai said Liberia looks forward to U.S. cooperation.
"We had discussions at the US Department of Defense on the issues of utilizing and requesting the full skill of United States capabilities, both on the soft side and on the side of providing logistics and technical expertise... And, we as a country are extremely pleased with the announcement that we have heard, and we look forward to that cooperation as expeditiously as we can," he said. ...
[Byline: James Butty]
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[Finally, a country has asked for military medical aid, and is welcoming it. - Mod.JW]
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[4] Sierra Leone: UK military/civilian treatment centre
Date: 8 Sep 2014
Source: UK Government Press Release [edited]
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-treatment-centre-to-tackle-ebola-in-sierra-leone
British military and humanitarian experts will set up a medical treatment centre for victims of the EVD outbreak in Sierra Leone, International Development Secretary Justine Greening announced today [8 Sep 2014].
The 62 bed facility will be purpose built and operated by military engineers and medical staff. The initial phase of the facility will be constructed and operational within 8 weeks. The UK's support follows a direct request from the World Health Organization and the government of Sierra Leone for assistance in containing the outbreak. British military personnel will begin to survey and assess the site later this week [8-13 Sep 2014]. Based near the capital Freetown, the facility will treat victims of the disease, including local and international health workers and medical volunteers. The UK government is working with Save the Children to design a long term plan to manage and operate the facility after it has been fully set up.
In rural Freetown, Sierra Leone, Save the Children, with support from the UK government, is leading a community sensitisation programme where community leaders are trained on how to spread the word about preventing EVD.
When complete, the facility will comprise:
- a 50 bed medical unit staffed by international health workers and Sierra Leonean medical staff, providing treatment to victims of the disease.
- a specialist 12 bed treatment centre for health workers, including any local or international medical volunteers, providing high quality specialist care to ensure essential health workers can continue to respond to the disease as safely and efficiently as possible [This will hopefully avoid the enormous cost of medevac-ing international staff who contract EVD back to their home countries for specialist treatment. The cost of repatriation of the 1st American doctor to the USA and his treatment were reportedly around USD 2 million. - Mod.JW].
The health facility is in addition to the UK's GBP 25 million [USD 40 million] package of support to contain and control the disease. This includes multilateral support as well as direct funding to aid agencies operating on the ground. ...
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[The good news is that military medical and logistical aid has been requested by 2 of the affected countries and will be provided by the USA, UK and China.
The bad news is that even if the USNS Comfort with its 1000 beds -- which would cover the current shortfall in beds, according to MSF -- sails this week from the USA, during the 3 weeks it would take to reach West Africa, the estimated bed deficit will have doubled to 2000.
Large capacity field hospitals will be needed in addition. The USA has announced that it would send a 25-bed field hospital to Liberia at a cost of USD 22 million, so just imagine the cost of setting up several regional field hospitals, each one with 10 times that capacity. - Mod.JW]
[For a map showing the locations of Ebola virus disease cases, see http://healthmap.org/ebola/.- Mod.MPP]
See Also
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Ebola virus disease - West Africa (100): Cote d'Ivoire,Tanzania, Nigeria alerts 20140724.2633437
Ebola virus disease - West Africa (90): Sierra Leone, Ghana meeting, historical 20140716.2615640
Ebola virus disease - West Africa (80): WHO update, meeting 20140704.2587114
Ebola virus disease - West Africa (70): Sierra Leone, Liberia, travel advice 20140621.2556770
Ebola virus disease - West Africa (58): Sierra Leone, challenges 20140607.2526192
Ebola virus disease - Guinea (04): WHO update, Conakry conf., alerts 20140328.2364547
Ebola virus disease - Liberia ex Guinea: susp. alert, RFI 20140326.2360265
Ebola virus disease - Guinea (03): WHO update, travel health advisories 20140326.2359361
Ebola virus disease - Guinea (02): bat eating banned 20140326.2359281
Ebola virus disease - West Africa: Guinea, Zaire ebolavirus suspected 20140322.2349865
Ebola - Sierra Leone: susp. alert, RFI 20140322.2349697
Undiagnosed viral hemorrhagic fever - Guinea (02): Ebola conf. 20140322.234969
Undiagnosed viral hemorrhagic fever - Guinea: (NZ) RFI 20140319.2342420
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