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Published Date: 2016-01-31 18:03:31
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Ebola update (10): Sierra Leone, vaccine, funding
Archive Number: 20160131.3981594
EBOLA UPDATE (10): SIERRA LEONE, VACCINE, FUNDING
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A ProMED-mail post
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International Society for Infectious Diseases
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Sierra Leone updates
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28 Jan 2016 Sierra Leone: Clashes in Sierra Leone on new Ebola restrictions
http://www.thecitizen.co.tz/News/Clashes-in-S--Leone-on-new-Ebola-restrictions/-/1840340/3052556/-/jibhcmz/-/index.html
[In the violence which occurred on 26 Jan 2016, the police who were enforcing the restrictions imposed to help bring an end to the spread of Ebola virus disease (EVD), denied firing live bullets.]
28 Jan 2016 Sierra Leone: Int'l charity to help Sierra Leonean families identify their Ebola dead
http://en.starafrica.com/news/intl-charity-to-help-sierra-leonean-families-identify-their-ebola-dead.html
[The international charity Concern Worldwide has expressed readiness to help families of some 15 000 Ebola dead in Sierra Leone identify their graves. According to Alpha Jalloh, Administrative Manager of Ebola Response at Concern Worldwide, when speaking to APA on [28 Jan 2016], the initiative was designed to bring the bereaved family members closer to the cemeteries.
The Concern project is targeting the 2 largest Ebola cemeteries in the country: King Tom in Freetown and Bolima in Waterloo, just outside Freetown. The 2 hold a combined total of over 15 000 bodies buried since 19 Oct 2014 when the charity took over control of the Safe and Dignified Burial.]
Vaccine
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29 Jan 2016 USSR: Details emerge about Russia's mysterious Ebola vaccine
http://www.therussophile.org/details-emerge-about-russias-mysterious-ebola-vaccine.html/
[Russian officials declined to provide information on how the country was able to develop their Ebola vaccine so quickly, but virologists familiar with the vaccine say Soviet-era military research provided for a foundation that helped scientists today to work quickly
In the USSR, microbiologists studied the Ebola virus and other exotic diseases in the military town of Zagorsk-6, as well as in a Siberian research center (Vektor). In the 1980s these studies were used to create biological weapons, and this research was the foundation used to make the vaccine that was presented in January 2016.
According to Professor Mikhail Schelkanov at the Far Eastern Federal University, who was among the 1st group of specialists sent to Guinea in the summer of 2014 to set up a microbiological center, geopolitics is the primary reason for the vaccine's creation.
According to Schelkanov, "Nigeria, with its high population density, is close to the epidemic's epicenter; meanwhile, the Boko Harem terrorist organization is active in the country. Essentially, this is the West African arm of the infamous Islamic State. If a biological weapon based on the Ebola virus falls into the hands of religious fanatics, the consequences for the world will be very serious.
"The Gamalei Institute vaccine was created not only with the help of Soviet-era military research, but also with material that we collected in the past 18 months in Guinea."
[It would be helpful if Russian scientists published their vaccine studies in a peer-reviewed journal. - Mod.LK]
Funding
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31 Jan 2016, Oxfam: USD1.9 billion in Ebola aid not delivered by donors
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AF_EBOLA_DONOR_FAILURES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-01-31-07-42-16
[According to the UK-based charity, Oxfam, as reported on Sunday [31 Jan 2016], international donors have failed to deliver USD 1.9 billion in promised funds to help West African countries recover from the Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic which killed more than 11 000 people and decimated already weak health care systems, the U.K.-based charity Oxfam said Sun [31 Jan 2016]. In addition, Oxfam said the remaining USD 3.9 billion pledged has been difficult to track because of "scant information" and a lack of transparency.
According to Aboubacry Tall, Oxfam's regional director for West Africa, "We're finding it hard to understand which donors have given what money, to whom and for what purpose.]
[This seems to be a common problem when large sums of money are donated, whether it be a disease outbreak, a flood, or an earthquake, among other dire events. - Mod.LK]
[Compiled by Celeste Whitlow <whitlow.celeste@gmail.com>]
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ProMED-mail
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[A zoonotic niche map of the countries where cases have occurred in the field or been imported is at http://healthmap.org/ebola.
Use the + tab at bottom left of the map to zoom in until the dots separate. - Mods.LK/JW]
See Also
Ebola update (09): funding, correction 20160127.3970963Ebola update (08): Sierra Leone, vaccine, research, video 20160124.3962240
Ebola update (07): Sierra Leone, 2nd new case 20160121.3955860
Ebola update (06): 5 mysteries about EVD, Sierra Leone new case, followup 20160117.3944673
Ebola update (05): WHO declares Liberia free, Sierra Leone new case 20160115.3938471
Ebola update (04): WHO, prevention, research, drugs & vaccines 20160113.3933860
Ebola update (03): WHO, prevention, survivors, stigma, research, drugs, vaccines 20160110.3924235
Ebola update (02): WHO, monitoring, lessons, research 20160106.3915785
Ebola update (01): management, vaccine, treatment, monitoring 20160103.3908196
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