World Health Organization on this Ebola Outbreak: "There have been more cases and deaths in this outbreak than all others combined ..."

Who.int

The current outbreak in west Africa, (first cases notified in March 2014), is the largest and most complex Ebola outbreak since the Ebola virus was first discovered in 1976. There have been more cases and deaths in this outbreak than all others combined. It has also spread between countries starting in Guinea then spreading across land borders to Sierra Leone and Liberia, by air (1 traveller only) to Nigeria, and by land (1 traveller) to Senegal. 

The most severely affected countries, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia have very weak health systems, lacking human and infrastructural resources, having only recently emerged from long periods of conflict and instability. On August 8, the WHO Director-General declared this outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. 

A separate, unrelated Ebola outbreak began in Boende, Equateur, an isolated part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

The virus family Filoviridae includes 3 genera: Cuevavirus, Marburgvirus, and Ebolavirus. There are 5 species that have been identified: Zaire, Bundibugyo, Sudan, Reston and Taï Forest. The first 3, Bundibugyo ebolavirus, Zaire ebolavirus, and Sudan ebolavirus have been associated with large outbreaks in Africa. The virus causing the 2014 west African outbreak belongs to the Zaire species. 

Thomas Sowell: Ebola and Obama 

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa is both a danger in itself and a wake-up call for Americans — about President Obama, about the institutions of this country and, most important, about ourselves. 

There was a time when an outbreak of a deadly disease overseas would bring virtually unanimous agreement that our top priority should be to keep it overseas. Yet Barack Obama has refused to bar entry to the United States by people from countries where the Ebola epidemic rages, as Britain has done. 

The reason? Refusing to let people with Ebola enter the United States would conflict with the goal of fighting the disease. In other words, the safety of the American people takes second place to the goal of helping people overseas.

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AoW - New England Journal of Medicine, Emergence of Zaire Ebola Virus Disease in Guinea
Brief October 9, 2014 with 25 citing articles

In March 2014, the World Health Organization was notified of an outbreak of a communicable disease characterized by fever, severe diarrhea, vomiting, and a high fatality rate in Guinea. Virologic investigation identified Zaire ebolavirus (EBOV) as the causative agent. Full-length genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis showed that EBOV from Guinea forms a separate clade in relationship to the known EBOV strains from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Gabon. Epidemiologic investigation linked the laboratory-confirmed cases with the presumed first fatality of the outbreak in December 2013. This study demonstrates the emergence of a new EBOV strain in Guinea.

WTF?

MSNBC, The Syllabus

Melissa Harris Perry MHP 
10/11/2014 08:46 PM
By Victoria Asbury

This Sunday on Melissa Harris-Perry: contagion, court, and A Cup of Water.

First, the relationship between Ebola and ISIS: an irrational push to “secure the border.” Hillary Mann Leverett, professor at American University, will join host Melissa Harris-Perry to discuss why a secure border is essential to national security, yet, the focus on “keeping the bad guys out” can distract from solutions that address the root causes of these global crises.

StarTribune: Tracking Ebola threat from Africa to Texas

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BNN.com: Two airlines maintain West Africa flights while aircraft cleaners in New York strike over Ebola
October 11, 2014

MONROVIA/NEW YORK The West African Ebola outbreak's toll on the international aviation industry looks set to intensify, with all major airlines having suspended flights to the worst-hit West African countries of Liberia and Sierra Leone, while aircraft cleaners at New York's La Guardia airport have held a strike over Ebola fears.

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3News NZ: Legarde: Don't isolate Africa over Ebola 

October 12, 2014 1:16 PM International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde points to a button saying "Isolate Ebola, Not Countries" as she speaks during the IMFC news conference during the World Bank/IMF Annual Meeting in Washington (Reuters)