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STORY: GENEVA / EBOLA UPDATE
TRT: 1.58
SOURCE: WHO / RECENT
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 8 APRIL 2014, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND / RECENT
RECENT – CONACRY, GUINEA
1. Close up, Ebola patient being examined by Dr. Tom Fletcher of WHO
2. Med shot, patients outside Donka hospital
3. Med shot, Fletcher checking medical supplies
4. Med shot, Fletcher preparing himself to examine patients
8 APRIL 2014, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Keiji Fukuda, WHO Assistant Director-General, Health Security and Environment:
“The reason why this is one of the most challenging outbreaks is that firs we see a wide geographic dispersion of cases. So, this is coming from a number of districts as well as a large city in Guinea, Conakry. Two, as you know, when we are dealing with Ebola, we are dealing with a quite lethal infection and because of that this kind of outbreaks are often surrounded by a great deal of fear and anxiety, creating rumours and making communication both challenging and very important.”
RECENT – CONACRY, GUINEA
6. Med shot, WHO staff member delivering supplies
8 APRIL 2014, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Stéphane Hugonnet, WHO Medical officer, Department of Global Preparedness, Surveillance and Response.
“So far, there are 157 cases including 101 deaths. Out of those cases, 67 were confirmed. 20 of the cases were from Conakry. So, this is from Guinea.
RECENT – CONACRY, GUINEA
8. Med shot, WHO staff from the country office talking to people
8 APRIL 2014, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Stéphane Hugonnet, WHO Medical officer, Department of Global Preparedness, Surveillance and Response.
“The difficulty in terms of communication is to try to explain to the population that if they are ill they should go and seek care in a health center, in a hospital, or isolation center. However, the mortality rate is also important, as I was saying, nine out of ten patients will die.”
RECENT – CONACRY, GUINEA
10. Med shot, WHO staff from the country office talking to people
8 APRIL 2014, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Keiji Fukuda, WHO Assistant Director-General, Health Security and Environment, WHO:
“This is a virus, which is transmitted either through body fluids or by close contact with an infected person. So, if people take the right precautions this is an infection for which the transmission can be stopped.”
RECENT – CONACRY, GUINEA
10. Various shots, WHO staff from the country office talking to people
The World Health Organization (WHO) is expecting to see the outbreak of cases of the deadly virus Ebola continue in West Africa over the next few months.
The WHO experts are describing the Ebola outbreak in that African region as the most challenging they have ever seen.
So far there have been 157 suspected and confirmed cases in Guinea, including 101 deaths. In Liberia there are 21 such cases including ten deaths.
The agency currently has 60 of its own and partner staff on the ground to manage and control the outbreak.
Speaking today (8 Apr) to reporters in Geneva, the WHO Assistant Director-General Keiji Fukuda stressed that “this is one of the most challenging Ebola outbreaks that we have ever faced”.
He also said “the reason why this is one of the most challenging outbreaks is that first, we see a wide geographic dispersion of cases. So, this is coming from a number of districts as well as a large city in Guinea, Conakry. Two, as you know, when we are dealing with Ebola, we are dealing with a quite lethal infection and because of that this kind of outbreaks are often surrounded by a great deal of fear and anxiety, creating rumors and making communication both challenging and very important.”
WHO expert Stéphane Hugonnet said “so far, there are 157 cases including 101 deaths. Out of those cases, 67 were confirmed. 20 of the cases were from Conakry. So, this is from Guinea.”
So far the deadly virus has not spread to neighboring Sierra Leone, Mali or Ghana.
WHO is not recommending any travel restrictions. It says its focus is identifying cases and getting people the right care.
Hugonnet underlined “the difficulty in terms of communication is to try to explain to the population that if they are ill they should go and seek care in a health center, in a hospital, or isolation center. However, the mortality rate is also important, as I was saying, nine out of ten patients will die.”
It is also the first outbreak to strike West Africa, where some people have become infected from burial practices that involve direct contact with body fluids of the deceased.
Hugonnet explained that it was important to give the right balance between safe burials and "humane burials" - proper attention to the family, tradition.
The virus goes through several incubation periods and the agency expects the outbreak to last for the next two to four months.
Keiji Fukuda also said “this is a virus, which is transmitted either through body fluids or by close contact with an infected person. So, if people take the right precautions this is an infection for which the transmission can be stopped.”
