Ebola's sobering toll on uninfected children
Ebola isn't just ravaging the thousands infected with the virus in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. It's also wrecking the lives of the victims' survivors -- especially children. UNICEF estimates Ebola has created more than 3,700 orphans in West Africa, CNN's Christiane Amanpour reports:
An eye on bordering nations
Dr. Isabelle Nuttall, the World Health Organization's director of global capacity, alert and response, said that while the Ebola cases in the United States and Spain are a concern, they are less of a concern because they have high-quality health care systems and "good infection control."
Of more concern, she said, are Mali, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Guinea-Bissau, countries that border the three African nations with widespread transmission -- Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone -- because of the trade and travel among those countries.
"They really need to be better prepared," she said, adding that WHO has been working with African nations for years to control outbreaks -- any outbreaks -- and handling Ebola involves the same steps: "Be ready, detect, inform, assess, respond."
'Persistent transmission'
Nuttall also said it could take months before the Ebola outbreak can be stopped, blaming the increasing number of Ebola cases and deaths on the “persistent transmission” of the virus. There has been an increase of new cases in Guinea, difficulties in gathering data in Liberia and an “intense transmission is still taking place” in Sierra Leone, Nuttall told reporters in Geneva.
Looking beyond affected countries
Wider preparedness plan
Dr. Isabelle Nuttall, the World Health Organization's director of global capacity, alert and response, told reporters in Geneva that while the countries bordering Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia are of particular concern, the larger preparedness plan involves a total of 15 African nations.
They are: Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gambia, Ghana, Mauritania, Nigeria, South Sudan, Togo, Ivory Coast, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Senegal, Benin, Burkina Faso and Cameroon.
Patient in Nebraska improving
Ashoka Mukpo, the freelance cameraman for NBC News who tested positive for Ebola in Monrovia, Liberia, and is now being treated in Nebraska, is "doing well, getting better every day and continues to trend in the right direction," said Taylor Wilson, spokesman for Nebraska Medicine.
Condolences for U.N. worker from Sudan
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon offered condolences to the second U.N. worker in Liberia to die from Ebola, saying, "I salute the courage of the medical and support personnel working on the front-lines. I offer condolences to the family of Abdel Fadeel Mohammed Basheer, a
laboratory technician and member of the United Nations family from Sudan
who died this week from Ebola. He was the second person from the U.N. Mission in Liberia to succumb to this unforgiving disease.
An apology
Dr. Daniel Varga, chief clinical officer for Texas Health Resources, will issue an apology regarding the handling of Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person in the United States to be diagnosed with Ebola, during his remarks to a congressional committee today.
"Unfortunately, in our initial treatment of Mr. Duncan, despite our best intentions and a highly skilled medical team, we made mistakes. We did not correctly diagnose his symptoms as those of Ebola. We are deeply sorry," his prepared remarks say.
"Also, in our effort to communicate to the public quickly and transparently, we inadvertently provided some information that was inaccurate and had to be corrected. No doubt that was unsettling to a community that was already concerned and confused, and we have learned from that experience as well."
Nina Pham transfer confirmed
Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told the subcommittee that Nina Pham, one of the Dallas nurses who contracted Ebola, is headed to an National Institutes of Health facility where she will receive "state-of-the-art care in our high-level containment facilities."
Ohio quarantines
In northeast Ohio, one person has been quarantined and six others have quarantined and are monitoring themselves for Ebola after coming into contact or being in the vicinity of Ebola-stricken Texas nurse Amber Vinson, said Ohio Department of Health spokesman Jay Carey.
CDC director 'fears' spread of Ebola in Africa
'Overwhelming' demand for vaccines
Luciana Borio, assistant commissioner for counterterrorism policy at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, tells the subcommittee that the desire for safe and effective Ebola vaccines is "overwhelming" and stresses the importance of testing the efficacy of all products.
Nurse who worked in Sierra Leone hospitalized
"A male nurse who had worked for Red Cross on Sierra Leone has been admitted in La Candelaria Hospital in Tenerife after showing symptoms of having been infected with Ebola. He had a soar throat and fever. He was in direct contact with the virus in Sierra Leone so we are following the protocols," said a spokeswoman for the Spanish Red Cross in the Canary Islands.
Health care system creates landing page
Armed forces in Africa stand by CDC
Amid questions about CDC guidelines concerning Ebola stateside, Maj. Gen. Darryl Williams, commander of U.S. Army Africa, who is on the ground in Liberia, tells CNN he has "great confidence in the CDC guidelines. I meet with the current team here daily and I have great confidence and don't plan on adjusting any of the current guidelines."
Human trials of vaccine no concern
There are so far no safety concerns with human trials of an Ebola vaccine currently being tested at Oxford University, Roy Anderson, professor of infectious disease epidemiology at Imperial College, tells CNN.
Human volunteers in Oxford were given a trial vaccine September 17. Anderson, a former chief scientist for the British Ministry of Defense, is privy to information about the trials.
Before Pham left Dallas, cheering supporters said goodbye
Nurse may have been ill days before diagnosis
Nurse: We put our lives on the line