Category: Ebola
I have seen Ebola. Now you have a vaccine.
Debut of preventive use of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) vaccine for health care and frontline workers in Uganda before an outbreak For the first time, an unlicensed Ebola vaccine tested in clinical trials during the West African outbreak was offered to health care workers (HCWs) and other front line workers (FLWs) working in facilities bordering Read More >
Posted on byAre Ebola response investments making an impact? CDC Epidemiologist reflects on West Africa then and now
The first time I deployed to West Africa was in September 2014, at the height of the Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone. I have witnessed many disease outbreaks in my public health career, but this one was more devastating than I could ever have imagined. It eventually took more than 11,000 lives. What was happening Read More >
Posted on by 1 CommentKeeping Kids Healthy in Sierra Leone
Even before the recent Ebola outbreak, the lack of quality healthcare was a major challenge in Sierra Leone, leading to the country suffering some of the highest maternal and child mortality rates in the world. When a major outbreak strikes, overburdened health systems struggle to take care of other critical health issues, like making sure Read More >
Posted on by 1 CommentMabinty Tarawally — 1-1-7 Hotline Responder
Mabinty Tarawally has worked as a 1-1-7 Call Center responder for almost a year. When she began, the national call center consisted of seven people who handled 100 calls a day in a small room at the World Health Organization’s Sierra Leone country office. Tarawally joined the 1-1-7 Call Center in September 2014, and has Read More >
Posted on by 1 CommentHard But Fulfilling Work in the Fight Against Ebola
The fruit bat dropped silently from the delivery room ceiling and quickly crawled away as the nurse explained how she mixed the 0.5% chlorine solution used to sterilize the medical instruments. It was a normal day of assessing the infection prevention and control (IPC) procedures of peripheral health units (PHUs) in the rural areas of Read More >
Posted on byWorking collaboratively to support Ebola response efforts in Sierra Leone
CDC’s FETP partnerships with African nations continue to be leveraged beyond their national borders and for new and unexpected health threats. Dr. Bao-Ping’s blog posted originally on March 31 is being highlighted again as a reminder of how FETPs support global as well as individual nation’s health security. In late November 2014, during the peak Read More >
Posted on by 1 CommentStopping Ebola by Land, Water and Air
This blog was originally posted on Huffington Post on February 18, 2015. Speed is paramount in our response to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa as we continue to be vigilant in the fight to extinguish Ebola. The faster we get to communities with suspected cases, the faster we protect the people there. That gets us Read More >
Posted on byWorking collaboratively to support Ebola response efforts in Sierra Leone
In late November 2014, during the peak of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, I was deployed to Sierra Leone to support CDC’s Ebola response efforts. Like many of my colleagues, I wasn’t sure what to expect or where to begin, but I knew that we faced immense challenges, and my skills and expertise in Read More >
Posted on byFulfilling the Decade of Vaccines Vision
As 2014 draws to a close, one theme that has been continuously present is the importance of a strong public health infrastructure in a country to effectively protect against vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs). Universal access to immunization is the Decade of Vaccines vision, and in order to achieve this, more efforts are needed to build upon the Read More >
Posted on byA Day in Liberia — John Logan Town
I am not a morning person. In a typical week, it takes a long shower and a cup or two of coffee before I hit my stride. This was not the case for me on October 30th. I sprung out of bed at 5:00am and was ready to start the day’s mission. We were heading Read More >
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