KFF Daily Global Health Policy Report

In The News

CDC Confirms First U.S. Ebola Case Diagnosed In Texas, Vows To Contain Virus

News outlets report on the CDC’s announcement of the first U.S. Ebola case in Dallas, Texas.

ABC News: First Ebola Case in U.S., But CDC Vows ‘We Will Stop It Here’
“The first Ebola case has been diagnosed in the United States, but a top health official said today there is ‘no doubt … we will stop it here’…” (Lupkin, 9/30).

Associated Press: Government confirms first case of Ebola in U.S.
“…The unidentified man was critically ill and has been in isolation at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital since Sunday, federal health officials said. They would not reveal his nationality or age…” (Warren/Neergaard, 9/30).

CQ News: Traveler from Liberia is First U.S. Ebola Case, CDC Says
“…A White House official said [CDC Director Tom Frieden] briefed President Barack Obama about the recently diagnosed case. The development is certain to raise anxiety about the public health response to an outbreak that has killed more than 3,000 people in West Africa…” (Bettelheim, 9/30).

Financial Times: First U.S. Ebola case diagnosed in Texas
“…As well as being the first ever diagnosis of Ebola in the U.S., the CDC said it was the first time this current strain of the virus had been diagnosed outside of Africa…” (Dyer, 10/1).

The Hill: Ebola virus arrives in U.S.
“…The CDC is sending a team of disease detectives to [Texas] to track down people who came in contact with the patient. Those contacts will be monitored for several weeks to ensure they are not infected…” (Viebeck, 9/30).

National Geographic: First Ebola Case Diagnosed in United States
“… ‘This was not unexpected,’ Jen Kates, vice president and director of global health and HIV policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation, a health research organization, wrote in an email late Tuesday. ‘The United States is prepared and has the resources to respond quickly to a case of Ebola that might appear within our borders. Unfortunately, there are parts of the world where this is not yet the case’…” (Weintraub, 9/30).

New York Times: Ebola Is Diagnosed in Texas, First Case Found in the U.S.
“…The Obama administration was working to prevent a public panic over the case, using social media to describe how Ebola can — and cannot — be transmitted…” (Grady/Davis, 9/30).

Politico: CDC confirms first U.S. Ebola case
“…Frieden repeatedly underscored that the case presents a very low risk to the U.S. public and did not foreshadow the kind of crisis seen in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, which are battling the worst Ebola outbreak in history…” (Levine, 10/1).

Reuters: Traveler from Liberia is first Ebola patient diagnosed in U.S.
“…The Dallas case ‘underscores that Ebola is a global and national security issue and that we need to double-down on our efforts to help West Africa get this outbreak under control,’ Gerald Parker, vice president for Public Health Preparedness and Response at Texas A&M Health Science Center, said in an interview…” (Steenhuysen et al., 9/30).

Scientific American: First Ebola Case Diagnosed in the U.S.
“…For months, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has maintained that unlike the health systems in West Africa, the robust health infrastructure in the U.S. would prevent Ebola from readily spreading if the virus was detected in the country…” (Maron, 9/30).

Wall Street Journal: First Case of Ebola in U.S. Is Confirmed
“…Officials have now launched an intensive medical and public health effort both to treat the sick individual and to identify and monitor those people who he may have exposed to the disease in the four days between when he first developed symptoms and when he was placed into hospital isolation…” (McKay et al., 9/30).

Washington Post: First U.S. case of Ebola diagnosed in Texas after man who came from Liberia falls ill
“…The CDC also has scheduled more training for U.S. workers who plan on volunteering in West Africa or want to be prepared if cases surface at their own hospitals…” (Berman et al., 9/30).

Other news outlets reported on various aspects of the first U.S. Ebola case:

Associated Press: Ebola case stokes concerns for Liberians in Texas (Warren/Neergaard, 10/1).
The Atlantic: Wait, You Can Have Ebola and Still Board a Plane? (Khazan, 9/30).
NBC News: What We Know About the Texas Ebola Patient (Fox, 9/30).
Politico: Ebola’s here: Don’t panic (Kenen/Levine, 9/30).
ScienceInsider: One more question, Dr. Frieden: 13 things we’d like CDC to tell us about first U.S. Ebola diagnosis (Cohen et al., 9/30).
Washington Post: Investigating Ebola: How contact tracing will work in Texas (Izadi, 10/1).

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Experts Speak About International Ebola Response During Kaiser Family Foundation Briefing

News outlets report on comments made by experts speaking at a Kaiser Family Foundation web briefing held Tuesday on the Ebola epidemic.

Army Times: U.S. troops head to Africa for Ebola mission
“…Steve Monroe, deputy director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Disease at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said during a conference call on Tuesday that the outbreak is considered nearly contained in Nigeria and Senegal, which saw just 20 and one case, respectively…” (Tilghman et al., 9/30).

Forbes: Why We Should Be Optimistic About The First U.S. Ebola Diagnosis
“…Sophie Delaunay, executive director of Médecins Sans Frontières, said that we know how to stop an outbreak. MSF has been there for every one since 1976, so she knows: Isolate the cases. And even in resource-challenged environments, she said that, ‘the quality of the response is dependent on how rigorous the staff is. You need solid and rigid protocols attached to the care’…” (Kroll, 9/30).

National Newswatch: Ebola sparks will fly, outbreak experts warn
“…In a briefing for journalists on Tuesday, executive director Sophie Delaunay said MSF is currently on an exploratory mission to the Ivory Coast. The reason: it wants to see what would be needed to mount a response there, if Ebola slips over the Liberian or Guinean borders. MSF has some concerns, she admitted, that this may have already happened…” (Branswell, 10/1).

Reuters: Ebola spreading fast, international aid not enough: experts
“The Ebola epidemic is spreading so fast that it is turning into a humanitarian crisis leaving children orphaned, families hungry, and people dying of treatable conditions, top health experts said on Tuesday in calling for more international aid for West Africa. … Ebola infections are doubling every 24 days in Liberia, the worst-hit country, said Joshua Michaud, associate director of global health policy at Kaiser Family Foundation. If interventions are scaled up, the impact could be significant and the decline sharp, he said…” (Dawson, 9/30).

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Ebola Outbreaks Nearing End In Nigeria, Senegal, Officials Say

News outlets report on the CDC’s announcement that the Ebola outbreak in Nigeria is nearing its end and efforts for containment appear to have succeeded.

Agence France-Presse: Ebola outbreak nears end in Nigeria: U.S.
“The Ebola outbreak in Nigeria is almost over, U.S. health officials said Tuesday, in a rare sign of authorities turning the tide on the highly contagious disease that has killed more than 3,000 in West Africa…” (9/30).

New York Times: Nigeria’s Actions Seem to Contain Ebola Outbreak
“With quick and coordinated action by some of its top doctors, Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, appears to have contained its first Ebola outbreak, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday…” (McNeil, 9/30).

Reuters: Ebola outbreaks in Nigeria, Senegal, appear contained: CDC reports
“Efforts to contain the Ebola outbreaks in Nigeria and Senegal appear to have succeeded, even as the virus continues to spread in the hardest-hit West African countries of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, U.S. and African health officials said on Tuesday…” (Steenhuysen, 9/30).

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Thousands Of Children Orphaned By Ebola At Risk Of Stigmatization

News outlets report on UNICEF’s announcement that at least 3,700 children in West Africa who have lost parents from Ebola risk stigmatization.

Agence France-Presse: Children of Ebola dead shunned by families: UNICEF
“Thousands of children who have lost parents to the West African Ebola epidemic are being shunned by frightened and suspicious relatives, the U.N. children’s fund said on Tuesday…” (9/30).

BBC News: Ebola outbreak: ‘Thousands of orphans shunned’
“At least 3,700 children in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone who have lost one or both parents to Ebola this year face being shunned, the U.N. children’s organization has said…” (9/30).

The Guardian: Ebola orphans in West Africa shunned by relatives
“…UNICEF … is training health and social workers to support children in affected countries. In Sierra Leone, more than 2,500 Ebola survivors — who are now [believed to be] immune to the disease — will be trained to provide care and support to quarantined children in treatment centers…” (Boseley, 9/30).

Reuters: Thousands of children orphaned, rejected as Ebola wrecks families
“…UNICEF, meanwhile, says it has only received 25 percent of the $200 million it needs to help children and families affected by the crisis…” (Lewis/Nebehay, 9/30).

U.N. News Centre: In West Africa, U.N. launches strengthened response as Ebola shatters lives, orphans children
“…[A]longside the devastating physiological effects of the virus, the outbreak has also ignited panic and fear across the affected areas with some victims, and their children, being spurned by their local communities…” (9/30).

UNICEF: Thousands of children orphaned by Ebola: UNICEF
“…As the death toll from Ebola continues to rise, preliminary reports from Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone suggest that the number of children orphaned by Ebola has spiked in the past few weeks and is likely to double by mid-October…” (9/30).

VOA News: Thousands of Ebola Orphans Shunned by Communities
“…[UNICEF Regional Director for West and Central Africa Manuel Fontaine] told VOA the Ministry of Social Welfare in Sierra Leone and UNICEF are organizing a conference of survivors in that country in mid-October to see what role they could play in caring for these abandoned children…” (Schlein, 9/30).

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U.N. Ebola Leaders Speak Out On West African Epidemic Response

News outlets summarize comments made recently by the U.N.’s leaders on Ebola.

Agence France-Presse: New U.N. Ebola chief vows swift response to crisis
“The new head of the U.N. Ebola response team vowed Tuesday to take swift action on the crisis, saying ambitious targets must be met to prevent the spread of the virus worldwide…” (Stein, 9/30).

Deutsche Welle: U.N. Ebola chief vows swift progress in fighting outbreak
“The U.N. Ebola mission head, Tony Banbury, told reporters on Tuesday that swift action would be taken in combating the Ebola crisis. ‘We don’t know how long it will take. We hope to do it as fast as possible and to close the UNMEER (U.N. Mission on Ebola Emergency Response) as quickly as possible,’ Banbury said, speaking at the headquarters of the United Nations mission in Accra, Ghana…” (9/30).

Devex: Where you fit in the ‘race against time’
“…So where does the Devex community of aid workers and organizations fit in? I spoke with David Nabarro, Ban’s special envoy on Ebola and the man leading the global effort on the ground, to get a clear answer. Nabarro, a British doctor who previously served as the U.N.’s point man on the bird flu crisis, told us that aid workers ready to travel to West Africa are desperately needed…” (Kumar, 9/30).

Reuters: U.N. Ebola mission head wants significant progress in 60 days
“The U.N. mission to combat Ebola wants to see significant progress in fighting the deadly disease within 60 days, including ensuring that 70 percent of cases receive treatment, its new head said on Tuesday…” (Bigg, 9/30).

Sydney Morning Herald: David Nabarro, the man leading the U.N.’s fight against Ebola, says it is worse than HIV and SARS
“…Speaking as he prepared to return to Europe and then West Africa from the General Assembly meetings, Dr. Nabarro says in his calm and measured British tones that this Ebola outbreak scares him more than anything he has seen in a lifetime spent leading international responses to disasters and epidemics…” (O’Malley, 10/1).

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News Outlets Report On Various Aspects Of Ebola Epidemic

News outlets report on various aspects of the Ebola epidemic.

IRIN: Ebola and the media — Nigeria’s good news story (Anyaka, 9/30).
NPR: Ebola Researchers Have A Radical Idea: Rush A Vaccine Into The Field (Dickerson, 9/30).
Reuters: W. Africa Ebola crisis hits tourism, compounds hunger in Gambia (Hussain, 10/1).
Vox: The man who discovered Ebola on why this epidemic spiraled out of control (Beluz, 9/29).

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International Community Needs New Strategies For Humanitarian Crises, U.N. Official Says

U.N. News Centre: As global crises multiply, U.N. official urges rethink for overstretched humanitarian system
“The global humanitarian system has become dangerously overburdened as it faces a widening front of crises and conflicts, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees warned [Tuesday], as he urged a rethink of how the international community will confront the growing challenges of the 21st century…” (9/30).

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HIV Should Continue To Be Important Element In Post-2015 Agenda, UNDP Official Says

Xinhua/GlobalPost: Interview: UNDP official voices hope HIV important element in post-2015 development agenda
“A senior official with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has voiced hope that HIV would continue to be an important element in the post-2015 development agenda as it kills more than one million people every year. [HIV] needs to be an important priority, Clifton Cortez, global cluster leader for governance and human rights within the HIV, health, and development practice of the UNDP, said in a recent interview with Xinhua…” (Parker, 9/30).

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U.N. MDG On Reducing Child Deaths Will Not Be Met, Study Shows

Agence France-Presse: U.N. goal on child deaths set to be missed: study
“A U.N. target for slashing infant deaths will be missed, mainly through failures to roll back infectious disease and complications during pregnancy, experts said on Wednesday. … The study, led by Robert Black of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore [and published in The Lancet], delved into causes of under-five deaths in 2013…” (9/30).

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Guardian Series Explores Mexico's Abortion Laws, Releases Interactive On Global Abortion Rights

As part of a series called “Women’s rights and gender equality in focus,” The Guardian released an article and video discussing Mexico’s strict abortion laws and an interactive on abortion rights around the world.

The Guardian: Mexican women pay high price for country’s rigid abortion laws
“…Mexico has some of the strictest abortion laws in the world. In many states abortion is a punishable offense. At least 679 women were reported or sentenced for the crime of abortion between 2009 and 2011, according to GIRE, a reproductive rights organization. Some women … have been accused of murder after suffering a miscarriage…” (Gaestel, 10/1).

The Guardian: Abortion in Mexico: Catholics, the law and the right to choose — video
“A tale of two women caught up in Mexico’s complex abortion debate, with passion on both sides as the Catholic church pits itself against women’s rights campaigners. Adriana Manzanares experienced a miscarriage but her suffering did not end there: because of her state’s draconian abortion laws, she was sentenced to 27 years in prison. For another young woman from Puebla, Mexico City’s more liberal abortion laws offered an opportunity to restart her life after an unwanted pregnancy…” (Shelley et al., 10/1).

The Guardian: Abortion rights around the world — interactive
“Continent-wide summaries and country-by-country breakdowns of abortion rights, including where the procedure is permitted and for what reasons — to save a woman’s life, to preserve her health, after rape or incest, for economic or social reasons, or on request. Plus, discover the six states in the world that do not permit abortion under any circumstances…” (Ford/Galatsidas, 10/1).

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India Could Run Out Of HIV Drug Supplied At No Cost Through National AIDS Program

Reuters: Exclusive: India set to run out of critical free drug for HIV/AIDS program
“India could run out of a critical medicine in its free HIV/AIDS drugs program in three weeks due to bureaucratic bungling, a senior government official said, leaving more than 150,000 sufferers without life-saving drugs for about a month…” (Karla, 10/1).

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Inter-American Commission On Human Rights To Consider Case Of Forced Sterilization Of HIV-Positive Woman

Thomson Reuters Foundation: Rights body mulls forced sterilization of HIV-positive woman
“The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights will consider its first case of forced sterilization of a person living with HIV in Latin America, a rights group has said. The U.S.-based Center for Reproductive Rights, which brought the case of a Chilean woman before the main human rights body in the Americas, says she was forcibly sterilized because of her HIV-positive status by a doctor, without her consent or knowledge, during the delivery of her baby by Caesarean section in 2002…” (Moloney, 9/30).

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Contraceptive Use Low Among Adolescents, Controversial In Zimbabwe, IPS Reports

Inter Press Service: Zimbabwe’s Family Planning Dilemma
“…The issue of contraceptive use remains controversial and divisive in [Zimbabwe] … While Zimbabwe has made huge gains in some areas of reproductive health, including stemming new HIV infections, according to the Health Ministry, various United Nations agencies have raised concerns about the growing number of adolescent pregnancies, which experts say point to a low use of prophylactics and a dearth of other family planning methods…” (Banda, 10/1).

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Editorials and Opinions

Renewed U.S.-India Partnership To Address Health, Development

Washington Post: A renewed U.S.-India partnership for the 21st century
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Barack Obama

“As nations committed to democracy, liberty, diversity, and enterprise, India and the United States are bound by common values and mutual interests. We have each shaped the positive trajectory of human history, and through our joint efforts, our natural and unique partnership can help shape international security and peace for years to come. … Our health collaboration will help us tackle the toughest of challenges, whether combating the spread of Ebola, researching cancer cures, or conquering diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria, and dengue. And we intend to expand our recent tradition of working together to empower women, build capacity and improve food security in Afghanistan and Africa…” (9/30).

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Ebola Containment Actions Must Pick Up Pace

The following pieces address the international response to the Ebola epidemic.

Foreign Policy: Hollow Words and an Exponential Horror
Laurie Garrett, senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations

“…The tap is turned, and water is starting to flow. But the questions in this newly announced war on Ebola are now twofold: Will personnel and resources reach West Africa rapidly enough to dam the viral flow, and will the nations of the world learn from this disaster to build institutions and long-term targets that prevent pandemics in the future? … [R]ight now the Ebola world needs doctors, nurses, paved roads, electricity, oil, medical supplies, cots, protective gear, hydration kits, food, helicopters, airplanes, logistics expertise, mass communications education, soap, disinfectants, and, most of all, cause for hope. And it needs all these things, yesterday” (9/29).

The Lancet: Ebola: an open letter to European governments
Jose Martin-Moreno of the University of Valencia et al., and 44 signatories

“After months of inaction and neglect from the international community, the Ebola epidemic in West Africa has now spiraled utterly out of control. Today, the virus is a threat not only to the countries where the outbreak has overwhelmed the capacity of national health systems, but also to the entire world. We urge our governments to mobilize all possible resources to assist West Africa in controlling this horrific epidemic. Based on our expertise in public health and emergency response, we believe the following measures would be particularly effective…” (9/26).

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Malaria Is Preventable With Effective Treatment, Innovations

In the following two opinion pieces, Martin Edlund, CEO of Malaria No More, announces a Devex series on malaria innovations and highlights efforts to treat malaria among children.

Devex: Solve for M: 5 key challenges to ending malaria

“…We find ourselves at another watershed moment in the malaria fight, and the only way we’re going to succeed is through relentless innovation. … Broadly speaking, we’ve identified five key challenges the world needs to solve to win this fight. Every week and a half, starting Monday, we’ll zero in on one challenge and let you know who’s innovating to find solutions. The series will culminate in some big news regarding the malaria community’s plan to reach eradication, delivered by one of the world’s biggest names and most prolific innovators in fighting disease, Bill Gates. So stay tuned, and join us here this week as we launch with Challenge No. 1: Find the parasite, the first of five topics we’ll be covering in our series” (9/30).

Huffington Post: Small In Size, Big In Classroom Disruption

“…[M]alaria accounts for nearly half of preventable absenteeism in African schools and causes up to 50 percent of deaths among African schoolchildren. … The good news is that we can help protect children who still live with the reality of a potentially deadly mosquito bite. This month, Malaria No More celebrates the one-year anniversary of Power of One, a campaign in which a one-dollar donation provides a test and treatment for a child in Africa. … After only a year, we are excited to report that we are close to meeting our goal of raising three million treatments for children in Zambia. To date, two million treatments and one million tests have already been distributed to kids in need. Now, we need your help to get across this finish line” (9/30).

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From the Global Health Policy Community

Novel Financing Mechanisms Needed To Improve Access To Multidrug-Resistant TB Treatment

PLOS Medicine: Global Financing and Long-Term Technical Assistance for Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis: Scaling Up Access to Treatment
Thomas Hwang of Harvard University and the Blackstone Group, and Salmaan Keshavjee of Harvard University and Partners in Health, explore issues surrounding scaling up access to treatment for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, including novel financing structures (9/30).

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Gavi, Partners Work To Improve Vaccine Implementation, Strengthen Health Systems

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s “Impatient Optimists”: Speeding Up the Race for Medical Innovations
Dagfinn Høybråten, chair of the Board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, discusses the alliance and its partners’ efforts to improve vaccine implementation and strengthen health systems (9/30).

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Photojournalist's Post For USAID Blog Features Story On Burial Team In Liberia

USAID’s “IMPACTblog”: Facing Death, Six Days a Week
The blog features the third in a series of posts from “photojournalist Morgana Wingard, who is on the ground with USAID staff in Liberia documenting the fight on Ebola. Her photo series and blogs from the team will offer unique angles into the many facets of the Ebola story…” (9/30).

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Fact Sheet Discusses U.S.-India Health Cooperation

U.S. Department of State: U.S.-India Health Cooperation
This fact sheet discusses the U.S.-India partnership on health, which “ranges from research and development of vaccines to implementation of disease detection centers…” (9/30).

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October 2014 Issue Of WHO Bulletin Available Online

WHO: Bulletin of the World Health Organization
The October 2014 WHO Bulletin includes an editorial on the importance of data collection, a perspective piece on Chagas disease in Europe, and news and research articles on various topics (October 2014).

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PSI Impact Magazine Focuses On Health Workers

PSI: Impact No. 18: Focus on Health Workers
“In this new issue of Impact magazine, PSI, in partnership with IntraHealth International, examines the vital contributions of health workers to global health and development. In articles and interviews with key stakeholders, this issue makes the case that building a robust and effective global health workforce should urgently become a top priority for the international community…” (September 2014).

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