Liberia Struggles To Contain Ebola, Treat Patients With Ebola, Other Diseases

News outlets report on the situation in Liberia, where Ebola continues to spread and its health system struggles to treat Ebola patients as well as those with other diseases.

CNN: New Ebola hospital in Liberia overwhelmed by patients
“On the day the new Ebola clinic in Liberia opened, ambulances waited outside. Inside the ambulances were desperately ill patients who had come for treatment but instead would be left to lie on the ground as others walked by. The Island Clinic and its 120 Ebola treatment beds opened to fanfare Sunday afternoon, with a ceremony attended by international health officials and Liberian leaders. But the clinic, located on Bushrod Island near Monrovia, the capital, did not appear to be ready for the number of patients that quickly flooded its doors…” (Cohen, 9/23).

New York Times: In Liberia, Home Deaths Spread Circle of Ebola Contagion
“…So many Ebola victims are dying at home because of the severe shortage of treatment centers here in Monrovia, Liberia’s capital, that they are infecting family members, neighbors and others in a ballooning circle of contagion. Only 18 percent of Ebola patients in Liberia are being cared for in hospitals or other settings that reduce the risk of transmission by isolating them from the rest of the population, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Unless that rate reaches 70 percent, the center predicted this week, Ebola cases will keep soaring…” (Onishi, 9/24).

Reuters: Doctor calls for blood donations to treat Liberian Ebola victims
“The head of a treatment center in Liberia, the country worst-hit by West Africa’s deadly Ebola outbreak, has urged survivors of the disease to donate their blood for use in treating infected patients…” (Giahyue, 9/24).

VOA News: AIDS, TB Patients Not Forgotten During Liberia’s Ebola Crisis
“With health clinics closed and people afraid to come in for treatment, Liberia’s National AIDS Commission says they are now going door-to-door to get people to come take their antiretroviral medications. All eyes are on Ebola, but experts say there are other deadly diseases being overlooked in the crisis…” (Lazuta, 9/24).

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