HIGHLIGHTS
The U.S. Government (USG)-provided laboratory at the Island Clinic EVD treatment unit (ETU) in Monrovia, Liberia, began operations on October 2. A second USG-provided laboratory in Bong County is enabling USAID/OFDA partner International Medical Corps (IMC) to test suspected cases and release patients who test negative for EVD.
U.N. Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the U.N.
Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) Tony Banbury arrived in Guinea on October 7 and met with President Alpha Condé, U.N. response personnel, and international actors.USAID/OFDA-partner Global Communities (GC) is managing 56 operational burial teams in all of Liberia’s 15 counties as of October 8.
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
The Fifth Committee of the U.N. General Assembly—a body responsible for administrative and budgetary issues—recently adopted a measure to allocate $49.9 million to fund UNMEER. The U.N. plans to launch a Global Ebola Response Coalition on October 10, which will bring business, political, and health leaders together to mobilize resources and support for the ongoing response.
DoD plans to send 100 U.S. Marines to help bolster the U.S. response in Liberia. The Marines are scheduled to arrive on October 9. DoD also plans to send four tilt-rotor aircraft and two C-130 cargo planes to Liberia in the coming days. The Marine contingent will serve to temporarily assist with U.S. supply efforts and air transport until the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne arrives in mid-October.
As of October 6, the USG has sent more than 130 civilian medical health care and disaster response experts and nearly 350 military personnel to West Africa, making the current response the largest-ever U.S. response to an international public health crisis.
NUMBERS AT A GLANCE
8,011
Total Number of Suspected and Confirmed Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) Cases
U.N. World Health Organization (WHO) – October 8, 2014
3,857
Total Number of EVD-Related Deaths*
WHO – October 8, 2014
3,924
Total Number of EVD Cases in Liberia*
WHO – October 8, 2014
2,789
Total Number of EVD Cases in Sierra Leone*
WHO – October 8, 2014
1,298
Total Number of EVD Cases in Guinea*
WHO – October 8, 2014
*Includes laboratory-confirmed, probable, and suspected EVD cases.