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Thursday, September 18, 2014

Ebola infects French MSF worker as epidemic holds spotlight

Today's post is shared from www.cidrap.umn.edu

 Ebola virus particlesEbola virus particles emerge from an infected cell.Ebola virus particlesEbola virus particles emerge from an infected cell.

Doctors without Borders (MSF) today reported the first case of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in one of its own staff, and a media report said a health worker hospitalized with EVD in Atlanta is poised to receive convalescent serum from a British nurse who recently recovered from the illness.

As medical teams inside and outside West Africa continued to grapple with the disease, more nations announced support for the outbreak response, and a US House of Representatives committee heard from federal officials and others familiar with the medical and social challenges in battling the epidemic.

In a statement today, MSF said the sick staff member is a woman from France who had been working in Monrovia, Liberia's capital. She was placed in isolation yesterday after coming down with a fever and tested positive for the virus the same day. The group said she will be evacuated to a specialized treatment center in France.

MSF has been at the forefront of the EVD response and has been working in the region since the outbreak began in March. The woman is the eighth sick foreign medical worker to be airlifted out of West Africa's outbreak area.

Brice de la Vigne, MSF director of operations, said in the statement that MSF applies strict protection protocols for its staff before, during, and after they spend time in the EVD outbreak countries. "This...

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