Ebola infecting five new people every hour in Sierra Leone, figures show

[uppityperson]

While people in the USA freak out about 1 case, here is what is happening elsewhere. Yes, there is concern, should be concern, about it spreading further and yes, the system in the USA did not work well enough.

But.

Money. People. Resources. Defense of all of those. Not enough of any of those has been made available. 375 hospital beds in the country of Sierra Leone. 765 new cases last week.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/02/ebola-infecting-five-every-hour-sierra-leone

Ebola is spreading at the rate of five new cases an hour in Sierra Leone, according to figures released as world leaders and experts on disease control gathered in London to discuss the outbreak.

The figures from Save the Children showed there were 765 new cases last week in the west African country alone, but only 327 hospital beds to treat infected patients. The charity said the “terrifying” rate of the spread of the disease was outstripping medical supplies and threatened a breakdown of Sierra Leone’s already fragile health system.

The rate of spread of the deadly virus is projected to double to 10 people an hour in the country before the end of October, Save the Children said.

The UN said the spread of the disease in neighbouring Liberia was just as alarming and called for a massive international response to prevent the outbreak wreaking havoc in west Africa and beyond. Speaking from Liberia, Anthony Banbury, the head of a new UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response, said: “It is fairly similar in Liberia. The disease is spreading very rapidly – cases doubling every 20 days.”...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2014/10/02/aid-organizations-are-desperate-for-help-with-ebola-as-death-toll-surges-past-3300/

According to Save the Children, the sheer number of deaths in Sierra Leone in particular has created a desperate humanitarian crisis for children who are often left by behind, orphaned by dead parents, or are dying alone at home and in the streets. Last week alone, there were 765 new cases in a country with only 327 beds, the organization said.
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Aid is now on its way from several countries, including the United States, which has dispatched a military unit to Liberia to build hospitals and coordinate the logistics of delivering aid to workers on the ground. The British government has also pledged a 700-bed hospital in Sierra Leone. But the impact of these efforts may not be felt for weeks or months.

Meanwhile, the current rate of transmission and deaths continues to grow rapidly.

In London, representatives from 20 different countries, including the U.S., France, Japan and Australia, are gathering Thursday for an Ebola Donors Conference to discuss the international response to the crisis, according to the BBC.

[Skittles]

1. that five an hour started with one case

that is why people freak out

[TheVisitor]

2. Compare that with...

Total Staffed Beds in All U.S. Registered * Hospitals

920,829

Fast Facts on US Hospitals

[uppityperson]

3. Thank you for the stats. Indeed.

Of course our population is larger by a whole lot, but still.

[still_one]

4. Much of that spread is because they are not following necessary precautions

That health officials have been trying to impress on the people. One of the biggest problems is families are having difficulty because they cannot deal with deceased in a traditional manner, and that has caused many problems

[uppityperson]

5. Indeed. Their cultural norms, expected ways of dealing with illness and death are getting in the way

of stopping this.

[uppityperson]

6. kick for evening.