Skip to main content

Delegated Services Risk Warning: Health; Ebola

By
Hello all,

With a short holiday approaching then the longer one and travel taking place worldwide by staff and pupils, we need to keep a close eye again on the progress of this killer disease. There may be some coming and going from the affected area. Perhaps we should be asking if anyone is travelling to there and if the answer is a yes, be extra vigilant on their return. You'll see why from the report below.

WHO holds crisis talk as cases spread

​A panel is deciding today whether to declare a 'public health emergency of international concern' which would trigger a larger response.

At least 45 people are believed to have been infected in the current outbreak and 25 deaths are being investigated.
Cases emerged in a rural area with one now confirmed in the city of Mbandaka.
The city of about one million people is a transport hub on the River Congo, prompting fears that the virus could now spread further, threatening the capital Kinshasa and surrounding countries.
Ebola is an infectious illness that causes internal bleeding and often proves fatal. It can spread rapidly through contact with small amounts of bodily fluid, and its early flu-like symptoms are not always obvious. 

​​
Why is the case in Mbandaka a concern?

Senior WHO official Peter Salama said the spread to Mbandaka meant there was the potential for an "explosive increase" in cases.
"This is a major development in the outbreak," he told the BBC. "We have urban Ebola, which is a very different animal from rural Ebola. The potential for an explosive increase in cases is now there."
Mr Salama, the WHO's deputy director-general for emergency response, said Mbandaka's location on the River Congo raised the prospect of Ebola spreading to Congo-Brazzaville and the Central African Republic, as well as downstream to Kinshasa, which has a population of 10 million.
"This puts a whole different lens on this outbreak and gives us increased urgency to move very quickly into Mbandaka to stop this new first sign of transmission," he said.
The 2014-16 West Africa outbreak was the most deadly outbreak of the disease because it spread to the capitals of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

​For more see: ​
​
Bill​
-- 
Bill Crocker
Executive Director
Tech IOSH, MEPS, MRICS.

Tel: 07795 190 130
In Emergency or Critical Incident tel: 07979 425 989. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

DS Risk Warning: Cyber Critical Update

By
  Critical Update With thanks to our NPs the S W Cyber Resilience Centre, we bring you their updated advice. Please pay close attention to it, regardless that it flows from the attacks on the retail sector. The approach taken can be applied anywhere! The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has issued a critical warning following a wave of cyber attacks on major UK retailers including M&S, Co-op and Harrods. These incidents appear to involve criminals impersonating IT help desks to trick staff into revealing login credentials, a technique known as social engineering.   We’re issuing this urgent message to all SWCRC members to raise awareness and encourage immediate action.   What’s happening?   A group calling itself DragonForce has contacted the BBC to claim responsibility for recent breaches. Their tactics include:        •     Phoning IT staff pretending to be locked-out employees       •     Calling or messaging staff pretending to be from internal IT h...
Post a Comment
Read more

Risk Warning: 3Cs; Police call on public to help tackle terror threat

By
Hello all, We’re supporting a national campaign launched today (6/3) by Counter Terrorism Policing urging the public to act on their instincts to help tackle the terrorist threat. With the terror threat becoming increasingly complex and varied, we’re joining police forces across the country in calling on communities to act on their instincts to help prevent atrocities taking place in the UK and overseas. The appeal comes as new figures reveal information from the public has assisted counter terrorism police in a third of their most ‘high-risk’ investigations, helping keep communities safe. The UK’s most senior counter terrorism officer, Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, has launched a new Action Counters Terrorism, or ACT, campaign – urging the public to report suspicious activity to the police. Mr Rowley told an audience of community and business representatives in Manchester that information from the public continues to play significant part in recent successes i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Delegated Services Risk Warning: Whirlpool dryers recall

By
Hello all, If you have one of these you will have probably already spotted the warnings and concerns, but just in case the BBC are reporting today: The government is to issue an "unprecedented" recall notice of up to 500,000 Whirlpool tumble dryers which pose a fire safety risk. It comes four years after Whirlpool issued a warning after it found its Hotpoint, Creda and Indesit dryers had a fault which needed fixing. The fault was blamed for at least 750 fires over an 11-year period, according to the government. Whirlpool said safety was its "number one priority". It urged anyone still owning an affected to dryer to contact the company immediately on 0800 151 0905. A spokeswoman added: "In the meantime, anyone with an affected dryer that has not been modified  should unplug it and not use it  until the modification has been completed." An estimated 5.3 million dryers were sold in the UK, but it is thought up to 500,000 could still be in use. ...
Post a Comment
Read more