Skip to main content

Delegated Services Risk Warning: Health; Ebola

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

Popular posts from this blog

Delegated Services Risk Warning: Weather; Wind - Storm Darragh

  The Met Office have upgraded the warning for tomorrow as follows: Red weather warning issued  Strong and damaging winds across parts of Wales and southwest England  Saturday 0300 – 1100 Our advice changes in such circumstances to, do all you can today, but any checking approach during the day tomorrow should only be considered in extremis in the red zone and very carefully indeed risk assessed. Beware too the boundaries are changing of the zones, as more data comes in. Checks may need to wait until Sunday. NB: Many are postponing anything planned for tomorrow to allow safety at home in the red zone and extreme caution in the amber. This needs to apply to your sites. We aren't aware from our systems, at present, of any education visit/DofE activities, but obviously these need to be reconsidered. Met Office Chief Forecaster, Jason Kelly, said:  “The worst impacts from Storm Darragh will be felt as we go through the early hours of tomorrow morning and throughout Satur...

DS Risk Warning: 28 March: Extinction Rebellion Demonstration ‘Sound the Alarms’ 10 - 4 pm

Hello all, Avon and Somerset Police have informed us of an ‘organised civil disobedience’ event that may take place today, Thursday 28th March, whereby members of Extinction Rebellion and possibly sympathisers are proposing to set off multiple [fire] alarms.  There is no known information on which buildings/when but the assumption is that they will target schools, institutions and public buildings. The Bristol Director Education and Skills has shared this scant information with Bristol schools and nothing more. We haven't heard that it has been distributed more widely so we do so just in case to our Agreement/SLA customers. Fire doesn't give notice of where and when it will occur so our best advice, unless you have a delay on the system that allows checking the status of the issue before the alarm sounders go live, is to take any activation seriously and evacuate. If it turns out to be a hoax, false activation, etc, why not log it as an alternative to your t...

Delegated Services Risk Warning: Weather; Snow and Ice

Hello all, I'd set the alarm early, then a picture fell off the wall, even earlier and ..... The forecast suggests there will be some more snow of varying intensity this morning, before it dies out around lunchtime and will become far brighter. It appears the motorways and major trunk roads, (Highways England) and majority of the local council gritted routes are open, albeit that in some locations there are lane restrictions. Elevation impacts on depth of snow and impact on the roads. The position on non cleared routes will vary markedly. Gritting and ploughing is ongoing and extra resources have been deployed. Public transport is running save for Bristol Airport at the moment. It is under review as the position for drivers getting in to the depots is a challenge. First Bus across the patch will issue an update at 6.30 am. However, Metro Bus is running in Bristol and routes along the main gritted routes are running. At present, therefore, I can't be of more...