Friday, October 24, 2014

GRAPHITTI NEWS BRIEFS — 12 National & International Highlights To Know For Friday, October 24, 2014

GRAPHITTI NEWS collates 12 national and international highlights of late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Friday:

HIGHLY COMMENDABLE! Meet some of the medical team that treated the index #Ebola case in Nigeria. In total, nine of them got infected with the virus; four of their colleagues passed away. Photo: WHO/A. Esiebo

1. GIRL, 2, IS FIRST CONFIRMED EBOLA CASE IN MALI

The first case of Ebola in Mali was confirmed tonight, making it the sixth West African country to be touched by the worst outbreak on record of the deadly disease.

Health Minister Ousmane Kone told state television that the patient was a two-year-old girl who had recently arrived from neighbouring Guinea, where the outbreak began. 

The child was brought to a hospital in the Malian town of Kayes - which is about 375 miles from the capital of Bamako - on Wednesday, and her blood sample tested positive for the virus. 

'The condition of the girl, according to our services, is improving thanks to her rapid treatment,' the minister said. 

He added: 'The sick child and the people who were in contact with her in Kayes were immediately identified and taken care of.'

A health ministry official, who asked not to be identified, said the girl's mother died in Guinea a few weeks ago and the child was brought by relatives to Bamako, where she stayed for 10 days in the Bagadadji neighborhood before heading to Kayes.

Health officials have long viewed Mali as one of the most vulnerable to Ebola's spread as the nation borders Guinea - one of the hardest-hit countries - and Senegal.

The news emerged after the World Health Organization (WHO) said earlier today that it had 'reasonable confidence' the Ebola virus plaguing three West African countries had not spread into neighbouring states.

Mali becomes the sixth West African country to report an Ebola case - though nearly all the cases and deaths have occurred in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. Senegal and Nigeria had imported cases though both have now been declared Ebola-free. Last week, the WHO said it would send teams of experts to Mali and Ivory Coast to check their preparedness.

The economic damage of a major outbreak in Ivory Coast would be felt around the world, since it and next-door Ghana produce about 60 percent of the world's cocoa beans.

Although Senegal and Nigeria managed to contain the disease imported by travellers, Ebola is still raging in the three countries at the heart of the epidemic.

The WHO's Emergency Committee advising on Ebola said screening people leaving Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea by air, land and sea remained critical for reducing its spread. 

At a minimum, exit screening should consist of 'a questionnaire, a temperature measurement and, if fever is discovered, an assessment of the risk that the fever is caused by Ebola', the independent experts said after closed-door talks.

Mrs. Patience Jonathan

2. JONATHAN’S WIFE RESIGNS AS BAYELSA PERMANENT SECRETARY

Wife of President Goodluck Jonathan, Patience, has resigned her appointment as Permanent Secretary in the Bayelsa State Civil Service.

The 57-year-old Patience was said to have left the service voluntarily.

She was one of the appointed 17 permanent secretaries in the state civil service in July 2012.

The appointment had caused outrage in the state at the time with some Bayelsa residents accusing Governor Seriake Dickson of politicising the civil service in the state.

Though Ministry of Education sources said Patience disengaged from service voluntarily, there were speculations that she resigned because of alleged rift between her and   Dickson.

The alleged frosty relationship between the governor and the President’s wife was said to have been triggered by Patience unwillingness to support Dickson’s second term bid.

Instead, it was learnt that Jonathan’s wife had expressed her preference for the Special Assistant to the President on Domestic Matters, Mr. Waripamowei Dudafa.

It was learnt that Patience resigned her appointment to enable her to have the moral justification to push her candidate.

At the state’s Ministry of Education on Thursday, many of the civil servants refused to comment on the development.

But our correspondent learnt from reliable sources that the ministry had computed her terminal benefits already.

One civil servant, who agreed to speak only on condition of anonymity, said, “The whole thing is political. It appears Madam (the President’s wife) is not happy with the governor. With her resignation, the battle line has been drawn.

“I feel the President’s wife resigned to enable her to have the moral right to slug it out with Dickson ahead of the governorship poll in the state. Let no one deceive you, the whole thing is politics. After all, she is 57 and the retirement age is 60.”

When contacted, Chief Salo Adikumo, who resigned during the week as Commissioner for Education, said he was no longer the commissioner.

“I resigned recently as commissioner to enable me to pursue my political ambition. Please direct all your enquiries to the ministry,” he said.

However, a ranking official of the ministry said it was true Patience had resigned voluntarily.

The official, who did not want her name in print because she was not authorised to speak on the matter, said she was not aware of the resignation having political undercurrents.

She said, “I can say Patience Jonathan has voluntarily retired. But whether there is political undertone in her resignation or not, I cannot say.

“I think the First Lady felt that her continued stay as Permanent Secretary will be depriving others. Now that she has resigned, it will afford others the opportunity to take over her position.

“Already, in accordance with the civil service rules, we have prepared all her entitlements. Whatever is due her will be given to her. She will also be receiving her pension.”

Craig Spencer works as a fellow of international emergency medicine at New York Presbyterian Hospital
3. NEW YORK CITY DOCTOR TESTS POSITIVE FOR EBOLA

A New York doctor who recently returned from Ebola-hit Guinea in West Africa has tested positive for the disease.

Dr Craig Spencer, who treated Ebola patients while working for the charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), came down with a fever on Thursday, days after his return, officials say.

He is the first Ebola case diagnosed in New York, and the fourth in the US.

Meanwhile, Mali has confirmed its first case of Ebola after a two-year-old girl tested positive for the virus.

4,900 people have died of Ebola - mainly in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone - since March.

EU leaders pledged at a summit on Friday to boost aid to combat Ebola in West Africa to 1bn euros (US$1.25bn; £785m), EU president Herman Van Rompuy tweeted.

Member states and the European Commission have already pledged nearly 600m euros.

Dr Spencer, 33, left Guinea on 14 October, and returned to New York City on 17 October via Europe. On Tuesday he began to feel tired and developed a fever and diarrhoea on Thursday.

He immediately contacted medical services and was taken to the city's Bellevue Hospital, where he is being kept in isolation.

President Barack Obama said his thoughts and prayers were with the patient.

New York officials said Dr Spencer had travelled on the subway and gone out jogging before he started feeling unwell.

But at a news conference late on Thursday, they sought to ease fears of an outbreak in the densely populated city of 8.4 million people, saying officials had prepared for weeks for an Ebola case. They added that those who came into contact with Dr Spencer were not at risk.
WHO describes outbreak, which has claimed 4,900 lives including at least 1,250 in Sierra Leone, as global public health emergency.
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