Wednesday, 24 September 2014
HOUSE FOR SALE( CONTACTS:0652314181, EMAIL:aramakurias@yahoo.com, rocklandrealestate1@gmail.com)
Tuesday, 23 September 2014
HOUSE FOR SALE( CONTACTS:0652314181, EMAIL:aramakurias@yahoo.com, rocklandrealestate1@gmail.com)
HOUSE FOR SALE( CONTACTS:0652314181, EMAIL:aramakurias@yahoo.com, rocklandrealestate1@gmail.com)
Monday, 22 September 2014
John Shibuda: CHADEMA ni Gunia Tupu, Kasulumbai Amjibu Asema Shibuda ni Chizi
John Shibuda: CHADEMA ni Gunia Tupu, Kasulumbai Amjibu Asema Shibuda ni Chizi
.jpg)
Pia amesema CHADEMA amekipa talaka kwa jimbo lake kwa hiyo watafute mtu wa kugombea mwaka kesho. Kasulumbai ajibu na kusema Shibuda ni chizi anasubila kuvua nguo
Mazito Yaikuta Man United, Team iliyopanda Daraja Mwaka Huu Yainyeshea Mvua ya Mawe
Mazito Yaikuta Man United, Team iliyopanda Daraja Mwaka Huu Yainyeshea Mvua ya Mawe
Man United ambao walishinda mechi iliyopita ya ligi dhidi ya QPR kwa ushindi wa magoli 4-0, leo hii wameonja kipigo kizito kutoka kwa Leicester, baada ya kukubali kufungwa 5-3.
Man United ndio waliokuwa wa kwanza kuliona lango la Leicester kupitia Robin van Persie, kabla ya dakika baadae Angel di Maria kuongeza la pili.
Dakika moja baada ya United kufunga goli la pili, Leicester wakafungw goli la
Kwanza kupitia Ulloa na mpaka mapumziko matokeo yalikuwa 2-1.
Kipindi cha pili Ander Hererra akaifungia Man United goli la 3, lakini dakika chache baadae Leicester wakapata penati na kufunga goli la pili, huku United wakiwa bado na hasira za kulalamikia maamuzi ya refa, Estaban Cambiasso akafunga goli la kusawazisha.
Mchezaji aliyeng’ara kwenye mchezo Jamie Vard akaifungia City goli la 4, kabla ya dakika baadae Nugent kufunga goli la tano kwa mkwaju wa penati.
Mpaka refa anapuliza kipenga cha mwisho Leicester City 5-3 Man United.
Lampard ainusuru manchester city
Mfungaji wa mabao mengi zaidi wa Chelsea Frank
Lampard aliingia uwanjani kuiwakilisha Manchester City na akaisaidia
kunusuru hadhi yake mbele ya vinara wa ligi hiyo Chelsea uwanjani
Etihad .
Lampard - ambaye anaichezea City kwa mkopo kutoka New
York City FC hadi Januari mwakani anajivunia taji la kuifungia Chelsea
mabao 211 katika mechi 648 leo alifunga bao lake la kwanza dhidi yake
.Hata hivyo dakika tano alizoingia uwanjani kama mchezaji wa akiba zilitosha kumsaidia kusawazisha bao la Andre Schurrle ambalo lilikuwa limeiweka the Blues alama nane zaidi ya mabingwa hao watetezi wa ligi kuu ya Uingereza baada ya mechi tano .
Vijana wa Manuel Pellegrini walikuwa na mlima wa kupanda haswa baada ya kumpoteza kiungo wao Pablo Zabaleta.
Zabaleta alioneshwa kadi yake ya pili ya njano baada ya kumchezea visivyo mshambulizi machachari wa Chelsea Diego Costa.
Umati wa mashabiki wa Chelsea ulimshabikia Lampard licha ya kuwa ndiye iliyetia kitumbu chao mchanga dhidi ya wapinzani wao.
Licha ya sare hiyo vijana wa Jose Mourinho wamesalia na alama tatu kileleni mwa jedwali la ligi kuu ya Uingereza .
Kufuatia matokeo hayo The Blues walipoteza rekodi yao ya kushinda kila mechi na watajilaumu wenyewe kwa kupoteza alama 2 muhimu dhidi ya timu iliyokuwa na wachezaji 10 katika dakika 5 za mwisho.
Mechi hiyo ilisalia sare tasa kwa asilimia kubwa baada ya Kocha Manuel kumtuma mlinzi wake wa kutegemewa Vincent Kompany kumdhibiti Diego Costa kazi aliyoitekeleza kwa ukakamavu na kumnyima mhispania huyo nafasi ya kuongeza idadi ya mabao zaidi ya 7 alizofunga tayari katika mechi 4 alizoshiriki msimu huu.
Kompany akishirikiana na mlinzi mpya Eliaquim Mangala, aliyetokea Porto,kwa gharama ya pauni milioni 32 walifaulu kumdhibiti Costa.
Sare hiyo ilifuatia matokeo mengine ya kushngaza ambapo Manchester united ilipoteza udhibiti wa mechi yake dhidi ya Leicester ilipokuwa ikiongoza mabao 3-1 na ikambulia kichapo cha mabao 5-3.
Kocha Louis van Gaal atalazimika kufanya muujiza ilikuimarisha safu yake ya ulinzi kwani kwa sasa huo ndio upungufu wake mkubwa .
Isitoshe van Gaal hana budi kutafuta mlinzi atakayeziba pengo lilioachwa na Tyler Blackett ambaye alionyeshwa kadi nyekundu atakaokutana na West Ham katika mechi yake ijayo.
Masaibu yake hayajaishia hapo ,Mreno huyo anasubiri kujua hatima ya mlinzi wake Jonny Evans aliyejeruhiwa na hivyo anasubiri kauli ya madaktari.
Saturday, 20 September 2014
Everton yaanza vizuri Europa
Everton yaanza vizuri Europa
Michuano ya UEROPA maarufu kama UEFA ndogo imeanza vyema ambapo Everton ya England ilianza kwa kuisambaratisha Wolfsburg ya Ujeruman magoli 4 - 1.
Timu
ya Tottenham walikuwa wagen wa Partizan Belgrade ya Serbia ambazo
zitoka sare ya kutofungana huku Villarreal ikatoka sare ya bao 1-1 dhidi
ya Borussia Monchengladbach pia ni ya Ujeruman.Nayo FC Red Bull Salsburg ya Austria ikaishia sare ya 2-2 dhidi ya Celtic.
Mchezo mwingine ulikuwa ni kati ya Fiorentina ambayo ilibanjua Guingamp ya Ufaransa kwa jumla ya 3-0, nayo Zurich ikapokea kipigo cha mabao 2-3 kutoka kwa Apollon Limassol ya Ugiriki
Matokeo mengine ni mechi ya Brugge ya ubeligiji ilitoka sare ya bila kufungana dhidi ya Torino ya Italia na Dynamo Kiev ikaifunga Rio Ave ya Ureno magori 3-0.
Maelfu Wajitokeza Kumsindikiza Freeman Mbowe Polisi Alipoitwa Kuhojiwa Kuhusu Kauli yake ya Maandamano
Maelfu Wajitokeza Kumsindikiza Freeman Mbowe Polisi Alipoitwa Kuhojiwa Kuhusu Kauli yake ya Maandamano
.JPG)
Mbowe amefika makao makuu hayo kwa ajili ya kuhojiwa kuhusu kauli yake aliyoitoa Jumapili iliyopita ya kuitisha maandamano nchi nzima kushinikiza kusitishwa kwa Bunge Maalumu la Katiba.
Katika tukio hilo, baadhi ya waandishi wa habari wamekimbizwa na polisi waliokuwa na mbwa wakitakiwa kukaa umbali wa mita 200 kutoka katika makao makuu hayo ya polisi
Independence activists still win with Scottish 'No' vote
UK Prime Minister David Cameron said he was delighted at the result
of Thursday's Scottish independence vote saying he will deliver on the
promises made to give Scotland greater autonomy. (Sept. 19)
AP
"We lost the referendum vote but can still carry the political initiative," said Alex Salmond, who resigned from Scotland's highest political office Friday, just hours after voters rejected the ballot by a comfortable margin of 55% to 45%. "More importantly, Scotland can still emerge as the real winner."
And though British Prime Minister David Cameron may have won the day, his victory comes at a considerable price: the promise of greater financial autonomy to the country's regions, meaning future squabbles and more division lie ahead for the Un
Advantage: the Scot.
Salmond "has potentially transformed the United Kingdom," said Fiona Hill, director of the Center on the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution. "This referendum basically begins a process on issues of governance."
Cameron could have gone down in history as the leader who lost Scotland. It was he who decided in 2012 — when independence seemed unlikely — to allow the vote. Members of his Conservative Party had suggested that Cameron might have to resign if Scotland won independence. But his promise to grant Scotland — and Wales and Northern Ireland — more autonomy over social welfare issues and taxation means the bullet he dodged "could come back," Hill said.
Despite Cameron's victory, he will be blamed for increased acrimony over resources, and over whether his promise of greater autonomy to the U.K.'s regions is even honored, says Nile Gardiner, director of the Heritage Foundation's Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom in Washington, D.C.
"These proposals for extending more power to Scotland — these would have to be raised in parliament and many members of parliament have expressed opposition to these plans," Gardiner said. "They are by no means a done deal."
The Union might not be at any immediate risk, "but there will be a constant drumbeat for never-ending concessions from Westminster," he said.
Friday, 19 September 2014
Scotland Rejects Independence From Britain in Historic Vote
Scotland Rejects Independence From Britain in Historic Vote
EDINBURGH
— With a sweeping majority far wider than had been forecast, voters in
Scotland rejected independence from the United Kingdom in a referendum
that had threatened to break up a 307-year union, according to the final
count on Friday.
The
outcome was a bitter blow to those who had campaigned with mounting
passion in a hard-fought campaign spanning two years but reaching back
into centuries of shared history. The result also showed the depth of
Scottish support for secession, with 45 percent of voters backing the
creation of a sovereign state.
While
opinion polls before the vote had forecast a contest too close to call,
the “no” campaign opposed to independence secured some 55 percent of
the ballot, according to the final results, swinging the United Kingdom
back from what pro-independence campaigners had depicted as the cusp of a
historic breakup with incalculable consequences for Britain’s place in
the world.
Mary
Pitcaithly, the chief counting officer for the referendum, said final
figures showed the pro-independence camp securing 1,617,989 votes while
their opponents took 2,001,926, representing a turnout of almost 85
percent.
Results by Region
Percentage Point Difference
-15
-10
-5
0
5
10
15%
Voted no
Voted yes
Scotland
Aberdeen
Edinburgh
Glasgow
“The
people of Scotland have spoken and it is a clear result,” Prime
Minister David Cameron said outside 10 Downing Street in London. “They
have kept our country of four nations together. As I said during the
campaign it would have broken my heart to see our United Kingdom come to
an end.”
He
went on to say there could be “no disputes, no reruns” of the ballot
and it was now time “for our United Kingdom to come together and to move
forward.”
The
prime minister spoke shortly after Alex Salmond, the leader of the
Scottish National Party and the first minister of Scotland, who led the
campaign for secession, conceded defeat in an address to cheering
supporters. “I accept the verdict of the people,” he said. “And I call
on all the people of Scotland to accept the democratic verdict of the
people of Scotland.”
Mr.
Salmond stressed that, even though the anti-independence campaign had
prevailed, some 1.6 million Scottish residents had voted to end the
union, providing what he termed a “substantial” bloc of support to press
for new powers promised by political leaders in London.
“Scotland
will expect these to be honored in rapid course,” Mr. Salmond said. And
he qualified the outcome saying that Scotland had decided “not at this
stage to become an independent country,” implying that he would pursue
his longstanding dream of a sovereign state in the future.
Leaders
of Britain’s three main parties, shocked by the strong showing of the
independence campaign in recent weeks, had scrambled to offer Scots more
devolved powers if they remained part of the United Kingdom.
Mr.
Cameron said new laws would be published by January to redeem the
pledges, speaking of a “new and fair settlement” that would affect all
four components of the United Kingdom — England, Scotland, Wales and
Northern Ireland.
“We
now have a chance – a great opportunity – to change the way the British
people are governed, and change it for the better,” he said. As for the
promises of greater powers for Scotland, made by Mr. Cameron along with
the leaders of the Liberal Democrat and Labour parties, he said: "We
will ensure that they are honored in full.”
But
he referred specifically to the longstanding and often contentious
issue of whether England should have greater parliamentary control over
affairs that affect it exclusively.
“We have heard the voice of Scotland and now the millions of voices of England must be heard,” Mr. Cameron said.
Before
dawn, after a night of counting that showed a steady trend in favor of
maintaining the union, Nicola Sturgeon, the deputy leader of the
pro-independence Scottish National Party, effectively conceded defeat
for the “yes” campaign that had pressed for secession.
“Like
thousands of others across the country I’ve put my heart and soul into
this campaign and there is a real sense of disappointment that we’ve
fallen narrowly short of securing a ‘yes’ vote,” Ms. Sturgeon told BBC
television as the votes showed strengthening support for the “no”
campaign.
Shortly
after Ms. Sturgeon’s comments, Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland and
seat of its Parliament, reported a huge gain for the “no” camp, with
more than 194,000 voters rejecting independence, compared with almost
124,000 in favor. Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland, had voted in
favor of secession by a smaller margin.
The
decision spared Mr. Cameron a shattering defeat that would have raised
questions about his ability to continue in office and diminished his
country’s standing in the world.
But
while the result preserved a union molded in 1707, it left Mr. Cameron
facing a backlash among some of his Conservative Party lawmakers. They
were angered by the promises of greater Scottish autonomy that he and
other party leaders made just days before the vote, when it appeared
that the independence campaign might win. Some lawmakers called for
similar autonomy for England itself, and even the creation of a separate
English Parliament.
The
outcome headed off the huge economic, political and military
imponderables that would have flowed from a vote for independence. But
it also presaged a looser, more federal United Kingdom. And it was
unlikely to deter Scottish nationalists from trying again.
President
Obama had made little secret of his desire that the United Kingdom
remain intact. Britain has long prided itself on a so-called special
relationship with the United States, and Britain’s allies had been
concerned by, among other things, Mr. Salmond’s vow to evict nuclear
submarine bases from Scotland, threatening London’s role in the West’s
defenses.
As
the vote approached, the margin between the two camps narrowed to a few
percentage points, and at one point, the “yes” campaign seemed to have
the momentum.
That
was enough to alarm the leaders of Britain’s three main political
parties. In a rare show of unity, they promised to extend significant
new powers of taxation to Scotland, while maintaining a formula for
public spending that many English voters saw as favoring Scots with a
bigger per capita outlay.
Alistair
Darling, who had led the “no” campaign, told supporters that the vote
had reaffirmed the bonds underpinning the United Kingdom. “Let them
never be broken,” he said, calling the outcome “momentous.”
“We have taken on the arguments and we have won,” he said
Thailand woman dead after jumping into crocodile pit
Thailand woman dead after jumping into crocodile pit
Ms
A
65-year-old woman from Bangkok has killed herself by jumping into a pit
of crocodiles at a reptile farm near the capital, police say.
Witnesses saw Wanpen Inyai jumping into a pond at Samut Prakarn Crocodile Farm and Zoo on Friday, reported The Bangkok Post. Staff failed to rescue her.Police said they were told by family members that Ms Wanpen appeared depressed prior to her death.
Thai tourist attractions are said to often have lax safety rules.
Thai police confirmed Ms Wanpen's death on Tuesday afternoon.
According to reports, she took off her shoes before jumping into the middle of a pond said to be up to 3m deep that contained hundreds of adult crocodiles.
Staff tried to use long sticks to stop the crocodiles from attacking her, according to the Bangkok Post.
Earlier that day, Ms Wanpen's family had tried to file a missing persons report after they discovered her disappearance, but they were reportedly told to wait for 24 hours.
Her death mirrored that of a woman who killed herself in 2002 the same way at the same farm, and another suicide reportedly took place a decade before that.
The farm claims it has more than 100,000 crocodiles housed in its ponds
Monday, 15 September 2014
TISHIO LA EBOLA LAIKUMBA TANZANIA
Hata hivyo, kwa mujibu wa gazeti la× Citizen toleo la jana, mamlaka zilizoko chini ya× Wizara ya Afya zimeendelea kukabiliana na hofu ya kuibuka kwa ugonjwa huo hatari uliozikumba nchi nyingi za× Magharibi na kusababisha vifo vya zaidi ya watu 2,000.
Iwapo kutakuwa na taarifa zozote za kuibuka kwa
ugonjwa huo, tayari kambi maalumu za kuwatambua wagonjwa wa ebola
zimeshaanzishwa katika× Kikuu cha Tiba na× Sayansi cha Muhimbili ambako watafanyiwa uchunguzi na watakaobainika watapelekwa katika kituo maalumu cha kuwahifadhi kilichoko katika× Hospitali ya Temeke.
Dar es Salaam. Tanzania ni
miongoni mwa nchi 15 zilizoko katika hatari ya kupata mlipuko wa ugonjwa
wa ebola kwa mujibu wa maelezo ya wanasayansi.
Wanasayansi hao wa× Kikuu cha Oxford nchini× Uingereza pia wameainisha kuwa zaidi ya watu milioni 22 barani× Afrika wako katika hatari ya kuambukizwa ugonjwa huo.
Hadhari hiyo ilitolewa mwishoni mwa wiki iliyopita na× Serikali
ikiwahakikishia wananchi wake kwamba iko katika jitihada ya kuandaa
mazingira ya kukabiliana na ugonjwa huo endapo utaingia nchini.
Wakati wanasayansi hao wakisema hayo, wiki
iliyopita, Rais Jakaya Kikwete alikagua maandalizi ya kituo cha kupokea
wagonjwa wa ebola eneo la Temeke na mitambo iliyowekwa Uwanja wa Ndege
wa Kimataifa wa Julius Nyerere (JNIA) endapo watapatikana wasafiri wenye
dalili za maradhi hayo.
Vilevile kuona jinsi wahusika walivyopewa mafunzo maalumu ya kuwahudumia wagonjwa hao.
Tayari mitambo hiyo imeshafungwa katika Viwanja
vikubwa vya ndege vya Kilimanjaro (KIA), JNIA, Uwanja wa Ndege wa
Zanzibar na Uwanja wa Ndege wa Mwanza.
Hata hivyo, kwa mujibu wa gazeti la Citizen toleo
la jana, mamlaka zilizoko chini ya Wizara ya Afya zimeendelea
kukabiliana na hofu ya kuibuka kwa ugonjwa huo hatari uliozikumba nchi
nyingi za Afrika Magharibi na kusababisha vifo vya zaidi ya watu 2,000.
Iwapo kutakuwa na taarifa zozote za kuibuka kwa
ugonjwa huo, tayari kambi maalumu za kuwatambua wagonjwa wa ebola
zimeshaanzishwa katika Chuo Kikuu cha Tiba na Sayansi cha Muhimbili
ambako watafanyiwa uchunguzi na watakaobainika watapelekwa katika kituo
maalumu cha kuwahifadhi kilichoko katika Hospitali ya Temeke.
Kengele ya hatari
Ugunduzi mpya uliofanywa katika eneo ambalo ebola
imeonyesha athari kubwa Afrika Magharibi umezidi kutoa ishara ya hatari
kwa Tanzania na nchi nyingine za Afrika ambazo mlipuko haukuwahi
kuripotiwa.
Serikali za nchi hizo zimehadharushwa kuwa
zinatakiwa zijipange kwa kujua njia na namna ya kukabiliana na tishio
hilo badala ya kuelekeza nguvu katika kuwabaini waathiriwa kupitia
viwanja vya ndege na bandari pekee.
OKWI ALIVYO WA INGIZA YANGA MJINI
OKWI EMMANUEL
In Summary
Moja ya mashauri yaliyokuwa yakijadiliwa hapo juzi ni kesi iliyofunguliwa na× Yanga kupinga uamuzi wa mshambuliaji wao× Okwi kujiunga na Simba wakati bado akiwa na mkataba na klabu hiyo.
Kamati hiyo iliketi kuanzia muda wa saa 9.30
alasiri hadi saa 12:15 jioni (dakika 165) ambapo pande mbili yaani
walalamikaji (Yanga) wakiongozwa na× Mkuu wa klabu hiyo× Njovu na mwanasheria wao× Mapande na mlalamikiwa (Okwi) akiwa na mwanasheria× Ndumbaro, ambaye alimwakilisha mwanasheria wa Okwi, Edgar Aggaba waliondoka ukumbini hapo.
Hali ilivyokuwa
Kamati ilitoa fursa kwa Yanga kuwasilisha
vielelezo vyote juu ya hoja zao ambapo Mapande na Njovu walifanya hivyo
kabla ya baadae Okwi na Ndumbaro kuambiwa wapeleke utetezi wao.
Kamati ilichukua muda wa saa mbili kusikiliza
pande hizo mbili na kupeana mapumziko mafupi kabla ya kurejea tena
kumalizia mashauri hayo. Hata hivyo utulivu uliendelea kutawala hotelini
hapo huku wajumbe wakiingia na kutoka katika chumba cha majadiliano.
Pande zote mbili zilionekana kuwa na matumaini ya
kushinda kesi hiyo lakini baadaye upande wa Okwi na Ndumbaro ulionekana
kuwa na mashaka kuwa endapo Kamati hiyo itaamua kutoa uamuzi wake kwa
kupiga kura basi ‘ingekula kwao’.
Wasiwasi huo ulitokana na dhana ya kwamba kamati
hiyo ina wajumbe wengi ambao ni wanachama wa Yanga akiwemo mwanasheria
Iman Madega aliyekuwa Mwenyekiti wa Yanga na Abdul Sauko aliyekuwa
Katibu Mkuu wa klabu hiyo huku upande wa Simba ukidaiwa kuwa na wajumbe
wawili tu mmoja wapo ni Mwenyekiti wa Kamati ya Usajili wa klabu hiyo,
Zacharia Hans Poppe.
Ukumbi wabadilishwa
Awali hukumu hiyo ilipangwa kufanyika katika ofisi
za TFF kama ambavyo wajumbe walitangaziwa awali lakini kwa hofu ya
kutaka utulivu hasa kwa lengo la kutaka kuwakimbia makomandoo wa Simba
na Yanga ukumbi huo ulibadilishwa haraka na kupelekwa katika hoteli ya
Colosseum ambako ndiyo kila kitu kilimalizika huko.
TFF baada ya kufika Colosseum walikosa ukumbi wa
kufanyia mkutano baada ya hoteli hiyo kujaa hawakuwa na mbadala mwingine
zaidi ya kutafuta chumba na kupatiwa chumba namba 201 ghorofa ya pili
ambako ndipo kila kitu kilifanyika hapo.
Hoja ya Yanga yadunda
Saturday, 13 September 2014
EBORA YA CHUKUA SURA MPYA SASA YA SAMBAA KWA HEWA
Experts worry Ebola could mutate to spread by air
Avis Favaro reports on the rapid advance of the Ebola virus and the WHO's grim update that it is still outpacing containment efforts.
The number of new cases is growing at a fast rate. Dr. Keith Martin weighs in on what needs to be done to contain the outbreak.
RELATED STORIES
PHOTOS
A health worker is sprayed with disinfectant after he worked with patients that contracted the Ebola virus, at a clinic in Monrovia, Liberia, Monday, Sept. 8, 2014. (AP Photo/Abbas Dulleh)
It is among the first signs that experts who have been watching the outbreak with mounting alarm are ready to go public with grave concerns about an Ebola outbreak that is unlike any the world has ever seen.
To date nearly 4,800 people have been infected and roughly 2,400 have died, the World Health Organization said Friday. The global health agency has repeatedly cautioned that its numbers are likely an underestimate.
A few weeks back the WHO warned that 20,000 people might be infected before this outbreak is over. That's nearly 50 times as many cases as the largest Ebola outbreak on record before now.
Before this epidemic, fewer than 3,000 people were known to have contracted the virus in roughly 19 outbreaks dating back to 1976. So when the 20,000 figure was raised, it was almost an unthinkable number.
Now some experts believe 20,000 is optimistic. A modelling study, released Thursday in the online journal Eurosurveillance, suggested that if the pace of new cases continues as it has, there could be between 77,000 and 277,000 additional Ebola cases before the end of 2014.
The authors of that study called that a worse-case scenario and said the scale of containment efforts should prevent case numbers from getting that high. But they said that as of Aug. 26, there was no indication the efforts were turning the tide.
And the aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres said Friday there still isn't. The group, which is also known as Doctors Without Borders, recently called for governments with military field hospitals to deploy those resources to the Ebola zone. The response has been modest at best.
"To this day, the pledges to dispatch field hospitals with isolation capacity remains light years away from what is needed on the ground," the group said Friday.
"If we add up the commitments that we have heard of, we barely reach 100 extra beds when more than a thousand are needed in Liberia and Sierra Leone. In Monrovia, for example, an estimated 1,200 beds in isolated wards are needed, but only 240 are available -- including 160 provided by MSF. These new centres must serve affected people regardless where they are from or their profession."
That last remark was likely a reference to the fact that earlier this week the U.S. Pentagon said it would send a 25-bed field hospital to Liberia -- to treat health-care workers who become infected with Ebola.
MSF said that without places for the sick to go, there is no way to keep the infected from spreading the disease to family or friends who take care of them.
Viruses like Ebola mutate constantly. And each time an animal virus such as Ebola infects a person, it has the chance to develop mutations that make it better adapted to spreading among people.
No one knows what cycling Ebola viruses through so many people would mean in terms of the virus's evolution. But scientists who study Ebola -- one of the deadliest viruses to afflict humankind -- would prefer not to watch the experiment in action.
Osterholm suggested each infection gives the mutating virus "trillions of throws of the genetic dice."
"The current Ebola virus's hyper-evolution is unprecedented; there has been more human-to-human transmission in the past four months than most likely occurred in the last 500 to 1,000 years," he said in his Times commentary.
Ebola currently spreads through exposure to bodily fluids like vomit, blood or feces. Exposure is high risk for those who encounter these fluids, but only those caring for sick patients or preparing the dead for burial do.
"If certain mutations occurred, it would mean that just breathing would put one at risk of contracting Ebola. Infections could spread quickly to every part of the globe, as the H1N1 influenza virus did in 2009, after its birth in Mexico," Osterholm wrote.
In an interview, he noted that the outbreak has crippled the three worst-hit countries: Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. "Ebola virus infection in West Africa has clearly brought these countries to their knees."
International response teams, most led by MSF, have struggled to create and staff sufficient treatment beds for the sick. While it has traditionally staffed the field hospitals during Ebola outbreaks, this time the organization has said it cannot operate as many treatment centres as are needed and it has called on countries and other aid organizations for help.
In Liberia, which has been hit hardest by the outbreak, it was announced a large soccer stadium will be converted into two treatment facilities. Use of the stadium was donated by soccer's international governing body, FIFA.
Osterholm said people might be tempted to slough off the situation by telling themselves that events in West Africa have no bearing on their own lives.
"What are the hallmarks of what's happening? Health-care workers are dying. People are panicked. ... There are shortages of food and water," he said.
"If in this country we suddenly had ongoing respiratory transmission of Ebola virus, health-care workers would die, there'd be panic and fear and we'd suddenly see major shortages of any number of items and goods that we need every day, including most critical medical products."
Osterholm noted that a 2012 study by researchers at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg showed that under certain circumstances the Zaire subtype of the virus -- the cause of the current outbreak -- could be spread by the respiratory route between pigs and monkeys.
He said the risk needs to be mitigated by greatly enhanced efforts to stop the spread of the virus, including instituting United Nations control over the response.
"Thus far it has played at best a collaborating role, and with everyone in charge, no one is in charge," he said.
The Security Council should give the UN overriding authority to run the response. Military air and ground support from G-7 countries is needed to ensure supply chains for medical and infection control products, as well as food and water for quarantined areas, he wrote.
Osterholm said humanitarianism isn't the only driving factor demanding a response.
"If we wait for vaccines and new drugs to arrive to end the Ebola epidemic, instead of taking major action now, we risk the disease's reaching from West Africa to our own backyards."
Work is being expedited on experimental vaccines and Ebola drugs, but even if they are shown to work supplies will be limited for months to come.
Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/experts-worry-ebola-could-mutate-to-spread-by-air-1.2003633#ixzz3DBvCiJwS
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