Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
CDC Director Sees Progress In Ebola Fight
The Washington Post: CDC Director Frieden Cites Progress, Challenges In Ebola Fight After W. Africa Trip
Despite progress fighting Ebola in Liberia, a surge in the number of cases and a shortage of treatment beds in neighboring Sierra Leone and Guinea pose “sobering” challenges to stopping the epidemic in West Africa, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday. CDC Director Thomas Frieden said the conditions he saw on a week-long trip to the three hardest-hit countries were “a world of difference” from his visit in late August and September, when the number of cases was increasing exponentially in Liberia and dead bodies lay in streets and in treatment centers. (Sun, 12/22)
Los Angeles Times: CDC Chief: 'World Of Difference' In Ebola Fight, But Complacency A Risk
The fight against the Ebola virus in West Africa has seen some “real momentum and progress” in the last few months but remains imperiled by complacency as hot spots of the disease continue to sprout across the region, the head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday. ... To shut down the Ebola outbreak, Frieden told reporters, healthcare workers must continue adhering to strict protocols and use of personal protective equipment, and officials must be able to effectively trace every patient’s contacts closely to shut down chains of transmission. “Until they get to zero, we in the U.S. will not be safe from other potential imported cases,” Frieden said. (Mai-Duc, 12/22)
