USG HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO EVD OUTBREAK RESPONSE TO DATE IN FY 2014 & FY 2015

The individual in Montserrado, a known contact under precautionary observation, died on July 12, shortly after being transferred to the GoL-managed ELWA 3 EVD treatment unit (ETU), where the four remaining patients are receiving treatment. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that only 17 percent and 11 percent of cases in Guinea and Sierra Leone, respectively, resulted from unknown sources of transmission during the week ending July 5. This indicates improvements in case investigations and understanding of chains of transmission. The WHO also reports that 30 confirmed cases of EVD were reported in West Africa between June 29 and July 5, including 18 cases in Guinea, nine cases in Sierra Leone, and three cases in Liberia. The UN hosted an International Ebola Recovery Conference in New York from July 9-10, in partnership with the African Development Bank, the African Union, the E.U., and the World Bank. The international community pledged more than $5 billion on July 10 to support long-term recovery efforts in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. USAID/FFP is supporting UNICEF's efforts to prevent and treat severe and moderate acute malnutrition among EVD-affected children in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, with more than $6.4 million in assistance. In Liberia, the GoL Incident Management System (IMS) confirmed an additional EVD case on July 12, the sixth in the country since June 29. The latest confirmed EVD patient was on an existing contact list but resided in Montserrado, marking the spread of the current cluster from Margibi to a second county. The patient was admitted to the ELWA 3 ETU on July 12 and died there the same day. Of the six cases associated with Liberia's current EVD cluster, two patients have died and four are receiving treatment at Montserrado's ELWA 3 ETU. Genetic sequencing on samples from the first-detected Margibi case indicates that the strain appears to be genetically similar to those that affected the area more than six months ago, indicating that the current outbreak likely did not result from an animal source, nor from infections in neighboring Guinea or Sierra Leone. USAID/OFDA, CDC, and other EVD response actors in Margibi and Montserrado continue to support response efforts, including contact tracing, case investigation, safe burials, social mobilization campaigns, and surveillance and monitoring. In Sierra Leone, the Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS) confirmed 14 new EVD cases between July 6 and 12, including 10 in Western Area Urban District, three in Kambia District, and one in Port Loko District. Operation Northern Push, which the GoSL recently extended beyond its initial 21-day campaign period ending July 7, has expanded social mobilization activities, harnessed community support, improved contact tracing, and effectively monitored the prevention of EVD transmission from Guinea.