WHO: Ebola death toll now at 887

The Ebola outbreak continues to generate extensive coverage, with all three of last night’s national television news broadcasts leading with the story and devoting a total of 13 minutes of coverage to the topic. Additionally, all major US newspapers, wires, and websites cover at least some facet of the story, with some devoting multiple articles to the topic. ABC World News (8/4, lead story, 3:25, Muir) reported, “Good evening. We begin with the extreme caution across the country tonight, on the look out for Ebola. One patient in isolation after being tested in New York city. The CDC telling” ABC’s Dr. Richard Besser “that since the outbreak began, about a half dozen patients were tested right here in America.”

In a second segment on ABC World News (8/4, story 2, 1:10, Muir), Dr. Besser said, “Because you can have this virus in your blood without showing signs for weeks, we can see cases pop up. To totally knock it out we have to get together as a world and knock it out in west Africa.”

On the CBS Evening News (8/4, lead story, 3:05, Pelley) , the CDC’s Dr. Stephen Monroe said, “Given the amount of travel, it wouldn’t be entirely surprising if there would be a case showing up in the US.”

Meanwhile, NBC Nightly News (8/4, lead story, 3:15, Williams) reported that Dr. Kent Brantly, the American who was flown back to the US after contracting the Ebola virus in Africa, has “made a remarkable improvement. After one dose of a rare, experimental drug never before used on humans.” Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was shown saying, “It really is a cocktail of antibodies. An antibody is a protein that the body naturally makes in response to infection, to ultimately help the body to clear the infection.”

In a second segment, NBC Nightly News (8/4, story 2, 2:05, Williams), NBC’s Dr. Nancy Snyderman said that “Dr. Negar Aliabadi is one of the CDC disease detectives deploying to the region” of Africa affected by the outbreak. Dr. Aliabadi said, “It is a scary problem but that you know we are doing our best to get it under control over there, and to keep informed.”

The AP (8/4, Adigun, Paye-Layleh) reports that yesterday, “the World Health Organization announced…that the death toll has increased from 729 to 887 deaths in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Nigeria.”

The New York Times (8/5, Grady, Santora, Subscription Publication) reports, “A man who recently has been to West Africa went to the emergency room at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan late Sunday with symptoms consistent with Ebola…the hospital reported” yesterday. The patient “is being kept in isolation at the hospital while tests are being done for Ebola…but also for other illnesses that could cause his symptoms.”

The AP (8/5, Eltman, Alvarez) reports that Dr. Jeremy Boal, chief medical officer at Mount Sinai Health System, said, “Odds are, this is not Ebola.”

Meanwhile, the AP (8/5, Marchione) reports that the “two American aid workers infected with Ebola are getting an experimental drug so novel it has never been tested for safety in humans and was only identified as a potential treatment earlier this year, thanks to a longstanding research program by the U.S. government and the military.” These “workers, Nancy Writebol and” Dr. Brantly, “are improving, although it’s impossible to know whether the treatment is the reason or they are recovering on their own, as others who have survived Ebola have done.” The group with which these individuals were affiliated, “Samaritan’s Purse, initiated the events that led to the two workers getting ZMapp, according to a statement…by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.”

Bloomberg News (8/5, French, Chen, Lauerman) reports that “each patient received one dose in Liberia before being flown to the U.S., according to Fauci.”

USA Today (8/5, Painter) reports that Writebol “remains in serious but stable condition as she prepares to return to the USA for further treatment Tuesday, her sponsoring organization, SIM USA, said in a statement.”

The Washington Post (8/5, Phillip) reports that Writebol “will be transported in the same aircraft that brought an Ebola-stricken doctor, Kent Brantly, back to the United States from Liberia over the weekend.” Meanwhile, “Brantly, who is being treated in a state-of-the-art isolation facility at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, is showing signs of improvement,” CDC Director “Tom Frieden…said Sunday.”

The AP (8/5, Flaherty) reports, “Federal agents at U.S. airports are watching travelers from Africa for flu-like symptoms that could be tied to the recent Ebola outbreak, as delegations from some 50 countries arrive in the nation’s capital for a leadership summit this week.” Should a passenger be “suspected of carrying the deadly virus, they would be quarantined immediately and evaluated by medical personnel, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which provided…additional training to local airports.”

TIME (8/5) reports, “Airline captains are required by law to report to the CDC any individuals suspected of carrying the Ebola virus before landing in the U.S.” Additionally, the CDC “urged travelers who may have been exposed to Ebola to seek clearance from a doctor before traveling abroad.”

The AP (8/4) reports that yesterday, “Nigerian authorities…confirmed a second case of Ebola in Africa’s most populous country, an alarming setback as officials across the region battle to stop the spread of” the disease. Meanwhile, “health authorities in Liberia” yesterday “ordered that all those who die from Ebola be cremated after communities opposed having the bodies buried nearby.”

In a 1,300-word article, the New York Times (8/5, Nossiter, Subscription Publication) reports that “in Sierra Leone, the nation with the most cases of” Ebola, “the government has decreed a broad state of emergency — telling families to stay at home” yesterday “for ‘reflection, education and prayers’ — and has ordered strict new measures, like bans on many public gatherings and the quarantine edict.” However, “that tough stance is being accompanied by loose enforcement that is deeply worrying to doctors and health care workers trying to stem the rapid spread of the virus.”

Also reporting on the New York patient are the Washington Post (8/4, Izadi), the Los Angeles Times (8/5, Susman), the Wall Street Journal (8/5, Huntsberry, Subscription Publication), Reuters (8/5, Mckay), the New York Daily News (8/5), the New York Post (8/5), The Newark (NJ) Star-Ledger (8/5, Napoliello), CNBC (8/5), Fox News (8/5), TIME (8/5, Sifferlin), Politico (8/5, Levine), and The Hill (8/5, Viebeck). Also covering some other facet of the story are the Huffington Post (8/5, Chan), Reuters (8/5, Berkrot, Otani), The Hill (8/5, Viebeck), the New York Daily News (8/5, Goldstein), Congressional Quarterly (8/5, Young, Subscription Publication), the AP (8/5), the Philadelphia Inquirer (8/5, Burling), and NBC News (8/5, McClam) website.

Article from the AMA Morning Rounds, Aug 5, 2014.