The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
December 30, 2014

Liberia Sees Flare-Up of Ebola Along Border; Scottish Nurse Diagnosed 
----------------------------------------------------------------------


 
Liberian officials are reporting a new flare-up of Ebola cases along the
border with Sierra Leone. The announcement of dozens of new cases comes
after Liberia reported strides in combating the virus. The news comes as
the death toll in the three worst-hit countries in West Africa has
topped 7,800, with more than 20,000 infected. In Britain, meanwhile, a
nurse who recently returned to Scotland from Sierra Leone has been flown
to London for treatment after she was diagnosed with Ebola. Pauline
Cafferkey is the first person diagnosed with Ebola on British soil.
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the risk to the public is
minimal.

Nicola Sturgeon: "I think it's very important to stress, particularly
for the benefit of those watching, that the risk to other people as a
result of this confirmed Ebola case is deemed to be extremely low. Given
the early stage of diagnosis, the patient was displaying no symptoms of
the kind that would lead to onward transmission and put other people at
risk, before she reported this morning as being unwell."

In the United States, a technician may have been exposed to Ebola at a
facility run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The
worker is under observation after handling samples which were supposed
to have been deactivated.