U.S. and British troops head to West Africa to help fight Ebola virus

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1 U.S. and British troops head to West Africa to help fight Ebola virus By Los Angeles Times, adapted by Newsela staff - Sept. 09, To slow down the spread of the deadly virus Ebola, the United States and Britain are sending troops and equipment to West Africa. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the outbreak is exceeding its ability to control it. The military forces will build treatment centers in Liberia and Sierra Leone to help care for victims of the virus. Ebola is fatal for between 50 percent and 80 percent of the people who get it. It has killed more than 2,000 people since it was detected in March. Thousands more could become infected before the worst Ebola outbreak on record is brought under control, the WHO has warned. The outbreak began in Guinea. It quickly spread to the other African nations of Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Senegal. In Liberia, the number of new cases is increasing far faster than the number of hospital beds, the WHO said Monday. As soon as a new care facility opens, it is immediately filled to overflowing. Ebola Hitting Health Workers When patients are turned away at Ebola treatment centers, they have no choice but to return to their communities and homes," the WHO said. There, they spread the disease and infect other people. Those who care for patients are among those hardest hit by Ebola. The disease is spread through contact with the organs, blood and other fluids of people sick with Ebola. In Liberia alone, about 152 health care workers have come down with the virus. A total of 79 of them have died, according to the WHO. Liberia is still recovering from years of war. When the outbreak began, the country had only about one doctor for every 100,000 people. In contrast, the U.S. has 250 doctors for every 100,000 people, according to the World Bank. Every time a doctor or nurse gets sick or dies from Ebola, the ability to stop the spread of the disease is significantly reduced, the WHO said. Humanitarian workers worry that many local and international doctors and nurses are staying away because they are afraid to catch the disease. This means there aren't enough health workers caring for Ebola patients to slow down the outbreak.

2 9 10 Ebola is part of a group of illnesses called viral hemorrhagic fevers. These all interfere with the blood's ability to clot. Symptoms of Ebola include fever, weakness, muscle pain and headaches. The disease can cause kidney and liver failure, as well as bleeding inside the body. There is no vaccine or cure. In neighboring Sierra Leone, a WHO doctor who was working at one Ebola center tested positive for the virus. The doctor will be evacuated from the area and sent to a hospital somewhere else, the agency announced Monday. The doctor was the second international health worker brought by WHO to Sierra Leone, who had become infected. Troops To Build Care Centers President Barack Obama said that the U.S. military will help set up isolation units and equipment for health workers. The health workers have been arriving in West Africa from around the world. The units will keep Ebola victims isolated to prevent the virus from spreading. Army Colonel Steve Warren is a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Defense. He said the troops will build a 25-bed hospital in the Liberian capital of Monrovia to care for health workers. The military will not be stationed permanently at the center, which will be turned over to the Liberian government once it has been set up. But the troops will make sure that supplies are maintained at the hospital. Supplies, like rubber gloves and mattresses, have been stolen from some of the Ebola hospitals. The troops will also provide the support needed to keep it running for up to 180 days. Obama said that the U.S. needs to keep Ebola from spreading through Africa and other parts of the world. If not, there s the prospect then that the virus mutates, it becomes more easily transmittable, and then it could be a serious danger to the United States, Obama said. When a virus mutates, its structure changes, making it harder to treat. British military engineers and medical experts will build and operate a care center near the Sierra Leone capital of Freetown, the British government said. It will have a total of 62 beds. Local and international workers will run the center. It will include a 12-bed center providing specialist care for health workers. This will ensure they can continue to respond to the disease as safely and efficiently as possible, it said in a statement.

3 troops military forces victims infected outbreak spread organs mutates transmittable engineers blood 100,000 war fluids 152 died viral hemorrhagic evacuated stop troops military forces victims infected outbreak spread organs mutates transmittable engineers blood 100,000 war fluids 152 died viral hemorrhagic evacuated stop

4 Possible Sentences Lesson 1. Show the students the words and tell them that they need to write 5 sentences using those words that could be from a FICTION story. They can do this on their own or with a partner. 2. After about 7-10 minutes, have the students share a few sentences. 3. Now, tell the students that you want them to use the same words, but that this time, they need to write sentences that could be from a NON-FICTION article, something they would read in an informational book or newspaper article. They can do this on their own or with a partner. 4. After about 7-10 minutes, have the students share a few sentences. 5. Explain to the students that the writing activity they did was to have them start thinking about those words, what they mean and how they are used. They are all words from a REAL article that they are about to read and that because they did the writing activity first, it will help them understand the article better. Comprehension happens when you connect what you know to what you are learning. 6. Pass out the article and have the students listen as you read it out loud to them. Tell them to underline any of the words from the list as you are reading. 7. Discuss the article as a class and answer any questions students may have about the content or the vocabulary. 8. Time to check. Tell the students that they now need to check their sentences to see which ones are true according to the article. They can check their fiction sentences for fun. For their non-fiction sentences, they need to make CORRECTIONS and change them to make them fit the article. They can do this by crossing out and adding in words, they do not need to rewrite the sentences. 9. You can end the lesson here.

5 10. Optional: Complete a second read of the article to find evidence for an argumentative paragraph Should the United States spend money and send troops to help Ebola victims in Africa? This time, mark the text as follows: YES the US should spend money and send troops, put a YES by phrases that SUPPORT this claim NO the US should not spend money or send troops, put a NO by phrases that SUPPORT this claim 11. Tell the students that they must pick a side to write about. Show them the CLAIM statements and have them pick a side. Have them write the CLAIM on a piece of paper. This is the first paragraph of their essay. 12. Tell the students to look at the article and pick out 2 pieces of evidence to SUPPORT their claim. Show students the CSE Paragraph format. 13. Finally, tell the students they need to EXPLAIN the evidence they chose to use to SUPPORT their CLAIM. This may take more than one sentence.

6 Should the United States spend money and send troops to help Ebola victims in Africa? Claim: The United States should spend money and send troops to help the Ebola victims in Africa. Claim: The United States should not spend money or send troops to help the Ebola victims in Africa.

7 Basic 4 sentence CSE Paragraph Format: 1 st sentence CLAIM pick a side, either the US should spend money and send troops OR it should not spend money and send troops 2 nd sentence SUPPORT provide evidence from the text to support your claim. According to the article.. 3 rd sentence SUPPORT provide another piece of evidence from the text to support your claim. The article further states.. 4 th sentence EXPLAIN explain to the reader how the evidence you used backs up your claim. The evidence clearly shows

8 Answers About Ebola TFK answers some key questions about this serious disease AUG 13, 2014 By Nicoletta Richardson with TIME and AP Reporting You may have heard a lot about Ebola lately. A new outbreak of this disease has spread through the West African countries of Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and, most recently, Nigeria. Researchers think this outbreak began in December Since then, nearly 2,000 people have become infected with the Ebola virus, and more than 1,000 have died from it. Scientists and doctors are working to stop its spread, and to care for the people who are infected. In late July, two American aid workers in West Africa became infected with Ebola. They were brought back to the United States for treatment. Many Americans are wondering if the virus could become a problem here. Experts say there is no need to worry. Read on to find out why, and to learn the answers to some other common questions about Ebola. What is Ebola? Ebola, or Ebola hemorrhagic fever (Ebola HF), is a contagious and life-threatening disease. It affects humans and other primates, including monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees. Ebola gets its name from the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The disease was first reported in a village on the river in What are the symptoms of Ebola? The early symptoms include fever, headache, joint and muscle aches, weakness, chills, difficulty breathing, and a sore throat. As the disease becomes worse, diarrhea, vomiting, and bleeding inside and outside of the body may start to occur. The first signs of infection can appear anywhere from 2 to 21 days after exposure to the virus. How does Ebola spread? Experts are not sure how an Ebola outbreak starts. The virus spreads from direct contact with bodily fluids including blood, saliva, sweat, and urine of infected people and animals. Animals in Africa believed to carry Ebola include other primates, fruit bats, porcupines, and forest antelope. Doctors and nurses are at a high risk of infection because they come into physical contact with Ebola patients. Also, family members who care for infected relatives are

9 more likely to catch the disease, especially if they don t wear proper protective equipment, such as gloves and masks. Can Ebola be treated? Yes. Most people who become infected with Ebola need special care in a hospital. Treatment includes making sure they get plenty of liquids and oxygen, keeping their blood pressure steady, and addressing symptoms and complications as they come up. Patients also need to be kept from the public to help prevent the disease from spreading. There is no cure for Ebola, but doctors are working on a vaccine to prevent it. Some experimental drugs have been developed to treat the disease. They have been effective in animals, but have not yet been approved for testing on humans. Are we safe in the United States? Yes. There have been no reported cases of Ebola spreading to the U.S. The two American aid workers who recently became infected with Ebola in West Africa were flown back to the U.S. and hospitalized immediately. While Ebola is contagious, it is not as contagious as the flu. Special medical planes and vehicles were used to transport the infected patients to prevent the disease from spreading. Can the Ebola outbreak be stopped? Yes. Experts know how to control Ebola. They are now working to stop the outbreak in West Africa, which is the best way to protect people in the U.S. and around the world. Once Ebola is brought under control in the infected countries, there will be no new cases and the virus will stop spreading. However, experts are unsure of how long it will take to end the current Ebola outbreak. How is the U.S. helping? Disease specialists have been sent to West Africa by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to help slow the spread of Ebola.