Walnut Hills High School
Volume CIX, Issue 2
October 10, 2014
Ebola: tracing the contagion
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL
Pictured above is an Ebola informational sign, one of the many placed throughout West African towns. The signs are designed to warn residents about the symptoms of the illness and the appropriate protocol to follow if a person believes that they are sick, such as going to one of the health facilities. Avery Samuels, ‘16 On Sept. 30, the Center for Disease Control reported that Ebola had reached the United States. Thomas Duncan flew into Houston from Liberia, and four days later he began to feel ill. He went to the hospital, but was sent home because there was a miscommunication about the fact that he had come from Liberia. Three days later his symptoms became worse and he ended up back in the hospital. However, when he tested positive for Ebola the second time he went to the hospital, he was immediately put into isolation. A team was then dispatched to trace where he had been and who he had been in contact with. On Oct. 8, Duncan passed away. The CDC said in a press conference that they were confident they will be able to contain the spread of Ebola in the United States.
On Oct. 7, it was confirmed that a nurse in Spain had contracted the disease from a missionary, despite the fact that she was taking the necessary safety precautions. She is one of eight confirmed cases in Europe. The deadly virus has been ravaging West Africa since March; more than 7,400 confirmed cases have been documented in Liberia, Guinea, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Nigeria. Many officials in these countries are having trouble containing the outbreak due to widespread panic and fear. Superstitions and conspiracy theories have created a challenge in locating and treating cases, such as the theory that health care workers are the ones spreading the disease to steal people’s blood. Joanne Liu, president of Doctors Without Borders, said at a press conference in August that it might take months for the West African governments to gain the
Funding an education Lela Robinson, ‘16 The Walnut Hills chapter of Unified for Uganda, or U4U, is one part in a spider web of high school clubs around the Greater Cincinnati area. The mission statement on the organization’s official website states, “We financially and emotionally support the education of destitute children in northern Uganda through the empowerment of American youth.” The Ugandan civil war has deprived many children without homes or families. Moeller High School initiated correspondence with schools in Uganda to set up a sponsor system, in which students raise a certain amount of money to sponsor a Ugandan student. Presidents Lily Beane, ‘16 and Maddie Eaton, ‘16 founded Walnut’s chapter in 2012. Profiting from bake sales, purchased jewelry, baskets and other merchandise made by African women, the
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Walnut Hills club has raised enough money to help sponsor two students. “U4U is doing great things,” said club advisor and English teacher Jerome Brady. Friends of Brady gave the club a $10,000 donation. It is undecided where in the foundation the money will go, but the decision is entirely up to the students in the Walnut Hills chapter. Currently, the Walnut club is made up of mostly juniors. “We are really looking for sustainability, because after we graduate, the club needs to go on,” Eaton said. The club meets bi-monthly on Thursdays in Brady’s room (3312) after school, but involvement with U4U goes beyond after-school meetings. Other Cincinnati chapters have held dances, city-wide scavenger hunts, concerts and overnight events. U4U is becoming increasingly involved, supporting more and more Ugandan students. “U4U is
Inside this issue
advantage when fighting the spread of the infection. Doctors Without Borders is a global humanitarianaid organization, providing health care to those in need. Ebola is spread through the direct contact of bodily fluids, such as blood or vomit. A person is not contagious until they begin to show symptoms, and a body can remain contagious post mortem. Thus, many health care workers in West Africa and those that bury the bodies are especially at risk. The virus originates in fruit bats. This outbreak emerged from a small village in Sierra Leone, where fruit bats are a common food source, said Doctors Without Borders, according to The New York Times website. At first the symptoms are flulike, manifesting in a fever, joint pains and headaches. Next comes vomiting, diarrhea and sometimes a rash. In half the cases, victims have hemorrhages, and might bleed from under the skin, in vomit, in urine or through other orifices. However, internal bleeding is not what kills the victim; rather, the disease causes the internal organs to leak fluid and they eventually shut down. In Sept., Sierra Leone ordered a nationwide lock down for three days in order to fight Ebola. Health care officials went door to door warning residents about the dangers of the disease and searching for the deceased. The New York Times called the quarantine “the most ambitious and aggressive government campaign against the Ebola epidemic” thus far. Meanwhile in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, many people have been trapped in an unofficial
quarantine. School has been canceled and many doctors and nurses have not returned to work. Only recently have citizens been able to leave their homes. Jema Mensah, a Liberian woman living in Cincinnati, has family living in Monrovia and the surrounding countryside. She has been in contact with her family almost daily. “The government has asked them not to touch other people,” she said. The government has also suggested that people not to gather in groups, yet school has yet to resume. When her family returns home, they must disinfect themselves with chlorine spray. “They have to spray their hands, their hair, the bottoms of their shoes,” she said. Mensah’s half sister is a nurse who has not returned to work because one of her coworkers died from Ebola. When they were trapped in their home, the only time they would ever leave was to go to church, but they do not go anymore. Food has become scarce since Monrovia’s marketplaces have shut down. The government is making efforts to educate the populace about how the disease is spread. “Now people are taking it seriously,” she said. “I want to believe it’s getting better.” Procedures for isolation and quarantine have gotten faster since March. Health care workers are now wearing full body suits when they treat their patients. There is no known cure for the disease at this time, but the United States is fast tracking the development, testing and manufacturing of an anecdote.
a great way to see the difference we are making in the world. We get reports, information and pictures about the kids we sponsor in Uganda regularly and we can see the importance of our fundrais-
ing,” Rachel High, ‘16 said. U4U is establishing itself as an influential entity in the process of changing education in Uganda.
2 See profiles of three Walnut students with unique extracurricular activities.
3
Evaluate the pros and cons of internet usage in schools.
4
Discover Walnut’s most successful fall team
5
Take a look into the world of the Marching Blue and Gold.
6 Galaxy or iPhone?
7 PHOTO COURTESY OF REMBRANCER
Members from left to right: SENIOR Rachel Abbott, Jocelyn White, ‘16, Vanessa Moore, ‘16, Sophie Wong, ‘16, Anna Donnelly, `16, Makmoud Said, ‘16, Lily Beane, ‘16, Molly Sayles,‘16, Maddie Eaton, ‘16, Zach White, ‘16, Julianne Fox, ‘16, Marina Carson, ‘16, Maya BorreroSmith,16, Sarah Stradling, ‘16, Sophia Carey, ‘16, Rachel High, ‘16, Ginger Allgood, ‘16. Members are pictured with club advisor Jerome Brady.
Zoe Cheng and Celeste Kearney, Editors-in-Chief
Junior high cross country hopes for recognition.
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