20151209 BBC_First person: Family evacuated from Beijing as threat looms

At the age of 4, my daughter has become an environmental refugee.

To escape the heavy smog that started to blanket the capital city late Monday, my mother-in-law, 63, and my little girl, accompanied by my husband, boarded the train early Tuesday morning for my hometown of Nanjing, an eastern city about 1,000 kilometers away.

Unlike traditional tragic refugee trips, the journey was a happy one. Having no idea of all the possible hazards that smog could cause to her, my daughter appeared very chirpy at the railway station for being able to skip kindergarten for a few days, and in Nanjing, she could see her beloved grandmother.

"It's like a holiday. I like it!" she said.

"Do you know why Mom is sending you away?" I asked.

"It's so dirty here. The sky doesn't wash its face these days."

I'm now the only person in my family staying in Beijing. As expected, I will endure the smog for another two days, and possibly some more days when a new round of smog hits the city starting this weekend.

Sending my family away was a rush decision. After the red alert came on Monday evening, it took us five minutes to make the decision, another five minutes to book the train tickets by mobile phone, and 30 minutes to pack. At 6 am on Tuesday, while the sky was still dark, they departed.

"We cannot make any change (to the air quality), but we can escape," my husband said.

And I'm not alone. A friend of mine took her 2-year-old son to Shanghai on Tuesday, and another friend flew with her 10-year-old daughter to the southern city of Guangzhou, where a lovely safari park is located.

Travel agencies said there's an uptick in demand. Ctrip.com, an online travel service, said its sales of "Skip the Smog" packages have seen a 20 percent rise among Beijing residents. The trips range from nearby cities to as far away as Southeast Asian countries.

As the capital of China and an ancient city world famous for its Forbidden City and Great Wall, Beijing is now losing some appeal due to the lingering air pollution problem. Some of my friends, who were scared by the previous round of smog that pushed the city's PM2.5 reading above 1,000 micrograms per cubic meter last week, are seriously considering moving abroad.

"I know the government is making great efforts to improve the air quality and it is taking effect, but the progress will be slow and the harm is unalterable," said a college classmate of mine, who now runs a small private equity fund in Beijing and is considering going to the United States for investment immigration.

"I don't want any of my family members to end up with lung cancer."

I'm also starting to ponder whether settling in this city 15 years ago, amid the admiration and envy of my friends back in Nanjing, was a good choice.

At that time, I came to Beijing for the abundant chances brought by the country's rapid development, and now I'm sending my child away due to the consequences of this growth.

20141020 BBC_Beijing marathon runners don masks to cope with smog

Half marathon runner Chas Pope describes conditions in Beijing

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Thousands of runners have taken part in the 34th Beijing International Marathon, many wearing face masks amid concerns about pollution.

The organisers warned runners to expect slight or moderate smog, but the US embassy in Beijing said air quality early on Sunday was "hazardous".

One resident in the city told the BBC that the air smelt like burnt coal.

Estimates said that pollution soared above the maximum recommended World Health Organization levels.

China has for years been hit by severe air pollution

Runner Chas Pope has posted pictures on the internet of his mask before and after the marathon

The WHO says daily pollution levels should not exceed an average of 25 micrograms per cubic metre of fine particulate matter.

Yet the US embassy's monitor at one point reported peaks of up to 400 micrograms per cubic metre, which it said would be hazardous if a human was exposed to it over a 24-hour period.

Fine particulate matter, the kind of pollution in smoke, damages the body as it moves deep into the lungs and can even enter the bloodstream.

'Should have been cancelled'

Some athletes gave up the race because of the pollution.

British runner Chas Pope tweeted that he was only able to do 10km (6 miles) of the race in a mask before he was forced to pull out.

He said that race should have been cancelled because the air quality was "not suitable for outdoor activities".

Ethiopia's Girmay Birhanu Gebru won the marathon in just over two hours and 10 minutes

Organisers rejected calls to postpone the race despite the haze

Most runners defied the smog to enjoy the race

China's Gong Lihua, who came third in the women's race, said the smog had caused some difficulties.

"Running in this kind of smog, I felt I couldn't sweat well and my body has been very sticky and moist," she said.

Beijing resident Neil Holt told the BBC that although the air quality was better than last year, "it was still very polluted".

"You can hardly see [the stadium] through the smog. It's really hard to breathe when it is like this," he said.

The men's race was won by Ethiopian runner Girmay Birhanu Gebru and another Ethiopian, Fatuma Sado Dergo, won the women's race.

20141010 BBC_Mapping the outbreak of Ebola

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa was first reported in March 2014, and has rapidly become the deadliest occurrence of the disease since its discovery in 1976.

In fact, the current epidemic sweeping across the region has now killed more than all other known Ebola outbreaks combined.

Up to 8 October, 4,033 people had been reported as having died from the disease in five countries; Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and the United States. The total number of reported cases is in excess of 8,300.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) admits the figures are underestimates and warns there could be as many as 20,000 cases by November if efforts to tackle the outbreak are not stepped up.

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Ebola deaths in Africa

Up to 8 October

4,032

Deaths -probable, confirmed and suspected

(Does not include one death in US)

• 2,316 Liberia
• 778 Guinea
• 930 Sierra Leone
• 8 Nigeria

Source: WHO

Getty

Emergency declared

In August, the United Nations health agency declared an "international public health emergency", saying that a co-ordinated response was essential to halt the spread of the virus.

However, WHO director general Margaret Chan said in September that the "number of patients is moving far faster than the capacity to manage them".

Despite attempts to deploy more health workers and open new Ebola treatment centres in the worst-affected countries, the WHO said that there was still a significant lack of beds in Sierra Leone and Liberia, with more than 3,000 needed.

Country	Existing bed capacity	Total beds needed	Extra beds still required
SOURCE: WHO, 8 OCTOBER 2014
Guinea	160	210	50
Liberia	620	2,930	2,310
Sierra Leone	304	1,148	844

The outbreaks in Senegal and Nigeria have been "pretty much contained", as there have been no new cases reported there since 5 September.

According to the WHO, the situation in Guinea also appeared to be stabilising however there appears no indication of a reversal in Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Transmission is continuing in urban areas, with the surge in Liberia driven mainly by a sharp increase in the number of cases reported in the capital, Monrovia.

The situation in Sierra Leone also continues to deteriorate with a sharp increase in the number of newly-reported cases in the capital, Freetown, and its neighbouring districts of Port Loko, Bombali, and Moyamba, which are were placed under quarantine on 25 September.

That means that five of Sierra Leone's 15 districts are on lockdown, with more than a third of the population of six million no longer able to move freely.

Current outbreak

Figures accurate from 4-6 October, depending on country. Death toll in Liberia includes probable, suspect and confirmed cases, while in Sierra Leone and Guinea only confirmed cases are shown

Researchers from the New England Journal of Medicine have traced the outbreak to a two-year-old girl, who died on 6 December 2013 in Meliandou, a small village in south-eastern Guinea.

In March, hospital staff alerted Guinea's Ministry of Health and then the charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF). They reported a mysterious disease in the south-eastern regions of Gueckedou, Macenta, Nzerekore, and Kissidougou.

It caused fever, diarrhoea and vomiting. It also had a high death rate. Of the first 86 cases, 59 people died.

The WHO later confirmed the disease as Ebola.

Ebola outbreak: Key stories

"Biggest health challenge since Aids"

How not to catch Ebola

Why is Ebola so dangerous?

Ebola diary

Full special report

Disease spreads

Gueckedou is a major regional trading centre and, by the end of March, Ebola had crossed the border into Liberia and it was confirmed in Sierra Leone in May.

In June, MSF described the Ebola outbreak as out of control.

Nigeria had its first case of the disease in July and in the same month two leading doctors died from Ebola in Liberia and Sierra Leone. Senegal reported its first case of Ebola on 29 August. A young man from Guinea had travelled to Senegal despite having been infected with the virus, officials said.

The first case of the deadly virus diagnosed on US soil was announced on 1 October. Thomas Eric Duncan, 42, who contracted the virus in Liberia before travelling to the US, died on 8 October.

He had not displayed symptoms of the disease until 24 September, five days after his arrival. Ten people with whom he came into contact are being monitored for symptoms.

Cumulative deaths up to 8 October

Note: figures have occasionally been revised down as suspect or probable cases are found to be unrelated to Ebola. This does not include one death in the US recorded on 8 October

The WHO has published updates on the spread of the virus in each of the countries affected.

The figures given are for "confirmed, probable and suspected" cases and deaths. They have occasionally been revised down to take account of changes in the countries' reporting methods, for example by excluding the "suspected" cases.

2014 outbreak in context

Ebola occurs in regions of sub-Saharan Africa, though normally fewer than 500 cases occur each year.

No cases at all were reported between 1979 and 1994, however, the 2014 outbreak dwarfs all previous outbreaks.

Past epidemics

20141015 BBC_Ebola crisis: Outbreak death toll rises to 4,447 says WHO

The WHO says a slowdown in the rate of new cases in some areas may be due to behavioural changes

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Ebola outbreak

• How not to catch Ebola
• Living with Ebola
• Why so dangerous?
• Mapping the outbreak

The death toll from the Ebola virus outbreak has risen to 4,447, with the large majority of victims in West Africa, the World Health Organization (WHO) says.

WHO assistant director-general Bruce Aylward also said there could be up to 10,000 new cases a week within two months if efforts were not stepped up,

But the rate of new infections in some areas has slowed down, he added.

Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea have been hardest hit by the outbreak.

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The progress towards an Ebola vaccine - in 80 seconds

There have been 8,914 cases overall, including the fatal cases, and the WHO says it expects this number to top 9,000 by the end of the week.

The WHO estimates its figures by taking the numbers of confirmed cases and multiplying them - from Guinea by 1.5, from Sierra Leone by 2 and from Liberia by 2.5 - to account for under-reporting.

In other developments:

• The UK begins Ebola screening at London's Heathrow airport
• A medic working for Sierra Leone's army at a peacekeeping training centre in Freetown tests positive for Ebola
• A "site manager" is appointed at the Dallas hospital where a nurse was infected, with the task of supervising how workers put on and take off protective clothing
• The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has set up an immediate response team to travel to any US hospital where Ebola is diagnosed, to hit the ground "within hours"
• A UN health worker, originally from Sudan, dies in Germany after contracting the disease in Liberia
• Facebook co-founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg says he and his wife, Priscilla Chan, are donating $25m (£16m) to fight Ebola
• A Spanish nurse - the first person to contract the disease outside of Africa - remains in critical condition, although doctors say there are signs of improvement

Ebola patients treated outside West Africa*

*In all cases but two, first in Madrid and later in Dallas, the patient was infected with Ebola while in West Africa.

How not to catch Ebola:

• Avoid direct contact with sick patients as the virus is spread through contaminated body fluids
• Wear goggles to protect eyes
• Clothing and clinical waste should be incinerated and any medical equipment that needs to be kept should be decontaminated
• People who recover from Ebola should abstain from sex or use condoms for three months

Why Ebola is so dangerous

How Ebola attacks

Ebola: Mapping the outbreak

Still spreading

Mr Aylward told reporters in Geneva that the WHO, which is the UN's health agency, was concerned to see the virus was still spreading in the capitals of the three worst-affected countries.

He said the death rate in the current Ebola outbreak was 70%, describing it as a "high-mortality disease".

He said 95% of cases were limited to areas in the "historic epicentre" of the outbreak, where the rate of new infections appeared to be slowing.

However, he stressed that it would be too early to read this as success.

The latest WHO projections suggested there could be between 5,000 and 10,000 cases a week in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone by December.

"It could be higher, it could be lower but it's going to be in that ballpark," he said.

"In certain areas we're seeing disease coming down, but that doesn't mean they're going to go to zero."

'Must do more'

Countries neighbouring the three worst-affected states are "at risk" and it is important for them to prepare for the possibility of Ebola cases, the WHO said.

The head of the UN mission for Ebola response, Anthony Banbury, also issued a stern warning - telling the UN Security Council by video-link from West Africa that in the race to contain Ebola, the virus was winning.

"If we do not get ahead of the crisis, if we do not reach our targets and the number of people with Ebola rises dramatically as some have predicted, the plan we have is not scalable to the size of such a new crisis," he said.

"We either stop Ebola now or we face an entirely unprecedented situation for which we do not have a plan."

Also on Tuesday, US President Barack Obama said that "the world as a whole is not doing enough" to contain the Ebola threat.

He was speaking at the end of a meeting with about 20 US and allied military leaders primarily focused on the threat from Islamic State militants.

He said the US would continue to do its part but added: "Everybody's going to have to do more than they are doing right now."

Ebola deaths: Confirmed, probable and suspected

Source: WHO

Note: figures have occasionally been revised down as suspected or probable cases are found to be unrelated to Ebola. They do not include one death in the US recorded on 8 October.