Africa

Ebola Analysis Finds Virus Hasn't Become Deadlier, Yet

Tue, 2015-04-14 22:31 — mike kraft

ICT INFECTION CONTROL TODAY April 14, 2015
(Scroll down for full study)
Research from the University of Manchester using cutting-edge computer analysis reveals that despite mutating, Ebola hasn’t evolved to become deadlier since the first outbreak 40 years ago. The surprising results demonstrate that while a high number of genetic changes have been recorded in the virus, it hasn’t changed at a functional level to become more or less virulent.

The findings, published in the journal Virology, demonstrate that the much higher death toll during the current outbreak, with the figure at nearly 10,500, isn’t due to mutations/evolution making the virus more deadly or more virulent.

As professor Simon Lovell from the Faculty of Life Sciences explains.... What we found was that whilst Ebola is mutating, it isn’t evolving to the point of adapting to become more or less virulent. The function of the virus has remained the same over the past four decades which really surprised us. Unfortunately this does mean the Ebola virus that has now emerged on several occasions since the 1970s will very probably do so again.”

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Ebola rapid diagnostic kit developed by UK scientists in Sierra Leone

Sun, 2015-03-29 22:30 — mike kraft

Doctors says the kit, if approved by health authorities, could transform the admissions process with its capacity to deliver results within 20 minutes

THE GUARDIAN by Lisa O'Carroll March 29, 2015

A rapid Ebola diagnostic kit similar to a pregnancy kit has been developed by British military scientists and NHS medics in Sierra Leone.

Health care workers prepare to entering a high risk zone at an Ebola virus clinic in Sierra Leone, where the diagnostic kit has been undergoing tests. Photograph: Michael Duff/AP

It can be administered at the bedside and return its first results within 20 minutes, slashing dramatically the normal 24-hour turnaround for lab results.

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British medic declared free of Ebola

Fri, 2015-03-27 15:47 — mike kraft

BBC by Smitha Mundasad March 27, 2015

A UK female military medic who has been discharged from hospital after being declared free of Ebola said it was thanks to medics that she is alive.

Anna Cross was the first person in the world to be given the experimental Ebola drug MIL 77, her doctors said.

Corporal Cross, aged 25 from Cambridge, caught the virus while working as a volunteer nurse in Sierra Leone.

Doctors at the hospital...described the drug she was given as a close relative of the medicine ZMapp and that MIL 77 was made in China...

It is too soon to know what role the drug played in Cpl Cross' recovery, they added.

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http://www.bbc.com/news/health-32088310

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Ebola pioneer, stem cell researcher honoured with Canada Gairdner Awards

Thu, 2015-03-26 20:38 — mike kraft

CANADIAN PRESS March 25, 2015
One of the co-discoverers of the Ebola virus and a leading Canadian stem cell researcher are among this year's winners of the prestigious Canada Gairdner Awards.

Dr. Peter Piot is the recipient of the Canada Gairdner Global Health Award, recognizing his work on the discovery of the Ebola virus in 1976 and his leadership in the global response to the HIV-AIDS epidemic.

Dr. Janet Rossant, chief of research at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children, is the recipient of the 2015 Canada Gairdner Wightman Award, which honours a Canadian who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in medicine and medical science.

Five international scientists are also being honoured with Canada Gairdner Awards, two each from the United States and Japan and one from Switzerland....

Dr. Peter Piot won the 2015 Canada Gairdner Global Health Award in recognition of his work on the discovery of the Ebola virus in 1976 and his leadership in the global response to the HIV-AIDS epidemic. (David Azia/Associated Press)

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'You cannot stop Ebola' US experts warned British troops

Sun, 2015-03-15 18:28 — mike kraft

THE TELEGRAPH by Ben Farmer March 15, 2015

British commanders were warned last year it was impossible to halt Ebola in Sierra Leone and they were about to lose control of the deadly outbreak in its capital, it has been disclosed.

British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon on the RFA Argus hospital ship in Sierra Leone Photo: Will Wintercross/The Telegraph

United Nations and American experts said there was nothing British troops could do to stop the virus rampaging through the country and they were about to “lose Freetown”.

Loss of the capital would have triggered an international evacuation from the country, the commander of British troops revealed, as he explained for the first time the scale of the outbreak they have been fighting....

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Sierra Leone sees worrying spike in Ebola cases over week

Fri, 2015-03-13 14:12 — mike kraft

ASSOCIATED PRESS by Clarence Roy-Macaulay March 12, 2015
FREETOWN -- Sierra Leone has seen a worrying spike in confirmed Ebola cases over the past week in four districts, the head of the national Ebola response center said Thursday.

New measures must now be put into place to contain the surges, said the head of the National Ebola Response Centre, Alfred Palo Conteh.

Fifteen cases were recorded Wednesday, along with 16 on Monday and Tuesday respectively, according to Sierra Leone's Ministry of Health and Sanitation.

"We are now on a bumpy road to zero number of cases to get to President Ernest Bai Koroma's target of March 31," said Palo Conteh. "It is frustrating."

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http://news.yahoo.com/sierra-leone-sees-worrying-spike-ebola-cases-over-141214859.html;_ylt=AwrBEiTD7gJVy2QANdbQtDMD

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2 Aid Workers In West Africa Are Infected With Ebola

Fri, 2015-03-13 01:15 — mike kraft

NEW YORK TIMES by Sheri Fink and Allan Cowell March 12, 2015

A worker from Partners In Health, the prominent American medical aid organization, and an emergency worker from the British military have been infected with the deadly virus in Sierra Leone, health officials said Thursday.

The Partners In Health worker was the first in that group to be infected since it made an ambitious commitment last fall to help combat Ebola in West Africa, and was the first American health worker in months to get the disease while working in the region. ...

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British Army medic with Ebola evacuated with two other suspected cases

Thu, 2015-03-12 14:15 — mike kraft

THE TELEGRAPH by Victoria Ward and Ben Farmer March 12, 2015

A female Army medic who has caught Ebola while working in Sierra Leone is being flown back to Britain by the RAF, along with two workers who have been in close contact with her.

Beatrice Yordoldo (Seated), an Ebola patient, poses for photographs with medical staff Photo: AFP

Two further health workers who have been exposed to the unnamed soldier are being tested in Sierra Leone and could be evacuated later...

The woman is the third British health care worker confirmed to have caught the deadly virus...

Justine Greening, the Development Secretary, said the checks on the four other workers were "purely precautionary" after they had close contact with the female patient.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/ebola/11466376/British-Army-medic-with-Ebola-being-flown-back-to-UK.html

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Ebola nurse Pauline Cafferkey allowed to work

Sat, 2015-03-07 13:27 — mike kraft

THE SCOTSMAN March 6, 2015

PAULINE Cafferkey, the Scottish nurse who contracted Ebola while working in Sierra Leone, is free to continue working while under investigation, a medical council has ruled.

Pauline Cafferkey flew back to the UK via Casablanca and London Heathrow before landing at Glasgow Airport late on December 28.

She was admitted to hospital in Glasgow early the next morning after feeling feverish, before being diagnosed with the disease.

Last month, Public Health England said it had passed information to the General Medical Council and Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) on three nurses and two doctors after assessing the screening of healthcare workers returning to the UK.

An NMC spokeswoman said:

“The panel decided not to impose an interim order. Pauline Cafferkey is free to practise without restriction.” The full case is likely to be held later this year.

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3 pitfalls Ebola recovery must avoid

Thu, 2015-02-19 14:15 — mike kraft

DEVEX by Molly Anders Feb. 19, 2015

...While the Ebola crisis is far from over, officials in government and the international development community have begun to think more the medium and long term. What can they learn from past post-crisis recovery initiatives?

Health worker Alivin Davis poses next to the a board featuring handprints of Ebola survivors in Liberia. Photo by: Neil Brandvold / USAID / CC BY-NC

Devex asked aid officials and government officials from the region how to avoid some of the most common pitfalls that can plague — haunt, even — recovery and reconstruction efforts. Here are three of them.

1. Quality over quantity.

....By not paying closer attention to the economic effects of foreign aid on the local market, humanitarian groups hurt livelihoods and slowed reconstruction in the country.

2. Prioritize local ownership....

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