Sierra Leone

In pursuit of next-generation Ebola stockpile vaccines

Sun, 2015-02-01 16:16 — mike kraft

REUTERS by Kate Kell and Ben Herschler Feb. 1. 2015
LONDON --As West Africa's devastating Ebola outbreak begins to dwindle, scientists are looking beyond the endgame at the kind of next-generation vaccines needed for a vital stockpile to hit another epidemic hard and fast.

Research assistant Georgina Bowyer works on a vaccine for Ebola at The Jenner Institute in Oxford, southern England January 16, 2015. Credit: Reuters/Eddie Keogh

Determined not to lose scientific momentum that could make the world's first effective Ebola interventions a reality, researchers say the shots, as well as being proven to work, must be cheap, easy to handle in Africa and able to hit multiple virus strains.

That may mean shifting focus from the stripped-down, fast-tracked vaccine development ideas that have dominated the past six months, but it mustn't mean the field gets bogged down in complexities.

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Nurse who contracted Ebola released from hospital

Sun, 2015-01-25 00:44 — mike kraft

THE GUARDIAN by Lin Jenkins Jan. 23, 2015

LONDON --The British nurse who almost died after contracting Ebola while volunteering in Sierra Leone has been discharged from hospital after making a full recovery.

Doctors had described her condition as “critical” during the three weeks she received treatment for the deadly virus and her family and friends were preparing for the worst. Cafferkey admited that then she had felt like “giving up”, but was now looking forward to returning to “normal life” and had no plans to go back to Africa.

The 39-year-old nurse was diagnosed with Ebola after returning to Glasgow last month and was admitted to the city’s Gartnavel hospital on December 29 before being transferred the next day to the Royal Free. She had been working with Save the Children at the Ebola treatment centre in Kerry Town before returning to the UK...

Save the Children has launched an investigation into how Cafferkey was infected, but admits it may never establish the exact circumstances.

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British Ebola patient recovering, no longer critical, says hospital

Mon, 2015-01-12 19:02 — mike kraft

REUTERS Jan. 12, 2015

LONDON- A British nurse diagnosed with Ebola last month is recovering and is no longer in a critical condition, the London hospital treating her said in a statement on Monday.

Pauline Cafferkey, a 39-year-old nurse who normally works at a Scottish health center, became the first person to be diagnosed with the disease in Britain after contracting it in Sierra Leone where she was volunteering at an Ebola clinic.

"Pauline Cafferkey is showing signs of improvement and is no longer critically ill," the statement from the Royal Free Hospital said. "She remains in isolation as she receives specialist care for the Ebola virus."

Cafferkey is being treated with blood plasma from an Ebola survivor and an unnamed experimental anti-viral drug, the hospital has said.

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http://news.yahoo.com/british-ebola-patient-recovering-no-longer-critical-says-141357956.html;_ylt=AwrBEiLsF7RUKgYAww_QtDMD

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IMF to provide new funds to help three main Ebola-hit nations

Thu, 2015-01-08 22:21 — mike kraft

REUTERS by James Harding Giahyue Jan. 8, 2015

The International Monetary Fund is preparing around $150 million in additional support to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, the countries at the heart of the Ebola epidemic, the Fund's representative in Liberia told Reuters on Thursday.

"In Guinea and Sierra Leone, existing Fund financial programs are being augmented to provide more resources to these countries. In Liberia, a one-off disbursement under the Fund's Rapid Credit Facility is being considered," Charles Amo-Yartey told Reuters in an email.

The money could be made available in the first quarter of this year and would add to $130 million disbursed by the Fund in September.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/08/health-ebola-imf-idUSL6N0UN3RA20150108

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Save the Children probe how UK nurse contracted Ebola

Mon, 2015-01-05 15:14 — mike kraft

BBC Jan. 5, 2015

The charity Save the Children has said "no stone will be left unturned" in its investigation into how a British nurse working at an Ebola treatment centre contracted the disease.

Pauline Cafferkey was diagnosed after returning to Glasgow a week ago. She had been working with the charity in Kerrytown, Sierra Leone.

Ms Cafferkey is critically ill in a north London hospital after her condition worsened in recent days.

Save the Children's Sierra Leone Director Rob MacGillivray told the BBC the charity would carry out a special investigation over and above its routine reviews....

He said the investigation would look at how protective equipment is used, and at person-to-person contact both inside and outside the Kerrytown treatment centre where the nurse worked.

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http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-30677619

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Ebola in the UK: Infected nurse Pauline Cafferkey in 'critical' stage of treatment

Fri, 2015-01-02 02:09 — mike kraft

THE INDEPENDENT by Kashmira Gander Jan. 1, 2015

Pauline Cafferkey, the British nurse who contracted Ebola in Sierra Leone, is entering a “critical” stage of her recovery.

Dr Michael Jacobs said Ms Cafferkey was being treated with convalescent plasma taken from the blood of a recovered patient and an experimental anti-viral drug which is “not proven to work”.

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http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/ebola-in-the-uk-infected-nurse-pauline-cafferkey-in-critical-stage-of-treatment-9952904.html

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Scottish government confirms Ebola case in Glasgow

Mon, 2014-12-29 22:31 — mike kraft

UPDATE: Ebola Patient Is Moved to London, and 2 Others Are Tested in Britain

NEW YORK TIMES by Alan Cowell Dec. 30, 2014

LONDON — A health worker who returned from West Africa and was found to have Ebola when she arrived home in Scotland was transferred on Tuesday to Britain’s designated treatment center for the disease in London. The authorities also reported that two more people were being tested for the virus.

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Ebola vaccine 'promising in African populations'

Tue, 2014-12-23 03:19 — mike kraft

BBC By Smitha Mundasad Dec. 22, 2014
The first-ever trial of an Ebola vaccine in Africa shows promising initial results, according to a report in the Lancet medical journal.

Scientists say it is a crucial step as other vaccines have shown lower levels of protection in African populations.

Tests involving Ugandan and American volunteers reveal the vaccine is so far safe and generates an immune response in both populations.

It provides reassurance for other trials currently underway, they say.

No proven vaccine exists to prevent people from getting the disease, though several trials are underway.

Researchers from the National Institutes of Health tested this experimental vaccine on healthy adults in Uganda, having first trialled it in the United States.

Dr Julie Ledgerwood, the lead researcher, said: "This is the first study to show comparable safety and immune response of an experimental Ebola vaccine in an African population.

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http://www.bbc.com/news/health-30577776

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Untested Ebola drug given to patients in Sierra Leone causes UK walkout

Mon, 2014-12-22 22:36 — mike kraft

THE GUARDIAN by Sarah Boseley Dec. 22, 2014

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone -- Ebola patients at a treatment centre in Sierra Leone have been given a heart drug that is untested against the virus in animals and humans, a move that has been deemed reckless by one senior scientist and has prompted UK medical staff at the centre to leave.

British health workers help an Ebola patient in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Photograph: Baz Ratner/Reuters

A 14-strong team of British doctors, nurses and paramedics stopped working at the Lakka treatment centre in Freetown because of their concerns over what they considered the experimental and potentially dangerous use of the drug, and other safety issues.

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Ebola fight sees Canadian Forces medical team deployed to Sierra Leone

Sun, 2014-12-07 15:35 — mike kraft

CBC NEWS Dec.6, 2014

A Canadian Forces medical team left CFB Trenton in Ontario on Saturday en route to Britain, where they’ll undergo training before deploying to Sierra Leone as part of the effort to combat the Ebola outbreak, the military said.

Judith Bosse, (left to right), Assistant Deputy Minister at the Public Health Agency of Canada, Defence Minister Rob Nicholson, Health Minister Rona Ambrose and Dr. Gregory Taylor, Canada's Chief Public Health Officer, watch a nurse demonstrate how to remove protective clothing after treating a hypothetical Ebola patient. (Patrick Doyle/Canadian Press)

The Forces said about 40 nurses, doctors, physicians’ assistants, medics and support are to train alongside U.K. military personnel, and most of them will continue on to Sierra Leone by later this month.

The Canadian Forces team will be working at a British-built clinic in Sierra Leone treating local and international health care workers, who themselves have become infected in the course of treating Ebola patients from the general population.

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