Africa

UT nasal spray vaccine for Ebola effective in monkeys

Thu, 2014-11-06 16:02 — mike kraft

By Todd Ackerman Nov. 5, 2014

... researchers at the University of Texas-Austin have developed a nasal spray vaccine that has protected monkeys against the deadly Ebola virus even a year after immunization.

The vaccine, a genetically engineered cold virus containing a tiny portion of Ebola DNA, saved 100 percent of monkeys who got a single spray through the nose in a new UT study. Injecting the vaccine only saved the lives of about 50 percent.

Maria Croyle, a professor of pharmaceutics and the study's principal investigator, said an inhaled Ebola vaccine is more attractive because it would be cheaper and safer than needle-delivered vaccines.

"The main advantage is the long-lasting protection after a single inhaled dose," Maria Croyle, a professor of pharmaceutics and the study's principal investigator, said in a statement. "This is important since the longevity of other vaccines for Ebola (hasn't been) fully evaluated....

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Ebola cases rise sharply in Sierra Leone

Thu, 2014-11-06 15:37 — mike kraft

USA TODAY Nov.6, 200r

by Liz Aazbo

Sierra Leone is reporting an alarming increase in the number of new Ebola cases, with 435 confirmed in the past week.

About 24% of the Ebola cases in Sierra Leone have been reported in the past three weeks, although the outbreak began in March, according to the World Health Organization.

Mothers wait inline for their children to be vaccinated by heath workers at the Pipeline Community Health Center, situated on the outskirts of Monrovia, Liberia. The Ebola outbreak has spawned hidden cases of malaria, pneumonia, typhoid and the like that are going untreated because people in the countries hardest hit by Ebola either cannot find an open clinic or are too afraid to go to one.(Photo: Abbas Dulleh, AP)

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Treating Those Treating Ebola in Liberia

Thu, 2014-11-06 11:12 — mike kraft

NEW YORK TIMES Nov. 6, 2014
By Sheri FInk, MD
HARBEL, Liberia — As the number of people sickened with Ebolasoared this summer, American and Liberian officials faced a new challenge: How could they encourage international medical workers, understandably frightened about the risks, to come help fight the disease? The officials knew they would have to provide some assurances to the workers that they would be cared for if they fell ill.

Their answer, a dedicated Ebola field hospital for health workers, is scheduled to open soon outside Monrovia, the capital.

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Ebola Cases Seen Declining In Liberia, WHO Says In New Update

Thu, 2014-11-06 10:48 — mike kraft

NPR Nov. 6, 2014

There are currently 13,042 confirmed or suspected cases of the deadly Ebola virus in six countries, according to the World Health Organization. But the group says its latest figures also hold some good news, as the number of Ebola cases in hard-hit Liberia appear to be on the decline.

WHO released its data for the period up to Nov. 2 Wednesday, saying that Ebola has now been blamed for 4,818 reported deaths.

Health workers sit at the emergency entrance of a Doctors Without Borders clinic in Monrovia. New data seem to show a decline in Ebola cases in Liberia, WHO says.

The group said that the weekly incidence of Ebola seems to be stable in Guinea, rising in Sierra Leone, and declining in Liberia — continuing a trend that prompted a recent post by NPR's Goats and Soda blog.

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357 people now being monitored for Ebola in New York

Thu, 2014-11-06 09:39 — mike kraft

LOS ANGELES TIMES Nov.5, 2014
By Michael Muskal
The number of people who are being actively monitored for Ebola in New York has tripled to 357 people, none of whom has displayed any symptoms, city health officials announced Wednesday.

The vast majority of those being monitored arrived in New York in the last 21 days from West Africa, the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation said in a statement. Those under monitoring are being checked out of “an abundance of caution,” the statement said.

The latest announcement comes as Ohio said it was officially Ebola-free and Texas prepared to end its observation period for the last 27 healthcare workers. The Texas group will complete its 21-day monitoring period on Friday, according to state officials.

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http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-ohio-ebola-free-monitoring-20141105-story.html

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Facebook looks to raise awareness, money to fight Ebola

Thu, 2014-11-06 09:16 — mike kraft

USA TODAY Nov. 6, 2014
by Jessica Guynn

SAN FRANCISCO — Just weeks after Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg gave $25 million to fight Ebola in Africa, his company is rolling out three initiatives to raise awareness — and more money.

Facebook CEO Marc Zuckerberg (Photo: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images)

Unlike the billions of dollars that flowed to relief agencies in the aftermath of major natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis, charitable giving to battle the Ebola outbreak has been trickling into the stricken region.

Which is why Facebook is using its global reach to send an urgent message to its 1.3 billion users: Nonprofit groups on the front lines of the humanitarian crisis in West Africa need help.

Over the next week, a message will appear at the top of News Feeds giving people the option to donate to three nonprofits: International Medical Corps, the Red Cross and Save the Children.

See complete story

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/11/06/facebook-ebola/18572437/

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Ebola crisis draining development budgets in West Africa, study finds

Thu, 2014-11-06 08:59 — mike kraft

UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME Nov. 5, 2014

New York -- The Ebola outbreak in West Africa is impairing the ability of governments to raise revenues, increasing their exposure to domestic and foreign debts and may make them more dependent on aid, according to the latest study (PDF) on the socio-economic impact of the crisis carried out by the UN development agency.

Investments in kick-starting economies and long-term development urgently needed

“We need to make sure that the Ebola outbreak does not lead to socio-economic collapse,” said Abdoulaye Mar Dieye, the Director of the Regional Bureau for Africa at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). “This crisis is already taking a toll on budgets and reducing the governments’ policy leeway to make much-needed investments in critical areas such as health and education for their citizens.” He added that the effects of the Ebola crisis will last long after the epidemic is brought under control.

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How Guinea Found the Best Way to Survive Ebola

Wed, 2014-11-05 19:36 — mike kraft

TIME MAGAZINE Nov. 5, 2014

by Alice Park

As the world waits for new treatrments and a vaccine. doctors in Guinea have found the best way to help patients survive Ebola.

... from the tragic illness and mortality emerge some important lessons from the region.The latest, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, details the cases that first appeared in Guinea’s capital city of Conakry between March and April. Unlike in other parts of the region, where the mortality rate from Ebola averages around 60% to 70%, in Conakry it has remained around 43%.

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Obama Seeks $6.2 Billion for Ebola Fight

Wed, 2014-11-05 15:07 — mike kraft

UPDATE: Senate Appropriations schedules hearings for Wednesday, Nov. 12.

Moving quickly, the Senate Appropriation Committee announced it wil take up the administration's proposals at a hearng next Wednesday with a full slate of government officials from the key agencies. The committee will remaiend chaired bya Democat, Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, until the end of this Congressional session. The Republican controlled House Appropriations Committee has not yet announced hearings.

See Senate statement.

http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/news/chairwoman-mikulski-statement-funding-request-white-house-fight-ebola-here-and-abroad,

Text of White House letter to Congress

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/11/05/letter-president-emergency-appropriations-request-ebola-fiscal-year-2015

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Nov. 5, 2014

By JIM KUHNHENN and ANDREW TAYLOR

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World Bank brings Ebola funding to nearly $1 billion

Wed, 2014-11-05 13:21 — mike kraft

REUTERS Nov. 5, 2014
(WASHINGTON) - The World Bank's private sector arm pledged $450 million on Wednesday to support trade, investment and employment in the three West African countries affected the most by the deadly Ebola outbreak.

The announcement from the bank's International Finance Corporation (IFC) brings total World Bank commitments for Ebola to nearly $1 billion in the past three months, an unprecedented rapid response for a development institution that has been accused of dragging its feet on project approval in the past.

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, a doctor and anthropologist, said

"The fear swirling around Ebola has the potential to do long-term harm to businesses globally, and especially in the Ebola-affected countries," Kim said in a statement. "IFC .. will find ways to help boost trade and investment in West Africa, which will be essential to ensure that private companies continue to operate and sustain employment under difficult circumstances."

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