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Africa Resilience Initiative

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The mission of this working group is to articulate and shape issues of resilience and sustainability on the continent of Africa as they may be implemented as reforms of current policies, as well as contemplate and make recommendations for more extensive critiques and proposals for national, provincial, and local systems transformation, as may be necessary or desirable beyond the scope of traditional reforms being undertaken by the current African national governments and local government proposals in Africa.

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This working group is focused on developing an Africa Resilience Initiative to ensure resilience and sustainability for all Africans.
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Members

Aboubacar Conte admin Anthony bnorton Carrielaj Chisina Kapungu
ChrisAllen craig.sevcik Dr Ojia Adamolekun efrost Elhadj Drame Grace Kim
Hadiatou Balde jranck Kathy Gilbeaux mdmcdonald MDMcDonald_me_com mike kraft
njchapman Norea SmShako TacarraB Tjivekumba Kandjii

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First Ebola-Related Death from Breast Milk Transmission Reported in Guinea

Sissoko D, et al. Clin Infect Dis. 2016;doi:10.1093/cid/ciw79.

CLICK HERE - STUDY -  Ebola virus persistence in breast milk after no reported illness: a likely source of virus transmission from mother to child

healio.com - January 10, 2017

Genomic analysis confirmed that the 2015 death of a 9-month-old Guinean infant from Ebola virus was the result of transmission through the breast milk of her asymptomatic mother, according to a recent case study.

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Ebola RNA Found Hiding in Healthcare Worker’s Lungs

           

WIKIMEDIA, HELLERHOFF

CLICK HERE - STUDY - Detection of Viral RNA in Tissues following Plasma Clearance from an Ebola Virus Infected Patient

A case study reports evidence of viral replication lingering in the respiratory tract of an infected person, even after their blood was Ebola free.

the-scientist.com - by Bob Grant - January 5, 2017

Ebola virus may linger and continue to replicate in the lungs of patients recovering from infection, even after viral RNA is no longer detectable in their bloodstreams, according to a case study published today (January 5) in PLOS Pathogens. . . .

 . . . Ippolito and his colleagues monitored the Ebola-infected patient, who was moved from West Africa to a hospital in Italy in 2015, over the course of their infection. They found viral RNA and other markers of viral replication in the patient’s lungs five days after such markers were no longer detectable in the blood.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

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Final Trial Results Confirm Ebola Vaccine Provides High Protection Against Disease

                                               

who.int

23 DECEMBER 2016 | GENEVA - An experimental Ebola vaccine was highly protective against the deadly virus in a major trial in Guinea, according to results published today in The Lancet. The vaccine is the first to prevent infection from one of the most lethal known pathogens, and the findings add weight to early trial results published last year.

The vaccine, called rVSV-ZEBOV, was studied in a trial involving 11 841 people in Guinea during 2015. Among the 5837 people who received the vaccine, no Ebola cases were recorded 10 days or more after vaccination. In comparison, there were 23 cases 10 days or more after vaccination among those who did not receive the vaccine.

The trial was led by WHO, together with Guinea’s Ministry of Health and other international partners.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

CLICK HERE - The Lancet - Efficacy and effectiveness of an rVSV-vectored vaccine in preventing Ebola virus disease: final results from the Guinea ring vaccination, open-label, cluster-randomised trial (Ebola Ça Suffit!)

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World Disasters Report 2016 - Resilience: Saving Lives Today, Investing for Tomorrow

New report calls for a major shift in international aid financing

CLICK HERE - REPORT - World Disasters Report 2016 - Resilience: Saving Lives Today, Investing for Tomorrow

ifrc.org - October 13, 2016

A lack of global investment in strengthening community resilience is leaving tens of millions of people exposed to predictable, preventable and catastrophic disaster risks, stresses the World Disasters Report 2016, launched today by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

According to the report, despite broad recognition that investing in resilience before a disaster can save lives and money, only 40 cents in every 100 US dollars spent on international aid is invested in preparedness and measures to reduce disaster risk.

“Investing in resilience is the best method we have for protecting the lives, livelihoods and dignity of the world’s most vulnerable people,” said IFRC Secretary General, Elhadj As Sy. “Business as usual is no longer acceptable. It will only lead to more silent suffering and deeper poverty.

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How Ebola Adapted to Us

Ebola virus particles (blue) budding from an infected cell. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health

Image: Ebola virus particles (blue) budding from an infected cell. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health

theatlantic.com - November 3rd 2016 - Ed Yong

In December 2013, in a small village in Guinea, the Ebola virus left its traditional host—probably a bat—and infected a young boy. That leap triggered what became the largest Ebola outbreak in history. At first, the virus stayed within Guinea’s borders and, as in every previous epidemic, affected just a few hundred people.

(VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE)

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Post-Ebola, West Africans Flock Back to Bushmeat, With Risk

submitted by Jeff Williams

            

FILE-In this file photo taken on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2014, Yaa Kyarewaa, await clients as she stands next to her makeshift bush meat shop at one of the largest local markets in Accra, Ghana. As the deadly outbreak of Ebola has subsided, people in several West African countries are flocking to eat bush meat again after restrictions were lifted on the consumption of wild animals like hedgehogs and cane rats. But some health experts call it a risky move. (AP Photo/Christian Thompson, File) 

Associated Press - by HILAIRE ZON and CARLEY PETESCH - September 21, 2016

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) — As the deadly outbreak of Ebola has subsided, people in several West African countries are flocking to eat bushmeat again after restrictions were lifted on the consumption of wild animals like hedgehogs and cane rats. But some health experts call it a risky move.

Ivory Coast, which neighbors two of the three countries where Ebola killed more than 11,300 people since December 2013, lifted its ban on wild animal meat this month.

The meat of squirrel, deer, fruit bats and rats has long been a key source of protein for many in the region, but it is also a potential source of the Ebola virus.

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Ebola Cluster Traced to Sexual Transmission 15 Months After Man's Illness

cidrap.umn.edu - September 2, 2016

A cluster of Ebola cases in Guinea earlier this year has been traced to sexual transmission from a man who had recovered from the disease close to 15 months earlier, marking the longest known period of sexual transmissibility after recovery from the disease.

"Evidence for sexual transmission of the persisting EBOV in February 2016, about 470 days after onset of symptoms in the survivor, is compelling," says the report by an international team of researchers, published yesterday in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

The cluster involved 3 probable and 7 confirmed cases in Guinea, with 8 deaths, in February, March, and April of this year, the report says.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

CLICK HERE - CID - Resurgence of Ebola virus disease in Guinea linked to a survivor with virus persistence in seminal fluid for more than 500 days

 

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Ebola Virus Persists in Semen Far Longer Than Thought, Study Finds

statnews.com - by Helen Branswell - August 30, 2016

CLICK HERE - The Lancet Global Health - Prevention of sexual transmission of Ebola in Liberia through a national semen testing and counselling programme for survivors: an analysis of Ebola virus RNA results and behavioural data

The Ebola virus can hide itself in the testicles of men who’ve survived the disease for far longer than had been previously thought, a new study suggests.

In fact, the research reports on a man who was still emitting fragments of Ebola viruses in his semen 565 days after he became ill — or 18 months. . . .

. . . suggesting it may be due to age-related changes in the immune system.

. . . The work, published Tuesday in the journal Lancet Global Health, was done by scientists from the Liberian Ministry of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the World Health Organization. . . .

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

 

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CDC - MMWR - Incident Management Systems and Building Emergency Management Capacity During the 2014–2016 Ebola Epidemic - Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea

cdc.gov - July 8, 2016

Summary

Establishing a functional incident management system (IMS) is important in the management of public health emergencies. In response to the 2014–2016 Ebola virus disease (Ebola) epidemic in West Africa, CDC established the Emergency Management Development Team (EMDT) to coordinate technical assistance for developing emergency management capacity in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. EMDT staff, deployed staff, and partners supported each country to develop response goals and objectives, identify gaps in response capabilities, and determine strategies for coordinating response activities. To monitor key programmatic milestones and assess changes in emergency management and response capacities over time, EMDT implemented three data collection methods in country: coordination calls, weekly written situation reports, and an emergency management dashboard tool. On the basis of the information collected, EMDT observed improvements in emergency management capacity over time in all three countries. The collaborations in each country yielded IMS structures that streamlined response and laid the foundation for long-term emergency management programs.

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The Diversity of Life Across Much of Earth Has Plunged Below ‘Safe’ Levels

An aerial view shows a tract of Amazon rain forest that has been cleared by loggers and farmers for agriculture near the city of Santarem, Para State, April 20, 2013. (Nacho Doce/Reuters)

CLICK HERE - STUDY - Science - Has land use pushed terrestrial biodiversity beyond the planetary boundary? A global assessment

washingtonpost.com - by Chris Mooney - July 14, 2016

In an ambitious study that represents the latest merger between big data approaches and the quest to conserve the planet, scientists have found that across a majority of the Earth’s land surface — including some of its most important types of terrain and its most populous regions — the abundance or overall number of animals and plants of different species has fallen below a “safe” level identified by biologists.

The reason is not exactly a surprise — from grasslands to tropical forests, humans are using more and more land for agriculture, to live on, to build roads and infrastructure upon. When we take over, we clear the land or otherwise convert it for our purposes.

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