Africa

BBC by Smitha Mundasad                          April 10, 2015
Many Ebola survivors are likely to face further health issues including eye and joint problems, the World Health Organization has warned....

Officials announced they are attempting to set up clinics in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea to monitor the health consequences Ebola survivors face.

Patients have reported problems with their vision, joints and on-going fatigue.

But Dr Bruce Aylward, assistant director general of the WHO, admitted not much was known about the long-term implications of the virus.

He said the information gathered at these clinics would help the mental and physical health needs of people recovering from the disease.

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http://www.bbc.com/news/health-32250515

REUTERS  by Stephanie Nebehay                   April 10, 2015

GENEVA  West Africa's Ebola epidemic still poses a threat to other countries, but the risk of it spreading internationally appears to be diminishing, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.

The U.N. agency declared in August 2014 that the world's worst Ebola outbreak -- which began in December 2013 -- represented a "public health emergency of international concern" that forced all health officials to shore up defenses.

The WHO's Emergency Committee, comprising independent experts who held talks on Thursday, was "absolutely firm" in maintaining that view, said Dr. Bruce Aylward, WHO Special Representative for the Ebola Response.

"They did note, however, that they believe the risk of international spread appeared to be reducing, this was a result of the work being done in the countries," Aylward told a news briefing at WHO headquarters. He cited control measures and exit screening of travelers from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

THE HILL                                                                                           April 8, 2015
Washington --President Obama was briefed Wednesday on the diminishing Ebola epidemic in West Africa, the first time the White House has publicly addressed the disease in several weeks.

Obama met with a team of health and national security advisers in the Situation Room on Wednesday to discuss “what more can be done to get to zero Ebola cases in West Africa,” according to a brief summary of the meeting provided by the White House.

“The President emphasized the urgency of getting to zero, and directed his team to staying engaged to prevent future outbreaks from becoming epidemics,” the statement said....

Money is flowing from the president’s emergency funding request last fall. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has allocated about $350 million out of the $1.2 billion to fight Ebola, its director said in a recent interview.

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http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/238259-obama-briefed-on-ebola-as-epidemic-appears-to-recede

AFP     April  9, 2015

Tokyo  A Japanese research team said on Thursday it had developed a field test for Ebola that gives results in just over 11 minutes -- down from the 90-minute test used now.

The breakthrough by Nagasaki University's Institute of Tropical Medicine will allow medics to move much more quickly in treating people with the haemorrhagic fever, Professor Jiro Yasuda told AFP.

"The result time was unexpectedly short," said Yasuda of the trial conducted in Guinea last month on 100 samples, of which 47 proved positive.

The Guinean government has now asked the institute and its collaboration partner Toshiba to supply equipment to roll out the test, he added.

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http://news.yahoo.com/japanese-ebola-test-gives-results-11-minutes-researcher-064839139.html