Africa

Ebola Survivors Face Lingering Pain, Fatigue and Depression

Sat, 2015-08-08 15:02 — mike kraft

NEW YORK TIMES by Denis Grady Aug. 8, 2015

The Ebola outbreak that started more than a year ago seems to be waning at last. But now, West Africa faces another difficulty: More than 13,000 people survived the virus, and many have lingering health problems, psychological troubles like depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, and worries about returning to work to feed themselves and what is left of their families.

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How to Beat the Next Ebola

Sat, 2015-08-08 11:30 — Kathy Gilbeaux

submitted by George Hurlburt

Graves dug in Freetown, Sierra Leone, to cope with those dying from Ebola in late 2014. Mads Nissen/Panos

The world is ill-prepared for the next epidemic or pandemic. But the horror of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa may drive change.

nature.com - by Declan Butler - August 5, 2015

If there was one point last year when public-health experts held their breath, it was when a Liberian man infected with Ebola virus flew to Lagos, Nigeria, in July. Ebola was already raging uncontrolled through impoverished countries in West Africa, killing half of those it infected. Now a vomiting man had carried it straight to the heart of Africa's largest megacity — with 21 million inhabitants, many of whom live in slums. Experts were horrified at the prospect that the virus might rip through the city — and then, because Lagos is an international travel hub, spread farther afield.

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Physicians: Global Vaccine Development Fund Could Save Billions

Fri, 2015-08-07 13:20 — mike kraft

PHARMACEUTICAL PROCESSING by Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs Aug. 6, 2015

Ebola is a preventable disease, and yet a safe and effective vaccine has not been deployed. As with many vaccines, financial barriers persist: pharmaceutical companies see high costs with limited market potential, and government support is lacking. But there may be a solution to this vaccine crisis with the ability to save at-risk populations, according to a perspective piece written by physicians based at Princeton University, University of Pennsylvania and the Wellcome Trust.

The article, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, proposes the creation of a $2 billion global vaccine-development fund - supported by governments, foundations and pharmaceutical companies - that would carry promising vaccines through development to deployment. With initial support, the global vaccine fund could help make vaccines available for emergency use.

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Home > International Sierra Leone Ebola Head Says Country Has 4 Cases

Fri, 2015-08-07 10:33 — mike kraft

ASSOCIATED PRESS by CLARENCE ROY-MACAULAY Aug. 6, 2015

FREETOWN -- Sierra Leone has only four recorded cases of Ebola, the West African nation's head of Ebola said Thursday, adding that he is hopeful the countdown to zero can soon begin.

Two of the cases have proven negative after treatments, and the other two, in the north Tonkolili district, are in treatment, said National Emergency Response Center chief Alfred Palo Conteh....

The Tonkolili district remains a worry, he said. Authorities last week quarantined 500 people after a man died from Ebola. The district had not had a single case of Ebola in five months. The victim contracted the disease in the capital, traveled to his home village, and was treated for a fever at the local hospital but authorities didn't call the Ebola emergency number.

He didn't have a burial that followed special procedures required for Ebola victims, and the man's mother and brother contracted the virus.

Read complete story.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/sierra-leone-ebola-head-country-cases-32920853

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Rapid Assessment of Ebola-Related Implications for Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Service Delivery and Utilization in Guinea

Thu, 2015-08-06 17:15 — Kathy Gilbeaux

currents.plos.org

Barden-O'Fallon J, Barry MA, Brodish P, Hazerjian J. Rapid Assessment of Ebola-Related Implications for Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Service Delivery and Utilization in Guinea. PLOS Currents Outbreaks. 2015 Aug 4 . Edition 1. doi: 10.1371/currents.outbreaks.0b0ba06009dd091bc39ddb3c6d7b0826.

Abstract

Introduction: Since March 2014, Guinea has been in the midst of the largest, longest, and deadliest outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease ever recorded. Due to sub-optimal health conditions prior to the outbreak, Guinean women and children may have been especially vulnerable to worsening health care conditions. A rapid assessment was conducted to better understand how the delivery and utilization of routine RMNCH services may have been affected by the extraordinary strain placed on the health system and its client population by the Ebola outbreak in Guinea.

CLICK HERE - Rapid Assessment of Ebola-Related Implications for Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Service Delivery and Utilization in Guinea

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Only two Ebola cases reported in past week, but risks remain: WHO

Wed, 2015-08-05 09:56 — mike kraft

REUTERS by Stephanie Nebehay Aug. 4, 2015

Guinea and Sierra Leone each recorded a single cases of Ebola in the past week, putting a year-end goal of ending the deadly epidemic within reach, although risks remain, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.

Tight surveillance and tracing contacts of infected people remain crucial, WHO Assistant-Director Bruce Aylward said. They are especially challenging during the heavy rains in August.

In the previous week to July 26, the two countries had seven confirmed cases, which was the lowest in the past year up until then, according to the WHO.

Read complete story.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/04/us-health-ebola-who-idUSKCN0Q91JM20150804

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CDC head says Sierra Leone in strong place with Ebola

Tue, 2015-08-04 11:46 — mike kraft

ASSOCIATED PRESS by Clarence Roy-Macaulay Aug. 3, 2015

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone — Sierra Leone is in a stronger place than it was six months ago to fight Ebola, but the new challenge is to get to zero cases, the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday during a visit, as new cases emerged in the city and in an area that had not seen the deadly virus for months.

Two new cases of Ebola surfaced in Sierra Leone's Northern Tonkolili District after a man died last week. The district had not had a single case of Ebola in five months. The victim contracted the disease in the capital, traveled to his home village, and was treated for a fever at the local hospital but authorities didn't call the Ebola emergency number. He didn't have a burial that followed special procedures required for Ebola victims....

Dr. Thomas Frieden, CDC director, said it was important that the case was identified and not missed, and he was impressed with the speed of the response.

"The challenge now is to get to zero cases and that is not going to be easy," he said. "Authorities must not let down their guard. The country should keep its guard up."

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What ‘100 Percent Effective’ Means for That Ebola Vaccine

Tue, 2015-08-04 11:31 — mike kraft

Analysis
WIRED.COM by Katie M. Palmer Aug. 4, 2015

Last week, the medical journal the Lancet published preliminary results on the efficacy of an Ebola vaccine in Guinea, and everybody got really excited—especially about one particular figure. The vaccine, the results suggested, was 100 percent effective at protecting against Ebola, a thrilling prospect in the face of an epidemic that has killed more than 11,000 people. ...

But that number probably means less than you think it does. It’s based on incomplete data, so it doesn’t have the statistical clout it should. And it never will. Based on the vaccine’s early success, the trial’s runners decided that all participants in the study should get it immediately after exposure. That’s a perfectly reasonable, humane reaction, but it also means that the researchers will never be able to collect better data on the vaccine’s efficacy, which is what regulators look for when they’re deciding to approve a drug. In other words, the vaccine’s early success could make it harder for people to get it down the line.

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Arktek Passive Vaccine Storage Device - P6

Sun, 2015-08-02 20:31 — Kathy Gilbeaux

From watching the video in the link below, the Arktek vaccine cold storage device is also known as the P6 . . .
http://www.intellectualventures.com/inventions-patents/our-inventions/vaccine-cold-chain-device/

The P6 is not just a container, but an innovative high-tech device. It is designed to keep vaccines at the appropriate temperatures for a month or more with repeat vaccine retrievals and no need for electricity (using just one initial batch of ice). The device also has built-in communications and monitoring capability. The P6 units are able to send live updates, including the units’ GPS positions viewable on interactive maps, the number of days since fresh ice had been added, temperature, and more. Here are the details . . .
http://www.intellectualventureslab.com/invent/a-story-of-invention-the-passive-vaccine-storage-device

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More than 70,000 children born during the Ebola outbreak in Liberia at risk of exclusion if not registered, warns UNICEF

Sun, 2015-08-02 10:04 — mike kraft

UNICEF PRESS OFFICE July 31, 2015

MONROVIA, Liberia -- UNICEF is supporting a drive by the Liberian Government to register more than 70,000 children whose births were not recorded during the Ebola crisis, leaving them vulnerable to marginalization and exclusion.

Birth registrations in 2014 and 2015 dropped sharply from pre-Ebola levels, according to Ministry of Health data. In 2013, before the onset of the virus, the births of 79,000 children were registered. In 2014, when many health facilities had closed or had reduced services due to the Ebola response, the number of registrations fell to 48,000 – a 39 per cent decrease over the previous year.

Just 700 children are reported to have had their births registered between January and May 2015.

© UNICEF/UNI190366/Grile Three month old Success Sumois, strapped to her mother’s back, waits to be registered through the mobile birth registration team at the Totota Clinic in Liberia.

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