Sierra Leone

A Cure for Ebola? Two New Treatments Prove Highly Effective in Congo

Tue, 2019-08-13 12:04 — Maeryn Obley

A health worker wearing Ebola protection gear at a Biosecure Emergency Care Unit treatment center in Beni, Democratic Republic of Congo.CreditCreditBaz Ratner/Reuters

Donald G. McNeil Jr. - NYTimes - August 12th 2019

In a development that transforms the fight against Ebola, two experimental treatments are working so well that they will now be offered to all patients in the Democratic Republic of Congo, scientists announced on Monday.

The antibody-based treatments are quite powerful — “Now we can say that 90 percent can come out of treatment cured,” one scientist said — that they raise hopes that the disastrous epidemic in eastern Congo can soon be stopped and future outbreaks more easily contained.

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New Ebola Species is Reported for First Time in a Decade

Sat, 2018-07-28 10:09 — Kathy Gilbeaux

New #ebola species discovered by scientists from @OneHealthUCD and @ColumbiaMSPH as part of a US-funded effort (@PREDICTproject) to find unknown viruses that have the potential to cause outbreaks in people.https://t.co/cNSrMnaaln
— One Health Institute (@OneHealthUCD) July 27, 2018

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Doctors: Woman Likely Spread Ebola a Year After Infection

Wed, 2018-07-25 08:34 — Kathy Gilbeaux

CLICK HERE - STUDY - The Lancet - Persistence of Ebola virus after the end of widespread transmission in Liberia: an outbreak report

apnews.com - by Maria Cheng - July 23, 2018

A Liberian woman who probably caught Ebola in 2014 may have infected three relatives a year after she first fell sick, doctors reported in a study published Monday.

There have been previous instances of men spreading Ebola to women via sexual transmission — the virus can survive in semen for more than a year — but the new case is the first time scientists have suggested that Ebola was spread from a woman after such a prolonged period.

The rare possibility of Ebola spreading long after infection highlights the importance of monitoring survivors, especially with the imminent end of the most recent flare-up of the disease in Congo.

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Forty Years Later, Ebola Survivors are Still Making Antibodies to the Lethal Virus

Sat, 2017-12-30 21:04 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Lab technician and Ebola survivor Sukato Mandzomba (front) worked with Peter Piot (back) in 1976 and again in 2016. Heidi Larson

CLICK HERE - STUDY - Ebola Virus Neutralizing Antibodies Detectable in Survivors of theYambuku, Zaire Outbreak 40 Years after Infection

sciencemag.org - by Jon Cohen - December 14, 2017

Forty years after the first documented Ebola outbreak, some of the survivors still have antibodies against the virus, a new study reveals. The find bolsters the widely held assumption that Ebola survivors remain immune to the virus for life. The work may also help guide development of new medicines and clarify the long-term health consequences of an Ebola infection.

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Direct Relief - Medical Aid Shipment to Sierra Leone

Fri, 2017-08-18 15:55 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Direct Relief - August 18, 2017

Direct Relief is sending 10,000 lbs of medical aid to Sierra Leone in response to the recent floods and mudslides. Items including antibiotics, wound care and rehydration supplies left Direct Relief's warehouse today. Water purification supplies and oral rehydration salts will also be sent to help communities that have lost access to clean water.

CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW - VIDEO AND ORIGINAL POST

https://www.facebook.com/DirectRelief/videos/10155613349934346/

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Sierra Leone Floods Kill Hundreds as Mudslides Bury Houses

Tue, 2017-08-15 08:55 — Kathy Gilbeaux

People may have been asleep when mudslides occurred

bbc.com - August 15, 2017

More than 300 people have been killed in mudslides and flooding near Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown.

A hillside in the Regent area collapsed early on Monday following heavy rains, leaving many houses covered in mud.

A BBC reporter at the scene said many people may have been asleep when the mudslide occurred.

The number of casualties is expected to rise. Locals were reportedly trying to recover bodies from the rubble and mud with their bare hands.

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ALSO SEE RELATED ARTICLES WITHIN THE LINKS BELOW . . .

CLICK HERE - Hundreds killed after Sierra Leone mudslide

CLICK HERE - Hundreds Feared Dead After Mudslide In Sierra Leone

CLICK HERE - Hundreds feared dead in Sierra Leone mudslide

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Ebola - West Africa

Sun, 2017-05-14 23:00 — Kathy Gilbeaux

An expanding list of information resources on Ebola Virus Disease in West Africa beginning March 2016 . . .

CLICK HERE - New Ebola Species is Reported for First Time in a Decade - July 27, 2018

CLICK HERE - New Ebola virus found in Sierra Leone - July 26, 2018

CLICK HERE - Doctors: Woman Likely Spread Ebola a Year After Infection - July 23, 2018

CLICK HERE - Chinese Scientists Find How Bats Carry Viruses Without Getting Sick - February 22, 2018

CLICK HERE - Ebola Had Significant Collateral Damage to Liberians' Health - February 20, 2018

CLICK HERE - Forty Years Later, Ebola Survivors are Still Making Antibodies to the Lethal Virus - December 14, 2017

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Huge Genome Study Dissects Ebola Outbreak's Spread

Mon, 2017-04-17 09:27 — Kathy Gilbeaux

NSAID / Flickr

CLICK HERE - Nature - Virus genomes reveal factors that spread and sustained the Ebola epidemic

cidrap.umn.edu - Lisa Schnirring - April 14, 2017

The largest genome sample ever analyzed for a human epidemic reveals that the West Africa epidemic unfolded with small, overlapping outbreaks as the virus spread over short distances and that urban settings amplified the spread.

Meanwhile, another study harnessed different advanced scientific tools in the blood of a single sick patient to detail gene-level response during infection.

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CLICK HERE - Science Translational Medicine - Longitudinal peripheral blood transcriptional analysis of a patient with severe Ebola virus disease

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International Research Effort Reveals Major Insights Into Spread of West African Ebola Epidemic

Wed, 2017-04-12 13:00 — Kathy Gilbeaux

news-medical.net - April 12, 2017

CLICK HERE - RESEARCH - Nature - Virus genomes reveal factors that spread and sustained the Ebola epidemic

An international effort to analyze the entire database of Ebola virus genomes from the 2013-2016 West African epidemic reveals insights into factors that sped or slowed the rampage and calls for using real-time sequencing and data-sharing to contain future viral disease outbreaks.

Published today in the journal Nature, the analysis found that the epidemic unfolded in small, overlapping outbreaks with surprisingly few infected travelers sparking new outbreaks elsewhere, each case representing a missed opportunity to break the transmission chain and end the epidemic sooner.

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Blocking TLR4 Pathway May Help Control Ebola Infection

Sun, 2017-04-02 23:20 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Boston University scientists curbed the host response to Ebola infection by inhibiting TLR4 in macrophages. (CDC Global CC BY 2.0)

CLICK HERE - Virology - Ebolaviruses associated with differential pathogenicity induce distinct host responses in human macrophages

fiercebiotech.com - by Amirah Al Idrus - March 23, 2017

The Ebola virus causes a disease that is often fatal, in part by infecting white blood cells called macrophages and disrupting their immune response. Boston University scientists found that using drugs that block the protein TLR4 can suppress this response and potentially control infection.

Macrophages are responsible for detecting and destroying pathogens, but the Ebola virus activates them through the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) pathway, causing an inappropriate immune response. The Ebola-infected macrophages end up producing excess cytokines and chemokines—proteins that promote inflammation and worsen the disease.

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