Posted on 08/10/2014 12:46:23 AM PDT by Smokin' Joe
I have spent a little time compiling links to threads about the Ebola outbreak in the interest of having all the links in one thread for future reference.
Please add links to new threads and articles of interest as the situation develops.
Thank You all for you participation.
A key development to watch:
Ebola blood testing kit fits in a suitcase and detects the virus 10 TIMES faster
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/technology-science/technology/ebola-blood-testing-kit-fits-4946895
Jan 09, 2015 Jasper Hamill
German scientists have designed a super-efficient ebola testing kit which is so small it could be carried as hand luggage on an airline.
The life-saving suitcase can detect traces of the deadly virus in just 15 minutes - which is almost 10 times faster than the current testing kit.
It was designed by scientists at the German Primate Centre in Goettingen and is intended to be used by doctors battling the disease in rural areas of Africa.
The suitcase works away from the mod-cons of a traditional testing lab, allowing a speedy diagnosis of the diease.
Currently, blood samples must be transported over long distances to testing labs.
With a death rate of up to 90% and quick treatment critical to chances of survival, any delay is likely to be lethal.
Five of the suitcases are now being sent to Guinea, where the current outbreak is thought to have started.
“The early detection of Ebola infected patients will lead to a more effective virus control since medical staff can identify and isolate confirmed Ebola cases more rapidly,” said Dr. Christiane Stahl-Hennig, head of the unit of infection models at the German Primate Centre.
You’re welcome. Others find the stories, I just put them in the thread when I catch them.
Sick Airline Passenger From Sierra Leone Taken to Hospital (United Airlines-Newark)
Not really a surprising situation, considering that the virus has undergone (as far as we know) an unprecedented number of replications in a short period (never before has it been known to have infected this many or anywhere close to this many people).
With replication comes mutation, most of which will not be beneficial to the virus.
Because of the way the thread is presented, I can’t post a direct link, but here is a link to the link...Ping....
Interesting. Thanks for the ping.
You’re Welcome!
Thanks!
Ebola cases are going up again in East Africa.
Containment there is still a dream, not a reality.
New Ebola cases show rise for second week in row
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-31429433
11 February 2015
The number of new cases of Ebola has risen in all of West Africa’s worst-hit countries for the second week in a row, the World Health Organization (WHO) says.
This is the second weekly increase in confirmed cases in 2015, ending a series of encouraging declines.
The WHO said on Wednesday that Sierra Leone had registered 76 of the 144 new cases, Guinea 65 and Liberia three.
More than 9,000 people have died from Ebola since December 2013.
The WHO said that the increase highlights the “considerable challenges” that must still be overcome to end the outbreak.
“Despite improvements in case finding and management, burial practices, and community engagement, the decline in case incidence has stalled,” the UN health agency said in a statement.
In another development, US President Barack Obama has said he will withdraw nearly all US troops helping to combat the disease in Liberia.
Only 100 of the 2,800 troops would remain in West Africa at the end of April, according to the Associated Press news agency,
Mr Obama said on Wednesday that the withdrawal marked a transition in the fight against the disease in Liberia but did not mean that the mission was over.
“Our focus now is getting to zero,” he said.
Unsafe burials
At least 22,800 cases of Ebola have been recorded since the outbreak began, mainly in three countries in West Africa.
In Guinea, efforts to end the outbreak are being hampered by a mistrust of aid workers, particularly in the capital city.
“The main threat to achieving our goal of zero cases in 60 days is this resistance in Conakry,” said Dr Sakoba Keita, Guinea’s national Ebola response co-ordinator.
Unsafe burial practices continue to be a problem in Sierra Leone. More than 40 unsafe burials were recorded in one week, according to the WHO.
Mourners can catch the disease by touching the highly-contagious bodies of the dead.
Ebola deaths
Figures up to 8 February 2015
9,177
Deaths - probable, confirmed and suspected
(Includes one in the US and six in Mali)
3,826 Liberia
3,341 Sierra Leone
1,995 Guinea
8 Nigeria
Source: WHO
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