Guinea

With Many Ebola Survivors Ailing, Doctors Evaluate Situation

Mon, 2015-08-24 02:52 — mike kraft

ASSOCIATED PRESS by Carley Petesch Aug. 23, 2015

DAKAR, Senegal --Lingering health problems afflicting many of the roughly 13,000 Ebola survivors have galvanized global and local health officials to find out how widespread the ailments are, and how to remedy them.

The World Health Organization calls it an emergency within an emergency. Many of the survivors have vision and hearing issues. Some others experience physical and emotional pains, fatigue and other problems. The medical community is negotiating uncharted waters as it tries to measure the scale of this problem that comes on the tail end of the biggest Ebola outbreak in history.

"If we can find out this kind of information, hopefully we can help other Ebola survivors in the future," Dr. Zan Yeong, an eye specialist involved in a study of health problems in survivors in Liberia, told The Associated Press.

About 7,500 people will enroll — 1,500 Ebola survivors and 6,000 of their close contacts — and will be monitored over a five-year period in the study launched by Partnership for Research on Ebola Vaccines in Liberia, or PREVAIL.

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Ebola: What Happened

Thu, 2015-08-20 16:46 — mike kraft

COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS BY John Campbell
(Scroll down for Laurie Garett's essay "Ebola's Lessons.")

With a rapidly growing and urbanizing population, persistent poverty, and weak governance, Sub-Saharan Africa is likely to be the source of new epidemics that potentially could spread around the world. Understanding the disastrous response of African governments, international institutions, and donor governments to the Ebola epidemic is essential if history is not to be repeated yet again. That makes Laurie Garrett’s essay, “Ebola’s Lessons,” in the September/October 2015 issue of Foreign Affairs, essential reading.

The Ebola virus treatment center where four people are currently being treated is seen in Paynesville, Liberia, July 16, 2015. (Courtesy Reuters/James Giahyue)

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Some Ebola Survivors Still Suffer—And Doctors Don’t Know Why

Sat, 2015-08-15 16:50 — mike kraft

SCIENCE by Katie M. Palmer Aug. 15, 2015

For the communities in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia where Ebola took the greatest toll last year, the worst is over. After claiming 11,000 lives, the fatal virus has finally begun to retreat. Numbers of new Ebola cases are dwindling. But for some of the survivors—the 50 percent or so of the infected who pull through—Ebola’s effects still linger.

Ebola survivor Fayiah, 11, sits with her relatives in Monrovia, Liberia. Jerome Delay/AP

For the communities in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia where Ebola took the greatest toll last year, the worst is over. After claiming 11,000 lives, the fatal virus has finally begun to retreat. Numbers of new Ebola cases are dwindling. But for some of the survivors—the 50 percent or so of the infected who pull through—Ebola’s effects still linger.

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Proposed Ebola biobank would strengthen African science

Tue, 2015-08-11 00:49 — mike kraft

NATURE by Erika Check Hayden Aug. 10, 2015
As West Africa’s Ebola outbreak winds down, an effort is under way to make the best use of the tens of thousands of patient samples collected by public-health agencies fighting the epidemic. Samples from the Ebola epidemic in West Africa are held by public-health agencies in the region and abroad. Daniel Berehulak/NYT/Redux/Eyevine

On 6–7 August, the World Health Organization (WHO) convened a meeting in Freetown, Sierra Leone, to discuss how to establish a biobank for up to 100,000 samples of blood, semen, urine and breast milk from confirmed and suspected Ebola patients, as well as swabs taken from the bodies of people who died from the virus. Held by health agencies in both West Africa and the West, the samples could be valuable in understanding how the current Ebola crisis evolved, preparing for future outbreaks and developing public-health research capacity in a region that depends on outside experts.

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Ebola terrified us a year ago. What did it teach us about West Africa?

Sat, 2015-08-08 20:24 — mike kraft

WASHINGTON POST by Ashoka Mukpo * Aug. 7, 2015

“If it bleeds, it leads.” That’s the cliché in journalism that describes why a certain kind of tragedy tends to dominate the news cycle. One year ago today, the World Health Organization declared Ebola an “international health emergency.” But today, coverage of West Africa is beginning its drift into media disinterest as Ebola cases wane. International attention has now largely disappeared along with the sight of biohazard suits and ambulances.....

But it would be a mistake to celebrate victory over Ebola and return to the pre-outbreak status quo. The lessons of Ebola reach beyond the preparedness of West African health systems to confront crises, touching on issues that have been critical for the region in recent years: peace, security and how responsive governments are to society’s most vulnerable members. These lessons must be understood before a post-outbreak aid and development agenda is designed....

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Ebola Survivors Face Lingering Pain, Fatigue and Depression

Sat, 2015-08-08 20:02 — 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 16:30 — 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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What ‘100 Percent Effective’ Means for That Ebola Vaccine

Tue, 2015-08-04 16:31 — 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

Mon, 2015-08-03 01:31 — 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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WHITE HOUSE FACT SHEET: The Global Health Security Agenda

Fri, 2015-07-31 19:25 — mike kraft

The U.S. Government announces it intends to invest more than $1 billion in resources to expand the Global Health Security Agenda to prevent, detect, and respond to future infectious disease outbreaks overseas.

THE WHITE HOUSE PRESS OFFICE July 28, 2015

The Ebola epidemic in West Africa continues to galvanize global attention and resources as the international community strives to eliminate active cases and help the affected countries recover. African leaders and African Union officials have shown extraordinary leadership in addressing the outbreak. The epidemic highlighted the urgent need to establish global capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to biological threats – to prevent future outbreaks from becoming epidemics.

Beginning with the release of the National Strategy for Countering Biological Threats in 2009, and outlined in his 2011 speech at the United Nations General Assembly, President Obama has called upon all countries to come together to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease threats, whether naturally occurring, accidental or deliberately spread. Today, the President underscored the unwavering U.S. commitment to partnering with Africans, their governments, and all who will join the effort to improve health security across the continent and for all people.

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