Liberia

Combatting Rumors About Ebola: SMS Done Right

Sat, 2015-03-28 15:46 — mike kraft

When misinformation is a case of life or death, aid workers and communities need an ear to the ground

INTERNEWS by Anahi Ayala Iacucci March 26, 2015

What is now clear to healthcare organizations working on the ground in West Africa is that the Ebola epidemic has been driven as much by misinformation and rumors as by weaknesses in the health system. It is common sense that information is a critical element in combatting disease, particularly when contagion from common social practices, such as bathing the corpses of the deceased, were central to so much of the early spread of the disease. But in the context of a massive disease outbreak, when hundreds of international organizations and billions of dollars flood into a region whose fragile infrastructure has been damaged by years of civil war, information dissemination becomes a powerful challenge.

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The State of Vaccine Confidence

Sat, 2015-03-28 15:23 — mike kraft

The Vaccine Confidence Project 2015
LONDON SCHOOL OF HYGIENE AND TROPICAL MEDICINE

Lead Authors: Heidi Larson, PhD and Will Schulz, MPH

Why this report:

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Laboratory support during and after the Ebola virus endgame: towards a sustained laboratory infrastructure

Fri, 2015-03-27 20:05 — mike kraft

EUROSURVEILLANCE by I. Goodfellow, C. Reusken, and M. Koopmans

March 26, 2015

The Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa is on the brink of entering a second phase in which the (inter)national efforts to slow down virus transmission will be engaged to end the epidemic. The response community must consider the longevity of their current laboratory support, as it is essential that diagnostic capacity in the affected countries be supported beyond the end of the epidemic.

The emergency laboratory response should be used to support building structural diagnostic and outbreak surveillance capacity.

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Ebola pioneer, stem cell researcher honoured with Canada Gairdner Awards

Thu, 2015-03-26 21:38 — mike kraft

CANADIAN PRESS March 25, 2015
One of the co-discoverers of the Ebola virus and a leading Canadian stem cell researcher are among this year's winners of the prestigious Canada Gairdner Awards.

Dr. Peter Piot is the recipient of the Canada Gairdner Global Health Award, recognizing his work on the discovery of the Ebola virus in 1976 and his leadership in the global response to the HIV-AIDS epidemic.

Dr. Janet Rossant, chief of research at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children, is the recipient of the 2015 Canada Gairdner Wightman Award, which honours a Canadian who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in medicine and medical science.

Five international scientists are also being honoured with Canada Gairdner Awards, two each from the United States and Japan and one from Switzerland....

Dr. Peter Piot won the 2015 Canada Gairdner Global Health Award in recognition of his work on the discovery of the Ebola virus in 1976 and his leadership in the global response to the HIV-AIDS epidemic. (David Azia/Associated Press)

Red complete story.

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Ebola virus not mutating as quickly as thought

Thu, 2015-03-26 21:17 — mike kraft

SCIENCE NEWS by Ashley Yaeger March 26, 2015

(Scroll down for full study.)

The virus causing the current Ebola epidemic in West Africa is not evolving as quickly as some scientists had suggested.

REGULAR RATE A genetic analysis suggests that the Ebola virus, shown here in orange, is not evolving as fast as expected.

In a paper last August, researchers reported that the virus (Zaire ebolavirus) was altering its genes almost twice as fast as it had during previous Ebola outbreaks in Central Africa (SN: 9/20/14, p. 7). However, a new genetic analysis shows that the virus is mutating at roughly the same rate as in past outbreaks, researchers report online March 26 in Science. The finding suggests the virus has not become more virulent or transmissible during the West Africa outbreak.

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Ebola upsurge could undo progress in blink of an eye, warns expert

Thu, 2015-03-26 15:32 — mike kraft

THE GUARDIAN by Sam Jones March 26, 2015

Despite the massive push to bring the number of new Ebola cases down to zero as quickly as possible, there will inevitably be “flare-ups” that could reverse the overall downward trend and prove difficult to contain, the UN’s response co-ordinator has warned.

Dr David Nabarro, the UN’s special envoy for Ebola, said the huge medical, administrative and logistical operation to fight the disease could still be set back by individuals ignoring official advice.

“There will be flare-ups, there will be disappointments; there will be people who evade quarantine – because nobody likes being told to stay put – there will be people who choose not to declare that they’ve got a relative ill, there will be people who get ill and just misdiagnose themselves,” he said....

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Strengthening the Detection of and Early Response to Public Health Emergencies: Lessons learned from, the Ebola outbreake

Wed, 2015-03-25 21:14 — mike kraft

PLOS MEDICINE by Mark J. Siedner, Lawrence O. Gostin, Hilarie H. Cranmer,and John D. Kraemer March 24, 2015

In-depth paper on lessons learned from the West Africa Ebola outbreak

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Pandemic Disease: Never again

Wed, 2015-03-25 02:37 — mike kraft

As the Ebola epidemic draws gradually to its close, how should the world arm itself against the risks of insurgent infections?

THE ECONOMIST March 21, 2015

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Deconstructing “Malaria”: West Africa as the Next Front for Dengue Fever Surveillance and Control

Tue, 2015-03-24 01:50 — Kathy Gilbeaux

sciencedirect.com - June 2014
Justin Stoler, Rawan al Dashti, Francis Anto, Julius N. Fobil, Gordon A. Awandare
doi:10.1016/j.actatropica.2014.02.017

CLICK HERE - Deconstructing “Malaria”: West Africa as the Next Front for Dengue Fever Surveillance and Control

Highlights

• Febrile illnesses are vastly overdiagnosed as malaria in many African settings.
• West Africa is emerging as a new front for dengue fever surveillance and control.
• Efficient health care utilization depends upon proper diagnosis of febrile illness.

Abstract

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Slow International Response to Ebola Epidemic Cost Thousands of Lives: MSF

Mon, 2015-03-23 15:10 — mike kraft

TIME MAGAZINE by Helen Regan March 23, 2015
(Scroll down for link to full MSF report.)

Paris-based Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has slammedthe international community’s slow response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, saying it cost thousands of lives that could otherwise have been saved.

A Doctors Without Borders (MSF), health worker in protective clothing carries a child suspected of having Ebola in the MSF treatment center on October 5, 2014 in Paynesville, Liberia.

The leading international medical charity released a report Monday coinciding with the one-year anniversary of the outbreak’s start. It said warnings that the disease’s spread was out of control were dismissed as alarmist and that early calls for help were ignored by local governments and the World Health Organization (WHO), reports Reuters.

“For the Ebola outbreak to spiral this far out of control required many institutions to fail. And they did, with tragic and avoidable consequences,” said MSF’s general director Christopher Stokes in the report.

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