The rapid spread of Ebola to three continents shows that the world needs effective surveillance and response system to check infectious diseases
Author: Vibha Varshney
The spread of the Ebola virus has raised several questions about the preparedness of the world to deal with emerging infectious diseases. The dreaded virus, which was first reported in 1976, bleeds 50 per cent of its victims to death. Yet clinical trials of potential drugs have never been done because the disease remained restricted to Africa. Though the current outbreak began in December 2013, Ebola came in the limelight only after it spread to developed countries like the US and Spain.
Health activists, football players unite to fight Ebola
Author: Moushumi Sharma
The Ebola outbreak has taken a toll on women's health in Africa which needs to be addressed urgently. This was observed by two global health advocates-philanthropist Melinda Gates, wife of billionaire Bill Gates, and Barbara Bush, daughter of former US president George W Bush. They spoke on a variety of issues, ranging from women's education to contraception, at a women's health event called "Better by Half", recently held in New York, reports Newsweek.
Symptoms of Lassa mimic the initial symptoms of Ebola virus disease
Author: Vani Manocha
While three countries in West Africa are busy waging a battle against the deadly Ebola, it is time for another viral haemorrhagic fever to knock the doors in the region. The health workers are now worried that resources to fight Lassa fever are inadequate as most of the infrastructure and human resources are already overstretched with Ebola.
WHO attributes slowdown in Liberia's Ebola outbreak to reform in their burial practices
Cultural practices like rubbing down bodies at funeral rites have often been blamed for spread of Ebola outbreak. The World health Organization (WHO), therefore, has now introduced a protocol for safe and dignified burial of people who die from Ebola virus.
Antibodies from the blood of patients who have recovered could be transferred to those who are suffering from the viral disease
Author: Moushumi Sharma
The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that the blood of patients who have recovered from Ebola should be used to treat the deadly disease in the absence of a clinically-proven drug or vaccine.The logic behind the proposal is that the antibodies produced in the blood of patients to fight off the Ebola virus could be transferred from a survivor to a sick patient to boost their immunity, says a BBC report.
Report launched at the ninth African Economic Conference says the continent made significant headway in human development but that its continuation is threatened by conflict, political instability and natural or man-made disasters
Author: Moushumi Sharma
Sub-Saharan Africa must boost its crisis response to sustain the progress it has made on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This has been observed in the annual report, "Assessing Progress towards the Millennium Development Goals in Africa", prepared by the African Development Bank, the Economic Commission for Africa, the African Union Commissionand the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
In August, two American health workers were successfully treated in Atlanta after having contracted the disease in Liberia
Author: Vani Manocha
The first case of Ebola has been diagnosed in the United States. The unidentified patient is believed to have contracted the virus in Liberia about two weeks ago. The affected person, however, did not show any symptoms of the disease on his arrival in the US.
The move has come amid increasing criticism that the international community has not responded quickly and adequately to the crisis
US President Barack Obama on Tuesday announced that his plans to fight the deadly Ebola outbreak in West Africa would be "the largest international response in the history of US' Centre for Disease Control". The announcement to offer help was combined with a warning that the present Ebola outbreak which is widespread in three countries in West Africa-Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea-could soon be a threat to global security.
Eight members of a relief team, including health workers and journalists, have been found dead in Guinea
Author: Vani Manocha
Two days after US President Barack Obama said that the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa could be a danger to global security, the United Nations (UN) has called the epidemic a threat to "international peace and security". The declaration was made at an "unprecedented" emergency meeting called by United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and attended by 130 countries.
Interview
Peter Hotezis the co-founder of the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases that provides access to essential medicines for millions of people worldwide. He tells Down To Earth what prompted the rare Ebola disease to spread in epidemic proportion and how to contain such diseases in future. Edited excerpts
ome say deforestation and mining are triggering deadly outbreaks of diseases like Ebola. What is your opinion?
Better surveillance to detect cases of the virus and enhanced cross-border collaboration were the key recommendations
Author: Vani Manocha
Health ministers from 11 countries in West Africa, along with international health organisations, adopted a fresh strategy to fight the world's deadliest Ebola epidemic that has killed hundreds of people in the region.
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday said that the deadly Ebola outbreak in West Africa has affected an unprecedented number of health care workers. "So far, over 240 healthcare workers, including doctors and nurses, have contacted the disease in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone and over 120 have died," said the international health agency.
The deadly virus had long confined itself to the backwoods of Africa. Increasing deforestation has led to its frequent emergence as epidemics
Author: Vani Manocha
EBOLA IS back, and this time it has held the world hostage. With 2,200 people suffering from the haemorrhagic fever and more than 1,200 deaths in four West African countries, as of August 20, this is the biggest outbreak of Ebola ever recorded. The World Health Organization has declared the epidemic an "international emergency" and called for "extraordinary measures" to contain it.
Scare in Delhi: three persons in Dwarka area of south-west Delhi are under watch for possible symptoms
Author: Kundan Pandey
The World Health Organization (WHO) today declared the spread of Ebola in West Africa an international health emergency. The announcement came as news spread about three persons in New Delhi being kept under watch for possible Ebola symptoms. While declaring health emergency, the world health agency has stressed on need for coordinated international response to stop and reverse the international spread of Ebola.
NEWS
On Friday, it was disclosed that three persons in New Delhi are being kept under watch for possible Ebola symptoms
Author: Vani Manocha
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday declared the outbreak of Ebola in West Africa, the deadliest till date, an international health emergency. Earlier, on Wednesday, the international health agency had announced that it would convene a panel of medical ethicists to explore the use of experimental treatment in the ongoing Ebola outbreak in West Africa. So far, more than 930 people have died from the disease in West Africa this year.
COLUMN
The US holds patents on a strain of the Ebola virus and appears to have a cure for the deadly disease
Author: Latha Jishnu
AS THE deadly Ebola virus spreads in West Africa taking a lethal toll with its hemorrhagic fever, curious reports are emerging of the patents the US holds on a certain strain of the virus and the interest of its Department of Defence in developing a vaccine with a Canadian biotech firm. The details are sketchy but indicate an overwhelming American interest in Ebola. The facts are thus: the US authorities administered an experimental serum, preserved in sub-zero temperature and flown under strict supervision to Africa, to two of its citizens who had contracted the virus in Liberia and were in critical condition, before flying them home.
FACTSHEET
With WHO declaring the current Ebola outbreak an international health emergency, here are some facts about the disease and tips you might want to check out
Here are some facts about the deadly disease you might want to check out and the precautionary measures that need to be taken
TIMELINE
First outbreak of the deadly disease occurred in 1976
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