Red Cross Volunteer Dies in Sierra Leone

Freetown, 14 December 2015:  The Sierra Leone Red Cross Society (SLRCS) is deeply saddened by the death of a staff member to the Ebola virus disease. “Our thoughts and condolences are with the family and friends of this brave staff member during this particularly difficult time. We are extremely grateful for his work and dedication to the Red Cross, and to the fight against this deadly disease,” said Elhadj As Sy, Secretary General, IFRC. The...

Continue reading

Soldier Who Died in Texas Tests Negative for Ebola

A second, “more conclusive” test on a Fort Hood, Texas, soldier found dead less than a week after returning from West Africa showed no presence of the Ebola virus, base officials said in a Tuesday night news release. The man, whose name has not been released, was found Tuesday outside his residence in nearby Killeen. Local and military police initially blocked off the area and donned hazardous-material suits, but Army medical officials...

Continue reading

Fort Hood soldier back from West Africa found dead

A Fort Hood soldier who had just returned from West Africa was found dead Tuesday outside his off-post residence. It wasn’t clear how the 24-year-old GI, who was not identified by name, had died but there were no outward signs that he took his own life or was a victim of violence, said Killeen police spokeswoman Carroll Smith. Tyler Broadway, a Fort Hood spokesman, said he was not sure if his death was connected to the Ebola virus. A Killeen...

Continue reading

Ebola in West Africa – The Deadly Virus is Still Undefeated

In Sierra Leone, the cheerful new year’s Eve celebrations on the beaches failed this year in the face of the Ebola epidemic. Instead, President Ernest Koroma urged people to stay at home and pray for the end of the fight against the virus in the new year. It’s not certain whether the worst Ebola outbreak in history can actually be defeated by the of 2015. In Liberia, the spread of the virus seems to be slowing down, while no improvement...

Continue reading

MSF Opens Ebola Clinic Specifically For Pregnant Women In Sierra Leone

A new clinic is giving some of the most vulnerable Ebola patients a better chance at surviving the virus. The facility is the first care center created specifically for pregnant women since the current outbreak began, Reuters reported. There is currently one patient in the clinic, which is perched on a hill in the compound of a disused Methodist boys high school in the Sierra Leone capital. More than 20,700 people have been infected with the virus...

Continue reading

Sierra Leone declares first Ebola Free district

A district in Sierra Leone has been declared Ebola-free, the first to be given the all-clear after 42 days with zero recorded cases of the virus. Pujehun, in the south-east of the country, was hit by Ebola in August and suffered 24 deaths from 31 cases – but it has not had a recorded case since 26 November. This means it has achieved the World Health Organization’s benchmark for Ebola-free status. As the fight against the deadly Ebola Virus disease...

Continue reading

UK Ebola Nurse Condition Improving

British Ebola nurse Pauline Cafferkey, who contracted the disease in Sierra Leone, is showing signs of improvement and is no longer critically ill, the Royal Free hospital inLondon has said. The Scottish public health worker remains in isolation at the hospital where she is receiving specialist care. She was diagnosed with Ebola after returning to Glasgow and was admitted to the city’s Gartnavel hospital on 29 December before being transferred...

Continue reading

New thermometer helps doctors more safely diagnose Ebola

Recent headlines have put a spotlight on the dangers of diagnosing and treating Ebola. Contact with victims of the deadly disease has left several medical professionals with symptoms of their own. Visiomed, a 90-person medical device company founded in France in 2007, is trying to reduce that danger. It has developed a thermometer, called ThermoFlash, that doesn’t require touching the patient. That eliminates the threat of a doctor contracting...

Continue reading

New Findings May Help Combat Enterovirus D68

(Global Biodefense) New research findings point toward a class of compounds that could be effective in combating infections caused by enterovirus D68, which has stricken children with serious respiratory infections and might be associated with polio-like symptoms in the United States and elsewhere. The researchers have used a technique called X-ray crystallography to learn the precise structure of the original strain of EV-D68 on its own and when...

Continue reading

Anesthesiologists Face the Ebola Epidemic—Time to ‘Educate, Train and Prepare’

Because of their responsibility for performing airway intubation and other invasive procedures, anesthesiologists will play an essential role in managing patients with Ebola virus infection. Scientific evidence guiding the anesthetic management of Ebola virus disease (EVD) is presented and analyzed in a special article published byAnesthesia & Analgesia. “Given the current spread of the disease, anesthesia personnel worldwide may be called...

Continue reading