New ‘Bourbon Virus’ Blamed for Kansas Man’s Death

The never-before-seen virus was named for Bourbon County, Kansas, where its only known victim lived. The man got sick over the summer and died, and it’s taken six months for doctors at the University of Kansas Hospital as well as state and national epidemiologists to solve the mystery of his death. “Its genome is similar to viruses that have been found in eastern Europe, Africa and Asia, but no virus like that has ever been identified...

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Over 1,000 Americans infected with plague in the last 100 years

Fleas that bites rodents infected with the bacteria that cause the plague can transmit the disease to people. People may think of the plague as a disease from centuries past, but more than 1,000 people in the United States have become infected with plague in the last 100 years, according to a new study. The researchers examined cases of plague in the United States from 1900 to 2012. During that time period, there were 1,006 cases of plague, in...

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2 Ebola Patients = 3,000 Pounds of Medical Waste

By Dr. Sanjay Gupta – Ebola was a practice run. We may see more cases in this country, but we know now that our public health system can contain it. SARS was also a practice run. So was bird flu. None turned into the pandemic we feared. But health experts agree that one day we will be confronted with a dangerous infectious disease that we cannot contain. Are we ready for it? Jay Varkey, MD, is a specialist in infectious diseases at Emory...

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Johns Hopkins team wins award for improved Ebola suit

Johns Hopkins University Center for Bioengineering Innovation & Design and Jhpiego (Washington Post) For health-care workers taking care of Ebola patients in West Africa, one of the biggest logistical problems has been the “moon suits” they must wear to protect against being infected by the deadly virus. The suits are hot. Taking them off is a meticulous, multistep process that can leave no room for error. Now, a protective ebola suit designed...

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Ebola’s Lasting Impact On The U.S. Health Care System

Huffington Post- One of the biggest humanitarian tragedies in 2014 has been the Ebola epidemic, which to date has infected 17,942 people and killed 6,388. The epidemic continues in West Africa, and there is no doubt it will impact the governments, economies and people of Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea for years to come. But while Ebola has affected the U.S. in a much smaller way, the handful of cases that arrived here may also have an enduring...

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Time magazine announces its Person of the Year

When the Ebola outbreak first emerged in West Africa earlier this year, few imagined that it would have an impact on almost every country on the planet. The disease spread rapidly, and it affected more than just the war- and poverty-ravaged region that was its incubator. The epidemic grew rapidly due to its early arrival in crowded slums and due to the poor local health care systems that would have barely served as a speed bump had not a rush of...

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Dallas ER Doctor missed signs of Ebola

The Dallas emergency-room doctor who missed signs of Ebola in a Liberian man who later became the fist to die of the disease in the U.S. is telling his story for the first time. Dr. Joseph Howard Meier told The Dallas Morning News that when he treatedThomas Eric Duncan in the early morning hours of Sept. 26, he was unaware that Duncan had recently arrived from a country ravaged by the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. He also said he did not realize...

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Dallas Paid $27K To Care For Ebola Nurse’s Dog

Ebola survivor Nina Pham is reunited with her dog Bentley at the Dallas Animal Services Center. Stringer / Reuters A total of $155,000 was spent on Ebola-related expenses. Much of Bentley’s care costs will be reimbursed by donations and grants. When nurse Nina Pham contracted Ebola, she requested her dog, Bentley, be taken care of and monitored for the disease and not euthanized – similar to what was done with an Ebola-exposed dog in Spain.. (read...

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American arrives at Atlanta hospital from West Africa for Ebola testing

Dec 4 (Reuters) – A U.S. healthcare worker who may have been exposed to Ebola in West Africa arrived at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta early on Thursday for testing and observation, the hospital said. The patient, who has not been identified, was flown from West Africa and will be monitored to see if he or she has been infected with the virus, the hospital said… (read more)

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