Vanderbilt Joins National Effort to Speed Ebola Therapy Testing

Vanderbilt University researchers have joined a multi-center effort led by Pennsylvania-based Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc. to accelerate development of potential antibody therapies against the often-lethal Ebola virus. On Wednesday, Inovio announced it had been awarded an initial two-year, $21-million grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), part of the U.S. Department of Defense, to support the project. Vanderbilt’s share...

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Ebola Orphans Taking Desperate Measures to Survive

Aid workers have warned that Ebola has created a generation of orphans forced into desperate measures to fend for themselves after the disease claimed their parents. A British-run charity says many of the thousands of children stricken by the virus have turned to crime and prostitution simply to care for their siblings. The Street Child charity’s researchers, who surveyed every district in Sierra Leone, first documented the shocking extent...

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10 New Ebola Cases Discovered During Sierra Leone’s Lockdown

Ten new cases of Ebola infections were discovered during Sierra Leone’s nationwide three-day lockdown, but officials claim that the West African nation has reached the “tail end” of the epidemic. Alfred Palo Conteh, head of the country’s Ebola response, said today that during last weekend’s lockdown hundreds of sick people were identified during the door-to-door operation which was also aimed at reminding people how...

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3 Day Lockdown Ordered in Sierra Leone to End Ebola Outbreak

The entire population of about six million people of Sierra Leone have been ordered to stay at home as a three-day lockdown went into effect Friday morning at 6 a.m. (0600 GMT). Authorities are using lockdown as a final push to end the Ebola outbreak and curb any further infections. Sierra Leone was the worst affected country with the highest number of Ebola infections. Except for two hours on Friday for Muslim prayers and five hours on Sunday...

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Rich Countries are Failing the Most Vulnerable, Reports OECD

Donor countries are sending more than half of their aid to countries marked by conflict, but they are not keeping their promises to promote peace and build state institutions, according to a new report authored by New York University’s Center on International Cooperation for the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). “If we are not addressing fragility, we may be leaving behind some of the most vulnerable members of the...

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Did Liberian Ebola Survivor Infect His Girlfriend?

MONROVIA, Liberia — A 44-year old woman who tested positive for the Ebola virus on March 20th may have contracted the disease through sexual intercourse with her boyfriend who is a recent Ebola survivor. The man is ”cured” of Ebola, but health officials said that it may be a possible explanation for how she became the country’s first confirmed case in weeks. Ebola is typically transmitted through contact with the blood,...

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Russian Scientists Started Testing 4 Ebola Vaccines on Primates

Four Ebola virus vaccines developed by Russian scientists are ready and being tested on primates. “All the four vaccines are ready. Tests on primates have already begun,” said Russian Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova on Tuesday. Anna Popova, head of Russia’s health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, said that the agency has began testing a vaccine for the Ebola virus. Popova was cited as saying that successful testing of the vaccine will enable...

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WHO Taps UAB Graduate to Evaluate Global Ebola Response

The University of Alabama at Birmingham graduate who led successful Ebola containment efforts in Nigeria has now been tapped to serve as an international expert on the disease. Faisal Shuaib, M.D., Dr.P.H., head of the National Ebola Emergency Operations Center in Nigeria and a 2010 graduate of the UAB School of Public Health’s Dr.P.H. in International Health program, has been appointed to a six-person independent expert committee to evaluate the...

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Measles Cases Predicted to Almost Double in Ebola Epidemic Countries

An international study involving the University of Southampton suggests there could be a rise in measles cases of 100,000 across the three countries most affected by the Ebola epidemic in West Africa due to health system disruptions. The research in the journal Science, led by Princeton and Johns Hopkins University in the USA, predicts that the size of a measles outbreak will increase from 127,000 at the start of the Ebola epidemic in early 2014,...

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British Military Healthcare Worker Has Tested Positive for Ebola

A UK military healthcare worker in Sierra Leone has tested positive for Ebola, according to officials. The unidentified woman was working at the Ebola Treatment Center in Kerry Town, which was built with Government funding and is managed by Save the Children. She is currently being treated at the same location according to a Ministry of Defense spokesperson. Authorities are trying to establish how she was exposed to the virus and tracing individuals...

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