World News – Page 9

Spending cuts blamed for Ebola outbreak in West Africa

Written on December 22, 2014. Posted in Breaking News, Featured, Government News, Health News, World News.

It had led to “under-funded, insufficiently staffed, and poorly prepared health systems” in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, they said. The IMF denied the allegation. The deadliest Ebola outbreak ever has so far killed more than 7,300 people, mostly in the three states. “A major reason why the Ebola outbreak spread so rapidly was the weakness of healthcare systems in the region, and it would be unfortunate if underlying causes...

UN chief urges respect for Ebola health rules

Written on December 19, 2014. Posted in Breaking News, Featured, Government News, Health News, World News.

(Reuters) – UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, starting a visit to Ebola-hit states in West Africa on Friday, urged their people to set aside traditional practices like washing the dead by hand so as to help end an epidemic that has killed nearly 7,000 people. Ban said he hoped to use his two-day tour of the region – his first since the outbreak was detected in March – to raise the profile of the fight against the disease and to...

Critically ill Doctor cured by experimental Ebola drug

Written on December 19, 2014. Posted in Breaking News, Featured, Health News, Science News, World News.

A prototype anti-Ebola drug has helped a critically ill doctor from Sierra Leone, according to the latest study. The medic, who was flown to a German hospital in September with severe Ebola symptoms and discharged a month later, fully recovered. The study, published in medical journal The Lancet, has urged clinical evaluation of the treatment. The 38-year-old doctor was airlifted and transferred to Frankfurt University Hospital in September, showing...

UN Chief Heading to West Africa to See Ebola Response

Written on December 18, 2014. Posted in Breaking News, Government News, Health News, World News.

(By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press) The UN chief will leave Wednesday night and visit hard-hit Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea as well as Mali. He will also visit Ghana, where the U.N. Mission for Ebola Emergency Response is headquartered. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday he’s heading to West Africa to demonstrate the U.N.’s solidarity with the countries most affected by the Ebola outbreak and to see for himself how...

Increased Use of Ebola Survivors Could Turn the Tide In the Fight Against the Epidemic in West Africa

Written on December 18, 2014. Posted in Breaking News, Health News, World News.

The increased use of Ebola survivors could be the turning point in the fight against the epidemic in West Africa and reducing it. At least two emergency physicians Joshua Epstein and Lauren Sauer from the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland are convinced. While hundreds of foreign volunteers are in the affected countries, they emphasize in the journal “Nature” that Ebola survivors, who are most likely immune to the disease...

One of Sierra Leone’s head doctors dies of Ebola

Written on December 18, 2014. Posted in Breaking News, Health News, World News.

Dec 18 (Reuters) – One of Sierra Leone’s leading doctors died of Ebola on Thursday, hours after the arrival in the country of an experimental drug that could have been used to treat him, the chief medical officer said. Victor Willoughby was diagnosed with Ebola last week after he treated a man with organ-related problems. The patient, a senior banker, was later diagnosed with Ebola and has since died. The drug, ZMab, was transported...

China approves experimental Ebola vaccine for clinical trials

Written on December 18, 2014. Posted in Breaking News, Business News, Health News, World News.

(Reuters) – China has approved a domestically developed experimental Ebola vaccine for clinical trials, the official Xinhua news agency said on Thursday, citing the People’s Liberation Army logistics unit. Scientists around the world are racing to develop Ebola vaccines after the world’s worst outbreak of the virus, which has killed more than 6,000 people in West Africa this year. The Chinese vaccine is being developed by the...

3 Months After Ebola Infection the Semen of Survivors Remains Infectious

Written on December 16, 2014. Posted in Breaking News, Health News, Science News, World News.

Geneva – The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends men who have survived the Ebola infection should abstain from sex for at least three months or to use condoms. Some studies have shown that seminal fluid could contain the Ebola virus possibly up to three months, the UN agency said on Friday. But there is no need to isolate former Ebola patients, according to the WHO.

Britain not seeking U.S. military assistance to fight Ebola

Written on December 16, 2014. Posted in Breaking News, Government News, World News.

(Reuters) – Britain said on Tuesday it would not be seeking U.S. military assistance to fight Ebola in Sierra Leone where it expects to see “enormous change” by the end of January following a surge in response measures. As a U.S. operation of 3,000 troops begins to turn the tide against the deadly virus in neighboring Liberia, calls have grown for it to shift resources towards ally Britain, which is leading the response in Sierra...

CDC disease detective explains why ambulance chasing is crucial to tracking Ebola

Written on December 16, 2014. Posted in Breaking News, Health News, World News.

(CDC) Ambulance chasing is a discouraged practice in the US – but in Liberia it’s exactly what Neil, a CDC disease detective in the Center for Global Health, had to do as part of his efforts to stop the spread of Ebola at its source. “We would follow ambulances that were called to pick up suspected Ebola cases. We would keep our distance and observe how they collected patients, and would make corrections to any lapse in infection control. As soon...