For Ebola Patients in Sierra Leone, Survival Takes More Than Medicine

BO, Sierra Leone—Morning rounds have just begun at an Ebola treatment center here in the city of Bo, in central Sierra Leone. The patients who are able shuffle out of a tent towards two layers of chain-link fence that separate them from the outside—2 meters minimum distance. Some clutch bottles of water, bright orange soda, or foil-wrapped nutritional bars. A woman in an orange printed wrap skirt lags behind the others, struggling to slide a sandal...

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Here’s How Much the Next Ebola Will Cost Us

(Time) The global community cannot withstand another Ebola outbreak: The World Bank estimates the two-year cost of the current epidemic at $32.6 billion. Unfortunately, the virus has revealed gaping holes in our preparedness for major infectious disease epidemics. Because of these, plus the urbanization of rural communities and globalization of travel and trade, more of these epidemics are expected. In a new report from the EcoHealth Alliance published...

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Potential Ebola Vaccines, Treatments – Improved Mouse Model Will Accelerate Research

CHAPEL HILL, NC – In the war against Ebola, one important hurdle has just been cleared – by a mouse. Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and colleagues have developed the first genetic strain of mice that can be infected with Ebola and display symptoms similar to those that humans experience. This work, published in the current issue of Science, will significantly improve basic research on Ebola vaccines and treatments,...

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Liberia treating Ebola patients with serum made from blood of survivors

Liberia has begun treating Ebola patients with serum therapy – a treatment made from the blood of recovered survivors. Doctors hope the experimental treatment could help combat the virus that has been sweeping West Africa and killing thousands of people. Up to 13 December, 6,841 people had been reported as having died from the disease. The total number of reported cases is more than 18,000. If a person has successfully fought off the infection,...

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Ebola-hit Liberia delays election until weekend

Monrovia (AFP) – A much-postponed election for half the seats in Ebola-hit Liberia’s Senate has been put back until the weekend — but cannot be further delayed, the country’s electoral commission said Monday. The vote for 15 seats in the upper house of parliament has been postponed twice already as the epidemic ravaged the impoverished west African nation.The National Elections Commission (NEC) said the poll will now be...

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This is what an Ebola curfew looks like

Killian Doherty, an Irish architect working for the Architectural Field Office (AFO), has been in Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, for much of the Ebola epidemic. He documented the curfews in some dramatic photographs Emptied of people, it is even more clear that the city’s infrastructure is extremely dated … Freetown, Sierra Leone during the recent curfew. All photographs by Killian Docherty   Sierra Leone has been severely affected...

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Ebola stricken countries could see debt forgiveness

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — A U.N. commission is asking for more debt cancellations for the three West African nations hardest hit by the Ebola virus. The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa said Monday that it is crucial that the current Ebola health crisis not be a catalyst for financial distress in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia. Carlos Lopez, a U.N. under secretary-general and the executive secretary of the U.N. Economic Commission...

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Cuban Docs Most Under-Appreciated in the Fight Against Ebola

Time magazine named the Ebola fighters as their person of the year, and while Americans came to know Dr. Jerry Brown, Dr. Kent Brantly and others by name … there is one group of those fighters who have gone largely unrecognized. Cuban doctors. They make less than $75 a month, but they are still Cuba‘s most valuable export. “I am proud of you all, this is my team,” Dr. Juan Carlos told his team as they gathered around a prep...

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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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Ebola concern cancels Christmas and New Year’s gatherings in Sierra Leone

Christmas and New Year gatherings have been banned by the government throughout Sierra Leone for fear the Ebola virus will be spread to rural villages as people go home to celebrate. The edict, which will be enforced by the army, means those who live in the capital, Freetown, will be barred from travelling to join their extended families. The city’s residents account for a third of the country’s population. A “lock-down” is reported to also be...

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