Tag: ebola virus

Measles – More Deadly Than Ebola According to Patrick Guilfoile

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa, which started in 2014, has claimed more than 10,000 lives so far. The Ebola virus causes a frightening illness with symptoms including fever, vomiting, and bleeding. In this most recent epidemic, nearly half the people known to be infected with the virus have died. Although the epidemic shows signs of waning, there is great concern about additional health problems in West Africa. Once Ebola hit, many health care...

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Ebola Analysis Finds Virus Hasn’t Become Deadlier, Yet

Research from The University of Manchester using cutting edge computer analysis reveals that despite mutating, Ebola hasn’t evolved to become deadlier since the first outbreak 40 years ago. The surprising results demonstrate that whilst a high number of genetic changes have been recorded in the virus, it hasn’t changed at a functional level to become more or less virulent. The findings, published in the journal Virology, demonstrate that the much...

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New Ebola Study Points to Potential Drug Target

Opening the door to potential treatments for the deadly Ebola virus, scientists have found that a protein made by the virus plays a role similar to that of a coat-check attendant. The protein removes a protective coat from the virus’s genetic material, exposing the viral genome so that it can be copied, and then returns the coat, according to a new study led by scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The research, in...

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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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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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Threat to Stopping Ebola Virus Is Believing That It’s Finished

The last Ebola patient in all of Liberia was discharged from a treatment center on Thursday, March 5th. And with that, the country was without a single confirmed case of the dreaded disease. This is amazing. A few months ago, Ebola threatened to overwhelm the nation. Now, even though Ebola still exists in neighboring Sierra Leone and Guinea, Liberia is counting the days until it can be considered Ebola-free. That officially comes on April 4th....

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Why Is Influenza Worse Than Ebola

Despite the heavy media coverage and widespread concern surrounding the Ebola virus, Americans face a more serious health threat — influenza or as what we like to call it the Flu. “It’s complicated. It’s exotic. It’s something you hear about on the news every day,” said Dr. Edward Waltz, director of the Center for Public Health Preparedness at the University at Albany, of the Ebola virus. “Objectively, the flu...

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Lab-on-Paper Invention: Fast & Low Cost Pathogen Diagnostics

A team of University of Rhode Island engineers led by Professor Mohammad Faghri has created a new paper-based platform for conducting a wide range of complex medical diagnostics. The key development was the invention of fluid actuated valves embedded in the paper that allow for sequential manipulation of sample fluids and multiple reagents in a controlled manner to perform complex multi-step immune-detection tests without human intervention. Faghri...

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Fujifilm’s Flu Drug Turned Ebola Drug Avigan Proven Effective

Fujifilm Holdings Corp.’s drug Avigan, which has shown signs of efficacy against the Ebola virus, has drawn interest from about 20 countries and the company stands ready for large orders, its chief executive said. “We can provide as much as we are asked for,” said Shigetaka Komori in an interview Friday. The company has enough of the drug’s basic ingredient on hand to manufacture pills for 300,000 people and will ramp up production if necessary,...

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Free of Ebola, but Nina Pham Files Lawsuit Against Texas Health

The 26-year-old nurse says she has nightmares, body aches and insomnia as a result of contracting the disease from a patient she cared for last fall at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas. She says the hospital and its parent company, Texas Health Resources, failed her and her colleagues who cared for Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person in the United States diagnosed with Ebola. “I wanted to believe that they would have my back and...

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