Tag: ebola virus

Where Did The Ebola Virus Come From?

Ebola is one of about 177 pathogens that are considered to be newly emerging diseases. These diseases are generally zoonotic diseases.  Animal diseases that have jumped species. A familiar example of a zoonotic disease is measles, which is derived from dog distemper. For the past thirty years, forty-one previously unrecognized human infectious diseases have jumped from their normal animal hosts to human beings. This has frequently occurred in Africa,...

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Ebola Infections Going Up Again 144 New Cases in Two Weeks

The WHO reports an increase of Ebola infections the second week in a row. A total of 144 newly confirmed cases were reported in the week ending February 8th, according to figures from the World Health Organization, up 45% from the 99 confirmed cases reported in the week ended Jan. 25. New Ebola infections sharply increased in Guinea. The United States announced the withdrawal of nearly all troops fighting the Ebola outbreak in West Africa by end...

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13 Crucial Things You Need to Know About Ebola Virus

As a deadly Ebola epidemic spreads across western Africa, world leaders are scrambling to find solutions. Here’s what you need to know about the disease and the havoc it is wreaking: 1. Ebola is primarily ravaging the West African nations of Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, and Senegal. Authorities in these nations have scrambled to contain the disease. In Sierra Leone, the government quarantined a third of the entire population — about...

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Ebola Virus Appears Tied to Increasing Human Population Density

Researchers at SUNY Downstate Medical Center have found an apparent link between human population density and vegetation cover in Africa and the spread of the Ebola virus from animal hosts to humans. Michael G. Walsh, PhD, MPH, assistant professor of epidemiology and biostatistics in the School of Public Health at SUNY Downstate, notes that there is significant interaction between population density and green vegetation cover in the parts of Africa...

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Liberia Fights Back, Only 5 Ebola Cases in Entire Country

Just five confirmed cases of Ebola virus disease remain in Liberia, a West African country that has seen more than 3,600 deaths from the outbreak of the deadly virus, Reuters quoted a senior health official as saying Friday. “It means that we are going down to zero, if everything goes well, if other people don’t get sick in other places,” said Deputy Health Minister Tolbert Nyenswah, who leads Liberia’s Ebola task force. Three...

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Ebola Care Centers in Liberia nearly empty as Outbreak fades

Liberia, once the epicenter of West Africa’s deadly Ebola epidemic, has just five remaining confirmed cases of the disease, a senior health official said on Friday, highlighting the country’s success in halting new infections. “We have five confirmed Ebola cases in Liberia as of today,” said Deputy Health Minister Tolbert Nyenswah, who heads Liberia’s Ebola taskforce. “It means that we are going down to zero,...

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Ebola vaccine gets $115M to speed development

Johnson & Johnson said on Friday that newly formed groups supporting work on its experimental Ebola vaccine would receive 100 million euros ($115 million) from Europe’s Innovative Medicines Initiative to speed development. The U.S. drug maker earlier this month announced it had started clinical trials of its two-injection vaccine, which uses a booster from Denmark’sBavarian Nordic, making it the third such product to enter human...

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Red Cross Volunteer Dies in Sierra Leone

Freetown, 14 December 2015:  The Sierra Leone Red Cross Society (SLRCS) is deeply saddened by the death of a staff member to the Ebola virus disease. “Our thoughts and condolences are with the family and friends of this brave staff member during this particularly difficult time. We are extremely grateful for his work and dedication to the Red Cross, and to the fight against this deadly disease,” said Elhadj As Sy, Secretary General, IFRC. The...

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Soldier Who Died in Texas Tests Negative for Ebola

A second, “more conclusive” test on a Fort Hood, Texas, soldier found dead less than a week after returning from West Africa showed no presence of the Ebola virus, base officials said in a Tuesday night news release. The man, whose name has not been released, was found Tuesday outside his residence in nearby Killeen. Local and military police initially blocked off the area and donned hazardous-material suits, but Army medical officials...

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Fort Hood soldier back from West Africa found dead

A Fort Hood soldier who had just returned from West Africa was found dead Tuesday outside his off-post residence. It wasn’t clear how the 24-year-old GI, who was not identified by name, had died but there were no outward signs that he took his own life or was a victim of violence, said Killeen police spokeswoman Carroll Smith. Tyler Broadway, a Fort Hood spokesman, said he was not sure if his death was connected to the Ebola virus. A Killeen...

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