Democratic Republic of the Congo

We Can Protect the Economy From Pandemics. Why Didn't We? A virologist helped crack an impossible problem: how to insure against the economic fallout from devastating viral outbreaks. The plan was ingenious. Yet we're still in this mess. Evan Ratliff Wired

Read more about Global surge in coronavirus cases is being fed by the developing world — and the U.S.
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We Can Protect the Economy From Pandemics. Why Didn't We?

Mon, 2020-07-13 23:26 — mike kraft

A virologist helped crack an impossible problem: how to insure against the economic fallout from devastating viral outbreaks. The plan was ingenious. Yet we're still in this mess.

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Rigorous wildlife disease surveillance Evidence suggests that zoonotic (animal origin) coronaviruses have caused three recent emerging infectious disease (EID) outbreaks: severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), and the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In the search for an intermediate host for SARS coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19), studies have identified SARS-CoV-2–like strains in bats ([ 1 ][1]) and pangolins ([ 2 ][2]), but these do not contain the same polybasic cleavage site that is present in SARS-CoV-2 ([ 3 ][3]).

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Rigorous wildlife disease surveillence needed

Fri, 2020-07-10 23:55 — mike kraft

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China

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Vodafone Launches Mobile Cash Transfer System in Ghana Where 15M People Do Not Have a Bank Account

Tue, 2015-12-08 13:36 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Moving money: The service, called M-Pesa, will be branded Vodafone Cash in the West African state

thisismoney.co.uk - by City & Finance Reporter for the Daily Mail - December 7, 2015

Vodafone has launched its mobile cash transfer system in Ghana where 15m people do not have a bank account.

The service, called M-Pesa, will be branded Vodafone Cash in the West African state. It allows mobile phone users to load money on to their phones, just as pay-as-you-go customers can top up their credit.

They can send the funds anywhere in the country with a text message. Recipients can pick up the cash at shops that offer the service.

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http://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2015/11/06/each-1-day-delay-in-hospitalization-ups-risk-of-ebola-death

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Each 1-Day Delay in Hospitalization Ups Risk of Ebola Death

Sat, 2015-11-07 15:59 — mike kraft

US NEWS AND WORLD REPORT HEALTHDAY NEWS by Robert Preidt, Nov. 6, 2015

Ebola patients are more likely to survive if they are hospitalized soon after being infected, a new study finds.

Researchers analyzed data from nearly 1,000 cases of Ebola virus that occurred in the Democratic Republic of Congo over 38 years. They found that each day of delay in hospital admission was associated with an 11 percent higher risk of death during epidemics.

Delays in hospitalization were caused by factors such as geography, infrastructure and cultural influences, the researchers said.

The Democratic Republic of Congo has had more Ebola outbreaks than any other country since the deadly virus was discovered in 1976, they noted.

The researchers also found that rapidly progressing Ebola outbreaks are swiftly brought under control, while national and international responses to slower-progressing outbreaks tend to be less intense. As a result, those outbreaks last longer, the study authors said.

The study was published Nov. 3 in the journal eLife.

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Ebola: What Happened

Thu, 2015-08-20 15:46 — mike kraft

COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS BY John Campbell
(Scroll down for Laurie Garett's essay "Ebola's Lessons.")

With a rapidly growing and urbanizing population, persistent poverty, and weak governance, Sub-Saharan Africa is likely to be the source of new epidemics that potentially could spread around the world. Understanding the disastrous response of African governments, international institutions, and donor governments to the Ebola epidemic is essential if history is not to be repeated yet again. That makes Laurie Garrett’s essay, “Ebola’s Lessons,” in the September/October 2015 issue of Foreign Affairs, essential reading.

The Ebola virus treatment center where four people are currently being treated is seen in Paynesville, Liberia, July 16, 2015. (Courtesy Reuters/James Giahyue)

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Congo and WHO investigate possible Ebola outbreak

Sat, 2015-07-04 14:48 — Maeryn Obley

uk.reuters.com - July 2nd, 2015

Health officials in Democratic Republic of Congo are investigating a possible outbreak of Ebola in a village about 270 km (170 miles) northeast of the capital Kinshasa, the government and the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday.

Health minister Felix Kabange said that response teams arrived in Masambio, a village in Bandundu province, on Thursday to collect samples for testing.

Kabange said that six hunters fell ill on Friday with symptoms of Ebola including diarrhea, vomiting and bloody urine after killing an antelope the day before that had been stumbling and was probably sick.

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Seeking the Source of Ebola

Tue, 2015-06-16 17:19 — mike kraft

The latest Ebola crisis may yield clues about where it hides between outbreaks.

GLOBAL LITERACY PROJECT                                       June 15, 2015
abstract of article in
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC by David Quammen
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   Picture of a masked bush meat hunter. Peter Muller.

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What Happens To A Country When An Outbreak Of Ebola Ends?

Mon, 2015-05-04 01:10 — mike kraft

NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO by Linda Poon May 3, 2015

Liberia is nearing a milestone. On May 9, its Ebola outbreak will be officially declared over, assuming no new cases between now and then.

But what happens when an outbreak of Ebola ends?

Dr. Peter Piot (left) meets with Sukato Mandzomba, a nurse who contracted Ebola during the 1976 outbreak. Mandzomba now runs a makeshift hospital lab in Yambuku. Courtesy of Dr. Heidi Larson

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Study announces a durable vaccine for Ebola

Wed, 2015-03-25 14:07 — mike kraft

MEDICAL EXPRESS March 25, 2015

A new study shows the durability of a novel 'disseminating' cytomegalovirus (CMV)-based Ebola virus (Zaire ebolavirus; EBOV) vaccine strategy that may eventually have the potential to reduce ebolavirus infection in wild African ape species.

A cytomegalovirus (CMV)-based vaccine provides long-lasting protective immunity against Ebola virus, and has potential for development as a disseminating vaccine strategy to prevent ebolavirus infection of wild African ape populations.

The multi-institutional study is led by Dr Michael Jarvis at Plymouth University, and is published today, 25th March 2015, in Vaccine.

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