Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Ebola cases may hit 1.4 mn mark by January 2015, warns CDC

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reportedly predicted that the number of Ebola cases in Liberia and Sierra Leone could rise to between 550,000 and 1.4 million by January if there are no “additional interventions or changes in community behavior.”

Liberia Ebola

The prediction was made in a report released by the CDC on Tuesday and is based on a new forecasting tool developed by the organization. The estimated range is wide because experts suspect that the current count is highly under-reported, reported  The CDC said that it was possible to control the epidemic and end it eventually if 70% of Ebola-infected people are properly cared for in medical facilities.

However, in a press conference on Tuesday, CDC Director Tom Frieden, warned that this model was based on older data from August and the numbers were not projections, but “scenarios.” It also did not take into account the medical help coming from the United States and other countries. However, he added that the model does suggest that the current surge of help can curb the epidemic and is “exactly what’s needed” to end it.

According to a World Health Organization estimate, the official death toll in West Africa has risen to more than 2,800 in six months, with 5,800 Ebola cases confirmed as of Monday. The report came a day after the WHO warned that that the number of people infected with the Ebola virus could reach 20,000 by the beginning of November if efforts to contain the outbreak are not accelerated.

Source: ierra leone times

50% of American adults have chronic diseases: Study

American adults have chronic diseases

A new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has revealed that half of all adults in the USA have at least one chronic condition, such as diabetes, heart disease or obesity.

The study published in the medical journal ‘The Lancet’ also shows that over a quarter of adults have two or more of these conditions.According to researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the

majority of these chronic conditions are largely preventable through the reduction of risk factors that falls within individuals’ control such as – tobacco use, poor diet, and physical inactivity (both strongly associated with obesity), alcohol consumption, and uncontrolled high blood pressure.

Compared with other high-income countries, USA is less healthy in areas such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and chronic lung diseases.

The study also found that Medicare enrollees (the majority of whom are over 65) accounted for 300 billion dollars in healthcare spending. And over 90 percent of this healthcare expenditure was accounted for by people with two or more chronic conditions.

Source: zee news