ebola

First Human Trials of Ebola Vaccine to Start

The U.S. government and drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline will announce Thursday that they are starting the first human trials of a vaccine against the deadly Ebola virus.

First Human Trials of Ebola Vaccine to Start

The National Institutes of Health will sponsor the first trial of the vaccine, one of several being developed against Ebola. It’s fast-tracked the testing because of the outbreak of Ebola that is ravaging three West African countries.

Ebola has killed more than 1,400 people out of 2,600 infected in Liberia, West Africa and Guinea in the ongoing outbreak, by far the worst outbreak of Ebola ever seen. And the World Health Organization says those numbers almost certainly understate the true numbers of those infected and killed.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the NIH, has been working on an Ebola vaccine for years. The idea was to develop it to defend people in case Ebola was ever used in a biological attack. Previous outbreaks of the virus were always too small and too easily controlled to justify developing a vaccine quickly.

NIAID was working with a small Swiss-Italian biotech company called Okairos to develop the vaccine. It’s been shown to protect monkeys against Ebola.

Glaxo bought the company last year. The next step is to test the vaccine in people, both to see if it’s safe and to see if it stimulates the immune system in a way that would be predicted to protect people from infection.

The vaccine is made using a virus called an adenovirus that infects chimpanzees but not people. The virus is genetically engineered with a single piece of Ebola virus, a protein that the immune system can recognize, but which doesn’t make people sick.

Several other companies are working to develop Ebola vaccines, including Crucell, a small biotech called Profectus Biosciences, Iowa-based NewLink Genetics and Immunovaccine Inc, based in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Two American medical missionaries, Dr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol, were treated with an experimental therapy made by California-based Mapp Biopharmaceutical. Three Liberian doctors also received the drug. One died and the other two have recovered.

Source: nbc news

Ebola spreads to Nigeria oil hub Port Harcourt

Nigeria has confirmed its first Ebola death outside Lagos – a doctor in the oil hub of Port Harcourt. A further 70 people are under surveillance in the city, while his wife has been put under quarantine.

Ebola spreads to Nigeria oil hub Port Harcourt

He died last Friday but the results of the tests have only just been announced by Nigeria’s health minister. The latest figures show that more than 1,550 people have died, with more than 3,000 confirmed cases – mostly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

West Africa’s health ministers are meeting in Ghana to discuss how to tackle the world’s most deadly Ebola outbreak.  Ebola Virus Disease (EVD)

  • Symptoms include high fever, bleeding and central nervous system damage
  • Fatality rate can reach 90% – but current outbreak has mortality rate of about 55%
  • Incubation period is two to 21 days
  • There is no vaccine or cure
  • Supportive care such as rehydrating patients who have diarrhoea and vomiting can help recovery

Fruit bats, a delicacy for some West Africans, are considered to be virus’s natural hostEbola was taken to Nigeria by Patrick Sawyer, a Liberian-American man who travelled to Lagos before dying. One of his contacts evaded Nigeria’s surveillance team and travelled to Port Harcourt, where he sought medical treatment, Health minister Onyebuchi Chukwu said.

Although the man later recovered, the doctor who treated him died and tests showed he had Ebola, the minister said. The doctor who treated Mr Sawyer also died.

More than 240 health workers have been infected with Ebola – a rate which the World Health Organization (WHO) said was “unprecedented”. It noted that in many cases protective suits, even rubber gloves and face masks, were not available.

The doctor becomes the sixth fatality in Nigeria, which is Africa’s most populous country. On Wednesday, Nigeria announced that schools would not reopen until 13 October in order to try and contain the disease.

Source: bbc news

Ebola scare at Delhi airport, 3 Indians taken for test

Three Indians who arrived at the Delhi airport on Tuesday morning from Ebola-hit Liberia have been isolated and taken for medical examination. A total of 112 people will be arriving on Tuesday at Delhi and Mumbai airports from the African nation.

Ebola scare at Delhi airport, 3 Indians taken for test

Government has taken elaborate precautionary arrangements. “As part of the tentative plan, the aircraft will be first taken to a remote bay and all passengers will be screened at the step-ladder exit after the arrival of flights at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA),” Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) said.

While the passengers without any symptoms will be cleared and shifted to the terminal for immigration and customs clearance, those coming from Liberia with symptoms suggestive of EVD will be shifted to designated hospital in ambulance from the bay, it said.

According to MIAL, Ethiopian Airline, Emirates, Etihad, Qatar, Jet and South African Airways are flying these passengers to Mumbai. Some of these passengers will first arrive in Delhi and then leave for Mumbai by domestic airlines flight, MIAL said.

Mial also said the baggage of the passengers needs to be kept separate by the concerned airline in their custody, adding disinfection of the flight will be carried out once all passengers would be deboarded.

Flights will be allowed to board the next batch of passengers only after thirty minutes of disinfection, it added.
Source: India Today

Two U.S. Ebola Patients Released From Hospital

Two American missionaries who contracted Ebola in Liberia have recovered from the deadly illness and been discharged, Emory University Hospital officials said Thursday.

Smiling broadly as he appeared at a hospital news conference and looking as fit as he had in photos taken before he became ill, Kent Brantly said he was grateful to have survived a disease that kills the majority of those infected.

Two U.S. Ebola Patients Released From Hospital

“I am thrilled to be alive, to be well, and to be reunited with my family,” said Dr. Brantly, a 33- year-old medical missionary from Fort Worth, Tex.

Dr. Brantly and Nancy Writebol, 59 years old, spent more than two weeks in a special isolation unit at the hospital after a medical evacuation from Liberia by the two Christian charities for whom they worked. Mrs. Writebol was discharged and quietly left the hospital Tuesday, officials said Thursday.

The patients, who contracted the disease while working at the same hospital in Liberia, no longer have symptoms and don’t have traces of the deadly virus in their blood, said Bruce Ribner, who heads the isolation unit where they were treated.

“There is no evidence of Ebola virus infection in their bodies,” he said. They pose “no public health threat.” Recovered Ebola patients generally “are not contagious, they don’t as a general rule relapse, and they don’t spread the virus to anyone else.”

Moreover, they are immune to the strain of Ebola virus that infected them, Dr. Ribner said—a strain that caused an outbreak that has infected at least 2,473 people in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, killing 1,350 of them.

The two were discharged by Emory after consultation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state health officials in Georgia and North Carolina, Dr. Ribner said.

The bearded Dr. Brantly, wearing khaki pants and a blue shirt with the logo of Samaritan’s Purse, the charity he works for, appeared healthy as he addressed journalists, with his wife Amber by his side. He choked up at times while thanking his medical team and the charity. He then hugged the roughly 30 people from his treatment team, including doctors, nurses and support staff, conveying that he was no longer infectious. Many recovered Ebola patients in West Africa are shunned. “God saved my life, the direct answer to thousands and thousands of prayers,” he said.

Dr. Brantly said he would be going away with his family for a while to recover. Mrs. Writebol already is with her husband at an undisclosed location, said SIM USA, the Christian charity where she worked.

In a statement issued Thursday, her husband, David Writebol said,”The lingering effects of the battle have left her in a significantly weakened condition. Thus, we decided it would be best to leave the hospital privately to be able to give her the rest and recuperation she needs at this time.”

While in treatment in Liberia, the two Americans received an experimental drug, called ZMapp, which is made by San Diego-based Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc. and had never been tested in humans. On Thursday, Dr. Ribner said it’s impossible to know what the effect of the drug was on the two.

“Frankly we do not know whether it helped them, whether it made no difference, or even theoretically if it delayed their recovery,” Dr. Ribner said.

“There is a crying need for research on these agents,” he said.Three doctors in Liberia have been given the same drug, and all are responding, said Director of Social Welfare John Sumo at the Ministry of Health. He didn’t know if or how those doctors were being monitored for research purposes.

On its website, Mapp says that the combination of antibodies that make up ZMapp were identified only last January, and that “larger trials are necessary to determine whether ZMapp is safe and effective.” The company declined to comment on its use on the American and Liberian patients.

Dr. Ribner said the Emory medical team learned several things in treating the two Americans, particularly involving replacing fluid and electrolytes in sick patients, and is writing guidelines for practitioners in Africa.

Source: The wall street journal

No confirmed or suspected case of Ebola in India

The union health ministry on Tuesday said that as on date, there is no confirmed or even suspected case of the dreaded Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in India.

No confirmed or suspected case of Ebola in India

The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported 1848 cases including 1013 death due to Ebola Virus Disease, as on August 9. The affected countries are Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria in western Africa.

A 28-year-old male traveller from Nigeria manifesting symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport on Saturday was taken to the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital for observation in the morning of Sunday. He has been tested negative for EVD in tests done at National institute of Virology, Pune and National Centre for Disease Control, Delhi, according to an official statement issued on Tuesday.

The cabinet secretary took a meeting on Tuesday with secretaries and senior officers of ministries of health, civil aviation, home affairs, external affairs and information & broadcasting to review preparedness of the government on EVD, the statement said.

“There is no reason for getting worried over the odd case of a visitor to the country arriving in an indisposed condition. We have all the mechanisms in place for prompt treatment and subsequent monitoring,” Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said on Monday.

The two passengers who reached Chennai on Saturday — a 27-year-old-male who travelled from Guinea and a 40-year-old-male who travelled from Liberia — are in good health and they are under observation, according to an official statement issued on Monday.

Dr Harsh Vardhan on Sunday (August 10) denied reports in some media of a “suspect case” of EVD in Chennai. “The department of health, Government of Tamil Nadu, has informed the central government that a person had indeed landed at Chennai airport from Guinea on August 9. He was checked for symptoms and was found healthy. However, the health authorities of the state are monitoring his health,” he said.

WHO had informed that one Indian passenger had travelled on the same flight in which Ebola virus patient (foreign national) was travelling from Monrovia to Lagos. This Indian passenger is back in India. He has been tracked and his health is being regularly monitored. “We are happy to share that the said person is healthy, fit and fine,” Dr Harsh Vardhan said on Saturday.

On August 8 (Friday), WHO declared a public health emergency of international concern after an abnormal rise in the incidence of the dreaded infection this year. Within hours the union health ministry unravelled its advanced surveillance and tracking system. A 24-hour helpline (011 – 23063205, 23061469 and 23061302) was also opened, which has been functional since Saturday.

In New Delhi, the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital has been identified for treatment and management of any case of EVD.

The health ministry was alerted by WHO about a traveller who landed in New Delhi on July 20 as a confirmed case of EVD. He was later traced to Dwarka in South-West Delhi and was found to be healthy.

Source: India Medical Times

Ebola Death Toll Rises To 1,350 In West Africa: WHO

The UN health agency also warned in its announcement that “countries are beginning to experience supply shortages, including fuel, food, and basic supplies.”

Ebola Death Toll Rises To 1,350 In West Africa

The death toll from the Ebola outbreak in West Africa has now risen to at least 1,350 people, World Health Organization said today. The latest figures showed that the deaths are mounting fastest in Liberia, which now accounts for at least 576 of the deaths.

The UN health agency also warned in its announcement that “countries are beginning to experience supply shortages, including fuel, food, and basic supplies.” This comes after a number of airlines and shipping services have halted transport to the worst affected capitals of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

In a desperate bid to halt the disease’s spread, authorities in Liberia have quarantined off a huge slum that is home to 50,000 people. Protests erupted in West Point today, where residents threw rocks at police.

Source: tehelka

Suspected Ebola case found in Myanmar

Myanmar has discovered a suspected case of the deadly Ebola virus disease, the information ministry said Wednesday.

Suspected Ebola case found in Myanmar

A 22-year-old man, who worked in Guinea and Liberia in West Africa, was found during a screening of passengers at the Yangon International Airport Tuesday, Xinhua quoted the ministry as saying on its website.

The man, who arrived from Bangkok and had a fever, was immediately sent to an isolated ward on the outskirts of the capital city for further confirmation whether he is really infected with the deadly disease, it added.

Myanmar is taking preventive measures against the spread of Ebola in the wake of the discovery of such disease in four West African countries. Detection of the virus is being done at airports and ports by using modern equipment and training courses and infection control programmes are being carried out at the country’s heathcare facilities.

According to its earlier statement, the health ministry is cooperating with its counterparts from other countries, UN agencies, local international non-governmental organisations and civil societies for related preventive measures.

Source: One india news

Ebola crisis: Confusion as patients vanish in Liberia

There are conflicting reports over the fate of 17 suspected Ebola patients who vanished after a quarantine centre in the Liberian capital was looted.

Ebola crisis Confusion as patients vanish in Liberia

An angry mob attacked the centre in Monrovia’s densely populated West Point township on Saturday evening. A senior health official said all of the patients had been moved to another medical facility. But a reporter told the BBC that 17 had escaped while 10 others were taken away by their families.

More than 400 people are known to have died from the virus in Liberia, out of a total of 1,145 deaths recorded by the World Health Organization. Assistant Health Minister Tolbert Nyenswah said protesters had been unhappy that patients were being brought in from other parts of the capital.

Other reports suggested the protesters had believed Ebola was a hoax and wanted to force the quarantine centre to close. The attack at the Monrovia centre is seen as a major setback in the struggle to halt the outbreak, says the BBC’s Will Ross, reporting from Lagos.

Health experts say that the key to ending the Ebola outbreak is to stop it spreading in Liberia, where ignorance about the virus is high and many people are reluctant to cooperate with medical staff.  ‘All gone’

Mr Nyenswah said after the attack that 29 patients at the centre were being relocated and readmitted to an Ebola treatment centre located in the facility of the country’s John F Kennedy Memorial Medical Center.

However, Jina Moore, a journalist for Buzzfeed who is in Monrovia, told the BBC that 10 people had been freed by their relatives on Friday night and 17 had escaped during the looting the next day.

Rebecca Wesseh, who witnessed the attack, told  “They broke down the door and looted the place. The patients have all gone.” The attackers, mostly young men armed with clubs, shouted insults about President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and yelled “there’s no Ebola”, she said, adding that nurses had also fled the centre.

The head of the Health Workers Association of Liberia, George Williams, said the unit had housed 29 patients who “had all tested positive for Ebola” and were receiving preliminary treatment.

Confirming that 17 had escaped, he said that only three had been taken by their relatives, the other nine having died four days earlier.

However, Mr Nyenswah said it was not confirmed that the patients had Ebola. Fallah Boima’s son was admitted to the ward four days ago, and seemed to be doing well, but when the distraught father arrived for his daily visit on Sunday his son was nowhere to be seen, AFP adds.

“I don’t know where he is and I am very confused,” he said. “He has not called me since he left the camp. Now that the nurses have all left, how will I know where my son is?” ‘Stupidest thing’

Ebola is spread by contact with an infected person’s bodily fluids, such as sweat and blood, and no cure or vaccine is currently available.Blood-stained mattresses, bedding and medical equipment were taken from the centre, a senior police officer told, on condition of anonymity

“This is one of the stupidest things I have ever seen in my life,” he said. “All between the houses you could see people fleeing with items looted from the patients.”

The looting spree, he added, could spread the virus to the whole of the West Point area. Described as a slum, there are an estimated 50,000 people in the West Point neighbourhood.

The Ebola epidemic began in Guinea in February and has since spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria. One Nigerian doctor has survived the disease and was sent home on Saturday night, said Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu in a statement.

Mr Chukwu said five other people infected with Ebola had almost fully recovered. On Friday, the death toll rose to 1,145 after the WHO said 76 new deaths had been reported in the two days to 13 August. There have been 2,127 cases reported in total.

Symptoms include

  • high fever, bleeding and central nervous system damage
  • Fatality rate can reach 90% – but current outbreak has about 55%
  • Incubation period is two to 21 days
  • There is no vaccine or cure
  • Supportive care such as rehydrating patients who have diarrhoea and vomiting can help recovery
  • Fruit bats, a delicacy for some West Africans, are considered to be virus’ natural host

Source: bbc news

A New Mexico Woman Is Being Tested for Ebola After a Visit to Sierra Leone

Health officials say she’s unlikely to be infected, however A New Mexico woman is being tested for Ebola, even though the state department of health says it is improbable that she’s carrying the virus.

A New Mexico Woman Is Being Tested for Ebola After a Visit to Sierra Leone

The 30-year-old returned from a teacher assignment in Sierra Leone with fever, muscle aches, headache and a sore throat — all symptoms similar to the early stages of Ebola, the Albuquerque Journal reports. However, she had no known exposure to the contagious disease, which is spread through contact with body fluids.

Health officials say the woman is being tested “out of an abundance of caution.” Preliminary test results are expected later this week.

In the past five months, the deadliest Ebola outbreak ever has claimed over a thousand lives in West Africa.

Source: TIME

WHO Declares Ebola an International Emergency

The World Health Organization (WHO) calls the outbreak of Ebola in West Africa an international emergency, and officials say the spread of the disease demands a massive, coordinated response.

The outbreak affects Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone. These countries have reported 1,070 confirmed cases, 436 “probable cases,” and 932 deaths through Aug. 4, according to the WHO.WHO Declares Ebola an International Emergency

Largest Outbreak Recorded
Following a 2-day teleconference, WHO announced there is now a risk that the disease could spread to other countries. It says the spread of the virus is being worsened by inadequate health facilities in affected countries. Experts say this is the largest Ebola outbreak ever recorded.

WHO has made several recommendations for affected countries. It calls on each head of state to declare a national emergency and personally address the nation to update the population and outline what measures will be taken to control the situation.

It also calls on them to put in place national disaster and emergency management programs, provide good quality clinical care, and improve the safety and protection of health care workers.

Screening Travellers
It also recommends that affected countries should screen anyone trying to travel abroad for Ebola if they have unexplained symptoms consistent with the disease. What’s more, anyone who might have been exposed to Ebola should be banned from leaving those countries, unless they’re travelling under proper medical supervision.

The WHO says there should be no general ban on international travel or trade. The director general of the World Health Organization, Margaret Chan, told a news conference: “The declaration of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern alerts the world to high vigilance for possible cases of Ebola Virus Disease.” But the announcement “by no means implies that all countries, or even many countries, will see Ebola cases.”

Low Risk in U.S.
The CDC says the risk of an Ebola outbreak in the U.S. is low. “The standard, rigorous infection control procedures used in major hospitals in the United States will prevent spread of Ebola,” the CDC told.

“In the past decade, the United States has had five imported cases of hemorrhagic fevers – one of Marburg and four of Lassa, both viruses that are similar to Ebola. Each time, the American public health system identified the cases and through thorough infection control procedures, prevented anyone else from becoming ill.

“The best way to protect Americans is to stop the outbreak in West Africa,” the CDC says. “We know how to control Ebola. Previous outbreaks of Ebola virus disease have been contained by patient isolation, rigorous use of infection control measures in hospitals, intensive and thorough tracing of those who came into contact with the patients, and community education.”

Source: web md