DR Congo: Fears Fifa World Cup could be Ebola superspreader event Sport Business The Democratic Republic of Congo’s participation in the Fifa World Cup is under threat after an Ebola outbreak led to a US travel ban on the African nation. Health reports suggest there are over 500 suspected cases of the contagious disease in the DRC, with over 125 deaths. It is not yet being classed as [...]
Extremely deadly Ebola virus can hide in survivor’s brain for five years after treatment and recovery Ebola virus The extremely lethal virus Ebola is able to ‘hide’ in the brain for years despite treatment and recovery, according to new research. US researchers found that monkeys that survived an Ebola infection still carried the virus years later in their brains. “We have found that about 20 per cent of monkeys that survived a lethal [...]
Private investment can help Britain remain a world leader in humanitarian aid The home secretary’s new plan to “redouble” efforts to crack down on knife violence is a reminder of where the spending priorities of this government have been, and a chance to question where investment is most needed now. The UK’s ambitious aid target of 0.7 per cent of gross national income now accounts for £14bn worth [...]
This is how Google ended up creating an Ebola-proof tablet March 20, 2015 Design volunteers at Google have helped to develop a way for Ebola health workers to record patient information on tablets without spreading the deadly virus. Concerned that the workers could not input vital information themselves, having instead to shout out numbers to other people using the tablets, charity Medicins Sans Frontieres called on a group [...]
A member of the UK military has tested positive for Ebola in Sierra Leone March 11, 2015 A military health worker from the UK has tested positive for Ebola in Sierra Leone. According to Public Health England (PHE), the unnamed person is being given appropriate care by medical experts. A decision is pending on whether they will be transferred back to the UK for treatment. In a statement, PHE said a [...]
Danger zones: Everything you need to do to stay safe when working in risky locations. March 8, 2015 Deadly diseases, wild animals, terrorism, crime, kidnapping, political unrest, harsh laws, cultural misunderstandings, extremes of climate, loneliness and isolation – all risks that may be experienced by those assigned to work in dangerous places. From treating Ebola sufferers in Sierra Leone to oil exploration in Iraq, world events show that both the risks – and [...]
World of Warcraft gamers raise £1.25m for Ebola relief efforts thanks to charity pet February 12, 2015 Who says video games have no effect in the real world? World of Warcraft (WoW) gamers have collectively raised almost $2m (£1.3m) for Ebola relief efforts according to the game’s publisher Blizzard Entertainment. Blizzard created an in-game pet called Argi for players to “adopt”, with 100 per cent of the $10 fee [...]
Ebola cases rise for the first time in 2015 in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia February 4, 2015 Cases of the deadly disease have increased for the first time in 2015 after weeks of encouraging declines. The number of new cases rose last week in all three of the hardest hit West African countries affected by the outbreak, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said. Aid worker’s efforts are still being hampered by unsafe [...]
A British healthcare worker is being monitored for Ebola January 31, 2015 A UK military healthcare worker is being monitored for Ebola after suffering a needle injury in Sierra Leone. The person has been returned to the UK as a precaution as the risk of infection from a needle is high as Ebola is transmitted through bodily fluids. At present, the wprker is showing no symptoms and [...]
Ebola is mutating and could become more contagious, say scientists January 29, 2015 The Ebola virus is mutating and could potentially become more contagious if given enough time to evolve, according to scientists at the Parisian research centre Institut Pasteu. By sequencing the genes of viruses contained in blood samples of 20 Guinean Ebola patients, they tracked changes over time and revealed that some alterations in genetic make-up [...]