Three ways tech is helping fight Ebola using SMS text messages, data and robots October 24, 2014 More than one billion dollars is needed to fight the Ebola epidemic in Africa the UN has calculated. In West Africa where the worst affected countries are located the disease is proving difficult to tackle in the face of widespread poverty and a lack of healthcare. Beyond the emergency humanitarian aid, health workers and soldiers [...]
New York City Ebola patient used Uber and the subway before he was admitted to hospital October 24, 2014 New York City doctor Craig Spencer, who has tested positive for Ebola after returning from Guinea, took a ride in an Uber cab and used the subway on Thursday before developing symptoms of the disease. Uber issued a statement on its blog: We reviewed our records and were able to confirm that one of our [...]
Is there a cure for Ebola? These three companies are racing to create a vaccine against the deadly virus October 23, 2014 As the death toll from Ebola continues to rise in west Africa, the pressure being placed on pharmaceutical companies to come up with a cure for the disease is mounting. According to estimates from the World Heath Organisation (WHO), the epidemic has already killed over 4,500 people in the region and the infection rate [...]
Johnson & Johnson will begin testing its Ebola vaccine in January October 22, 2014 US drug giant Johnson & Johnson will begin human trials of its Ebola vaccine in January, it said today. The company said it will spend $200m (£124m) on speeding up its research programme, and will begin testing the drug on subjects in America, Africa and Europe early next year. Why has Ebola spread so rapidly [...]
Is there a cure for Ebola? Antibody serum from survivors’ blood could be used in Liberia within weeks October 21, 2014 A serum containing antibodies produced by Ebola survivors could be used to treat patients in Liberia within weeks, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). The deadly virus has killed over 4,500 people in west Africa since the epidemic began in December last year, and Liberia has been one of the worst-affected countries, along [...]
Ebola outbreak map: Why has the disease spread so fast in Liberia? And how many people have died in the country so far? October 20, 2014 The Ebola crisis has hit one country worse than all the others: Liberia has suffered an estimated 46 per cent of cases and, at 1,200, twice as many deaths as any other country. Sierra Leone and Guinea, the other two countries where the disease is widely transmitted, are suffering too, but the disease is at [...]
Ebola to Ukraine: The West has failed to pay the piper – with terrible results October 19, 2014 Something truly terrible happened in Hamelin, Germany in the early Middle Ages, something so dire it has become embedded in western consciousness as the fairy tale “The Pied Piper.” Whether the town experienced a severe case of the Black Death, a rush of emigration to Eastern Europe, suffered through the Children’s Crusade, or was the [...]
Ebola recovery in Europe: Spanish nurse Teresa Romero tests negative for virus October 19, 2014 The Spanish nurse who fell ill with Ebola earlier this month has recovered, according to the Spanish government. Teresa Romero, 44, contracted the virus at a hospital in Madrid while treating two Spanish missionaries who had been repatriated from west Africa. She was the first person to become infected while outside of west Africa. [...]
Ebola travel bans: Obama says blocking flights from west Africa could make the outbreak worse October 18, 2014 US President Barack Obama has said that blocking flights from west Africa to stem the spread of Ebola could actually make the situation worse. Lawmakers have been placing pressure on him to block all flights from Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone – the three countries suffering most at the hands of the epidemic – [...]
Will Ebola reach the UK? Screening to begin at Manchester and Birmingham airports to prevent spread October 17, 2014 Ebola screening is to take place at Birmingham and Manchester airports, according to Public Health England. Passengers arriving from the affected countries in west Africa will be screened for the deadly virus, which has already killed more than 4,500 people according to World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates. Screening at the two airports will [...]