Alpha Centauri 2

Community => Recreation Commons => Our researchers have made a breakthrough! => Topic started by: Buster's Uncle on January 08, 2015, 06:07:32 pm

Title: Ebola News 1/8
Post by: Buster's Uncle on January 08, 2015, 06:07:32 pm

Pivotal Ebola vaccine trials to start this month or next: WHO
Reuters
By Stephanie Nebehay  1 hour ago


(http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/JmHcwE9AXRSW_.fDOxujdA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTMwNztpbD1wbGFuZTtweW9mZj0wO3E9NzU7dz00NTA-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2015-01-08T164405Z_1_LYNXMPEB070RJ_RTROPTP_2_HEALTH-EBOLA-GERMANY.JPG)
The gloved hands of an army nurse are seen during a demonstration of an isolation chamber for the treatment of infectious disease patients, at the Germany army medical centre, Bundeswehr Clinc, in Koblenz October 16, 2014. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski



GENEVA (Reuters) - Final-stage trials of experimental Ebola vaccines will begin in January or February in the worst-hit West African countries as scientists and drugmakers race to block the deadly disease, the World Health Organization said on Thursday.

If effective, the shots will be available for deployment a few months later.

Nearly 90 experts from vaccine manufacturers, regulatory agencies and health ministries met at WHO headquarters to review data from initial safety trials and finalise plans for pivotal Phase III clinical trials in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

"It is my understanding that no major safety signals have been reported to date," WHO director-general Margaret Chan told the talks in opening remarks obtained by Reuters.

"We all want the momentum and sense of urgency to continue," she said. "Too many health care workers are still getting infected, including nationals and doctors and nurses from foreign medical teams."

The meeting is discussing three different large-scale clinical trial designs using the most advanced vaccines to fight a disease that has killed more than 8,000 people in the past year.

Two vaccines from GlaxoSmithKline and another from a collaboration between NewLink Genetics and Merck started initial clinical testing in the autumn. A third one from Johnson & Johnson and Bavarian Nordic has just reached the first-in-human testing stage. Officials from GSK, Merck and J&J all addressed the closed-door meeting. In addition, officials heard from developers of earlier-stage vaccines, including U.S.-based Novavax and Russia's Influenza Research Institute.

The talks also assessed the funding situation, after the GAVI global vaccines alliance said last month it was committing up to $300 million to buy Ebola shots. [ID:L6N0TV24K]

Sierra Leone, the country worst affected by Ebola, plans to start vaccine trials in the second half of January, Samuel Kargbo of its health ministry told Reuters Television on the sidelines of the Geneva talks.

Ebola continues to spread in the Liberian capital of Monrovia, with cases scattered throughout the city, making it hard to identify distinct chains of transmission, Chan said.

"Many believe that the virus has moved from the cities into extremely remote rural areas, making it difficult to see what is really happening in Liberia," she said.

Keiji Fukuda, WHO Assistant-Director for Health Security, told Reuters: "There are ups and downs. We have to be very cautious. We don't want people to get the idea this is over."

(Additional reporting by Marina Depetris and Ben Hirschler; Editing by Andrew Heavens)


http://news.yahoo.com/pivotal-ebola-vaccine-trials-start-month-next-164405048--finance.html (http://news.yahoo.com/pivotal-ebola-vaccine-trials-start-month-next-164405048--finance.html)

Title: Ohio bridal shop visited by Ebola patient closing down
Post by: Buster's Uncle on January 08, 2015, 08:47:51 pm

Ohio bridal shop visited by Ebola patient closing down
Reuters  3 hours ago



(Reuters) - An Ohio bridal shop that temporarily closed after it was visited by an Ebola-affected Texas nurse announced on social media this week that it was closing down.

"I am sad to announce that Coming Attractions Bridal & Formal is being forced to wind down its operations after thirty years of service due to the devastating effect that recent events have had on our business," said a message posted on the Akron shop's Facebook page on Wednesday. "Despite our best efforts, we simply have been unable to recover."

The shop reassured patrons that if they had a dress on order or were planning on placing an order by the end of the month that the shop would remain open until all existing orders are completed.

A representative of the bridal shop reached by phone on Thursday said the store would close probably in May, once all orders are filled.

The store also plans a liquidation sale beginning on Friday.

Amber Vinson had gone to Ohio last October to plan for her wedding before taking a return flight to Dallas where she was diagnosed with the Ebola virus.

The Summit County Ohio medical director had advised people who visited the bridal shop the afternoon Vinson was there to contact health officials. The shop closed for several weeks and brought in a cleaning company to sterilize dresses.

Vinson and her colleague Nina Pham were the first people to contract Ebola in the United States.

Sierra Leone, the country worst affected by Ebola, reported nearly 250 new confirmed cases in the past week, but the spread of the virus there may be slowing, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday.

The epidemic has taken 8,235 lives out of 20,747 known cases worldwide over the past year, the WHO said.

(Reporting by Mary Wisniewski and Kevin Murphy, editing by G Crosse)


http://news.yahoo.com/ohio-bridal-shop-visited-ebola-patient-closing-down-173916924.html (http://news.yahoo.com/ohio-bridal-shop-visited-ebola-patient-closing-down-173916924.html)

Title: British Ebola nurse still critical condition
Post by: Buster's Uncle on January 08, 2015, 08:50:59 pm

British Ebola nurse still critical condition
AFP  2 hours ago


(http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/88kZq5AiVrCAoGprLlbkcQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTUxMjtpbD1wbGFuZTtweW9mZj0wO3E9NzU7dz03Njg-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/afp.com/7b63343c701ee7cc98294b15f16633b0d1fce32d.jpg)
View of The Royal Free hospital in north London on Janurary 3, 2015, where British nurse Pauline Cafferkey, who contracted Ebola while working in Sierra Leone, remains in 'critical condition' (AFP Photo/Justin Tallis)



London (AFP) - A British nurse who contracted Ebola in west Africa remains in a critical condition inside a hospital isolation unit and her health may not improve for "some time", her family said Thursday.

Pauline Cafferkey, who is being treated at London's Royal Free Hospital, contracted the disease while working as a volunteer at a British-built Ebola treatment centre in Sierra Leone.

She felt unwell as she returned to Britain and was diagnosed in Glasgow on December 29, before being transferred to the Royal Free, which has the only isolation ward in Britain equipped for Ebola patients.

"We would like to thank all our friends, family and the members of the public who have contacted us with support following Pauline's diagnosis with Ebola. We have been very touched by the kind words," her family said.

"Pauline continues to be in a critical condition at the Royal Free Hospital. We want to thank all the staff caring for her for their kindness, support and compassion.

"Pauline's condition could remain the same for some time."

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said Monday that the 39-year-old's condition was critical but had stabilised.

Cafferkey has been treated with blood plasma from an Ebola survivor containing virus-fighting antibodies as well as an experimental anti-viral drug.

Centred on Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea in west Africa, the world's worst-ever Ebola outbreak has infected more than 20,700 people, of whom 8,235 have died.

People caring for the sick or handling the bodies of people infected with Ebola are especially exposed.

As of January 4, a total of 838 healthcare workers were known to have contracted the virus, and 495 of them had died, the World Health Organization said.


http://news.yahoo.com/british-ebola-nurse-still-critical-condition-180136756.html (http://news.yahoo.com/british-ebola-nurse-still-critical-condition-180136756.html)

Title: Signs Ebola may be leveling off in Sierra Leone: WHO
Post by: Buster's Uncle on January 08, 2015, 08:54:33 pm

Signs Ebola may be leveling off in Sierra Leone: WHO
Reuters
By Stephanie Nebehay and James Harding Giahyue  21 hours ago


(http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/1q0A87BsS9ocopT0RQwnVw--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTMwMjtpbD1wbGFuZTtweW9mZj0wO3E9NzU7dz00NTA-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2015-01-07T202139Z_1_LYNXMPEB060ZV_RTROPTP_2_HEALTH-EBOLA-LEONE.JPG)
An ambulance transporting a newly admitted Ebola patient drives to the entrance of the Save the Children Kerry Town Ebola treatment centre outside Freetown, Sierra Leone, December 22, 2014. REUTERS/Baz Ratner



GENEVA/MONROVIA (Reuters) - Sierra Leone, the country worst affected by Ebola, reported nearly 250 new confirmed cases in the past week but the spread of the virus there may be slowing, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday.

The epidemic has taken 8,235 lives out of 20,747 known cases worldwide over the past year, it said. Overall, 838 health workers have been infected, killing 495 of them.

The WHO's weekly report was based on figures reported by authorities in nine countries. Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone account for the majority of infections and fatalities.

"There are signs that case incidence may have leveled off in Sierra Leone, although with 248 new confirmed cases reported in the week to 4 January 2015, it remains by far the worst-affected country at present," the WHO said.

Cases are still under-reported and unevenly spread in West Africa. The virus is spreading most rapidly in western Sierra Leone, where the capital Freetown reported 93 of the new confirmed cases, the WHO said.

"An increasing emphasis will be put on the rapid deployment of smaller treatment facilities to ensure that capacity is matched with demand in each area," the WHO said.

In Guinea, whose capital Conakry remains the worst-affected district, the western prefecture of Fria reported its first Ebola cases.

In Liberia, cases dropped from a peak of more than 300 new confirmed cases per week in August and September to eight new confirmed cases and 40 probable cases in the five days to Jan. 2, it said.

Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, the newly appointed head of the United Nations Ebola response mission known as UNMEER, warned however against declaring a premature victory against the disease during a visit to Liberia on Wednesday.

“It is only at this moment of optimism and relative success that sometimes we are worried of a sense of complacency," he told journalists.

Traveling with Ould Cheikh Ahmed, Bruce Aylward, the head of Ebola response at the WHO, echoed his concerns.

"There is still Ebola in Liberia and people are not acting that way," he said. "There should be a ferocious attention to driving that number to zero and that concerns us a great deal."

On Thursday, the WHO will host a meeting of representatives from major drug makers, health authorities in affected countries and national regulatory agencies to assess clinical trials of experimental vaccines against Ebola. GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, NewLink Genetics and Johnson & Johnson are testing experimental vaccines.

(Editing by Angus MacSwan, Joe Bavier and James Dalgleish)


http://news.yahoo.com/signs-ebola-may-leveling-off-sierra-leone-202139788.html (http://news.yahoo.com/signs-ebola-may-leveling-off-sierra-leone-202139788.html)