MEDICINE & HEALTHGenetic makeup may make you less vulnerable or more susceptible to Ebola, researchers say. Since its outbreak earlier this year that caused widespread deaths in West Africa, Ebola has been an area much studied by international health organizations, pharmaceutical companies, and research centers around the world.
Researchers track roots of the Ebola epidemic to a boy from Guinea Researchers have finally uncovered the mystery as to where the epidemic that is Ebola started, and from which person the outbreak originated.
The governors of both New York and New Jersey made announcements on Friday that each state would be enacting a mandatory quarantine for anyone entering the United States via JFK and Newark Liberty International Airports that have provided direct patient care for anyone diagnosed with Ebola in West Africa. All those quarantined in the two states will be held in isolation for a period of 21 days.
Texas nurse Nina Pham got a special hug this week as she was declared Ebola-free by health officials, and that hug came from President Obama himself. Pham met with and embraced the president in the Oval Office at the White House, in Washington D.C.
Taking not only developing nations, but the world by surprise, the recent Ebola virus outbreak seen in West Africa is one of unprecedented proportions and terrifying outcomes. Far greater than 20 times worse than previously documented outbreaks in human victims, the current epidemic has made headlines for months as researchers search for a cure and health officials search for a way to stop it from spreading. And while many nations in West Africa are falling farther and farther into a state of disease, the World Health Organization declared that the country of Nigeria has successfully rid itself of the viral pathogen.
While surveillance on a global scale tightens, looking for the looming threat of Ebola symptoms from international travelers around the world, researchers worldwide are evaluating the all too real threat of the spreading viral infection. And they’re finding that even a conservative estimate could spell international disaster over the next few months.
Today marks 21 days of quarantine since the Ebola infection spread into the US by an infected Dallas patient, who recently fled Liberia. And as none of the individuals quarantined for their close contact with the infected have developed the often fatal hemorrhagic fever, health officials are hopeful that their clean bill of health is a sign that the Ebola virus will not find a foothold here in the United States.
After recent lapses in protocol and judgement allowed a Texas hospital nurse to travel on commercial flights and expose potentially thousands to the deadly Ebola virus, many are beginning to seriously call in to question how the U.S. government has responded to the first ever cases of Ebola on U.S. soil.
This morning, the king of social media himself, Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife announced their plans to aid in medical efforts by donating $25 million to the Centers for Disease Control Foundation. The news arrived this morning as the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that issues with containment and assessment of the Ebola virus’ impact may lead to a 1,000% increase in infections (10,000 cases a week) by as early as this December.
While health officials are attempting to isolate the spread of the disease, fear and ignorance of the disease have allowed for major setbacks to propagate across the West African nations, leading to further casualties of the disease. Now, after months of assessing the situation in the field, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported Tuesday, Oct. 14, that the rate of infection may increase by ten-fold, to 10,000 new cases per week as early as this December.