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White House to transfer Ebola funds to combat Zika virus

Wed, 2016-04-06 07:31 — davidmc

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is to announce Wednesday it will transfer leftover money from the largely successful fight against Ebola to combat the growing threat of the Zika virus, congressional officials say.

Roughly 75 percent of the $600 million or so would be devoted to the Centers for Disease Control, which is focused on research and development of anti-Zika vaccines, treating those infected with the virus and combating the mosquitoes that spread it. The rest would go to foreign aid accounts to fight the virus overseas.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter before the White House announcement.

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WHO Director-General briefs media

Wed, 2016-03-30 08:59 — Mohamed S

WHO Director-General briefs media on outcome of Ebola Emergency Committee

Remarks at a media briefing following the Ninth meeting of the Emergency Committee concerning Ebola. Geneva, Switzerland
29 March 2016

Ladies and gentlemen,

Thank you for joining us.

The ninth meeting of the Emergency Committee on Ebola, convened today under the International Health Regulations, has advised me that the Ebola situation in West Africa no longer constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

Although the response to a cluster of new Ebola cases and deaths is being reported in Guinea, that flare-up currently involves a single chain of transmission. It is the Committee's view that the countries have the capacities and capabilities to manage such flares.

To date, nearly 1000 contacts related to this flare-up have been identified, of whom 142 are considered at high risk of exposure.

In making its assessment, the Committee reviewed data on this new cluster of cases together with responses to earlier Ebola flare-ups that occurred after the original chains of transmission were interrupted in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.

The response to each and every one of these flares was immediate and very effectively contained.

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Statement on the 9th meeting of the IHR Emergency

Wed, 2016-03-30 08:30 — Mohamed S

Statement on the 9th meeting of the IHR Emergency Committee regarding the Ebola outbreak in West Africa

WHO statement
29 March 2016

The 9th meeting of the Emergency Committee convened by the WHO Director-General under the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR) regarding the Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in West Africa took place by teleconference on Tuesday, 29 March 2016 from 12:30 until 15:15 hr.

The Committee was requested to provide the Director-General with views and perspectives as to whether the event continues to constitute a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) and whether the current Temporary Recommendations should be extended, rescinded or revised.

Representatives of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone presented the epidemiological situation, ongoing work to prevent Ebola re-emergence, and capacity to detect and respond rapidly to any new clusters of cases in each country.

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WHO Urges Stronger Regulations on Vaccines in China

Tue, 2016-03-29 13:44 — Mohamed S

WHO Urges Stronger Regulations on Vaccines in China

BEIJING—

China needs to more closely regulate the market for private vaccines within its borders, the World Health Organization said Tuesday after authorities broke up a massive illegal drug ring earlier this month.

Police in China arrested more than 130 people allegedly involved in the illegal drug trade after the group dumped around $48 million worth of illegal vaccines onto the private Chinese drug market. Much of the medicine had expired before it was sold.

“This incident has highlighted the need for more, stricter enforcement of vaccine management regulations across the board,” WHO China representative Bernhard Schwartlander said in an email.

According to Chinese police, a woman and her daughter, who have since been arrested, led the drug ring and sold more than $100 million worth of illegal vaccines across the country since 2001.

Private sellers

All told, 29 pharmaceutical companies are believed to have sold the illegitimate drugs to 16 institutions.

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Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone "effectively managing" Ebola flare-ups

Mon, 2016-03-21 06:56 — Mohamed S

Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone "effectively managing" Ebola flare-ups

Health authorities from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone and representatives of partner organizations have expressed confidence in the capacity of the 3 Ebola-impacted countries to effectively manage residual risks of new Ebola infections—pointing to the rapid government-led containment of recent flare-ups of the disease.

Dr Abou Beckr Gaye, WHO Representative, Guinea (left) Dr Sakoba Keita, Ebola Response National Coordinator, Guinea (center) Dr Bruce Aylward, WHO Executive Director ai, Outbreaks and Health Emergencies (right)

WHO/M. Winkler

Meeting in Conakry

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Two Ebola deaths and three suspected cases in Guinea 'flare-up'

Fri, 2016-03-18 06:50 — davidmc

World Health Organisation had just announced ‘milestone’ of no new infections in neighbouring Sierra Leone when latest fatalities came to light

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Treating Ebola with Plasma

Mon, 2016-03-14 10:06 — davidmc

During the Ebola outbreak of 1995 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, eight patients with Ebola were given blood transfusions from people who had recently recovered from Ebola. Seven of them survived.

The blood of people who have recently recovered from an infection contains antibodies that the body develops naturally to fight that infection. The transfusion of these antibodies into infected individuals (as whole blood, plasma, or concentrated antibodies) has a long history and has been proposed as a possible treatment for Ebola virus disease.

see more at: http://www.dddmag.com/news/2016/03/treating-ebola-plasma

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