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Fighting Ebola With a Palm-Sized DNA Sequencer

submitted by George Hurlburt

      

Raymond Koundouno using a MinION - Sophie Duraffour

The MinION, a pocket-sized, USB-powered sequencing machine, lets scientists track the spread of deadly diseases in real-time.

theatlantic.com - by Ed Yong - September 16, 2015

. . . Unlike rival sequencers, which are as big as microwaves or fridges, the MinION is the size of a chocolate bar. . . . These devices quite literally bring the power of modern genomics to the palm of your hand. And at a cost of just $1,000, they herald a new era where sequencing moves away from well-equipped institutions and into places where it is most needed, from hospitals to epidemic-afflicted hot zones.

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(CLICK HERE - MinION - Oxford Nanopore Technologies)

(CLICK HERE - YouTube - MinION - Oxford Nanopore Technologies)

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Why A Snakebite Victim In An Indian Village Won't Walk Through A Door

npr.org - September 17th, 2015 - Ankita Rao

When a young boy in a village in Jangjir, India, came home with a snakebite, his family needed to get him to a clinic. But they didn't dare take him out through the front door. Instead, a handful of men dismantled the thatch roof of his home. Then family members inside lifted the boy up, out through the roof and over a six-foot wall into their arms.

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Social Vulnerability and Ebola Virus Disease in Rural Liberia

      

Clusters of social vulnerability in rural Liberia, by district. Social vulnerability of each cluster of districts can be loosely ranked from most to least vulnerable as: Cluster 1, food quality, displaced persons, disabled, dependent populations; Cluster 3, food quantity, food quality, lack of access to land/free medical care; Cluster 4, food quantity, disabled dependent populations and Cluster 5, water quality/proximity to medical care; and finally, Cluster 2, no strong vulnerability scores.

CLICK HERE - Social Vulnerability and Ebola Virus Disease in Rural Liberia

CLICK HERE - Social Vulnerability and Ebola Virus Disease in Rural Liberia (14 page .PDF file)

srs.fs.usda.gov - by Zoe Hoyle - September 15, 2015

A newly published research study by U.S. Forest Service researchers demonstrates that the social vulnerability indices used in climate change and natural hazards research can also be used in other contexts such as disease outbreaks.

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Scientists Discover New Use for an Old Therapy Inhibiting Deadly Pathogens Including Ebola and Anthrax

                                                     

CLICK HERE - RESEARCH - Identification of agents effective against multiple toxins and viruses by host-oriented cell targeting

prweb.com - by Cynthia Lujan - September 1, 2015

A new host-based therapy for Ebola, anthrax and other deadly infectious diseases has been discovered by researchers at the Keck Graduate Institute and its collaborators. The discovery has the potential to speed to market treatments for previously untreatable diseases.

The findings were published online on August 27 by Scientific Reports, an open access research journal from the publishers of Nature.

The lead authors of the story were Leoor Zilberminitz and William Leonardi, doctoral students in KGI laboratory of assistant professor Mikhail Martchenko. The researchers screened a library of 1,581 drugs previously approved by the FDA for in vitro protection of mammalian cells against Bacillus anthracis lethal toxin and diphtheria toxin, which normally kill 50-70% of unprotected cells. They then investigated the 1% most promising compounds that both provided the best protection against the two toxins and were not toxic to uninfected cells.

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The role of civil society is very vital to strengthening good governance- State House Chief of Staff

THE PATRIOTIC VANGUARD   Aug. 20, 1015

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone --The Chief of Staff in the Office of the President Saidu Conton Sesay (pictured) has described the role of civil society as very vital in strengthening good governance in Sierra Leone.

He made this statement during a meeting with a consortium of civil society organizations Tuesday 18th August, 2015 at State House, Freetown. The purpose of the meeting was to work in collaboration with Office of the Chief of Staff in the implementation of the National Ebola Recovery Plan to enhance trust between citizens and government.

The Chief of Staff promised that his office is ready to work with civil society organizations in the implementation of the post-Ebola recovery plan not only to help establish public trust, but also keep informing each other about areas that need attention.

"The better society we have, the better the governance," Sesay said, adding that his office has posted two officers each to all districts - one facilitator and one analyst who will be engaging local councils to update them in detail. He expressed desire to meet with the consortium upon the return of officials assigned to the districts for better planning and understanding.

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Cheap Paper Test to Screen Patients for Ebola, Yellow Fever, Dengue

MEDGADGET                                                                                   Aug. 20, 2015

BOSTON --At the 250th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society this week, researchers from MIT, Harvard Med School, and the FDA are showing off a new field test that can quickly screen people for Ebola, yellow fever, and dengue. While the researchers don’t claim their technique to be as accurate as PCR and ELISA, it is nevertheless an excellent tool in poor areas of the world where these diseases tend to thrive.

The test doesn’t require any water or electricity nor any complicated and expensive equipment. It works similar to pregnancy tests, providing a color readout that signals whether a disease is detected that is easily readable by just about anyone.

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The Use of Intraosseous Fluid Resuscitation in a Pediatric Patient with Ebola Virus Disease

jem-journal.com - by Michael L. Paterson and Charles W. Callahan - August 14, 2015

 
Abstract
 
Background

Vomiting, diarrhea, and severe dehydration are common manifestations of Ebola virus disease (EVD), leading to its high mortality. Mortality is especially high in patients older than 45 years, younger than 5 years, and in pregnant women and their fetuses. The majority of patients with EVD are not able to tolerate the quantities of oral hydration solutions necessary to rehydrate properly. Although some have speculated that IV and intraosseous lines are not practical in the austere, resource-constrained settings of an Ebola treatment unit during an epidemic, it is necessary to provide parenteral fluids and electrolyte replacements to significantly decrease mortality. Due to the inability to spend long periods of time working in hot environments wearing personal protective equipment, it is necessary to maximize the use of rapidly obtainable and safe parenteral access.

Case Report
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Using Public-Private Partnerships to Combat Ebola Globally

           

The Completed Containerized Biocontainment Systems Units at Dobbins Air Force Base, in Marietta, Georgia

blogs.state.gov - by Andrew O'Brien - August 13, 2015

In treating Ebola internationally, U.S. government personnel, doctors, nurses, aid workers, and other global health professionals are often put in direct contact with Ebola, and unfortunately some contract the virus themselves. Yet with limited resources, the U.S. Department of State needed more capacity to safely transport these Ebola patients to treatment facilities. Additionally, availability of medevac is important to getting doctors and epidemiologists from all over the world to volunteer to join the Ebola response.

By partnering with the Paul G. Allen Family Fund we were able to confront this challenge head on. Two containerized medevac biocontainment systems were funded by a $5 million grant by the Paul G. Allen Family Fund and the units were unveiled on August 11th at an event recognizing the partnership. MRIGlobal, a leading research institute, built the units, which are fully equipped to transport four patients, contain a broader array of dangerous pathogens, and fly aboard both military and civilian aircraft to multiple destinations in a single mission.

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Handwashing in W.African schools protects children, families from Ebola: UN

REUTERS by Monica MacSwan                                                                     Aug. 12, 2015

LONDON -- Handwashing and giving out soap in schools in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone have helped to keep classrooms Ebola-free this year but schools need to remain vigilant after the summer holidays, the U.N. children's agency said on Wednesday.

UNICEF said there had been no reported cases of students or teachers contracting Ebola at a school this year in the three worst-hit countries in West Africa, where the virus has killed nearly 11,300 people since the outbreak began in late 2013.

In Liberia, where there have been as many as 4,800 deaths, two schools were decontaminated as a precaution after one student died in June and another became infected in July.

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Upscaling the "Farms of the Future"

             

The most promising soil and water management practices will be scaled up. Photo: N. Palmer (CIAT)

ccafs.cgiar.org - by Mathieu Ouedraogo, Sibiri Jean Ouedraogo, Sekou Toure, Maimouna Fane - August 11, 2015

A collaboration among regional research institutes and National Agricultural Research Systems establishes strong partnership for upscaling the “farms of the future” approach.

In West Africa, climate change brings new challenges to agriculture. Among other things, it is straining the livelihoods of the rural population, given their high dependence on the climate.

Because these challenges cannot be addressed by one research institution alone, the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) tackles the problem through an intervention approach based on a worldwide strategic collaboration between CGIAR and Future Earth.

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