Ebola & Updates

[angelburst29]

Russia has developed two vaccines against the Ebola fever, which are superior to their foreign counterparts, with one of them being suitable for patients with immunodeficiency, Russian Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova has said.

Health minister: Russia registers two Ebola vaccines
http://rbth.com/news/2016/01/13/health-minister-russia-registers-two-ebola-vaccines_559097

"In December Russia registered two vaccines against Ebola, a hemorrhagic fever. Both vaccines were produced at the Federal Scientific Research Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology named after Gamaley, tested at the pre-clinical stages at the Defense Ministry institutions; clinical trials were also carried out jointly with the Health Ministry and the Defense Ministry," Skvortsova said at a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the government.

"The first vaccine is unique and has no analog in the world: for the first time, based on the most advanced biomedical technologies, two viral vectors with varying vaccine structure have been included. As a result, it became possible to stimulate the humoral, as well cellular immunity, and the virus was completely neutralized in all those who were vaccined, 100% neutralization with very low vaccine concentration. I already said that this vaccine has no analog in the world. I would like to stress that the two currently existing vaccines - one by U.S. firm Merck, the other by Britain's GlaxoSmithKline, are much inferior in efficiency," the health minister said.

"The second vaccine was made specifically for a cohort of population who suffer from immunodeficiency, which is of great importance for the countries that have seen cases of the infection. This vaccine is the analog of the British one, and its main mechanism is to provide an over 35 times boost to cellular immunity. The vaccine is superior to the British analog in efficiency," she said.


Putin announces registration of efficient Russian drug against Ebola
http://rbth.com/news/2016/01/13/putin-announces-registration-of-efficient-russian-drug-against-ebola_559071

 

[Skyalmian]

Monrovia (AFP) - The world breathed a sigh of relief Thursday as a two-year Ebola epidemic that killed 11,000 and triggered a global health alert was declared over, with Liberia the last country given the all-clear.

The deadliest outbreak in the history of the feared tropical virus wrecked the economies and health systems of the three worst-hit west African nations after it emerged in southern Guinea in December 2013.

At its peak, it devastated Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, with bodies piling up in the streets and overwhelmed hospitals recording hundreds of new cases a week.

Rick Brennan, the World Health Organization's chief of emergency risk management, hailed an important milestone but told reporters in Geneva that "the job is still not done", pointing out that there had already been 10 small flare-ups because of the persistance of the virus in survivors.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon warned the region can expect sporadic cases in the coming year but added "we also expect the potential and frequency of those flare-ups to decrease over time".

Reaction to the announcement was muted in Monrovia, where locals have become accustomed to good news on Ebola being followed by setbacks, and there was no official programme of celebration.

Aminata Kanneh, a 32-year-old entrepreneur, told AFP people were "no longer afraid" because recent flare-ups were dealt with quickly.

"The pronouncement today is a joy but does not call for celebration because we may experience another outbreak," she said.

- No celebration -

Liberia, the country worst hit by the outbreak with 4,800 deaths, discharged its last two patients from hospital -- the father and younger brother of a 15-year-old victim -- on December 3, 2015.

Africa's oldest republic was the last country still afflicted by the outbreak that infected almost 29,000 people and claimed 11,315 lives, according to official data.

The real toll is suspected to be much higher, with many Ebola deaths believed to have gone unreported.

After the last patient is declared in the clear, a 42-day countdown -- twice the incubation period of the virus -- begins before the country is proclaimed Ebola-free.

Ebola causes severe fever and muscle pain, weakness, vomiting and diarrhoea. In many cases it shuts down organs and causes unstoppable internal bleeding. Patients often succumb within days.

From a Guinean infant who was the first victim, the epidemic quickly spread into neighbouring Liberia and Sierra Leone, notching up more deaths than all other Ebola outbreaks combined.

Liberia was first to be declared free of human-to-human Ebola transmission in May, only to see the virus resurface six weeks later.

It was officially credited with beating the epidemic for a second time in September before another small cluster of cases emerged.

- Economic ruin -

The WHO came under fire for its sluggish response to the epidemic, which local healthcare systems were woefully underequipped to handle. Over 500 healthcare workers died in three west African countries at the height of the outbreak.

Brennan acknowledged the WHO's initial inertia but said the organisation had "done a lot of soul-searching", pointing to a "major reform" it is undergoing.

While Cuba sent doctors, Western governments offered little until foreign aid workers started falling ill and returning home for treatment, sparking fears of a global pandemic.

The concerns inched higher when three cases of infections came to light outside Africa -- two in the United States and one in Spain.

The US, Britain and other countries eventually rallied to the cause, sending thousands of troops and medics to Africa in 2014 and developing a number of promising potential vaccines and treatments.

But the economic ravages of the epidemic are still being felt.

The World Bank estimates the economic damage of the outbreak, which devastated the mining, agriculture and tourism industries in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, at $2.2 billion over 2014-15.

WHO director Margaret Chan described the next three months as "the most critical," as foreign medical groups shut down operations in west Africa and national health ministries take over.

The scientific community echoed the WHO's cautious tone, noting that much research still had to be carried out on Ebola, despite claims by Russia on Wednesday, with little accompanying detail, that it had come up with a vaccine.

"Mass travel, development, habitat encroachment, large-scale global trade and war and civil unrest mean that future outbreaks of deadly diseases like Ebola are inevitable," said Jonathan Ball, Professor of Molecular Virology at the University of Nottingham in Britain.

"Whilst we can try to develop vaccines and treatments for some, it won't be possible to mitigate against all threats with these types of intervention. We can't simply think job done, move on."

 

[Jeremy F Kreuz]

The day Sierra Leone was supposed to be declared Ebola Free, after 40 days of no cases, there was a new patient with confirmed Ebola. Now a Second has been detected.

Second Ebola Case Since End of Outbreak Confirmed in Sierra Leone - Reports http://sputniknews.com/africa/20160121/1033465396/ebola-sierra-leone.html

 

[Jeremy F Kreuz]

Another Ebola Case in Sierra Leone.

http://sputniknews.com/africa/20160122/1033576101/ebola-virus-vaccine.html

Two new confirmed cases of Ebola in Sierra Leone prove that the virus is now in its second generation and there is currently no vaccine to tackle it, WHO's Special Representative for the Ebola Response told Sputnik Friday.

It is suspicious that the 'first generation' ebola had been completely erradicated and that now a ' second generation' started, a few days after the region was delcared ebola free.

 

[Skyalmian]

Ebola: We May Have Won The Battle But We Haven't Won The War

March 27, 2016 7:00 AM ET

This month marks two years since the first Ebola cases were confirmed in Guinea. The time has come for recollection and reflection, frank opinions and lessons learned. What did we do well? What should we have done differently? What has Ebola taught us? I spent 6 weeks in Liberia, 4 1/2 months in Sierra Leone, and 6 months in Guinea during the epidemic, working with Ebola patients and focusing on strategies to fight the disease. These thoughts come from the experiences that I had working in the field.

What did we do well?

When you look at the numbers, it can be challenging to be upbeat about anything in our response to the Ebola epidemic: over 28,600 cases and 11,300 deaths in the span of 24 months; over 800 health care workers infected and more than 500 who died. Even now, we are still not confidently at zero, with recent flare-ups in all three countries.

New Form Of Ebola That May Cause Diseases In Humans Possible To Emerge: What Is Reston Virus?

By Catherine Cabral-Isabedra | Mar 26, 2016 08:44 AM EDT

Researchers from University of Kent have revealed that small changes in the viral genomic sequence can make Reston virus pathogenic to humans. Ebola virus survivors are identified to acquired neurological problems six months post infection. Pictured here is an colorized transmission electron micrograph (TEM) of an Ebola virus.
Researchers have found evidence that Reston virus may possibly cause Ebolavirus in humans.

With increasing incidence of those affected with the deadly Ebola virus, this new finding raises another concern about its diagnosis and management. A previous report revealed that survivors of the life-threatening Ebola virus suffer long-term neurological problems, with symptoms showing six months after contracting the disease.

The University of Kent study compared the Ebolaviruses that cause serious disease in humans against Reston viruses that do not.

The researchers used a computational analysis to study the genomic sequence of 196 Ebolaviruses. The specificity determining positions (SDPs) were identified in nine Ebolavirus protein that differentiates Reston virus from the four Ebolaviruses that are pathogenic to humans. Dr. Mark Wass and his team also did a computational prediction of what can happen should there be a variation in the sequencing of virus proteins.

Significantly, results showed that only a minute change in one virus protein, the VP24, is enough to make the Reston a disease-causing virus to humans. Therefore, there is a risk that if Reston virus would have few mutations, it can become a new health threat for humans.

Highlight On Reston Virus

Ebolaviruses have five members in the genus Sudan viruses, which include Tai Forest viruses, Bundibugyo viruses, Ebola viruses, and the Reston viruses. These Ebola viruses except for Reston viruses cause hemorrhagic fever in humans with a 90 percent fatality rate.

Reston virus (RESTV) was named after Reston, Virginia where it was first discovered in 1989 after crab-eating macaques imported from the Philippines was taken to the Hazleton Laboratories in Virginia. The 1989 outbreak of the disease was the first recorded Ebola virus outside of Africa and also the first to be identified as an Ebola virus in non-human primates. In 1990, it was described as the new strain of Ebola virus.

From 1989, there were only three cases of Reston virus infection and all sources lead to a monkey breeding facility in the Philippines. During the outbreaks, five infected individuals had the IgG antibodies that fight against the Reston virus. In 2008, Reston viruses were found in domestic pigs in the Philippines and caused respiratory problems and abortion in sows.

 

[SHNAGFNAY]

Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern

17 July 2019 - WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus today declared the Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).