#LASSA UPDATE: Stop Consuming Soaked Garri; Medical Workers Union Warns Nigerians. . .

The Medical and Health Workers Union, Lagos State council, on Saturday, said that it would embark on public enlightenment to discourage drinking of garri for now to prevent Lassa fever.

According to Mr Razak Adeofalade, Chairman of the union, the house rats that caused Lassa fever are mostly in contact with Nigerian most staple food, garri, a cassava product.

“We are going to encourage members of the public to stop drinking garri at this moment, it is better that the cassava flour is utilised for ‘eba’ because of the use of hot water.

We are waging total war and that is: ‘War against Rats,’ and that is what we are going to do to ensure we do not have another victim of Lassa fever in the state.

We will also be telling them to ensure that their fruits and raw vegetables are properly washed if they must be consumed raw and cook to the appropriate temperature.

CHARITIES FEAR EBOLA RESURGENCE AFTER SPIKE IN CASES

Ebola cases have increased in Sierra Leone and Guinea, with charities afraid they are ‘back to square one’. Photograph: Michael Duff/AP
More people diagnosed with deadly virus in Sierra Leone and Guinea weeks after WHO reports 10-month low in new infections

A rise in Ebola cases on the border of Sierra Leone and Guinea has sparked fears that efforts to rid the countries of the deadly virus are “back to square one”.

The spike in infections comes weeks after the World Health Organisation reported a 10-month low, with just nine cases in both countries in the week ending 10 May.

But, since then, the WHO has said: “Both the intensity and the geographical area of Ebola virus disease transmission have increased.”

In its latest situation report, it said 31 confirmed cases of the virus had been reported in the week ending 7 June -16 cases in Guinea and 15 in Sierra Leone.

“This is the second consecutive weekly increase in case incidence, and the highest weekly total number of cases reported from Sierra Leone since late March,” it said.

EBOLA; NOT OVER UNTIL WE WIN

What should have been poured into this writing is a congratulatory note, to us. Yes, it is true that the human race (and affected countries) is gaining triumph in the fight against the epidemic, Ebola, that suddenly struck our space. Yet, more is still to be done.

With the help of world's giant health bodies like the WHO, CDC, International Red Cross Society, UNMEER, Medecins Sans Frontieres, and so on, we have been able to attain substantial level of success. Yet, this is not the time to relax and fold our arms people.

Something surprising (at the same time, baffling) should strike our minds. Despite this disease already being kicked out of major affected countries (DR Congo, Senegal, and Nigeria), the death toll and reported cases are still on the rise. This is a real need for us to be more careful. It's a cause for cautious alarm.

PAPER AND PHONES COULD SOON DIAGNOSE EBOLA AND HIV FOR$1

Diseases such as HIV and Ebola are on the verge of being diagnosed almost instantly using paper-based technology costing less than $1.

The devices, known as biosensing platforms, are made from cheap materials including plastic film and cellulose paper. Results are captured using a smartphone camera and sent back to hospitals or clinics for immediate diagnosis.

Current HIV diagnosis can cost up $48 (45) for a negative test and $64 (60) for a positive test. Checks for Ebola cost some $100 (95), take up to six hours to produce a result and require sophisticated diagnostic equipment, the type of which is often unavailable in western Africa where the disease is especially prevalent.

LUTH disclaims suspected case of Ebola

Lagos – The Management of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi- Araba, on Monday refuted claims that two Chinese nationals allegedly infected with the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) died in the hospital.

Prof. Chris Bode, the acting Chief Medical Director of the hospital, debunked the rumour at a news conference in Lagos.

Bode, therefore, urged Nigerians to disregard what he called ‘the mischievous rumour’ as no such incident happened in the hospital.

Experimental Ebola Shot Shows Good Response

An experimental Ebola vaccine appears to safely protect people against infection and without causing feared side-effects such as arthritis, researchers reported Wednesday. 

The vaccine, which has already been shipped to West Africa for more testing, uses an animal virus called vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) to carry tiny pieces of the Ebola virus to help train the immune system to recognize it. 

"The most common side effects were injection site pain and transient fever that appeared and resolved within 12 to 36 hours after vaccination," the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which helped test the vaccine, said in a statement.

New Ebola Vaccine Shows Promise in Human Trials

 

It appeared to provoke good immune response in Chinese study, but larger trials are needed

By Robert Preidt 

 

WEDNESDAY, March 25, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- An experimental Ebola vaccine shows promise in an early clinical trial, but requires much more testing, researchers report.

The trial included 120 healthy adults in China who received either a low or high dose of the vaccine, or a placebo. Twenty-eight days later, 38 of 40 people in the low-dose group and all 40 of those in the high-dose group showed an immune response to the vaccine.

No serious side effects occurred among the participants who received the vaccine.

While the results suggest the vaccine is effective and safe, more long-term testing is needed to determine whether it can actually protect people against Ebola, according to the authors of the study published March 25 in The Lancet.

Ebola CRISIS : Mali says it has no more cases

Mali's health minister says the country is now free of the Ebola virus, after 42 days without a new case of the disease.

"I declare this day... the end of the epidemic of the Ebola virus in Mali," said Ousmane Kone.

The last Ebola-infected patient in Mali recovered and left hospital in early December.

New W.H.O safe and dignified Burial Protocol to reducing Ebola transmission.

W.H.O. has developed a protocol to provide information on the safe management of burial of patients who died from suspected or confirmed Ebola virus disease. These measures should be applied not only by medical personnel but by anyone involved in the management of burial of suspected or confirmed Ebola patients.

Twelve steps have been identified describing the different phases Burial Teams have to follow to ensure safe burials, starting from the moment the teams arrive in the village up to their return to the hospital or team headquarters after burial and disinfection procedures. These steps are based on tested experiences from the field.

W.H.O finally declares Nigeria Ebola-free.

The World Health Organization declared Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, officially free of Ebola infections yesterday, 20th October, 2014, calling the outcome the triumphal result of “world-class epidemiological detective work.”

The announcement came 42 days after the last reported infection inNigeria’s outbreak, twice the maximum incubation period for the Ebola virus.

The Nigerian response was upheld and praised by the W.H.O. as an example of the measures other countries can take to halt the spread of the epidemic, which is concentrated in three West African countries: Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. “This is a spectacular success story that shows that Ebola can be contained,” the W.H.O. said in a report on its website. But it also expressed caution that Nigeria cannot
relax its defenses against the deadly virus.

Ebola Patients in Lagos State Quarantine Centre Neglected.

Family members and relatives of the Ebola patients that have been isolated at the Infectious Disease Hospital (IDH), Yaba, have cried out to the Nigerian government to make provision for better health care services for their loved ones.

In a report published by PUNCH, families and associates spoke of the squalor and neglect the admitted patients are undergoing, at a press conference held two days ago in Ikoyi.

Dr. Helen Boyo-Ekwueme, a pathologist, described the utter neglect the quarantined (one a member of her family) are dealing with. “They are just being left on their own. Nobody is counseling them. They are just there as if

Pregnant Woman Diagnosed with Ebola Virus in Lagos, Nigeria.

An unidentified six months old pregnant woman has been diagnosed with the Ebola Virus Disease.

The woman reportedly got infected after being checked by Obi Justina Ejelonu, one of the nurses who had primary contact with the late Liberian Patrick Sawyer, at The First Consultant Hospital in Obalende area of Lagos where she went for antenatal checkup, the same hospital Mr. Sawyer was admitted.

The pregnant woman has been moved to the Isolation centres where suspected people are being quarantined behind Mainland hospital in Yaba Lagos.

Ebola Salt-Water Therapy Claims The Lives of Two People.

What seemed to start like a joke, rumored across the nation, has turned to deny some people their rights to continue living.
At least two persons have been feared dead with 20 others hospitalised in various hospitals in Plateau State after consuming excessive quantity of salt and bitter kola to prevent Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) attack following a viral message on social media that it could prevent the spread of the Ebola virus, Vanguard reports.

The deceased whose identities could not be ascertained at the time of the report were said to be hypertension patients. They were rushed to the hospital by their family members after they

Nigerian Nurse dies of Ebola, The First Nigerian to have died of Ebola virus Disease.

The Federal Ministry of health has confirmed the death of the Nurse who was one of the Medical personnel that attended to the Late Liberian, Mr Patrick Sawyer, that died of Ebola Virus Disease in Nigeria.

The Federal Ministry of health confirmed the Nurse as the First Nigerian to have died of Ebola virus.

Federal Ministry of Health Nigeria Releases Ebola Emergency Toll-Free lines

The Federal Ministry of Health Nigeria released a report on Monday that the doctor who treated the late Patrick Sawyer, who was confirmed of having the Ebola virus, and three others have also shown signs of what looks like the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). A total of eight persons have now been quarantined, up from the two announced last Tuesday.

In order to contain the disease, and provide appropriate information and prompt reporting and response to the public, the Federal Ministry of Health has made public an Ebola website, www.ebolaalert.org; a twitter account, @ebolaalert; and emergency toll free numbers, 0800326524357 and 0800 EBOLA HELP.

10 Reasons why Nigeria may not Survive An Ebola outbreak.

At the moment, four African countries have and are experiencing the Ebola epidemic, and it's becoming a thing of high alert to the medical and health organizations of various other countries as the virus is spreading very fast across borders. According to the WHO, there have been 887 reported cases in the recent outbreak including the deaths of a Seria Leone doctor and a Liberian doctor. Due to its recent spread to the shores of Lagos, Nigeria, which has raised a world-wide concern, it raises a question as to if Nigeria might be able or not to survive if it eventually outbreaks within its boundaries. Here are 10 cogent reasons why Nigeria might not be able to survive the imminent Ebola outbreak:

Scientists Find a Possible Cure for EVD {Ebola Virus Disease}

Ebola is an incredibly aggressive virus that kills 90 percent of people it infects, and it is often feared that its use as a biological weapon could wipe out millions of people—because it has no known cure. Now, though, scientists are one step closer to finding a solution, because they can now successfully cure monkeys which contract the virus.

10 THINGS YOU NEVER KNEW ABOUT EBOLA VIRUS

It is true the name 'Ebola' sounds no longer new, as it has at the moment won itself a more popular name than that of President Barack Obama, and even tripple-fold the influence of Vladimir Putin, the Russian dictator and Xi Jinping of China put together. But there still hides some surprising things you don't know about the Ebola which are listed below:
1. Ebola is named after the Ebola River in Zaire where it first emerged in Sudan and Zaire in 1976.

2. So far, it is the world's most deadly virus. It is an RNA virus which can reproduce in 8 hours, and when it does, millions of new viruses are produced.