Following the death of nine people due to the so-called Marburg virus, the World Health Organization (WHO) has convened an emergency meeting to discuss measures against the spread of a deadly pathogen, which is similar to Ebola in its effects, it was reported Tuesday.
More than 22,000 people have been infected and about 9,000 are known to have died in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone since what evolved into the worst-ever outbreak of Ebola was identified last March.
Health professionals from more than 30 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean will receive training in clinical management of Ebola in three upcoming workshops sponsored by the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO). The workshops are part of a series of PAHO/WHO actions intended to help countries strengthen their preparedness for potential cases of Ebola.
Leaders from the G20 group of nations agreed on Sunday to boost flagging global growth, tackle climate change and crack down on tax avoidance but ties between the West and Russia plummeted to a new low over the crisis in Ukraine.
In response to a possible Ebola threat situation the Falkland Islands government is focusing on prevention at this time but with good contingency plans also being laid down as a back up to a possible outbreak.
A Dallas hospital lab worker who spent much of a cruise holiday in isolation after possible exposure to Ebola has tested negative for the disease, and in Texas some of the dozens of people still being monitored were expected to be cleared by Monday.
A group of Caribbean countries have announced bans on entry to foreigners who have travelled through the three West African countries most affected by Ebola. Jamaica said it would not accept travelers from Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone for the time being.
A laboratory technician from the Dallas hospital where a Liberian died of the Ebola virus, and who handled some of his fluid samples for analysis, has been placed in quarantine aboard a cruise ship, the State Department said on Friday.
By Gwynne Dyer - Here are two good things about the Ebola virus. It is unlikely to mutate into a version that can spread through the air, as some other viruses have done. And people who have been infected by Ebola cannot pass it on to others during the incubation period (between two and 21 days). Only when they develop detectable symptoms, notably fever, do they become infectious to others, and only by the transfer of bodily fluids.
Saharan Africa's economic growth remains strong and should accelerate to 5.8% in 2015 but if the Ebola outbreak in its western corner is protracted or spreads it will have dramatic consequences for that zone, the IMF said on Tuesday.