Some doctors say Ebola can be transmitted through the air by "a sneeze or some cough."
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
The fear mongering has begun
Some doctors say Ebola can be transmitted through the air by "a sneeze or some cough."
Friday, October 17, 2014
Ebola Update
WHO declares end of Ebola outbreak in Nigeria
Health Scare in Texas Also Sends Political Ripples
Experts Oppose Ebola Travel Ban, Saying It Would Cut Off Worst-Hit Countries
Health specialists said a travel ban would do more harm than good because it would isolate impoverished nations that...
Outbreak in Sierra Leone Is Tied to Single Funeral Where 14 Women Were Infected
- An explosion of cases in early summer seems to stem from a traditional healer’s funeral at which 14 women were infected, according to scientists.
RELATED COVERAGE
BEAUTIFUL NEWS: African Woman Saves Family From Ebola Without Getting Infected
One Liberian woman has done the seemingly impossible as she successfully treated her family for Ebola without getting infected herself.
Fatu Kekula single-handedly nursed both of her parents, her sister and her cousin through the virus with a 75 percent survival rate! Sadly her 14-year-old cousin passed away due to the deadly virus, but her other patients were able to make it through. Even at that, Fatu was able to beat Ebola’s 70 percent death rate.
Even more remarkably, CNN reports that although Fatu didn’t have standard protective gear, the nursing student was still able to protect herself from the virus using trashbags. She created, her own protective barrier by tying trash bags around each of her socked feet before stepping into a pair of rain boots and tying another pair of pair of trash bags over the boots. She also wrapped her in a stocking cap and another trash bag before putting on a raincoat, four pairs of rubber gloves and a surgical mask
Relief workers have dubbed this the “trash bag method,” and they’re teaching others in West Africa how to use it when they don’t have access to a medical facility. One key to Fatu’s success at remaining uninfected is her diligence in using the trashbag method as she never cut any corners while suiting up.
Of course it is best for Ebola patients to be treated in a hospital but many in the affected countries aren’t able to get their loved ones help at a proper infirmary because they are already full. This is the very challenge that Fatu faced when the virus hit her entire family.
Her father, Moses, became infected back in late July when Fatu took him to an area hospital to be treated for a blood pressure spike. Healthcare workers put him in an open bed where another patient had recently died; unfortunately, the hospital staff was not aware at the time that the deceased patient had passed away from Ebola.
Moses soon began to develop symptoms in the form of a fever, vomiting and diarrhea. When the hospital shut down because nurses started dying of Ebola, Fatu tried to get her dad placed at three other hospitals. They were turned away because of the facilities were packed; upon their return to their local hospital, he was diagnosed with typhoid fever.
Healthcare workers didn’t do much for him after that, so Fatu brought her dad back home, where he unwittingly infected the three other members of his family with Ebola. For two weeks, Fatu treated them with medication from a nearby clinic and fluids through an IV that she manned herself.
There were times that she feared she would lose her entire family, but they were eventually admitted to JFK Medical Center on August 17. They were already in recovery at that time, but the more advanced care went a long way to helping them be completely cured of Ebola.
“I’m very, very proud,” Moses told CNN. “She saved my life through the almighty God.”
He said in conclusion, “I’m sure she’ll be a great giant of Liberia,”
Texas Hospital Worker Who May Have Handled Ebola Samples is on Caribbean Cruise
A Texas hospital lab supervisor who may have handled fluid samples from Ebola victim Thomas Eric Duncan is on a Carnival cruise ship in the Caribbean and has been quarantined on board, officials said Friday. The Texas Health Presbyterian hospital employee, who set sail from Galveston on Oct. 12, did not have "direct contact" with Duncan and “has not had a fever or demonstrated any symptoms of illness,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement. Two nurses at the hospital, where Duncan died Oct. 8, have been infected by the virus - including one whose travel on a commercial flight to Cleveland prompted concerns over authorities’ handling of the outbreak in the United States.
The Carnival Magic was being held off the coast of Belize Friday until the lab worker could be removed and taken back to the U.S. "At this time, the guest remains in isolation on board the ship and is not deemed to be a risk to any guests or crew," Carnival said in a statement. "It is important to reiterate that the individual has no symptoms and has been isolated in an extreme abundance of caution." The Belize Government confirmed it was in touch with U.S. authorities.
Psaki's statement noted that the worker had set sea before the Center for Disease Control stepped up its monitoring program. "It has been 19 days since the passenger may have processed the since-deceased patient’s fluid samples,” the statement said.
Link to Article:
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ebola-virus-outbreak/texas-hospital-worker-who-may-have-handled-ebola-samples-caribbean-n227971
The 2014 Ig Nobel Prize Winners
PUBLIC HEALTH PRIZE [CZECH REPUBLIC, JAPAN, USA, INDIA]: Jaroslav Flegr, Jan Havlíček and Jitka Hanušova-Lindova, and to David Hanauer, Naren Ramakrishnan, Lisa Seyfried, for investigating whether it is mentally hazardous for a human being to own a cat.
REFERENCE: "Changes in personality profile of young women with latent toxoplasmosis," Jaroslav Flegr and Jan Havlicek, Folia Parasitologica, vol. 46, 1999, pp. 22-28.
REFERENCE: "Decreased level of psychobiological factor novelty seeking and lower intelligence in men latently infected with the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii Dopamine, a missing link between schizophrenia and toxoplasmosis?" Jaroslav Flegr, Marek Preiss, Jiřı́ Klose, Jan Havlı́ček, Martina Vitáková, and Petr Kodym, Biological Psychology, vol. 63, 2003, pp. 253–268.
REFERENCE: "Describing the Relationship between Cat Bites and Human Depression Using Data from an Electronic Health Record," David Hanauer, Naren Ramakrishnan, Lisa Seyfried, PLoS ONE, vol. 8, no. 8, 2013, e70585. WHO ATTENDED THE CEREMONY: Jaroslav Flegr, David Hanauer, Naren Ramakrishnan
Quantifying underestimates of long-term upper-ocean warming
NATURE CLIMATE CHANGE
Ocean Warming has been Greatly Underestimated
Posted on 14 October 2014 by Rob Painting
Key Points:
- The oceans are by far the largest heat reservoir on Earth, absorbing 93% of global warming. Because of this, accurate assessments of heat uptake are essential to balance the sea level budget, and for observationally-based estimates of climate sensitivity.
- Prior to 2005, when the Argo global array of submersible floats became operational, ocean temperature was much more sparsely sampled, especially in the southern hemisphere, leading to larger uncertainty over the evolution of ocean warming through time.
- Durack et al (2014) analyse the period from 1970-2004 combining ocean temperature and sea surface height measurements with climate model simulations, and find that sparse sampling in the southern hemisphere oceans, and limitations of previous analytical methods, has led to a substantial underestimate of warming in the 0-700 metre layer*.
- When corrected for this bias, Durack (2014) find that the top 700 metre layer of ocean, over the period 1970-2004, has warmed some 24-58% more than previous analyses have indicated.
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Scientists Discover First ‘Virological Penicillin'
Chinese researchers have discovered what they say is the first ‘virological penicillin’ – MIR2911, a molecule found naturally in a Chinese herb called honeysuckle.
Leaves and flowers of the honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) are used in Traditional Chinese Medicine; G6PD deficient patients should avoid consuming this plant. Image credit: Mokkie / CC BY-SA 3.0.
Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) is a well-known Chinese herb. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, it has been used to effectively treat influenza infection for centuries.
Several previous studies have confirmed that the herb, usually consumed in the form of a tea, can suppress the replication of influenza virus.
However, the active anti-viral components and the mechanism by which they block viral replication have remained unclear.
Now, a team of researchers headed by Dr Chen-Yu Zhang of Nanjing University in China has identified MIR2911 (honeysuckle-encoded atypical microRNA2911) as the first active component directly targeting various influenza viruses, including the swine flu H1N1, highly pathogenic avian H5N1and H7N9 infections.
MIR2911 represses influenza viruses by targeting PB2 and NS1, two genes that are known to be required for influenza viral replication.
MIR2911 directly binds to some types of influenza A viruses and inhibits H1N1 virus-encoded PB2 and NS1 protein expression. Image credit: Zhen Zhou et al.
With its broad-spectrum, anti-viral activity against influenza viruses, MIR2911 and MIR2911-containing honeysuckle tea may represent a new effective therapeutic strategy that can be used to subdue deadly infections.
“It is important to note that since Alexander Fleming discovered penicillinnearly a century ago, antibiotics have been developed to target various bacterial infections and have saved the lives of millions of people,” the scientists wrote in a paper published in the journal Cell Research.
“Unfortunately, no natural product that is effective against viral infection has been identified thus far.”
“We suggest that as the first natural product to directly target influenza A viruses, MIR2911 is the ‘virological penicillin’ that serves as a novel therapeutic and preventive agent against not only influenza A, but potentially also other types of viruses.”
http://www.sci-news.com/medicine/science-virological-penicillin-honeysuckle-02206.html
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