Ebola Virus Disease News and Research

Latest Ebola Virus Disease News and Research

First Edition: August 15, 2014

Today's headlines include a variety of updates regarding health policy and the health care marketplace.

15 Aug 2014

Cases of Ebola virus in West Africa continue to rise

Since the Ebola virus outbreak was first reported in March there have been nearly 2,000 cases and over 1,000 deaths in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone. This makes it the most serious Ebola epidemic to date.

15 Aug 2014

Longer looks: A sugar cube pyramid; Obamacare's successes; the suicide checklist

Dean Angstadt, a 57-year-old, self-employed logger, said that the Affordable Care Act saved his life. ... Kathy Bentozi, a 58-year-old Pennsylvanian, is also thankful for Obamacare. ... Joshua Haymore, a 27-year-old Coloradan, could not get a specialist to see him for weeks last year ... Now that he has Medicaid, his prescriptions cost $3 and his health has improved significantly. Those are just three of thousands of good-news stories coming from the insurance expansion in the Affordable Care Act. ... But there is scant evidence that Americans have started to take notice, or care (Annie Lowrey, 8/13).

15 Aug 2014

Ebola virus disease poses new challenges for healthcare professionals

The outbreak of Ebola virus disease that has claimed more than 1,000 lives in West Africa this year poses a serious, ongoing threat to that region: the spread to capital cities and Nigeria-Africa's most populous nation-presents new challenges for healthcare professionals.

15 Aug 2014

Transmission risk of Ebola virus disease during air travel remains low: WHO

The World Health Organization today reiterated its position that the risk of transmission of Ebola virus disease during air travel remains low.

14 Aug 2014

Ebola virus defeats attempts by interferon to block viral reproduction in infected cells

One of the human body's first responses to a viral infection is to make and release signaling proteins called interferons, which amplify the immune system response to viruses.

14 Aug 2014

World Health Organization approves use of experimental Ebola treatment

The drugs have not yet been through FDA testing, but WHO says they can be used for "compassionate use" to help in the African outbreak. However, manufacturers may not have many supplies available.

14 Aug 2014

MRSA and antibiotic resistance is a major health threat

Antibiotic resistance continues at an alarming rate with the indiscriminate overuse of antibiotics given to humans and animals.

13 Aug 2014

First Edition: August 13, 2014

Today's headlines include reports that more than 300,000 people who obtained new insurance through the health law could lose it if they do not provide proof by Sept. 5 that their immigration or citizenship status makes them eligible for it.

13 Aug 2014

Canadian government to donate experimental vaccine to combat Ebola virus

The Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Health, today announced that the Government of Canada will donate doses of an experimental Ebola vaccine developed by the Public Health Agency of Canada to the World Health Organization (WHO) in its role as an international coordinating body in responding to the ongoing Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

13 Aug 2014

Free Online Certificate Course spreads awareness and knowledge about Ebola virus

A Free Online Certificate Course has been launched to help spread awareness and knowledge of the Ebola Virus, its dangers and threat, and information on how to avoid contracting the deadly disease.

13 Aug 2014

Viewpoints: Robin Williams' 'wakeup call'; surprise in Medicaid growth; tools to stop Ebola in U.S.

Earlier this year, [Robin] Williams checked himself into a rehabilitation facility. And whether he needed help with addiction or mental illness-;or, as is so often the case, with both-;it's safe to assume he got it. He had the money to afford the best and the sad truth is that, in some cases, even the best isn't enough to save people.

13 Aug 2014

Plan International outlines strategies to combat Ebola outbreak

The current Ebola outbreak, the most severe and complex in history, is now making its impact felt worldwide.

12 Aug 2014

Viewpoints: The doctor is in -- at Walmart; a 'hole' in the Halbig strategy

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. wants to disrupt another mass market: health care. The company is piloting what it hopes will be a broad network of primary-care clinics.

12 Aug 2014

Efforts to treat, contain Ebola virus trigger policy, ethical questions

A push to fast-track an experimental treatment is gaining momentum, but questions persist about this serum's effectiveness, whether the drug should be brought to the places currently confronting outbreaks of the disease and who should have access to its limited supplies.

11 Aug 2014

Longer looks: Kentucky is health law poster child; how to negotiate a lower medical bill; the Ebola outbreak up close

About a year ago, on Aug. 22, a team of inspectors from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) unit of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services arrived in Frankfort, Ky., to see if the people working out of a nondescript warehouse there were going to be able to pull off the launch of Kentucky's Obamacare health-insurance exchange.

8 Aug 2014

Viewpoints: Why Emory accepted American Ebola cases; calls for terrified Americans to 'chill out'

Blame it on Richard Preston. "The Hot Zone," his 1994 nonfiction science thriller about the spread and devastation of the Ebola virus, pretty much set the standard for terrifying contagion scenarios. ...

8 Aug 2014

Researchers plan to develop vaccine into a type of antibody serum therapy

By many estimates, an Ebola vaccine could be available in humans as early as next year. But will it be the right one? There are a number of vaccines in development and each is in a race to prove that it is most effective, safe and that it will protect the largest number of people.

7 Aug 2014

Treating Americans with untested Ebola drug raises concerns

Using the experimental drug before it is tested in clinical trials will make it difficult to determine whether it is actually safe and effective, say scientists. Meanwhile, African officials say they have been inundated with requests from dying patients and their relatives for the same treatment.

7 Aug 2014

First Edition: August 6, 2014

Today's headlines include reports about the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index that details how politics play a role in the nation's health care gap between red and blue states.

6 Aug 2014