Ebola Virus Disease News and Research

Latest Ebola Virus Disease News and Research

Existing FDA-approved drug could potentially help contain Ebola infection

Amid the worsening Ebola outbreak in the Congo, now threatening to spill into Rwanda, a new study suggests that an existing, FDA-approved drug called nitazoxanide could potentially help contain this deadly, highly contagious infection.

8 Aug 2019

Congo’s Ebola outbreak continues rampant

It was a year ago that the Ebola virus outbreak in the Congo became official. And far from subsiding, just two weeks ago it became “a public health emergency of international concern”. More than 2,600 cases have been confirmed and over 1,800 deaths in the affected provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A third of these are children.

1 Aug 2019

WHO declares the deadly Ebola outbreak in Congo a global health emergency

Ebola, the deadly viral infection, is spreading in Congo and the World Health Organization (WHO) has announced it as an international health emergency. Speaking in front of reporters, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus gave updates on the situation in the Central African country.

18 Jul 2019

Global study reveals viruses as important cause of childhood pneumonia

Respiratory syncytial virus and other viruses now appear to be the main causes of severe childhood pneumonia in low- and middle-income countries, highlighting the need for vaccines against these pathogens, according to a study from a consortium of scientists from around the world, led by a team at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

28 Jun 2019

New risk assessment model for transmission of Ebola accurately predicted latest Uganda cases

A new risk assessment model for the transmission of Ebola accurately predicted its spread into the Republic of Uganda, according to the Kansas State University researchers who developed it.

26 Jun 2019

Study estimates the number of undetected Ebola outbreaks

An estimated half of Ebola virus disease outbreaks have gone undetected since it was discovered in 1976, according to research published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

From PLOS ONE 14 Jun 2019

Developing new immunotherapeutic treatments for emerging viral diseases

Emerging viral diseases is a term used to refer to diseases caused by pathogens such as the Ebola virus. Whilst vaccines can protect people against these diseases, there is an urgent need for treatment options after infection.

14 Jun 2019

Ebola spread to Uganda could threaten international health

After smouldering in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for almost a year, killing near 1,000 people, the deadly Ebola virus crossed the border to Uganda in June 2019. This virus causes sudden high fever and sore throat, with severe weakness and muscle pain.

14 Jun 2019

UGA researchers create statistical method to better predict disease reemergence

Several University of Georgia researchers teamed up to create a statistical method that may allow public health and infectious disease forecasters to better predict disease reemergence, especially for preventable childhood infections such as measles and pertussis.

22 May 2019

Groundbreaking research could lead to a simple, inexpensive test for Ebola virus

In a breakthrough that could lead to a simple and inexpensive test for Ebola virus disease, researchers have generated two antibodies to the deadly virus.

7 May 2019

RIT faculty-researcher develops microfluidic device for early detection of Ebola virus

A faculty-researcher at Rochester Institute of technology has developed a prototype micro device with bio-sensors that can detect the deadly Ebola virus. With this type of device, those infected can be treated earlier, and the early detection process can potentially decrease the spread of infections.

3 May 2019

Researchers develop novel recombinant vaccine against Nipah virus

Nipah virus is a type of RNA virus transmitted from animals to humans. The infection causes severe respiratory illness and symptoms including cough, headache and fever, which can progress into encephalitis, seizure and coma.

15 Apr 2019

Applying universal standards of care for EVD patients

LSTM's Senior Clinical Lecturer, Dr Shevin Jacob is corresponding author on a perspective piece published in the New England Journal of Medicine calling for universal standards of care to be applied in relation to Ebola Virus Disease.

11 Apr 2019

Study provides framework for developing Ebola virus therapeutic under FDA Animal Rule

The U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases today announced that, for the first time, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has provided formal regulatory agreement for use of an animal model to support development of a drug candidate, remdesivir, for treating deadly Ebola virus infections.

29 Mar 2019

Researchers unravel biomechanics of Ebola virus-host cell adhesion

It was recently reported that the number of Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo has surpassed 1,000, making it the second-worst outbreak in history after the 2014 outbreak in West Africa in which 29,000 people were infected and more than 11,000 died.

27 Mar 2019

Ebola spreads to second largest city in DRC

Bunia is the second largest city in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This week (20th of March 2019), the Health Ministry confirmed a case of the highly fatal Ebola virus infection at Bunia. Bunia has a population of nearly one million and this announcement has sparked fear.

22 Mar 2019

New method for on-the-spot genome analysis

The ability to read the genome - all the DNA of an organism - has vast potential to understand human health and disease.

14 Mar 2019

Ebola survivors in Liberia have higher prevalence of health issues, study shows

Survivors of Ebola virus disease in Liberia had a higher prevalence of certain health issues--including uveitis (eye redness and pain), abdominal, chest, neurologic, and musculoskeletal abnormalities upon physical exam--when compared to a control group of household and community members who did not have a history of EVD, according to findings from an ongoing study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

8 Mar 2019

Researchers find how bats remain immune to various infections

An international research team led by Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, has identified molecular and genetic mechanisms that allow bats to stay healthy while hosting viruses that kill other animals, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Microbiology.

27 Feb 2019