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Guinea’s Ebola Outbreak is Declared Officially Over

submitted by George Hurlburt / Mike Kraft

An MSF health worker holds baby Nubia Souma, the last known Ebola patient in Guinea.  Image: Samuel Aranda/MSF

CLICK HERE - WHO - STATEMENT - End of Ebola transmission in Guinea

(ALSO SEE SITUATION REPORTS AND RELATED ARTICLE BELOW)

Forty-two days have passed since the last person with Ebola tested negative for the virus.

thejournal.ie - by Sinead O'Carroll - December 29, 2015

THE WORLD HEALTH Organisation has declared the Ebola outbreak in Guinea officially over.

In a statement this morning, the global body confirmed that 42 days had passed since the last person with Ebola in the country tested negative for the virus for a second time.

Guinea will now enter a 90-day period of “heightened surveillance” to ensure any new cases are identified before being passed on to other people.

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A New Weapon in Fight Against Ebola

The team has achieved an unprecedented goal: connecting 12 fullerenes, each one endowed with 10 sugar moieties, to other central fullerene, thus mimicking the presentation of carbohydrates surrounding the Ebola virus.  Credit: N. Martín & B. Illescas / UCM

CLICK HERE - A giant fullerene system inhibits the infection by an artificial Ebola virus

CLICK HERE - STUDY - Synthesis of giant globular multivalent glycofullerenes as potent inhibitors in a model of Ebola virus infection

scitechconnect.elsevier.com - by SPLICE - November 19, 2015

A discovery which may lead to the elimination of Ebola infections was published in Nature Chemistry a few days ago. The investigators reported that giant fullerene system inhibits the cell infection by an artificial Ebola virus.

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Is Ebola Virus One-Up Against Bats?

submitted by George Hurlburt      

         

CLICK HERE - STUDY - Filovirus receptor NPC1 contributes to species-specific patterns of ebolavirus susceptibility in bats

socialnews.xyz - December 24, 2015

Ebola virus and bats have been waging a molecular battle for survival that may have started at least 25 million years ago, revealed a new study led by an Indian-origin scientist.

The findings shed light on the biological factors that determine which bat species may harbour the virus between outbreaks in humans and how bats may transmit the virus to people. . . .

. . . The study was published online in the journal eLife.

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We’ve Learnt Many Lessons from This Outbreak and From the Response – Dr. David Nabarro, Special Envoy on Ebola

          

Dr. David Nabarro, Special Envoy on Ebola, at a press conference in New York in November 2015. UN Photo/Loey Felipe

un.org

10 December 2015 – In August 2014, amid a rapidly growing outbreak of Ebola, Dr. David Nabarro was tasked with providing strategic guidance for an enhanced international response, and galvanizing essential support for affected communities and countries. As the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Ebola, Dr. Nabarro played a key role in responding to the outbreak, which mainly affected Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, and claimed more than 11,300 lives to date.

While the Ebola outbreak in West Africa has declined significantly in recent months, it is not completely over, making it all the more vital for everyone involved in the response to remain vigilant and focused on stopping the outbreak, staying at zero cases and preventing re-emergence. The Office of the Special Envoy will end its mandate on 31 December 2015, but the UN system will continue to remain fully engaged with the affected countries. 

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Liberia’s Ebola Outbreak Largely Traced to One Source

            

BRANCHING OUT  In Liberia, a single lineage of Ebola virus (middle dot) split into subgroups as it passed from person to person and mutated. Each dot is a slightly different version of the virus within the subgroups. Dot size indicates how many people carried that version. Researchers tracked the virus as it spread from Liberia (blue) into Guinea (red) and Mali (yellow).  J.T. Ladner et al/Cell Host & Microbe 2015

CLICK HERE - STUDY - Evolution and Spread of Ebola Virus in Liberia, 2014–2015

Genetic analysis of third hard-hit country fills in gaps in virus’ spread and evolution

sciencenews.org - by Tina Hesman Saey - December 9, 2015

A single introduction of the Ebola virus led to most cases of the deadly disease in Liberia, a new genetic study suggests.

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Mathematical Modeling of the West Africa Ebola Epidemic

eLife 2015;10.7554/eLife.09186 - December 8, 2015
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.09186

Abstract

As of November 2015, the Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic that began in West Africa in late 2013 is waning. The human toll includes more than 28,000 Ebola virus disease (EVD) cases and 11,000 deaths in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, the most heavily-affected countries. We reviewed 66 mathematical modeling studies of the EVD epidemic published in the peer-reviewed literature to assess the key uncertainties models addressed, data used for modeling, public sharing of data and results, and model performance. Based on the review, we suggest steps to improve the use of modeling in future public health emergencies.

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Identification of NPC1 as the Target of U18666A, an Inhibitor of Lysosomal Cholesterol Export and Ebola Infection

eLife 2015;10.7554/eLife.12177 - DECEMBER 8, 2015
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.12177

Abstract

Niemann-Pick C1 (NPC1) is a lysosomal membrane protein that exports cholesterol derived from receptor-mediated uptake of LDL, and it also mediates cellular entry of Ebola virus. Cholesterol export is inhibited by nanomolar concentrations of U18666A, a cationic sterol. To identify the target of U18666A, we synthesized U-X, a U18666A derivative with a benzophenone that permits ultraviolet-induced crosslinking. When added to CHO cells, U-X crosslinked to NPC1. Crosslinking was blocked by U18666A derivatives that block cholesterol export, but not derivatives lacking blocking activity. Crosslinking was prevented by point mutation in the sterol-sensing domain (SSD) of NPC1, but not by point mutation in the N-terminal domain (NTD). These data suggest that the SSD contains a U18666A-inhibitable site required for cholesterol export distinct from the cholesterol-binding site in the NTD. Inasmuch as inhibition of Ebola requires 100-fold higher concentrations of U18666A, the high affinity U16888A-binding site is likely not required for virus entry. 

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WADPI Aims to Exploit Lessons From Ebola Epidemic

observer.gm - by Saffiatou Colley  - December 3, 2015

The Executive Director of the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) has disclosed that the West Africa Disaster Preparedness Initiative’s (WADPI) main objective is to utilise the lessons learned from the Ebola epidemic as well as strengthen national capacities among the 16 West African countries to implement an all-hazards approach to disaster response and management.

Lt. Col. Alhagie Sanneh was speaking on Tuesday at the ongoing high-level discussion on the ‘Development of a strategic work plan and to conduct a post-course assessment’, at a local hotel in Brufut.

He indicated that the training is part of the requirements of the recent West Africa Disaster Preparedness Initiative training held in Ghana, where Gambia participated.

“The WADPI programme would develop and promote inter-regional integration through ensuring continuous collaboration, communication and coordination to explore preparedness strategies that can strengthen ECOWAS member states to manage and recover from disaster events,” he said.

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Another American Ebola Survivor Had Eye Problems

Ebola survivor Dr. Richard Sacra experienced eye problems, including vision loss, pain and redness, shortly after he recovered from the disease.

Credit: Chancellor JR, Padmanabhan SP, Greenough TC, Sacra R, Ellison RT III, Madoff LC, et al. Uveitis and systemic inflammatory markers in convalescent phase of Ebola virusdisease. Emerg Infect Dis. 2016 Feb

CLICK HERE - STUDY - CDC - Uveitis and Systemic Inflammatory Markers in Convalescent Phase of Ebola Virus Disease

livescience.com - by Rachael Rettner - November 25, 2015

Ebola survivor Dr. Ian Crozier wasn't the only American to experience eye problems following the disease — a new report describes eye problems in another American doctor who lived through the disease.

Dr. Richard Sacra, who works for the Christian mission organization SIM USA, contracted Ebola last year while caring for pregnant women in Liberia during the rise of the Ebola outbreak there. He was evacuated to the United States for treatment in early September 2014, and was declared Ebola-free after spending about a month in the hospital.

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Panels Advise Bolstering W.H.O. for Crises Like Ebola

nytimes.com - by Sheri Fink - November 22, 2015

In recent months, numerous groups of health experts have gathered to debate how to prevent another crisis like the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, which jumped borders, spread fear across the globe, and directly killed more than 11,000 people. Many more died as hospitals and clinics closed for months.

Now two of those groups — one independent and the other convened by the World Health Organization — have released specific recommendations and called for urgent action. Both concluded that the W.H.O.’s outbreak and emergency response capacities should be strengthened and consolidated, protected from political meddling and independently overseen. The health organization is a United Nations agency.

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CLICK HERE - WHO - Advisory Group on Reform of WHO’s Work in Outbreaks and Emergencies with Health and Humanitarian Consequences

CLICK HERE - WHO - First report of the Advisory Group on Reform of WHO’s work in outbreaks and emergencies (20 page .PDF report)

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