Liberia

who.int - October 9, 2015

Dr Margaret Chan
Director-General of the World Health Organization

Remarks at the G7 Health Ministers Meeting. Session on Ebola: lessons learned and the International Health Regulations. Berlin, Germany

Honourable ministers, ladies and gentlemen,

I will focus my remarks on lessons learned and the IHR.

Managing the global regime for controlling the international spread of disease is a central and historical responsibility of WHO. In a given year, WHO manages around 100 outbreaks of familiar diseases, like cholera, dengue, meningitis, and many others. This Ebola outbreak was different. It was complex in size and context, present in three countries which were unfamiliar with the disease and ill-prepared.

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BBC   Oct. 8, 2015  
(Scroll down for WHO Report.)                     

The three West African countries at the heart of the Ebola epidemic recorded their first week with no new cases since the outbreak began in March 2014.

                               The Ebola outbreak in West Africa has killed more than 11,000 people

The outbreak has so far killed more than 11,000 people in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

New cases have fallen sharply in 2015, but the WHO has warned that the disease could break out again.

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http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-34471234?utm_source=Copy+of+October+7%2C+2015+EN&utm_campaign=10%2F8%2F2015+fr&utm_medium=email

WHO SITUATION REPORT 7 Oct.  2015

http://apps.who.int/ebola/current-situation/ebola-situation-report-7-october-2015

CLICK HERE - Ebola Virus Mutations May Help It Evade Drug Treatment (2 page .PDF file)

CLICK HERE - Cell Reports - Emergence of Ebola Virus Escape Variants in Infected Nonhuman Primates Treated with the MB-003 Antibody Cocktail

CLICK HERE - Emergence of Ebola Virus Escape Variants in Infected Nonhuman Primates Treated with the MB-003 Antibody Cocktail (11 page .PDF file)

usamriid.army.mil - September 11, 2015

Genetic mutations called “escape variants” in the deadly Ebola virus appear to block the ability of antibody-based treatments to ward off infection, according to a team of U.S. Army scientists and collaborators. Their findings, published online this week in the journal Cell Reports, have implications for the continued development of therapeutics to treat Ebola virus disease, which has claimed the lives of over 11,000 people in West Africa since last year.

submitted by George Hurlburt

Raymond Koundouno using a MinION - Sophie Duraffour

The MinION, a pocket-sized, USB-powered sequencing machine, lets scientists track the spread of deadly diseases in real-time.

theatlantic.com - by Ed Yong - September 16, 2015

. . . Unlike rival sequencers, which are as big as microwaves or fridges, the MinION is the size of a chocolate bar. . . . These devices quite literally bring the power of modern genomics to the palm of your hand. And at a cost of just $1,000, they herald a new era where sequencing moves away from well-equipped institutions and into places where it is most needed, from hospitals to epidemic-afflicted hot zones.

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(CLICK HERE - MinION - Oxford Nanopore Technologies)

(CLICK HERE - YouTube - MinION - Oxford Nanopore Technologies)