When It Comes to Pandemics and Outbreaks, Could Climate Change Be to Blame?

Medicine & Technology Feb 19, 2015

While many factors play into the development of a viral or bacterial outbreak, including herd immunity and preexisting healthcare practices, current outbreaks of the Ebola virus and the measles have many wondering exactly what’s causing the reemergence of such lethal diseases. Well, the obvious answers of vaccinations and poor sanitation conditions are readily available, but many may not consider an even more significant culprit—climate change.

Healthcare Workers Attacked in Guinea as Locals Give Ebola the Upper Hand

Feb 14, 2015

In light of news that healthcare workers with the Red Cross planned to disinfect a local school infected with Ebola, crowds of central Guinean residents attacked an Ebola facility and healthcare workers, government officials reported Saturday, Feb. 14. Though the healthcare workers continue to try to fight and contain the disease, local uprisings have interfered greatly with their work in the field. And government officials are saying that the counterproductive actions of locals are forcefully giving the Ebola virus the upper hand.

Ebola Virus Shuts Down Ohio Bridal Shop in Wake of US Deaths

Jan 09, 2015

Ebola isn’t just having a devastating effect on the human population, as the death tolls continue to rise. It appears with a recent closure that the viral infection is exhibiting ramifications in the economy, as well.

Biological Warfare on the Horizon? ISIS Soldiers May Be Infected With Ebola

Jan 05, 2015

It’s what national security organizations have feared since day one—the World Health Organization (WHO) announced last week that they are evaluating jihadist militants associated with ISIS, who may have contracted the virus responsible for Ebola. While the WHO has yet to confirm whether or not the fighters are exhibiting symptoms, the current evaluations of a Mosul hospital 250 miles north of Baghdad are prompting concerns that the fringe extremist group ISIS may in fact be able to obtain a biological weapon unlike anything the world has seen before.

FDA Approves a Fast-Acting Ebola Test

Dec 31, 2014

The fight to stop Ebola continues to rage on across the world as researchers continue to find new ways to both detect and treat the deadly virus. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has just approved a new test to detect the virus in patients believed to be suffering from the virus.

Could Killing the Bats End New Ebola Transmission? Why Death Won’t Work

Dec 30, 2014

Pursuing the newest origin of the viral pathogen deep within the forests of West Africa, health officials believe that they may have found the source of the infection in a hollowed out tree. But the issue is far more complex than many would like to think.

Health Officials Believe They May Have Found Source of Newest Ebola Outbreak

Dec 30, 2014

While the viral pathogen continues to claim lives in West Africa, health officials believe that they may have now found the source of the infection, in a hollowed out tree. After making an expedition to patient zero’s—a two-year-old boy named Emile Ouamouno—hometown in Meliandou, Guinea, researchers believe that they may have found the source of Ebola in a hollow tree the young boy may have played in, which also is home to a colony of bats.

FDA Approves New Roche Ebola Test For Emergency Use

Dec 29, 2014

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recorded over 7,500 confirmed, and suspected Ebola deaths in the West African countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea; and more than 19,000 recorded cases in the said trio, which are the most heavily-affected countries in terms of Ebola. Early detection and quick action are therefore necessary to curb the further accelerated spread of the disease.

Lab Error Leads CDC to Suspect Health Officials May Be Infected With Ebola

Dec 29, 2014

The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released a report saying a number of its scientists may have been exposed to the deadly Ebola virus. The scientists are said to have transferred a live Ebola sample to another lab by mistake.

Can the Blood of Survivors Help Cure Ebola? The Limitations and Expectations of a New Vaccine

Dec 24, 2014

The antibodies from the blood of survivors of the deadly disease may finally enable researchers to create a treatment that is effective against all the strains of the virus and stop its spread across Africa and the rest of the world.

Ebola Outbreak 2014 Update: New York, New Jersey to Quarrantine Aid Workers Returning to U.S.

Oct 24, 2014

The governors of both New York and New Jersey made announcements on Friday that each state would be enacting a mandatory quarantine for anyone entering the United States via JFK and Newark Liberty International Airports that have provided direct patient care for anyone diagnosed with Ebola in West Africa. All those quarantined in the two states will be held in isolation for a period of 21 days.

Ebola-Free Nurse, Nina Pham, Makes Statement, Visits President Obama [Video]

Oct 24, 2014

Texas nurse Nina Pham got a special hug this week as she was declared Ebola-free by health officials, and that hug came from President Obama himself. Pham met with and embraced the president in the Oval Office at the White House, in Washington D.C.

Ebola epidemic likely to explode by mid-December, according to Yale researchers

Oct 24, 2014

Researchers from Yale University says that ebola would kill 90,000 people by December 2014 if swift aide is not given to West African countries.

New York City records its first ebola case; patient took "populated" subway

Oct 24, 2014

A doctor who recently came home from Guinea was diagnosed with Ebola and is now confined at the Bellevue Hospital in New York City.

WHO Declares Nigeria Ebola Free—Here’s How They Did It

Oct 22, 2014

Taking not only developing nations, but the world by surprise, the recent Ebola virus outbreak seen in West Africa is one of unprecedented proportions and terrifying outcomes. Far greater than 20 times worse than previously documented outbreaks in human victims, the current epidemic has made headlines for months as researchers search for a cure and health officials search for a way to stop it from spreading. And while many nations in West Africa are falling farther and farther into a state of disease, the World Health Organization declared that the country of Nigeria has successfully rid itself of the viral pathogen.