The Economist explains: How Nigeria stopped Ebola, Oct 20th 2014

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New York Doctor Just Back From Africa Tested for Ebola

 

A doctor just back from West Africa is being isolated and checked for Ebola virus at New York’s Bellevue Hospital, city health officials said Thursday. It's a by-the-book operation demonstrating the nation's heightened new state of readiness for Ebola, and by far the most high profile yet.

An official from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told NBC News that a team was being assembled to go to New York.

There have been dozens of such scares in recent weeks, ever since Liberian Thomas Eric Duncan was diagnosed with Ebola at a Dallas hospital earlier this month after mistakenly having been sent home. None of the cases have turned out to be Ebola.

But this one’s a little different — the patient was working with Doctors Without Borders in one of the countries affected by Ebola, and the symptoms include fever and stomach upset.

The patient, identified as Dr. Craig Spencer, had been watching himself for fever. The city health department confirmed that he had a 103-degree fever.

"While at this stage there is no confirmation that the individual has contracted Ebola, Doctors Without Borders, in the interest of public safety and in accordance with its protocols, immediately notified the New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, which is directly managing the individual’s care," Doctors Without Borders said in a statement.

Health care workers are among those at highest risk of being infected, because they work so closely with very ill patients and are in frequent contact with infectious bodily fluids such as vomit.

“The patient was transported by a specially trained HAZ TAC unit wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE),” the city health department said in a statement, adding that after consultation with the hospital and the CDC, they would test for Ebola. They are also checking him for malaria, salmonella and stomach viruses because they can all cause similar symptoms.

 

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NY, NJ Govs Issue Mandatory Quarantine for Travelers Who Treated Ebola Patients

Mandatory quarantine. New York and New Jersey governors announced Friday afternoon that all travelers entering the United States at JFK and Newark Liberty International Airports who have had direct contact with patients afflicted with Ebola in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea will be quarantined for 21 days.

http://www.boston.com/health/2014/1...e-for-ebola/JRBXLBuNuJG2vaknVOjNVL/story.html

“Since taking office, I have erred on the side of caution when it comes to the safety and protection of New Yorkers, and the current situation regarding Ebola will be no different,” said NY Governor Andrew Cuomo in a statement. “The steps New York and New Jersey are taking today will strengthen our safeguards to protect our residents against this disease and help ensure those that may be infected by Ebola are treated with the highest precautions.”

“I have been clear that we will take whatever steps are necessary to protect the public health of the people of New Jersey which is exactly what these joint efforts with Governor Cuomo will do with additional screening and heightened standards for quarantine,” said New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. “By demanding these enhance measures, we are ensuring that any suspected cases are identified quickly and effectively, and that proper safeguards are executed.”

5:30 p.m. ET: Get your flu shot and stop freaking out, NYC. City officials said that all officials followed the exact protocols in handling Dr. Craig Spencer as soon as he was considered to be at risk for Ebola on Thursday. His fiance is being quarantined, and the medical detectives are determining all possible contacts that may need to be in quarantine. New York City’s mayor emphasized that casual contact cannot lead to this disease.

“There is no cause for everyday New Yorkers to be alarmed,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio in a press conference Friday afternoon. “Only through direct and intimate contact can that disease be transmitted. New Yorkers who have not been exposed to an infected person’s bodily fluids are not at risk, and there’s no reason for New Yorkers to change their routine in any way.”

 

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World's First Breathable Ebola Vaccine Proven 100% Effective in Trials
by Kristine Lofgren, 11/05/14

Ebola has been ravaging parts of Africa, and the deadly virus shows no signs of stopping. Now a new needle-free vaccine has proven to be 100% effective at stopping the transmission of ebola in monkeys, and it could spell a breakthrough in the battle against the disease. The vaccine is administered through a nasal spray using a common cold virus genetically engineered to carry Ebola DNA, and it keeps protecting for at least a year after it is first administered.

Nearly 5,000 people have died in West Africa this year and though the disease hasn’t spread in the US, several people have contracted the disease over the past few months, prompting researchers to scramble for a vaccination. Researchers in Austin, Texas who developed the vaccine say that they hope their breathable vaccine could provide protection and help control the outbreak in the future.

So far the results are only part of a small study and the project, which has been underway for seven years, is currently stalled because no further funding is available for the project. Maria Croyle at the University of Texas told NBC News, “We are at the crossroads, trying to figure out where to get the funding and resources to continue.”

Several Ebola vaccines have been in development for years now, but it wasn’t until this most recent outbreak that there was a real focus for protection. What makes this particular vaccination exciting is that it doesn’t have the drawbacks of storage, transport and administration that injectables can have.