Scientists around the world are trying to develop effective treatments for Ebola infection. But a process of viral mutation, known as “genetic drift”, could potentially compromise their efforts.
A minute silence at the WHO. But vital time was lost at the start.
Salvatore di Nolfi
Whether you fear or welcome a challenge to the world’s existing power structure, the main focus of attention is on when China will begin to translate its increasing influence into genuine global leadership…
The price of growth? Ebola management in Guinea.
European Commission DG ECHO
If ever we wanted a reminder of how global capitalism has got things wrong, the Ebola outbreak in West Africa serves the purpose well. Our assumption that economic growth is essential is not only a feature…
The world has been keeping a very close eye on the Ebola virus for nearly a year now following the extraordinarily large outbreak seen in Western Africa, which has so far killed more than 8,000 people…
Ebola has wiped out a third of the world’s gorillas.
David d'O
There is a side to the Ebola crisis that, perhaps understandably, has received little media attention: the threat it poses to our nearest cousins, the great apes of Africa. At this moment in time Ebola…
Burkina Faso and Ghana will aim to repeat their performance in the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.
Nic Bothma/EPA
Even before the whistle blasts to kick off the opening match of the African Cup of Nations on January 17, this tournament is already being remembered for its comebacks. As concerns swirled over the Ebola…
Ebola virus disease was first discovered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1976, and by 2013 had caused about 20 recorded outbreaks across East and Central Africa. These had been restricted to…
Leaky blood vessels in the lung can lead to acute respiratory distress.
Chest X-ray via Guzel Studio/Shutterstock
When you get an infection, your immune system responds with an influx of inflammatory cells that target the underlying bacteria or viruses. These immune cells migrate from your blood into the infected…
Gareth Bale signed up for Fifa’s Ebola campaign.
Khaled Elfiqi/EPA
Over the past 15 years football medicine research has developed significantly. The FIFA Medical Assessment and Research Centre has played a significant role in developing and collating information and…
The UN at 70 - over the hill or still in its prime?
UN
2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. Like all anniversaries, this is an occasion for profound reflection. To put it politely, the list of global challenges that the UN…
Air travel can turn epidemics into pandemics.
Bobby Yip/Reuters
More than 8,000 people have died from Ebola in West Africa since February 2014 and it has spread beyond the three countries initially affected. So, it’s an epidemic, right? Or is it an outbreak? What about…
Eradicating Ebola is worth every penny spent.
Arie Kievit/EPA
The Ebola pandemic cutting a swathe through West Africa is thought to have begun in December 2013. A year later the WHO estimates more than 20,000 men, women and children have been infected with the virus…
Glasgow’s Gartnavel Hospital has past experience with Ebola-like diseases.
Dave Campbell
It has been confirmed that a healthcare worker who has returned from Sierra Leone has contracted the Ebola virus and is being treated in a Glasgow hospital. The female patient tested positive for the virus…
Key issues in 2014: HIV progress, Ebola, Medicare co-payment and consumer health.
Flickr/Brian Talbot; EPA/Ahmed Jallanzo; AAP/David Hunt; www.rowenawaack.com
2014 was dominated by discussions about better ways of paying for health care. But for all the talk, little progress was made. The year began with former Howard government adviser Terry Barnes’ proposal…
2014: the year crystallography went mainstream.
CSIRO
’Tis the season for listicles rounding up the stories of the year. So with, the authority vested in me, here is a selection of six top, bottom and forgotten science stories of 2014. Bounciest landing The…
When people look back on 2014, it may be best remembered as the year of Ebola. Two previous assumptions – that the virus was confined to remote regions of central Africa, and that the notorious virulence…
Along with governments, doctors, and infectious disease experts, the media have a duty to help halt the spread of Ebola with responsible reporting.
EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET
Time magazine has named health workers caring for Ebola victims in West Africa as its “Person of the Year 2014” and compared them to “military special forces who volunteered to fight the epidemic when…
Gambian beaches are well away from the Ebola zone, but where are all the tourists?
Marina Novelli
I am writing this from the Gambia and want to appeal to everyone to spread the word: this country is open for business and it is not affected by the Ebola outbreak – otherwise I would not be here. I am…
Ebola isn’t the only disease we need to worry about.
Jason Reed/Reuters
Some experts worry that the Ebola crisis is diverting attention and resources away from neglected diseases with a substantially larger disease incidence.
Part-time lecturer at the Global Health & Social Medicine, Harvard University, and Lecturer at the School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, University of Liberia
Director of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Protection Research Unit in Emerging and Zoonotic Infections, and Professor of Neurology, University of Liverpool