Ebola In Cola

A group of student activists standing up for proper ethical treatment of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa

[ebola-n-cola]

What is your take on how the ebola outbreak should be?

Jack: Though some may think that outside countries should stay out of Africa and allow them to handle the outbreak of Ebola this year I think they need help from those countries like the United States. Without help from outside countries with getting medical supplies and more medical volunteers the disease will only continue to spread. It is the duty of the rest of the world to step in and help these people in Africa if they have the resources to do so. They need other countries to come in and set up treatment centers and bring proper protective clothing and teach proper protocol. Without all of the help they could receive from other countries doctors will still be in major demand and medical staff will keep becoming infected. Everyone has to help with the fight against Ebola.

Comment and give your ideas!

[theweekmagazine]

How to take off an Ebola hazmat suit

[ebola-outbreak]

Distribution of Ebola virus incubation period, by days of incubation

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Cumulative no. of cases (projected as of 8/23 and 8/25)

For latest cases and projections:  Download Ebola Tracker for iOS for live stats and maps of the outbreak

[ebola-outbreak]

Thanks for all the feedback.  We’re taking all the requests and putting them in an update we’re about to post.

Here’s a preview of the updates coming.

Download now for iOS

[mindblowingscience]

US Ebola vaccine trial reports positive results

An experimental vaccine against Ebola virus appears safe and commands a strong immune response against the virus, according to tests in 20 healthy people in the United States. The results of the ‘phase 1’ trial appear online today in the New England Journal of Medicine1.

“All in all, I would say it was a successful phase 1 study,” says Anthony Fauci, the director of the US National Institutes of Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) in Bethesda, Maryland, which co-developed the drug with the London-based drug company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). “The next steps are to move ahead with a larger efficacy trial in West Africa.”

The vaccine is similar — but not identical – to one that is on track to be tested in larger trials in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, which are likely begin in early 2015. In these phase 2 and phase 3 trials, thousands of people who are at risk of contracting the virus, such as health workers, will receive the vaccine, in order to determine whether it can protect against infection.

Continue Reading.

[doctorswithoutborders]

Photo by Martin Zinggl/MSF.

Helena, who is not infected with the Ebola virus, gets a chance to talk to her son Moses who was a confirmed Ebola patient in the Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Ebola management center in Foya, Liberia. An MSF health promoter helps in this difficult moment for the young mother, as she is too overwhelmed to think of what to say. The health promoter advises her to say positive things such as “I am waiting here outside for you,” or “I am thinking of you non-stop.” In addition to medical treatment, the teams in Foya provide psychological support to patients and relatives, run several outreach activities, such as health promotion, safe burial practices, and an ambulance service. 

[huffpost]

West Africans Would Like To Remind You That They’re Human Beings, Not A Virus

More than 4,500 people have died from Ebola, but people from West Africa say that some of the biggest threats they face have nothing to do with the epidemic, but rather the widespread stigma they encounter daily.

Watch the full video to hear more stories from West Africans who have been stigmatized.

[ebola-n-cola]

A Conversation on Ebola Part IV: Is the outbreak a global security risk and if so how should it be handled?

Jack: The outbreak is a global security risk, so funds need to start going towards protection of our own countries like setting up screenings for the illness in airports. But efforts in Africa must be maintained. Borders to outside countries should be protective but welcoming to the African people and healthcare workers to come back to their home countries to be treated.

Jill: We are to a place in society where it is a “me” place. What will benefit “me”, how does this affect “me”. While this is a shame, that is how it is. Because of this we are to a point where if we want to prevent the spread of Ebola, we either dominate and force westernized ways on people who do not want to be dominated or we focus on “me”. Domination is not an option and unless open communication is establish, countries will be forced to shut down their borders and

[ebola-n-cola]

Dancing plays a huge role in West African culture - it is impossible to walk through the streets without seeing it. It is one of the strongest cultural unifiers within the West African region, and the rest of the world, so what better way to spread awareness and raise funds than through dance?

  In efforts to support the amazing organizations on the ground in Sierra Leone who are battling the ebola outbreak, the End Ebola Now team presents our new challenge campaign, #ShakeEbolaOff.  Step Up to the challenge to raise funds and awareness for Emergency USA, an organization that provides top-of-the-line free health care to war-torn and poverty-stricken areas around the world.  Due to the Ebola outbreak, they are currently running the ONLY fully-functioning hospital in Sierra Leone and are training healthcare officials to deal with the outbreak in the region. They have also opened the first Ebola Treatment Center near Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, and are building another 90-bed center nearby.

[ebola-n-cola]

Outbreaks are inevitable.... Pandemics are optional

-Anonymous 

[ebola-n-cola]

[ebola-n-cola]

Ebola In The Air?!?

Here's an Ebola puzzle for you: If the virus isn't airborne, why do doctors and nurses need to wear full protective suits, with face masks, while treating patients?

After we dug through studies and talked to scientists, the answer slowly emerged.

Ebola does spread through the air. But not through the airborne route.

Read More: http://www.npr.org/blogs/goatsandsoda/2014/12/01/364749313/ebola-in-the-air-what-science-says-about-how-the-virus-spreads

[ebola-n-cola]

A Conversation On Ebola Part III: Should the world provide money or people to aid the fight against Ebola?

Jack: Outside countries should be providing both people and money. Africa is in dire need of more medical staff to man treatment centers and they need money for resources like protective clothing for staff and medical equipment for the infected Africans.

Jill: It is not fair for one to say what Africa is in dire need for. Until Africa asks for assistance, no one should push themselves on them. The government officials of Africa may want help but the ultimate choice should be the area officials, as it impacts them most. African politicians want to play with the “big boys” and like the “big boys”, don’t take into account what the needs of their people. They are only interested in benefitting themselves. Like I said before, if assistance is requested, respect of that area’s cultural beliefs is mandatory.

What are your thoughts?

[ebola-n-cola]

Current Movement raising awareness and money for the ebola epidemic

Band Aid 30 consists of a number of leading pop acts — including One Direction, Ed Sheeran, Chris Martin and U2’s Bono — and is a reincarnation of the charity supergroup Band Aid that recorded the same song in 1984, as an antipoverty effort for famine-stricken Ethiopia.

[ebola-n-cola]

A Conversation On Ebola Part II: Keeping the severity of the outbreak in mind should all workers be required to wear proper protective gear?

Jack: Absolutely, if all of the workers are in protective clothing they will be less likely to contract the virus and become sick also. The objective is to end the outbreak and this cannot be done if the health care workers are getting sick themselves, if that continues to happen there will be no one to treat patents and the virus will spread even more.

Jill: Protective gear is an important part in keeping Ebola from spreading, however many healers believe that protective gear takes away from the personal connection between them and their patients. I believe each area, western or not, should be able to establish their own rules and regulations. Westernized countries cannot come in and implement rules that the area does not approve. With that being said, the westernize countries have a responsibility to their people to protect themselves. This can be down by shutting down their country’s borders to all disease stricken areas and require testing to all who attempt to enter.

What are your thoughts?

[ebola-n-cola]

Over 16,000 worldwide have contracted ebola

[ebola-n-cola]

A Conversation On Ebola Part I: How should the western world address health care in rural areas?

Jack: Treatment centers should be set up and quarantine should be put in place. They should also be administering drugs including the experimental drugs to the infected at the treatment centers. Proper protocol also needs to be taught to all of the local and nonlocal healthcare workers at the treatment centers immediately.

Jill: The western world should only involve itself in rural areas if they are invited in. So many times the western world says they want to help but in reality they just want to dominate and benefit themselves. If they are invited in then rather than dominating, westerners should sit with that areas officials to come up with a plan that is respectful of that area’s cultural beliefs. If a listening approach is taken, then I believe we will see a decrease in all the hostility and an increase in equality.

What are your thoughts?