Recent News

By Region: Africa

Death Toll From Ebola Surges in West Africa, Prompting Alarm

(New York Times) New cases and deaths from the Ebola virus outbreak in the West African countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, already the worst ever recorded for the disease, have surged by double-digit percentages in the past week, the World Health Organization reported Tuesday, with no sign of a slowdown. Alarmed Ivory Coast Read More »

July 16, 2014
| Filed under Africa, Agents & Toxins, International, and Public Health
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New vaccine against five livestock diseases in progress

(Sci Dev Net) Scientists in South Africa are developing a combination vaccine with the potential to offer protection against five major livestock diseases. The first stage of the vaccine project was funded by the Canadian International Food Security Research Fund (CIFSRF) through the Canadian International Development Research Centre (IDRC) with 3.1 million Canadian dollars (almost Read More »

July 14, 2014
| Filed under Africa, North America, Agriculture, Countermeasures, International, and Research
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As Ebola stalks West Africa, medics fight mistrust, hostility

(Reuters) Governments and health agencies trying to contain the world’s deadliest ever Ebola epidemic in West Africa fear the contagion could be worse than reported because suspicious locals are chasing away health workers and shunning treatment. From Guinea, where the four-month-old outbreak claimed the first of more than 500 lives, to Sierra Leone, scores of Read More »

July 14, 2014
| Filed under Africa, Agents & Toxins, International, and Public Health
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Fifty new Ebola cases, 25 deaths in West Africa – WHO

(Reuters) Fifty new cases of Ebola and 25 deaths have been reported in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea since July 3, as the deadly virus spreads in families, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday. In a statement, the United Nations agency said that the latest figures from health ministries in the three countries Read More »

July 9, 2014
| Filed under Africa, Agents & Toxins, International, and Public Health
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Somalia says any Saudi camel import ban would hurt economy

(Reuters) Somalia said on Thursday its economy would suffer if Saudi Arabia banned camel imports from the Horn of Africa nation over suspicions the animals could carry a potentially deadly virus and said it was ready to help find what caused the illness.