AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR MICROBIOLOGY  by Azizul Haque and others                                July  27, 2015

 Ebola virus can cause severe hemorrhagic disease with high fatality rates. Currently, no specific therapeutic or vaccine has been approved for treatment and prevention of Ebola infection of humans. Although the number of Ebola cases has fallen in the last few weeks, multiple outbreaks of Ebola virus infection and the likelihood of future exposure highlight the need for development and rapid evaluation of pre- and post-exposure treatments.

In this manuscript we briefly review the existing and future options for anti-Ebola therapy, based on the data coming from rare clinical reports, studies on animals and results from in vitro models....

Read complete report

http://aac.asm.org/content/early/2015/07/21/AAC.01105-15.short?rss=1

CENTER FOR DISEASE RESEARCH AND POLICY        July 24, 2015

(Also scroll down for: Ebola case definition quandary; Public health worker Ebola unease)

Researchers found that the World Health Organization (WHO) Ebola case definition has a specificity of only 31.5%, and they noted that 9% of Ebola patients reported neither a fever nor any Ebola risk exposure, calling into question WHO norms, according to a large study yesterday in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

Researchers from Britain and Sierra Leone analyzed data on 850 suspected and 724 lab-confirmed Ebola patients who presented to the holding unit of Connaught Hospital in Freetown from May 29 to Dec 8, 2014. Fever or history of fever (n=599, 83%), intense fatigue or weakness (495, 68%), vomiting or nausea (365, 50%), and diarrhea (294, 41%) were the most common presenting symptoms in suspected cases.

Based on data from these patients, the investigators found the sensitivity of the WHO case definition to be 79.7%, which means about 20% of true Ebola cases would be missed (false-negatives). They found the specificity of the case definition to be 31.5%, which means 68.5% of patients who would be selected for admission would not actually have Ebola virus disease (false-positives).

Read complete story.

CENTER FOR INFECIOUS DISEASE AND POLICY  by Lisa Schnirring     July 22, 2015

The number of new Ebola cases in Guinea and Sierra Leone declined a bit last week, with much of the disease activity centered in the two capital cities for the second week in a row, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in its weekly epidemiologic update today.

Tests confirmed 26 Ebola cases among the two countries, 22 in Guinea and 4 in Sierra Leone. The total is down from 30 reported the previous week, but progress against the disease has been stagnant over the past several weeks, hovering around 25 to 30 cases. Officials, however, said they saw more hopeful signs in contact tracing.

No new cases were reported in Liberia.

Overall, the total in the three countries has reached 27,705 confirmed, probable, and suspected cases, including 11,269 deaths, according to the WHO.

Read complete story,

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2015/07/ebola-cases-ebb-bit-conakry-freetown-hot-spots

WHO:  Ebola Situation Report - 22 July 2015

 Read complete report.

Side Event in Support of the UN Secretary-General’s International Ebola Recovery Conference July 9-10 2015

United Nations Headquarters - Conference Room 3, 13.15-14.30 pm (1:15pm-2:30pm, ET), 10 July 2015

As a side-event in support of the United Nations Secretary-General’s International Ebola Recovery Conference, Ebola Innovation for Impact 2015: Game Change in Global Health Crisis Management will bring together thought leaders in global health and technology to stimulate creative, collaborative and catalytic action, and to address the Ebola crisis with innovative solutions in the key, inter-linked areas of: Community Engagement and Mobilization; Private Sector Contribution and Collaboration; Data Systems Strengthening and Coordination; and, Emergency Infrastructure and Logistics.

Speakers include:

Dr. Barbara Bentein, UNICEF

Dr. Arnaud Bernaert, World Economic Forum (WEF)

Dr. Vinton G. Cerf, Google

Dr. Denis Gilhooly, Global Digital Health Initiative (GDHI)

Dr. Michael D. McDonald, Global Health Response & Resilience Alliance (GHRRA)