THE DAILY BEAST  by Abby Haglage                                                                  Jan. 7, 2015

...Although a few smaller companies have become involved in the race for a vaccine, three major pharmaceutical makers are taking the lead—each pursuing a different vaccine. The trials are unprecedented for a variety of reasons, including the rapid timeline (trials of this nature generally take three to four years).

                                                      Steve Parsons-WPA Pool/Getty Images

Each individual race involves an unusual collaboration between researchers, manufacturers, and public-health entities. Together, the teams are working 24 hours a day for a product that promises much higher risk than it does profit.

Here’s what you need to know about the Ebola vaccine front-runners.

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http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/01/07/the-race-for-the-ebola-vaccine.html

Ebola: Roundup of recent developments

(Two items. Scroll down for UNMEER report.)

CENTER FOR INFECTIOUSNESS DISEASE AND POLICY   by Lisa Schnirring                              Jan. 5, 2015

As deaths in West Africa's Ebola outbreak officially topped 8,000 over the weekend, leadership of the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) changed hands, and Guinea launched a new effort to battle the disease amid continuing reports of community resistance....

In other developments, Guinea's government has announced the launch of a campaign called "zero Ebola in 60 days", UNMEER said today. Guinea's Ebola case counts have been oscillating over the past several months, and in its most recent update, the WHO said it's not clear what the trend is. The first part of Guinea's campaign will start Tuesday, with expert teams traveling to six regions to assess local response efforts and form an action plan for each prefecture that dovetails with Guinea's national action plan.

UNMEER said the campaign's working groups are targeting surveillance, case management, infection control, community engagement and social mobilization, and safe burials.

ASSOCIATED PRESS                                                                                      Jan. 5, 2015

GENEVA --The World Health Organization says at least 8,153 people have died in the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

The Geneva-based body said Monday that the total number of confirmed, probable and suspected deaths from the disease comes from 20,656 cases in the three most affected countries — a mortality rate of 39 percent.

The U.N. health agency says 2,915 deaths have been reported from Sierra Leone, 3,471 in Liberia and 1,767 in Guinea.

Read complete story.

http://news.yahoo.com/un-ebola-kills-8-153-people-west-africa-175150599.html

The virus will have a long-lasting impact on already poor countries

THE ECONOMIST                                                                                                      Jan. 3, 2015
When Ebola was at its worst in west Africa a few months ago, many worried that weak governments in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone might be swept away by riots or the collapse of order as the virus took hold. In fact, the opposite appears to be the case. Governments have tightened their grip and are displaying authoritarian inclinations in ways rarely seen in the three young democracies....

The disease, meanwhile, continues to spread. In the week to December 21st, Guinea experienced its highest incidence of the virus since the outbreak began (see chart). In Liberia dozens of new cases have been reported along the border with Sierra Leone.