Ify's EpiCorner

An Ebola story in Guinea. By Genna Buck Source: Macleans Finda Marie Kamano, 33, struggles to walk through her hometown of Gueckedougou in Guinea.  (Sylvain Cherkaoui/ Cosmos for MSF/Redux) Kamano is suffering from diarrhoea and vomiting, symptoms of dysentry.  (Sylvain Cherkaoui/ Cosmos for MSF/Redux) A doctor with Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) examines Kamano.  (Sylvain Cherkaoui/ Cosmos for MSF/Redux) Kamano is transported to the clinic in the back of a truck.  (Sylvain Cherkaoui/ Cosmos for MSF/Redux) Kamano is led to the treatment centre by a nurse in a protective uniform.  (Sylvain Cherkaoui/ Cosmos for MSF/Redux) The MSF team finds Kamano suffering from fever, nosebleeds and symptoms of dysentery.  (Sylvain Cherkaoui/ Cosmos for MSF/Redux) After kamano is diagnosed with Ebola, an MSF team disinfects her house and belongings with bleach.  (Sylvain Cherkaoui/ Cosmos for MSF/Redux) ...

The virus detective who discovered Ebola in 1976 By Rob Brown BBC World Service Nearly 40 years ago, a young Belgian scientist travelled to a remote part of the Congolese rainforest - his task was to help find out why so many people were dying from an unknown and terrifying disease. In September 1976, a package containing a shiny, blue thermos flask arrived at the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, Belgium. Working in the lab that day was Peter Piot, a 27-year-old scientist and medical school graduate training as a clinical microbiologist. "It was just a normal flask like any other you would use to keep coffee warm," recalls Piot, now Director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. But this thermos wasn't carrying coffee - inside was an altogether different cargo. Nestled amongst a few melting ice cubes were vials of blood along with a note. It was from a Belgian doctor based in what was then Zair...

On March 10 th 2014, hospitals and public health services in Gueckedou and Macenta districts alerted the Guinea Ministry of Health (MoH) and Medecins sans Frontieres in Guinea about a rapidly evolving outbreak of a mysterious disease characterized by fever, sever diarrhea, vomiting and an apparently high fatality rate.  Eight patients were hospitalized in Gueckedou of which three died. Additional deaths were also reported among family members of the patients. In Macenta, deaths were also observed among hospital staff members. On March 13 th , 2014 the Guinea Ministry of Health (MoH) notified the World Health Organization (WHO) of the outbreak of a communicable disease in the forested areas of South Eastern Guinea with cases reported in Gueckedou, Macenta and Kissidougou districts.  A total of 86 suspected cases, including 59 deaths were reported (case fatality ratio of 68.5%). The Guinea Ministry of Health sent a team to the outbreak region on March 1...