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☆ Fact Check-No evidence of Ebola outbreak at 2023 Burning Man festival
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

There is no evidence of an Ebola outbreak during the 2023 Burning Man festival, despite viral claims online. Reuters found no evidence of any such outbreak and messaging from the festival organizers and public agencies contradicts the online claims. “CDC has not received reports of Ebola nor requests for testing, or for CDC teams to deploy tied to the Burning man Festival,” a spokesperson for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said to Reuters in an email on Tuesday. Archives of the festival’s website and accounts associated with the festival on the platform X, formerly known as Twitter, do not reveal any post warning of an Ebola outbreak (here), (here), (here). There is no evidence of an Ebola outbreak during 2023 Burning Man festival.

Persons: ”, Read Organizations: Reuters, CDC, Centers for Disease Control, Prevention, Bureau, Land Management, Twitter, Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA Locations: Black Rock

☆ Elon Musk called Burning Man the 'best art on Earth' before thousands of mud-soaked attendees fled the disastrous event
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk called Burning Man the "best art on Earth" despite chaotic weather conditions. Elon Musk, who has been known to attend the arts festival in the past, praised the event as the "best art on Earth." In a Sunday post on X, formerly Twitter, Musk said: "Burning Man is unique in the world. The billionaire made the remarks in response to a joke video of a Balenciaga fashion show in Paris that was falsely labeled as Burning Man. Burning Man has long been a favorite among billionaires and tech elites.

Persons: Elon, hasn't, Elon Musk, Musk, Angie Peacock, hadn't, Musk's, Kimbal, Sergey Brin Organizations: Twitter, Rock City, Wall Street Locations: Nevada, Paris

☆ Rich, poor countries split over costs of pandemic prevention
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

REUTERS/Bruno Kelly/StringerSince early in the COVID-19 pandemic, global health officials have sought to create a “pandemic treaty” to better prepare for future outbreaks. The governing body of the World Health Organization, or WHO, chose delegates from each of its six administrative regions worldwide to lead the negotiations. Ahead of next week’s meeting, according to officials interviewed by Reuters, the biggest sticking point remains financing for poor countries. The United States and the European Union have both said they support the inclusion of “One Health” provisions in a pandemic treaty. But as a far-reaching and sometimes abstract concept, “One Health” measures could be costly to put into practice.

Persons: ”, Chadia Wannous, zoonotic spillover, Bruno Kelly, Stringer, Lawrence Gostin, ” Gostin, –, Maria Van Kerkhove, “, Deborah J, Nelson, Ryan McNeill, Helen Reid, Sam Hart, Simon Newman, Edgar Su, Paulo Prada, Janet Roberts, Feilding Organizations: LONDON Health, World Health Organization, Organisation for Animal Health, Reuters, REUTERS, WHO, European Union, Center, National, Global Health Law, “, Pacific, Brazilian, South Locations: Geneva, France, United States, Asia, Africa, Latin America, Americas, Southeast Asia, Brazil

☆ Australia: Doctors remove 3-inch parasitic worm from woman's brain in world first
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Kathleen Magramo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The finding unleashed a mad scramble to find out what exactly the parasite was, Canberra Hospital infectious disease expert Sanjaya Senanayake told CNN. “We were able to send the live wiggling worm to him, and he was able to look at it and immediately identify it,” Senanayake said. In this case, the patient was likely an accidental host of the worm, Senanayake said. “There’s more opportunities for humans, domestic animals and wild animals to interact with each other and the vegetation that’s out there. And of those emerging infections, about 75% were zoonotic, meaning there has been transmission from the animal world to the human world – including coronaviruses.

Persons: Dr, Hari Priya Bandi, ” Bandi, Sanjaya Senanayake, “, ” Senanayake, ”, Senanayake, Hossain M, Kennedy KJ, Wilson HL Senanayake Organizations: CNN, Australian National University, Canberra Hospital, Wilson, US Centers for Disease Control, Prevention Locations: Canberra, New South Wales, Australia

☆ A stock trader who returned 630% in 3 years shares 6 key signals he identifies before making a trade
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Laila Maidan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

For example, if a stock's price is below the VWAP, it may lure many traders into shorting it, he said. Since Sykes trades penny stocks with less trading volume, he uses indicators that help him determine whether his theses will play out. However, its importance is inferior to the above criteria because the catalyst could move a stock's price in either direction. On the morning of December 1, 2022, the stock's price plunged, creating a pattern he calls a morning panic. This trade fit Sykes' criteria because it had attention on it as a catalyst and created a pattern he trades.

Persons: Timothy Sykes, Sykes, Norman Zadeh, It's, they're, CLOW Organizations: Bollinger, United States, Nasdaq Locations: shorting

☆ Sierra Leone main opposition party rejects partial presidential poll results
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

FREETOWN, June 27 (Reuters) - Sierra Leone's main opposition party has rejected the partial results of a tense presidential election that showed President Julius Maada Bio leading the poll, alleging irregularities in the tallying process. The All People's Congress (APC) party's main candidate Samura Kamara, 72, is the incumbent's main rival. A provisional results sheet on Monday showed Kamara trailing behind Bio with just under 800,000 votes, compared to over 1 million for the president. [1/2]Supporters of Sierra Leone's opposition leader and presidential candidate for the All People's Congress (APC) party, Dr. Samura Kamara, wipe rain drops from his campaign poster in Freetown, Sierra Leone June 23, 2023. Bio addressed the nation after the publication of provisional results on Monday evening and called on citizens to remain peaceful.

Persons: Julius Maada, Samura Kamara, Kamara, Sierra, Cooper, Sierra Leone, Umaru, Sofia Christensen, Christina Fincher Organizations: Congress, party's, All, REUTERS, World Bank, Thomson Locations: FREETOWN, Freetown, Sierra Leone, Sierra

[1/6] Ballots are displayed at a polling station, after polls closed, on the day of the national election, in Freetown, Sierra Leone, June 24, 2023. The race is expected to be close between the incumbent and the All People's Congress' (APC) Samura Kamara, who narrowly lost to Bio in the last election in 2018. The main opposition APC also said their election representatives were attacked and intimidated in three districts, highlighting the tense backdrop to the vote. Inflation soared to its highest level in over 20 years in 2022, while the national Leone currency slumped 60% in value. Bio and Kamara reported small-scale attacks on their supporters ahead of election day, while the APC's recent questioning of the independence of election officials has raised tensions.

Persons: Cooper Inveen, Sierra Leone, Julius Maada Bio's, Samura Kamara, Abu Koroma, We've, Kandeh Yumkella, Mohamed Rahman Swaray, Kamara, Alessandra Prentice, Angus MacSwan, Ros Russell, Marguerita Choy Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Provisional, APC, World Bank, Thomson Locations: Freetown, Sierra Leone, FREETOWN, Sierra, Leone, Ukraine

☆ Sierra Leone : Tensions mount ahead of high-stakes elections
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Stephanie Busari | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Sierra Leone is gearing up for crucial presidential elections on Saturday amid growing discontent and calls for change from its citizens. Sierra Leone has also faced devastating epidemics, including Ebola in 2014 and the Covid pandemic. President of Sierra Leone and Leader of Sierra Leone People's party (SLPP), Julius Maada Bio, addresses his supporters during his final campaign rally in Freetown John Wessels/AFP/Getty ImagesTwelve candidates are challenging Maada Bio, 59, in the general election, including the leader of the opposition ‘All People Congress’ (APC) party, Samura Kamara. ‘The people are tired’The mood in the country is tense as the country prepares for the high-stakes elections. Sierra Leoneans are concerned about several issues, including economic management, food shortages, healthcare services, infrastructure development, and education.

Persons: Julius Maada, Freetown John Wessels, Samura Kamara, Kamara, ‘, Mohamed Konneh, John Wessels, Sierra Leoneans, ”, Aminata Fanta Koroma, Kadira Rodhe Kamara, Bio, Ishmael Beah, ” Beah Organizations: CNN —, Getty, Congress, Police, European Union, International Monetary Fund, CNN Locations: CNN — Sierra Leone, Sierra Leone, Freetown John, Freetown, United Kingdom, United States, Ireland, Germany, France, Sierra

☆ China, birthplace of COVID, lays tracks for a new global health crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

Bat viruses have been the source of multiple health crises besides those related to coronaviruses, including recent outbreaks of Ebola, Nipah, and Marburg. Partners in risk The total area at high risk for bat viruses to infect humans more than doubled in size in Laos between 2002 and 2020. The animals, known to be susceptible to bat viruses, included raccoon dogs, bamboo rats and porcupines. As China boomed in recent decades, global demand for rubber also skyrocketed, leading to further development and deforestation here. Already, scientists have found local bats bearing viruses closely related to those responsible for the 2003 SARS and COVID-19 pandemics.

☆ How a deadly bat virus found new ways to infect people
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +16 min

Scientists found bats with Nipah virus roosting near Sabith’s home. A search of the neighborhood led to a colony, near their house, of flying foxes, a common fruit bat. NETTING NIPAH: Researchers in Bangladesh use nets to catch bats and collect samples to find the Nipah virus in the wild. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir HossainWhether Sabith ate contaminated fruit or somehow came into direct contact with a bat, the virus entered his cells. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir HossainA year later, Chua’s team found the same strain of Nipah virus in flying foxes.

☆ How Reuters pinpointed bat-virus risk zones worldwide
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +12 min

Areas where conditions are similar are more prone to spillover, scientists say. The Reuters analysis, which assessed spillover risk through 2020, has proven to have some predictive power. Similar statistical models are used widely to analyze data in ecology, and researchers use them to understand spillover risk. More than one of every five people on the planet is living in areas where the risk is highest for spillover. Using epidemic modeling software called GLEAMviz, the news agency simulated a worldwide pandemic originating from the spillover of a theoretical novel virus.

☆ Bat lands worldwide are besieged, seeding risk of a new pandemic
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +16 min

This collision – bats and humans competing for resources on territory long the domain of the bats – could trigger the next pandemic. As people destroy bat habitats worldwide, they are unwittingly helping bat-borne viruses mutate, multiply, and infect other species, including homo sapiens. For millennia, bat viruses lurked across the forests of West Africa and in other undisturbed parts of the world but posed little threat to humanity. They’re potent proliferators: Some roost tightly together and in close quarters with other bat species. Each of the bat viruses analyzed by Reuters has epidemic potential, according to the World Health Organization.

☆ Opinion | We Could Easily Make Risky Virological Research Safer
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( David Wallace-Wells | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The 2007 outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Britain was traced to a faulty drainage pipe at a research facility. In 2015 the Department of Defense discovered that a germ-warfare program in Utah had mistakenly mailed almost 200 samples of live anthrax over 12 years. Lab accidents happen, and they aren’t especially rare. In January the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity issued a series of draft recommendations for tightening regulation and oversight. And many of those who see the Covid pandemic as merely the sort of pathogenic disaster that lab accidents might cause agree that greater safety is needed.

☆ Opinion | If the Pandemic Is No Longer a Public Health Emergency, Then What Is It?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( David Quammen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Is malaria an emergency? Is tuberculosis of international concern? I’m neither a public health expert nor a scientist, so I offer a citizen’s opinion: Yes, it’s time to cease calling Covid-19 a public health emergency of international concern. Therefore, Covid is still certainly a public health situation of international concern. We will need to keep improving laboratory techniques and manufacturing capacity for potentially ever-revised Covid vaccines.

☆ WHO dismisses lead COVID origins investigator for sexual misconduct
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

In a response to Reuters, Ben Embarek said he contested the accusation of harassment and was challenging the sanction. "Peter Ben Embarek was dismissed last year following findings of sexual misconduct against him that were substantiated by investigations, and corresponding disciplinary process," said WHO spokesperson Marcia Poole. Ben Embarek said that a single incident in 2017 "was settled immediately in a friendly way." "I am not aware of any other complaints and no other complaints have ever been brought to my attention," Ben Embarek said in a digital message. The agency said that people are more willing to come forward about sexual misconduct and that it is taking action where allegations are substantiated.

WASHINGTON, April 19 (Reuters) - British pop star Elton John urged U.S. senators on Wednesday not to ease up on the fight against HIV and AIDS, as Congress faces a September deadline for reauthorizing the multi-billion-dollar U.S. program to fight the disease. Congress must reauthorize PEPFAR for another five years before Sept. 30. REUTERS/Anna GordonA set amount has not been set for the reauthorization, but Congress typically has approved $6.5 billion to $6.9 billion for PEPFAR each year. Global AIDS Coordinator John Nkengasong told the committee PEPFAR has saved 25 million lives and created health networks that have helped fight outbreaks of Ebola and the COVID-19 pandemic. "I urge my colleagues to join me in working to reauthorize PEPFAR without delay and without new mandates and directives," said Senator Jim Risch, the panel's top Republican.

☆ Equatorial Guinea confirms 13 Marburg cases after WHO comments
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA, March 29 (Reuters) - Equatorial Guinea has confirmed 13 cases of Marburg disease since the beginning of the epidemic, its health officials said on Wednesday after the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) urged the Central African country's government to report new cases officially. Marburg virus disease is a viral haemorrhagic fever that can have a fatality rate of up to 88%, according to the WHO. Marburg is passed on to people from fruit bats and is from the same virus family responsible for the deadly Ebola disease. "WHO is aware of additional cases and we have asked the government to report these cases officially to WHO," its director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said earlier on Wednesday. There is also an outbreak of Marburg virus in Tanzania, where eight cases including five deaths have been reported in the northwest Kagera region, WHO has said.

☆ Equatorial Guinea confirms eight more Marburg cases - WHO
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DAKAR, March 23 (Reuters) - Eight new confirmed cases of Marburg disease have been reported in Equatorial Guinea, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday. This brings the total of laboratory-confirmed cases to nine and probable cases to 20 since the outbreak of the deadly disease similar to Ebola was declared in February. The areas reporting cases are about 150 kilometres (93 miles) apart, suggesting a wider transmission of the virus, the WHO said. Marburg virus disease is a viral haemorrhagic fever that can have a fatality rate of up to 88%, according to the WHO. Neighbouring Cameroon also detected two suspected cases of Marburg disease last month despite restricting movement along the border to avoid contagion.

☆ Tanzania detects its first-ever cases of the highly fatal Marburg viral disease
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DAR ES SALAAM, March 22 (Reuters) - Tanzania has confirmed its first-ever cases of Marburg, a high-fatality viral hemorrhagic fever with symptoms broadly similar to those of Ebola, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said. "The efforts by Tanzania's health authorities to establish the cause of the disease is a clear indication of the determination to effectively respond to the outbreak," said Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa. With a fatality rate of as high as 88%, Marburg is from the same virus family responsible for Ebola and is transmitted to people from fruit bats. Symptoms include high fever, severe headache and malaise which typically develop within seven days of infection, according to the WHO. Equatorial Guinea is also battling its first-ever outbreak of Marburg that was confirmed in February.

☆ We need to continue to invest in 'pandemic preparedness,' says microbiologist
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Tania Bryer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWe need to continue to invest in 'pandemic preparedness,' says microbiologistCNBC's Tania Bryer sits down with Anil Soni, CEO of the WHO Foundation, and Professor Peter Piot, microbiologist and co-discoverer of the Ebola virus, to discuss how the global health-care industry can be more equitable.

☆ Venture Capital Investors Are Trying to Take Over Pandemic Response
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Adam Rogers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +19 min

Private capital has been eyeing public health for years. Several founders and investors told me that the failure of Kleiner's fund made Silicon Valley wary of investing in pandemic preparedness. Venture investors love that kind of thing. Public health and private industryWhen COVID hit, Charity Dean was the assistant director of the California Department of Public Health. In the end, almost every pandemic-related product created by Silicon Valley will ultimately require the government as a primary customer.

☆ WHO fires director in Asia accused of racist misconduct
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Tedros did not refer to Kasai by name, referencing only his title as regional director in the Western Pacific. It is the first time in WHO's history that a regional director has been dismissed. He said that the process of naming a new regional director for the Western Pacific would begin next month, with the election to be held in October. In January, the AP reported that a WHO doctor hoping to replace Kasai as regional director in the Western Pacific had previously faced sexual misconduct accusations. With support of some WHO colleagues and his home country, Waqanivalu was preparing to run for the regional director job.

☆ Inside the germy, sneeze-filled meeting between Morgan Stanley's CEO and the Saudi crown prince at the onset of COVID-19
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Liz Hoffman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

James Gorman, CEO of Morgan Stanley, met with the Saudi crown prince at the onset of the pandemic. The young royal kept sneezing during the meeting — and Gorman's fear of a deadly pathogen began to grow. He was in the royal palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, seated to the right of the country's crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman. Given their recent experience with a deadly virus, Gorman took the caution of his Kuwaiti hosts as a sign that the West was underestimating the dangers of this one. And now, as Gorman chatted with the controversial 34-year-old crown prince about ways Saudi Arabia could diversify its economy and reduce its reliance on oil, the young royal kept sneezing.

☆ Cameroon detects two suspected cases of Marburg virus near Eq. Guinea
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Equatorial Guinea officially declared its first outbreak of the Marburg virus, an illness similar to Ebola, on Monday. Neighbouring Cameroon had restricted movement along the border to avoid contagion following reports of an unknown, deadly hemorrhagic fever in Equatorial Guinea last week. Forty-two people who came into contact with the two children have been identified and contact tracing was ongoing, he added. The World Health Organization (WHO) said earlier on Tuesday that it was increasing its epidemiological surveillance in Equatorial Guinea. He added that the country's authorities had not reported any new suspected cases in the last 48 hours.

☆ Equatorial Guinea confirms country's first Marburg virus disease outbreak -WHO
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JOHANNESBURG, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Equatorial Guinea has confirmed its first outbreak of the Marburg virus, a highly infectious and deadly disease similar to Ebola, following the deaths of at least nine people, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday. The small Central African country quarantined more than 200 people and restricted movement last week in its Kie-Ntem province after detecting an unknown hemorrhagic fever. In addition to the nine deaths, Equatorial Guinea has reported 16 suspected cases of Marburg virus with symptoms including fever, fatigue and blood-stained vomit and diarrhea, the WHO said. Marburg virus disease can have a fatality rate of up to 88%, according to the WHO. The deaths have been preliminarily linked to a funeral ceremony in the Kie-Ntem province's Nsok Nsomo district, Equatorial Guinea Health Minister Mitoha Ondo'o Ayekaba said on Friday.

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