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☆ The U.S. is 'certainly' still in a Covid-19 pandemic, Dr. Fauci says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Dr. Anthony Fauci, White House chief medical advisor, speaks during a briefing on COVID-19 at the White House on November 22, 2022 in Washington, DC. The nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said the U.S. is "certainly" still in the middle of a Covid-19 pandemic and he is "very troubled" by the divisive state of American politics. "I don't care if you're a far-right Republican or a far-left Democrat, everybody deserves to have the safety of good public health and that's not happening." The 81-year-old became a household name during the Covid-19 pandemic, battling back against misinformation — sometimes from the highest levels of government. White House Covid-19 Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha said Sunday he knows it has been a long two years for Americans, but that it is still "incredibly important" to get vaccinated ahead of the holiday season.

☆ Uganda recording downward trend in Ebola cases - official
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Motorists and cyclists are seen at a traffic light intersection in Kabuusu area of the Lubaga division amid the Ebola outbreak in Kampala, Uganda November 16, 2022. REUTERS/Abubaker LubowaKAMPALA, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Uganda has recorded a drop in the number of new Ebola cases, with some districts going for at least two weeks without registering new infections, health ministry officials said. "We are also not seeing new cases in Kampala, in the greater Kampala metropolitan area, neither are we seeing cases in Masaka and Jinja," two other cities, she said. But three candidate vaccines against the Sudan strain are planned for a clinical trial in Uganda. The country has so far recorded 141 cases and 55 deaths, according to the ministry.

WASHINGTON, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. health official celebrated and vilified as the face of the country's COVID-19 pandemic response, used his final White House briefing on Tuesday to denounce division and promote vaccines. True to form, Fauci used his final press briefing to strongly encourage Americans to get COVID vaccines and booster shots, and touted the effectiveness of masks, all of which became partisan totems in the United States. NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci joins White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre for the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S. November 22, 2022. He made his first appearance at the White House press briefing in 2001, according to the broadcaster C-SPAN. Democrats accused Trump of presiding over a disjointed response to the pandemic and of disregarding advice from public health experts including Fauci.

☆ Uganda to roll out trial vaccines as it scrambles to control Ebola outbreak
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Larry Madowo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Mubende, Uganda CNN —Joseph Singiringabo has lost almost everything and everyone he held dear to Ebola. An Ebola treatment unit in Mubende, Uganda. Larry Madowo/CNNHe has been involved in every Ebola outbreak in Uganda as well as in Sierra Leone in 2017. However, the country is about to roll out three trial vaccines that have been certified as safe by the World Health Organization (WHO) working group. He has now barred traditional healers and witchdoctors from taking clients during the Ebola outbreak.

Two health workers at the hospital in western Uganda have died from Ebola in this outbreak. Nationwide, 15 health workers have tested positive and six have died. Intensive care staff work maximum eight-hour shifts and personnel from Ebola-free regions are rotated in, he said. "There are facilities where doctors and health workers are still touching patients without gloves because they (gloves) are not there," Nahabwe said. Case numbers remain low compared with a 2013-2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa that killed at least 11,300 people.

☆ Explainer: How the World Health Organization might fight future pandemics
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A new pact is a priority for WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus as his second five-year term at the head of the global health agency gets underway. It seeks to shore up the world's defences against new pathogens following the COVID-19 pandemic that has killed more than 6.5 million people, according to the WHO. The global health agency itself is facing calls for reform after an independent panel described it as "underpowered" when COVID-19 struck, with limited ability to investigate outbreaks and coordinate containment measures. The WHO already has binding rules known as the International Health Regulations (2005) which set out countries' obligations where public health events have the potential to cross borders. Adopted after the 2002/3 SARS outbreak, these regulations are still seen as functional for regional epidemics like Ebola but inadequate for a global pandemic.

☆ As Ebola outbreak grows in Uganda, US ramps up preparedness plans
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Jacqueline Howard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

“All primary and secondary schools in Uganda are directed to close by November 25th, 2022 for third term holidays as a measure to contain Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in the country,” Museveni said in a statement. Major US cities get Ebola plans in placeThe CDC estimates that 20% of travelers from Uganda will arrive without a cell phone or US-based phone number. “CDPH continues to work with our hospitals to screen patients for travel history and be alert for symptoms of Ebola virus disease or, more likely, malaria or circulating respiratory viruses. ‘We need to be prepared’The Ebola virus is transmissible – but not as transmissible as some other infectious diseases, like Covid-19. “If we do see any cases in the United States, the hope is that they will be identified quickly before there is further spread,” Barouch said.

☆ Ugandan leader says anti-Ebola efforts starting to succeed
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KAMPALA, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Uganda's efforts to contain an Ebola outbreak were starting to succeed and the country has tightened restrictions in the outbreak's epicentre to further slow the rate of infections, President Yoweri Museveni said on Tuesday. "Bunyangabo and Kagadi districts have been dropped from the follow up list. He said authorities had handed names of all contacts of Ebola cases to immigration services at borders to prevent them from potentially travelling and exporting cases in other countries. The outbreak was declared in the country on Sept. 20. Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by George Obulutsa and Alex RichardsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Uganda confirms Ebola case in country's east as outbreak expands
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KAMPALA, Nov 13 (Reuters) - An Ebola case has been confirmed in Jinja in eastern Uganda, the country's health minister said on Sunday, the first time the outbreak has spread to a new region of the country from central Uganda where cases have been confined so far. Authorities have been struggling to contain the highly infectious and deadly haemorrhagic fever since the epidemic was declared on Sept. 20. Uganda has so far recorded a total of 135 confirmed cases and 53 deaths, according to the health ministry. In a tweet, health minister Jane Ruth Aceng said the case in Jinja was of a 45-year-old man who died on Thursday. A sample that turned positive for Ebola had been obtained from the body by health workers at a private clinic where he had sought treatment.

☆ Uganda Struggles to Contain Its Second-Deadliest Ebola Outbreak
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Nicholas Bariyo | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Uganda is struggling to contain an Ebola outbreak that has already infected at least 156 people and killed 74, including in the capital Kampala. The outbreak, first detected on Sept. 20 in a small farming town in central Uganda, is caused by a relatively rare strain of the virus for which there are no proven vaccines or antiviral treatments. It has since spread to eight districts throughout the East African country, including Kampala, a crowded city of around five million people, prompting warnings from the World Health Organization that neighboring countries should prepare for imported infections.

But this focus obscures what is happening on the ground, every day: Local and national public health workers and epidemiologists, or “disease detectives,” around the world are stopping outbreaks in their tracks and preventing epidemics. The case studies show what is possible when local, state and national communities mobilize a whole-of-society effort to prevent epidemics. When local efforts are supported by national and local government, we can stop and prevent epidemics. Another lesson is the substantial return on investment we can realize by prioritizing and funding preparedness efforts. Finally, there is a crucial role that coordination among local, state and federal agencies plays in epidemic prevention.

“If I won the lottery, I’d do this for free because I have a passion for public health,” Bernstein said. I had to put other projects on hold to do pro bono work for the CDC. “If we want CDC to get better at fighting diseases, we need to stop tying their hands behind their back,” he said. A senior CDC official called it an “antiquated” system that “has not evolved over time.” The official spoke on the on the condition of anonymity so she could speak freely on the matter. ‘A real challenge to solve’The CDC is preparing a presentation to urge Congress it to fix this, Walensky said.

In the West, only about 10 people have died of monkeypox this year, figures from the U.S. CDC show. No monkeypox vaccines are publicly available in Africa. But those failures are being repeated a year on with monkeypox, the health workers consulted by Reuters said. Congo health minister Jean-Jacques Mbungani told Reuters Congo was in talks with the WHO to buy vaccines, but no formal request had been made. A WHO spokeswoman said that in the absence of available vaccines, countries should instead focus on surveillance and contact tracing.

☆ Climate Change Is Real. Markets, Not Governments, Offer the Cure. - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Bret Stephens | Mr. Stephens Is An Opinion Columnist. Mr. Winter Is A Staff Photographer On Assignment In Opinion. | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +32 min

worse-case, highest-carbon-emission scenario.” (The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is the U.N. body that assesses climate change.) How do we weigh the risks of underreacting to climate change against the risks of overreacting to it? While he’s not an expert on climate change, he has spent decades thinking deeply about every manner of risk. That’s particularly true if climate change is akin to cancer — manageable or curable in its earlier stages, disastrous in its later ones. Maybe, I realized, in assessing my newfound concerns about climate change, my long-held beliefs might provide a solution — look to the market.

☆ Uganda steps up Ebola response as virus infects 109, kills 30
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A woman and her child arrive for ebola related investigation at the health facility at the Bwera general hospital near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo in Bwera, Uganda, June 14, 2019. Fifteen of the confirmed cases were among health workers, of whom six had died, she told a news conference. The virus circulating in Uganda is the Sudan strain of Ebola, for which there is no proven vaccine, unlike the more common Zaire strain seen during recent outbreaks in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo. "The main objective is to evaluate their efficacy to protect primary contacts of Ebola patients within 29 days of contact," Aceng said. Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; Writing by George Obulutsa; Editing by Estelle ShirbonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Uganda's Ebola outbreak sees a worrisome increase in infections after spike in cases over the weekend
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

A top World Health Organization official in Africa said last week that Uganda’s Ebola outbreak was “rapidly evolving,” describing a challenging situation for health workers. Ugandan health authorities have confirmed 75 cases of Ebola since Sept. 20, including 28 deaths. Fears that Ebola could spread far from the outbreak’s epicenter compelled authorities to impose an ongoing lockdown, including nighttime curfews, on two of the five districts reporting Ebola cases. Uganda has had multiple Ebola outbreaks, including one in 2000 that killed more than 200 people. The 2014-16 Ebola outbreak in West Africa killed more than 11,000 people, the disease’s largest death toll.

☆ Uganda says 9 more Ebola cases confirmed in Kampala, urges vigilance
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/James Akena/File PhotoOct 24 (Reuters) - Uganda has reported nine more Ebola cases in the capital Kampala, bringing the total number of known infections to 14 in the last two days, the health minister said on Monday. The outbreak began in September in a rural part of central Uganda. Report yourself if you have had contact or know of a person who has had contact," Aceng said in her tweet. Ebola spreads through contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person. There have been more than 90 confirmed and probable cases in Uganda since the start of the outbreak, including at least 44 deaths, according to statements by the health ministry and the World Health Organization.

☆ Uganda says two more Ebola cases confirmed in Kampala hospital
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NAIROBI, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Two more people in an isolation unit of Uganda's main hospital have tested positive for Ebola, bringing total cases recorded in the facility to five, the health minister said on Sunday. Health Minister Jane Ruth Aceng said on Saturday that three patients among 60 people in isolation at Kampala's Mulago Hospital tested positive for the disease a day earlier. "Two more contacts to the Kassanda case, who are quarantined in Mulago Isolation facility, tested positive for Ebola yesterday..." Aceng said on Twitter. It was not clear if the numbers included the three first new Kampala cases. The government said last week two other cases of Ebola confirmed in Kampala had come from Mubende and were regarded as originating there, not the capital.

☆ Uganda applies well-honed lessons to new Ebola outbreak
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( Mithil Aggarwal | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Now, the East African country — lauded for its coronavirus response, which was built around engaging the community and training health officials — is drawing lessons from the first Ebola outbreak in 2004. “They alerted the WHO early and put in the basic pillars of a response early,” Dr. Benjamin Black, an obstetrician, said recalling the West African Ebola response from 2014 to 2016. But Ghebreyesus said Wednesday a clinical trial of vaccines to combat the Sudan species of the Ebola virus could start within weeks. “There’s burnout amongst health workers, health officials and the public across the board in Uganda,” Agoada said. The threadlike Ebola virus spreads when it comes in contact with an infected person’s bodily fluids.

☆ Ebola tests are positive for three people in Uganda hospital
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Oct 22 (Reuters) - Three people in an isolation unit of Uganda's main hospital have tested positive for Ebola, the country's health minister said on Saturday. "Yesterday ... three individuals from among the 60 in our Mulago isolation facility tested positive for Ebola," Jane Ruth Aceng said on Twitter. The government has introduced a three-week lockdown around the Mubende and Kassanda districts in central Uganda, the epicentre of the outbreak of the Sudan variant of the Ebola virus. The government said last week two other cases of Ebola confirmed in Kampala had come from Mubende and were regarded as originating there, not the capital. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by George Obulutsa; Editing by Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Uganda health minister:3 people in Kampala hospital positive for Ebola
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Oct 22 (Reuters) - Three people in an isolation unit of Uganda's main hospital have tested positive for Ebola, the country's health minister said on Saturday. "Yesterday ... three individuals from among the 60 in our Mulago isolation facility tested positive for Ebola," Jane Ruth Aceng said on Twitter. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterMulago is in Uganda's capital Kampala. The government said last week two other cases of Ebola confirmed in Kampala had come from Mubende and were regarded as originating there, not the capital. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by George Obulutsa; Editing by Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Fact Check-As of Oct. 20, no suspected or confirmed cases of Ebola in the U.S., officials say
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Chicago Public Health Department (CPHD) told Reuters that as of Oct. 20 “no suspected, probable, or confirmed cases of Ebola” had been reported in Chicago, contrary to claims online. Bert Kelly, a spokesperson for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, also told Reuters that “there are no suspected Ebola cases in the U.S.” as of Oct. 20. Health authorities in Uganda confirmed an outbreak of the Sudan strain of Ebola on Sept. 20 (here). The Chicago Public Health Department told Reuters no “suspected, probable, or confirmed cases of Ebola” had been reported in Chicago as of Oct. 20. The U.S. CDC similarly said no suspected Ebola cases in the U.S. had been reported as of that date.

As an outbreak of Ebola spreads in Uganda, officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention remain confident that the virus can be contained. The people most at risk, therefore, are household contacts and health care workers treating Ebola patients. In 2019, a vaccine was approved for the Ebola virus that caused the 2014 outbreak. The current Ebola outbreak, however, is caused by a different species of the virus, and no vaccines or direct treatments are available. The Ebola virus causes hemorrhagic fever, leading to problems with how the body clots blood.

☆ WHO: 'Concerned' about Ebola spread as latest eight cases not contacts of others infected
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Oct 19 (Reuters) - The eight most recent Ebola cases reported during the outbreak in Uganda have no known links with current patients, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday, raising concerns over the spread of the deadly disease. In a briefing, the WHO said initial investigations into the cases by Uganda's Ministry of Health had shown they were not contacts of people already known to have Ebola. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThere have been 60 confirmed and 20 probable cases since the outbreak began last month, and 44 deaths, the WHO said. The strain spreading in Uganda is the Sudan strain, and the existing vaccines and therapies do not work against it. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Jennifer Rigby Editing by Gareth JonesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.S. sends experimental antibody, antiviral drug to Uganda for Ebola outbreak
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Julie Steenhuysen | Nancy Lapid | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

There are currently no proven vaccines or treatments for the Sudan species of Ebola, one of four known Ebola viruses to cause hemorrhagic fever in humans. The outbreak confirmed by the Ugandan health ministry on Sept. 20 is the largest of the Sudan species since 2000. "If healthcare workers start to fall ill and die, it's going to negatively impact the response," said Montgomery, who had just returned from a trip to Uganda. For instance, healthcare workers may be reluctant to assist in the response, he said in a phone interview. A large outbreak of the Zaire species of Ebola in West Africa from 2014-2016 led to effective vaccines and treatment, but there are no proven treatments or vaccines for the Sudan species.

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