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Post by J85K on Sept 20, 2015 22:09:22 GMT -4
"Some would cry, 'I want to die! I want to die!' because they were in so much pain,"www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/investigation-bungling-by-un-agency-hurt-ebola-response/ar-AAexQlQ?ocid=spartandhp As a worker at Kenema Government Hospital mixed a batch of chlorine on a broiling August day, he noticed it didn't have its typically strong, bleach-like odor. Concerned, he turned to a consultant with the World Health Organization, who tested the disinfectant and found barely any active ingredient.
"I was deeply shocked," the consultant, Jerome Souquet, wrote in an email to his boss in Freetown, Sierra Leone's capital. Souquet said the consequences of using the ineffective chlorine "could be catastrophic, and cause immediate infection of all the staff."
Questionable chlorine was just one of a toxic mix of avoidable problems faced by Ebola responders in Kenema last summer as the outbreak was spiking. Weak leadership, shoddy supplies and infighting exacerbated a chaotic situation at a critical front in the battle against the virus, an Associated Press investigation has found. More than 40 health workers died in Kenema — a devastating loss in the fight to control an epidemic that has claimed more than 11,000 lives.
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Post by J85K on Sept 22, 2015 7:49:33 GMT -4
www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/this-16-year-old-won-the-google-science-fair-with-a-way-to-detect-ebola/ar-AAeAOXm?ocid=spartandhpOliva Hallisey, a 16-year-old from the United States, won the 2015 Google Science Fair with her project to develop a fast, cheap, and stable test for the Ebola virus, which she says gives easy-to-read results in less than 30 minutes. The test uses the typical components of an Ebola test, which is made up of antibodies (the tags that our immune system uses to mark viruses and bacteria as invaders) and chemicals that cause the test to change colors if these antibodies bind to Ebola proteins in the sample. The big innovation: To make the test stable, Hallisey used silk fibers to stabilize the chemicals on card stock, allowing them to sit around at room temperature for up to 3 weeks and still be effective. No refrigeration required, unlike with current Ebola tests. Hallisey then used these silk-stabilized chemicals to design a paper-based test that requires only a serum sample (the clear part of the blood after the red blood cells have been removed) and water to run. img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AAeAwRL.img?h=768&w=1080&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f
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