Other News

Liberia: working with communities is the key to stopping Ebola — WHO

(Courtesy World Health Organization features) —  Eight weeks ago, when Dr Peter Clement arrived in Lofa County, Liberia, from WHO’s office in Monrovia, 20-30 patients were coming to the Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) hospital with Ebola-like symptoms every day. People living in the community were afraid, civil unrest was simmering, and ambulance and health workers were being targeted. WHO/C. Black Against United Nations security advice, Dr Clement travelled 12 hours over dirt roads to Lofa, […]

Protestors’ triumphs merely highlight the travails of Hong Kong’s democracy

Author: Joseph Cheng, City University of Hong Kong (Courtesy East Asia Forum) — Just before midnight on 2 October, CY Leung, Chief Executive of Hong Kong, agreed to negotiations with student protest leaders on the issue of political reform. The protesters, as well as the people of Hong Kong, can be very proud of what they have achieved so far. They have occupied not only the Admiralty area, but also several districts and ensured that […]

Human testing begins on NewLink Genetics’ Ebola vaccine

(Reuters) — Human testing of an experimental Ebola vaccine developed by the Canadian health agency and licensed to NewLink Genetics Corp has begun, the Canadian government announced on Monday (October 13) The early-stage trial will test the vaccine, VSV-EBOV, on a small group of people to determine whether the vaccine is safe and the appropriate dose necessary to provide immunity, officials said. Canada’s Public Health Agency has been working on the vaccine for years, local media reported. Speaking in Toronto, Chief Public Health Officer, […]

Sick passengers removed from flight in Boston in Ebola scare

(Reuters) – Emergency crews in protective gear removed five passengers with flu-like symptoms from a commercial airliner that arrived at Boston’s Logan Airport on Monday, but U.S. health authorities played down the possibility of Ebola. Emirates flight 237 from Dubai landed at Logan around 2:30 p.m. EDT and emergency medical workers escorted the ill passengers off the aircraft, authorities said. Massachusetts Port Authority spokesman Matthew Brelis said none of the ill passengers had recently been […]

Quiet lava flow noted in Mayon volcano

(Eagle News Service) — At least two volcanic quakes were recorded in Mayon Volcano in the last 24 hours after a “quiet eruption” occurred last Sunday where lava flow of about 350 meters long was recorded by volcanologists. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) also noted “moderate to voluminous emission” of white steam plumes drifting northeast. Phivolcs resident volcanologist Eduardo Laguerta said Mayon has entered what he called “eruptive period” after the quiet […]

Boston hospital monitoring patient for possible Ebola case

(Reuters) — A man in Massachusetts who recently returned from Liberia is being evaluated at aBoston hospital for a potential case of Ebola after complaining of a headache and muscle aches, health officials said on Sunday (October 12). The patient is at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center but there is no confirmation of Ebola, said Dr. Kenneth Sands, chief quality officer at Beth Israel. The response in Massachusetts demonstrates the high state of alert medical facilities are under since a Texas health worker became the first person on […]

CDC head criticized for blaming ‘protocol breach’ as nurse gets Ebola

  BY JULIE STEENHUYSEN (Reuters) – Some healthcare experts are bristling at the assertion by a top U.S. health official that a “protocol breach” caused a Dallas nurse to be infected with Ebola while caring for a dying patient, saying the case instead shows how far the nation’s hospitals are from adequately training staff to deal with the deadly virus. Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, made the declaration […]

Overseas Filipino workers returning from countries hit by Ebola virus need medical clearance

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) is planning to require a medical clearance from Filipinos who are returning from Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia, which have been struck by the deadly Ebola virus, Health Secretary Enrique Ona said on Monday. “We are now making arrangements na iyong ating mga Filipino workers doon … dapat bago sila makauwi dito, we will require them to have a so-called medical clearance,” he said on the sidelines […]

Hong Kong police begin removing protesters’ barricades in some Central areas

Police in Hong Kong removed baricades erected by pro-democracy protesters but said protesters continue to remain in the streets.    (Reuters) — Hong Kong police on Monday (October 13) removed some barricades erected by pro-democracy protesters in the Chinese-controlled city, but said protesters could remain on the streets they have occupied for the past two weeks. At the main protest site, near government offices in the downtown district of Admiralty, scores of student protesters faced off with […]