Global Health Update: Ebola 10/23

EBOLA

Mali’s First Patient
Ebola has spread to Mali, with a confirmed case in a 2-year-old girl who traveled from Kissidougou Guinea. She was admitted to a hospital in Kayes yesterday, and health officials are tracing and monitoring all of her contacts.

Now the 6th West African country to report a case of Ebola, Mali had been pegged by the WHO as one of the African nations at the highest-risk for the spread of the virus. Hoping to repeat the success of Senegal and Nigeria in swiftly containing the virus, the WHO has been in Mali this week leading a team to assess the country’s response capacity.

Other countries on the highest-risk list include Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal, and Guinea Bissau.
** Bloomberg News (http://jhsph.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0a43ad874dbe00d8f0545cfef&id=147d0ad0f2&e=9c1fcebfa3)


Related: Recently Returned From Africa, Doctor Tests Positive For Ebola At NYC Hospital – ** NPR (http://jhsph.us3.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=0a43ad874dbe00d8f0545cfef&id=9770950099&e=9c1fcebfa3)


Related: Why New York’s Ebola Case Will Hurt Infected Patients Everywhere – ** Daily Beast (http://jhsph.us3.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=0a43ad874dbe00d8f0545cfef&id=0401b6e677&e=9c1fcebfa3)


Related: Cremation fears leave empty Ebola beds in Liberia – ** Associated Press (http://jhsph.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0a43ad874dbe00d8f0545cfef&id=6ae2eaf234&e=9c1fcebfa3)


Related: Ebola vaccine deemed safe, but will it work? – ** Washington Post (http://jhsph.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0a43ad874dbe00d8f0545cfef&id=735546a920&e=9c1fcebfa3)




Robot, Stop Ebola!
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy will soon be brainstorming with US scientists about deploying robots in the fight against Ebola.

The idea is to repurpose robots that can disarm roadside bombs or drive cars so they can help diagnose Ebola infection or train health care workers. “Telepresence” robots that already cruise hospital hallways with a kind of creepy big image of a doctor’s face on a video screen could be used in remote consultation. The dexterity and smarts required to really do health care though is still years away. The Nov. 7 brainstorm meetings will take place at 4 sites in the US.

Our personal favorite for first robot to fight Ebola is “Little Moe.” A recent ** TechCrunch article (http://jhsph.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0a43ad874dbe00d8f0545cfef&id=a8cce4b9c2&e=9c1fcebfa3)
explains that Lil’ Moe can zap a hospital room with pulses of UV light to rid of the virus by “fusing its DNA.”
** The New York Times (article with video) (http://jhsph.us3.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=0a43ad874dbe00d8f0545cfef&id=8bc5777cce&e=9c1fcebfa3)