1-Jun-2020: Congo declares new Ebola epidemic
Democratic Republic of Congo declared a new Ebola epidemic in the western city of Mbandaka, more than 1,000 km (620 miles) away from an ongoing outbreak of the same deadly virus in the east.
Four people who died in Mbandaka were confirmed as positive cases following testing at the national biomedical laboratory in the capital Kinshasa.
The outbreak was confirmed by World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who tweeted: “This outbreak is a reminder that #COVID19 is not the only health threat people face.”
Congo has been struggling to put an end to a nearly two-year-old Ebola outbreak near its eastern borders with Rwanda and Uganda, which has killed more than 2,200 people, the world’s second-deadliest outbreak of the disease on record.
It was days away in April from declaring the end of that outbreak, its tenth since the virus was discovered in 1976, when a new chain of infection was confirmed in the east. However, no new cases have been detected there in over 30 days.
17-Jul-2019: Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern
WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared the Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).
The declaration followed a meeting of the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee for EVD in the DRC. The Committee cited recent developments in the outbreak in making its recommendation, including the first confirmed case in Goma, a city of almost two million people on the border with Rwanda, and the gateway to the rest of DRC and the world.
This was the fourth meeting of the Emergency Committee since the outbreak was declared on 1 August 2018.
The Committee expressed disappointment about delays in funding which have constrained the response. They also reinforced the need to protect livelihoods of the people most affected by the outbreak by keeping transport routes and borders open. It is essential to avoid the punitive economic consequences of travel and trade restrictions on affected communities.
It is important that the world follows these recommendations. It is also crucial that states do not use the PHEIC as an excuse to impose trade or travel restrictions, which would have a negative impact on the response and on the lives and livelihoods of people in the region.
Since it was declared almost a year ago the outbreak has been classified as a level 3 emergency – the most serious – by WHO, triggering the highest level of mobilization from WHO. The UN has also recognized the seriousness of the emergency by activating the Humanitarian System-wide Scale-Up to support the Ebola response.
27-Jul-2018: New Ebola virus strain found in Sierra Leone
Researchers in Sierra Leone have found a new strain of the Ebola virus from the bats in northern Bombali region by scientists in a joint US-West African study funded by USAid.
The finding comes two years after end of the worst-ever Ebola outbreak that killed more than 11,000 people in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. But researchers say the new Bombali virus is distinct from other Ebola virus strains and it is not yet known whether it could develop into the deadly disease.
At this time it is not known if Bombali virus has been transmitted to people or if it causes disease in people. However, results show it has the potential to infect human cells. Further investigation is needed to understand more about the specific risks it poses.
The study is part of the Predict Ebola Host Research Project in West Africa that brings together scientists from the University of California Davis and Colombia University in the US and their counterparts in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia to improve understanding and preparedness for future disease outbreaks in the region.
The three West African neighbour countries were hard hit by the Ebola outbreak which began in Guinea in December 2013 before spreading to Liberia and Sierra Leone. The epidemic was declared over by the World Health Organisation in 2016 after claiming over 11,300 lives out of nearly 30,000 registered cases.
The Predict Research is designed to monitor wildlife specimens for known pathogens in the wake of the West African outbreak.
In Sierra Leone, of the 241 bat specimens sampled, five tested positive of the Bombali virus.
The government said it will engage the local communities in the area to create awareness of the new strain and health safety measures.
The 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa was caused by the Zaire virus, which was discovered in Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly Zaire, in 1976. It is the most deadly strain known. The Zaire virus has struck DRC nine times with the latest outbreak having been declared over on Tuesday this week by the WHO after a 10-week re-emergence that claimed 33 lives.
The Sierra Leone discovery brings to six the number of known Ebola virus strains. Others are Sudan, Tai Forest, Bundibugyo and Reston.
The Ebola virus disease is a highly fatal haemorrhagic fever that is spread through contact with bodily fluids from infected persons and animals which include non-human primates, bats and forest antelope.
12-May-2017: Ebola reappears in Congo
The World Health Organization has declared an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Africa.
More than 11,000 people died in the Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014-2015, mainly in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. The last outbreak in the DRC was in 2014 and killed more than 40 people. The region affected lies 1,300 km north-east of Kinshasa, close to the border with the Central African Republic.
15-Jan-2016: WHO declares end to Ebola epidemic
A two-year Ebola epidemic that killed 11,000 and triggered a global health alert has been declared over by the WHO, with Liberia the last country given the all-clear.
The World Health Organisation has declared an end to the deadliest Ebola outbreak ever after no new cases emerged in Liberia.
However, health officials have warned that it will be several more months before the world is considered free of the disease.
Liberia, which along with Sierra Leone and Guinea was an epicentre of the latest outbreak, was first declared free of the disease last May, but new cases emerged two times forcing officials there to restart the clock. WHO declared Sierra Leone Ebola-free in November 2015.
14-May-2020: A novel tool to help gain deeper insight into Parkinson’s disease
Parkinson’s disease is a common neurodegenerative disease that has no cure. It is believed that an aggregation of a protein called alpha synuclein (ASyn) plays a crucial role in the pathology of the disease. The aggregation is found in abundance in what is called the substantia nigra portion in the midbrain of patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease.
Many researchers from across the world are studying the mechanism of how the protein forms the aggregates, and how the aggregation results in the death of neuronal cells observed in Parkinson’s disease. They believe that once these mysteries are uncovered, it could help develop a drug for the disease, which is badly needed and has been long overdue.
Unfortunately, the aggregation of ASyn is not something that is easy to understand. The end point of the aggregation is the formation of small slender fibres or `fibrils’, in which the protein has a structure type, what is called a cross beta fold. The fibrils are well studied thanks to a dye, Thioflavin T, which binds to the cross-beta structure and emits fluorescence. Scientists have solved the three-dimensional structures of the fibrils and have also learnt how to develop drugs to target them. However, these drugs do not work in the clinical trials.
These failures have made the scientists to think that perhaps they need to understand not only the fibrils but also the variety of intermediates that form early in the aggregation process. Unfortunately, the structure of these intermediates could not be solved yet and hence it is difficult to target them using a drug delivery technique. Also, scientists have not been able to come up with a way by which a single technique could monitor both the early intermediate species and the fibrils, which form at the end.
Recently, scientists from IIT (ISM) Dhanbad and CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata, teamed up to find a solution to this issue. The leader of the IIT (ISM) team Dr. Umakanta Tripathy, who is a physicist, studies nonlinear behaviour of biomaterials using Z-scan technique, a machine that he himself built at his home institute. Dr. Krishnananda Chattopadhyay of CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, on the other hand, is a biophysicist who has been working to understand ASyn aggregation and its implications in Parkinson’s disease.
The team found that the Z-scan method is really a technique they have been looking for. It could help in monitoring both the early and late stages of the aggregation of ASyn nicely. They found that the protein possesses nonlinearity starting from its monomeric state to the fibrillar structure. They made three particularly interesting observations: first, the strength of nonlinearity is relatively stronger in the case of fibrils when compared to other conformations of the protein, and second, each of the different conformers populated in the different stages of the aggregation landscape seems to have a specific nonlinear property that could be targeted. The third and the most important result was a switch in the sign of nonlinearity when the late oligomers form at around 24 hours.
The team is excited about this observation because these late oligomers are supposed to be the most toxic species of ASyn and a method - which monitors these conveniently - can be really useful for both pharmaceutical and clinical research.
Asked about the next action, Dr. Chattopadhyay said, “myself and my team at CSIR-IICB are exploring ways to use the Z-scan method to study ASyn aggregates ex vivo using a suitable animal Parkinson’s disease model, while Dr. Tripathy and his team planned to extend this method to other proteins and peptides to detect structures or conformations by systematic monitoring of their nonlinear values”.
The study team included Sumanta Ghosh, Sakshi, Bikash Chandra Swain, and Ritobrita Chakraborty. They have submitted a research paper on their work to ACS Chemical Neuroscience. The journal has accepted to publish it.
1-May-2020: Dr. Harsh Vardhan reviews preparedness for AES in Bihar through Video Conferencing
Dr. Harsh Vardhan today assured all support to the State Government of Bihar for the containment and management of the Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) cases. He stated this during the review meeting for AES in Bihar with Shri Mangal Pandey, Health Minister of Bihar through Video Conferencing, where he took stock of the situation from the functionaries at grass-root level. Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey, MoS(HFW) was also present during the meeting.
At the outset, expressing concern over the deaths of children from AES, the Union Health Ministry stated that “It is painful to know that in a particular time during summer from May 15 to the month of June, there is always a hike in the rate of death of young children due to AES in Bihar”. He stated that with proper interventions at multiple levels, these deaths can be prevented through timely care. Dr. Harsh Vardhan stated, “The fight against the AES is an old one and we know it quite well. The issue is to take preventive, pre-emptive and comprehensive measures to prevent it by taking a systematic approach.” The Union Health Minister recalled his visit to the State of Bihar on the earlier two occasions in 2014 and 2019 during AES outbreaks when he had taken stock of the situation himself, met the child-patients and their parents to discuss and ascertain the root causes of the illness.
Dr. Harsh Vardhan stated, “This time too, we are constantly monitoring the situation and are in regular touch with the State health authorities for managing the AES situation”, he said. He asked the State authorities to constitute a Committee of Experts to keep a round-the-clock surveillance in affected areas and suggest timely preventive action. He further said that with such approach we would be able to contain the spike in AES cases in the time to come.
“The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare would provide full support and handholding to the State Government through National Health Mission (NHM) for health systems strengthening. Other Ministries of the Central government, including the Ministry of Women and Child Development, would also be requested to provide support as part of the immediate and long-term measures”, he stated.
Elaborating on the support being extended to the State of Bihar, Dr. Harsh Vardhan said, “Apart from constitution of the Committee of Experts for daily monitoring the situation, there is an immediate need for constituting a inter-disciplinary specialist high-level team of experts drawn from National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), AIIMS, Patna, Child Health Division of the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare to guide the policy interventions and support the State in containing the cases of AES and Japanese Encephalitis”.
Outlining the specific steps that the State needs to take immediately, he said, “We have to ensure that new pediatric ICUs are immediately made functional for such illness; providing adequate medical facilities with at least 10 bedded pediatric ICUs in nearby districts; making available the ambulance services during the peak hours of 10.00 PM to 08.00 AM when most of the children get symptoms of AES like fever, seizures, altered sensorium etc.; prepare doctors, paramedical and health force to take up the challenge especially during peak hours; expedite the work of setting up new super specialty hospitals and other proposed and promised improvements in infrastructure.”
Dr. Harsh Vardhan exhorted all to ensure that the cases of AES are not neglected and eclipsed during the time of COVID outbreak.
Ms. Preeti Sudan, Secretary (HFW), Shri Rajesh Bhushan, OSD (HFW), Shri Sanjeeva Kumar, Special Secretary (Health),Ms. Vandana Gurnani, AS & MD(NHM) along with Principal Secretary (Health & Family Welfare), Government of Bihar, Secretary-cum-CEO, Bihar Swasthya Suraksha Samiti, Government of Bihar, Director of Health Services, Government of Bihar, Director, NCDC, Delhi, Director AIIMS, Patna, District Collector/District Magistrates of all districts of Bihar attended the meeting. The Principals of All Medical Colleges under Government of Bihar, State Surveillance Officers of all districts of Bihar and CDMOs/ CMHOs of all districts of Bihar also attended the meeting through weblink.
11-Jun-2019: 50 children die in AES outbreak in north Bihar
An epidemic of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) has broken out in five north Bihar districts, with more than 50 children having died in the last nine days. Over 100 children, seriously ill with symptoms of AES, are fighting for their lives at different hospitals, where they are undergoing treatment.
Locally known as Chamki Bukhar, at least 400 children have died in the last one decade due to AES, mainly in Muzaffarpur and its neighbouring districts of Vaishali, Sitamarhi, Samastipur, Sheohar, East and West Champaran. The worst outbreak was in 2012, when 120 children died. 29 children have died in recent days with AES symptoms.
AES usually happens at temperatures above 42 degrees Celsius. Children suffering from AES suddenly develop high fever. Their body temperature shoots up, they suffer from convulsions, weakness and even fall unconscious.
The health department has issued an advisory to people to take care of their children during daylight hours and not allow them to play under the open sky.
Union Health Minister Dr Harshvardhan has taken note of the deaths of children in Muzaffarpur and asked a report in this connection from the SKMCH.