Deadly Ebola virus on the brink of being tamed
Preliminary analysis of 499 Ebola infected participants has sprung a surprise — the chances of survival may be as high as 90% if patients are treated with one of the…
Category: Communicable disease
IIT Hyderabad: A step closer to oral administration of Kala-azar drug
Using a novel drug-delivery approach, IIT Hyderabad researchers have made oral administration of the drug Amphotericin B for treating Kala-azar and fungal infection possible. The drug encapsulated in polymer nanofibres…
Sri Lanka: Island of hope in the midst of global measles resurgence
Even as Europe is seeing a resurgence of measles with 1,60,000 cases and more than 100 deaths between January 2018 and May 2019, on July 9, Sri Lanka became the fourth country…
Merck’s unlicensed Ebola vaccine shows 97.5% efficacy in Congo
Merck’s Ebola vaccine, which underwent phase-3 trial during the 2014-2015 Ebola epidemic in west Africa, has shown 97.5% efficacy in preventing Ebola disease when used during the current epidemic in…
WHO declares Ebola in Congo as public health emergency
On July 17, the WHO finally declared Ebola virus disease outbreak in Congo a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. Since the beginning of the outbreak in August 2018, Ebola…
Litchi toxin kills over 100 children in Muzaffarpur
The death of over 100 children in about a month in Muzaffarpur district of north Bihar due to low blood sugar level is caused by a toxin present in litchi…
Nipah virus outbreak exposes the chinks in Kerala’s health-care armour
If Kerala was taken by surprise last year by the first outbreak of Nipah virus infection, its recurrence this year strongly suggests that the virus is in circulation in fruit…
Singapore’s brush with monkeypox
To limit the spread of monkeypox disease, Singapore had identified 23 persons who were in close contact with the patient and offered smallpox vaccination. This is the first time Singapore…
