West Africa

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Slow Ebola Response Blamed On False Assumptions About Its Course

Steven Ross Johnson | Modern Healthcare | September 17, 2014

Health experts and humanitarian organizations waging war against the deadly Ebola outbreak in West Africa hope plans announced Tuesday by the Obama Administration to send additional aid to affected regions will encourage more philanthropic support and health worker recruitment. Both money and volunteers have come in at a slower pace in this crisis than in past disasters...

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Superbugs Spread Across U.S.

Brian Hughes | Washington Examiner | October 6, 2014

As Americans worry about Ebola, the swiftly spreading virus that has traveled from West Africa to Texas, a more silent killer poses a greater danger...Drug-resistant bacteria killed 23,000 people in America last year and caused 2 million illnesses...

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Tech’s Role In Fighting The Ebola Outbreak

Nicole Blake Johnson | FedTech Magazine | October 6, 2014

...The U.S. government is eyeing body sensors, ruggedized tablet computers, broadband communications and big data capabilities to aid its Ebola response. A high priority on the list is using innovative technologies to improve the protective gear worn by healthcare workers on the frontlines...

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The Ebola Patient Was Sent Home Because Of Bad Software

Olga Khazan | The Atlantic | October 3, 2014

...Thomas Eric Duncan has been in isolation for Ebola at Dallas' Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital since September 28—but that wasn't his first trip to that hospital. After developing a fever and abdominal pain on the 24th, Duncan sought care at the hospital on the 25th, but he was sent home...

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The Grim Future If Ebola Goes Global

Maryn McKenna | WIRED | October 27, 2014

If you listened hard over the weekend to the chatter around the political theater of detaining a nurse returning from the Ebola zone in a tent with no heat or running water, you might have heard a larger concern expressed. It was this: What happens if this kind of punitive detention — which went far beyond what medical authorities recommend — deters aid workers from going to West Africa to help?...

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The Race To Contain West Africa's Ebola Outbreak

Liat Clark | Wired | April 11, 2014

Digital volunteers are racing to map regions in West Africa where the Ebola virus, which has a 90 percent fatality rate, continues to spread Read More »

The Underreported Side Of The Ebola Crisis

Rose Ann DeMoro | The Blog | September 6, 2014

Amid the media accounts of the worst Ebola outbreak ever recorded some significant context is largely missing from the major media reporting.  Atop this list are links of the outbreak to the climate crisis and global inequality, mal-distribution of wealth, and austerity-driven cuts in public services that have greatly contributed to the rapid spread of Ebola...

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These Hackers Are Developing Apps To Stop The Spread Of Ebola In West Africa

Daniel A. Medina | Quartz | October 10, 2014

The rapid spread of Ebola in West Africa has blindsided foreign governments and international aid organizations since its outbreak six months ago. One group of university researchers and hackers at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in the US think they may have an answer to help stem the outbreak...

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Threatwatch: Will Deadly Ebola Become More Contagious?

Debora MacKenzie | New Scientist | March 26, 2014

Threatwatch is your early warning system for global dangers, from nuclear peril to deadly viral outbreaks. Debora MacKenzie highlights the threats to civilisation – and suggests solutions

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U.S. To Begin Ebola Hospital Equipment Lift To Liberia

David Morgan | Reuters | September 17, 2014

The first planeload of hospital equipment in the U.S. military's battle against West Africa's deadly Ebola outbreak will arrive in Liberia on Friday, a senior administration official said on Wednesday...

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US CIO Steven Vanroekel Steps Down

Jack Moore | Nextgov.com | September 19, 2014

Federal Chief Information Officer Steven VanRoekel is unexpectedly departing his post at the White House today to join the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Ebola response team.  In his new role as USAID chief innovation officer, VanRoekel will be responsible for advising the agency on using technology and data in its response to the epidemic...

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US Will Screen Air Passengers For Signs Of Ebola. Will It Work?

Maryn McKenna | WIRED | October 9, 2014

If you’ve been following the Ebola story, you may have noticed that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced a move yesterday to try to keep the disease off US soil. At the five US airports that receive most passengers from the three countries where Ebola is circulating, passengers will be singled out on the basis of their travel records; interviewed by means of a questionnaire; and have their temperature taken, to see if they have a fever...

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Using Open-Source Mapping To Help Stop Ebola

Lou Del Bello | SciDev.Net | June 9, 2014

Last week, 5 June, aid organisation Médecins Sans Frontières reported new cases in the Ebola outbreak in Guinea and Sierra Leone. The priority for NGOs and health workers is to deliver appropriate aid in the fastest and most effective way. To do so, it is vital to have a clear picture of the area affected by Ebola and relevant trends. Read More »

VanRoekel Details Technology’s Role In Fighting The Ebola Crisis

Billy Mitchell | FedScoop | November 6, 2014

Technology is not the solution for Ebola.  That was part of the truth new U.S. Agency for International Development Chief Innovation Officer Steven VanRoekel spoke Thursday during his opening keynote at FedScoop’s FedTalks 2014...

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VanRoekel Talks Firsthand Of Ebola-Plagued West Africa

Billy Mitchell | FedScoop | December 3, 2014

Steven VanRoekel, about two months into his detail as chief innovation officer of the U.S. Agency for International Development and its battle against Ebola, recently spent seven days in Ebola-stricken Liberia. Despite painting a disastrous and bleak picture of a region crippled by the epidemic, VanRoekel did say, in some ways, things were beginning to return to normal...

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