Global Pandemics

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'Most challenging' deadly disease outbreak: WHO speaks out on Ebola dangers

Staff Writer | RT.com | April 9, 2014

West Africa is seeing the “most challenging” outbreak of Ebola virus since the disease was discovered 40 years ago. It comes as the death toll reaches over 100, the World Health Organization reported. "This is one of the most challenging Ebola outbreaks we have ever faced," Keiji Fukuda, assistant director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO) told a news briefing. Read More »

A Major Lesson from Ebola: Pandemics Are Strongly Driven by Inequality

After more than a year since the Ebola pandemic appeared in West Africa, Liberia – one of the worst hit countries – has been declared free of the virus. However, the initial global response was not encouraging. Despite having the knowledge and technology needed to contain the outbreak, help was initially sluggish and poorly effective. This situation illustrates one of the major lessons from the history of pandemics: that they are strongly influenced by health inequalities. Pandemics are epidemics that spread widely and cross borders. In many respects, the world is a safer place for those concerned about these emerging infectious diseases – advances in science, particularly molecular biology, information technology, and epidemiology give us unprecedented tools for understanding, tracking and managing emerging threats...

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