Another slow news day, except on the Ebola front, where there’s a potentially huge development.
From the Associated Press:
Experimental Ebola drug heals all monkeys in study
An experimental Ebola drug healed all 18 monkeys infected with the deadly virus in a study, boosting hopes that the treatment might help fight the outbreak raging through West Africa.
Scientists gave the drug, called ZMapp, three to five days after infecting the monkeys in the lab. Most were showing symptoms by then, and all completely recovered.
Three other infected monkeys not given the drug died.
From the Los Angeles Times, the virus crosses another border:
West Africa Ebola outbreak spreads to Senegal
Authorities in Senegal confirmed their first Ebola case on Friday as the worst outbreak on record continued to spread in West Africa.
The patient is a university student from neighboring Guinea, where the outbreak was first detected in March, Health Minister Awa Marie Coll Seck told reporters in the Senegalese capital, Dakar.
Health officials from Guinea informed the country on Wednesday that a young man who had been under surveillance there disappeared three weeks ago and may have traveled to Senegal, she said. The student was located at a hospital in Dakar, where he had presented himself the previous day without disclosing that he had had close contacts with Ebola victims in his home country.
From Science, another side of the tragedy:
Ebola’s heavy toll on study authors
The ongoing Ebola virus disease outbreak is taking an appalling toll on health workers in West Africa. More than 240 have been infected and more than 120 have died.
At Kenema Government Hospital (KGH) in Sierra Leone, where the country’s first case was diagnosed, more than 2 dozen nurses, doctors, and support staff have died of Ebola. KGH is where many of the samples were collected for a paper published online today in Science that analyzes the genetics of the virus responsible for the disease.
Highlighting the danger to those caring for infected people, five of the paper’s co-authors—all experienced members of the hospital’s Lassa fever team—died of Ebola before its publication. (A sixth co-author, uninfected, also recently died as well.)
The Asahi Shimbun issues a call:
Doctor calls for more assistance to battle deadly Ebola epidemic in Africa
A Japanese doctor sent to Liberia to assist medical workers in the fight against the Ebola virus outbreak said that the West African nation is in dire straits and called for more assistance to local hospitals.
“Assistance, such as sending medical teams capable of giving instructions to local medical staff, is required,” Yasuyuki Kato told reporters at the ministry office in Tokyo on Aug. 28.
Kato, of the National Center for Global Health and Medicine, said hospitals in Liberia are not able to work effectively, and medical care workers are confounded by the disease.
Kato assisted medical workers in the Liberian capital of Monrovia between Aug. 3-20. The 44-year-old was in charge of opening a new facility to treat patients with the disease, and instructed more than 500 health-care personnel about Ebola virus prevention measures.
From the New York Times, another significant development:
Quarantine for Ebola Lifted in Liberia Slum
Liberia’s government announced Friday night that it would lift an Ebola quarantine on a large slum here in the capital, 10 days after attempts to cordon off the neighborhood from the rest of the city sparked deadly clashes and fueled doubts about President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s ability to handle the outbreak.
Residents of the neighborhood, West Point, will be free to move in and out starting Saturday at 6 a.m., said Lewis Brown, the minister of information. The army, which had pressed for the quarantine and took the lead in enforcing it in the first two days, will be removed from West Point, leaving only the police, Mr. Brown said.
A nationwide curfew, from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., will remain in place, he said.
From the Associated Press, fear comes to campus:
Ebola in mind, US colleges screen some students
College students from West Africa may be subject to extra health checks when they arrive to study in the United States as administrators try to insulate campuses from the worst Ebola outbreak in history.
With the virus continuing to kill in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, the expected arrival of thousands of students from those countries has U.S. authorities on alert but cautioning against alarm.
While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have issued no specific recommendations for colleges, some state health departments, including in South Carolina and North Dakota, have spelled out for administrators what symptoms to look for and how to react.
Deutsche Welle gets ready:
Frankfurt authorities prepare for Ebola
Are we ready for Ebola? It’s a question the German media have been asking for weeks. Frankfurt Airport has come under particular scrutiny due to its size. But could Frankfurt really be an entry point for the disease?
Ebola continues to rage in Africa. So far, the virus has claimed more than 1,500 lives in the West African countries of Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Nigeria. But the deadly disease has stirred fears on the European continent as well, triggering a string of false alarms.
With several airlines including British Airways and Air France cancelling flights to affected countries, European airports have been on the alert for weeks. As Germany’s biggest airport, Frankfurt has come under particular scrutiny. Over 58 million passengers pass through its sliding glass doors and terminals every year.
From BBC Sport, an ultimatum:
Nations Cup 2015: Ivory Coast risk disqualification
Ivory Coast will be disqualified from the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations if they forfeit their qualifier against Sierra Leone because of fears over Ebola.
The Ivorian government will not allow the match, which is scheduled for 6 September in Abidjan, to go ahead.
Ivory Coast said their options are “to relocate the game or forfeit”. But a Confederation of African Football spokesman told BBC Sport: “If a country forfeits one qualifier, they will be disqualified from the championship.”
Elsewhere in Africa, other ailments. From Reuters:
No respite for South Sudan: cholera down but malaria, parasitic disease up: MSF
South Sudan’s cholera crisis is waning but humanitarian workers are now battling increased cases of malaria and the parasitic disease kala azar, with children most affected.
Conflict between the government and rebels has displaced 1.7 million people, or one in seven of the population, since December, with famine on the horizon.
At least 10,000 people have been killed since the fighting erupted in late 2013, pitting President Salva Kiir’s government forces against supporters of Riek Machar, his former deputy and longtime political rival.
While a cholera outbreak appears to be under control, other diseases are plaguing South Sudan’s hungry, displaced people.
The Independent covers a carcinogen found in those colorful braided bands so popular with youth:
Loom band charms withdrawn nationwide after testing positive for cancerous chemicals
Toy retailer The Entertainer has been forced to remove loom band charms from its stores, after it was revealed they contained suspected carcinogenic chemicals.
The Entertainer, Britain largest independent toy retailer with 92 stores, has launched a full investigation as it removes the charms from it stores nationwide.
Tests conducted by the BBC Midlands Today programme showed one charm contained 40 per cent of phthalates – EU law states 0.1 per cent in weight is the legal limit.
From the Asahi Shimbun, a warning:
SURVEY: More than 500 agricultural dams at risk in major earthquake
At least 510 dams and irrigation ponds for agricultural use have poor quake resistance strength, according to a nationwide survey by local governments.
The continuing general survey began after a dam in Fukushima Prefecture collapsed during the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, resulting in a number of fatalities.
The number of dams with insufficient quake resistance will likely increase as thousands of other locations have yet to be surveyed.
From BBC News, the first of two volcanic stories:
Iceland’s volcano ash alert lifted
An eruption near Iceland’s Bardarbunga volcano that briefly threatened flights has ended, local officials say.
The fissure eruption at the Holuhraun lava field north of the Vatnajokull glacier stopped at 04:00 GMT on Friday.
Before lifting air travel curbs, the Icelandic Met Office (IMO) lowered its aviation warning from red to orange – the second-highest level.
And the second, also from BBC News:
Volcano erupts in Papua New Guinea
A volcano in eastern Papua New Guinea has erupted, disrupting flights and spewing rocks and ash into the air.
Mount Tavurvur on New Britain island erupted early on Friday, forcing local communities to evacuate.
Officials said there have not been any reports of deaths or injuries so far.
Local residents of the island’s Rabaul district were advised to remain indoors to avoid falling ash. Australia issued travel warnings against visiting the island.
On to Fukushimapocalypse Now!, with the first of two stories from the Japan Times:
Heavy control console falls back into Fukushima fuel pool: Tepco
Tokyo Electric Power Co. said it’s detected no change in radiation levels in the No. 3 reactor building of the Fukushima No. 1 power plant after a 400-kg piece of equipment slipped from a crane and fell back into a pool holding spent uranium fuel rods.
The accident happened at around 12:45 p.m. on Friday as the beleaguered utility was attempting to move what it described as a crane control console, according to a statement on its website.
The console, about a meter wide and 1.6 meters high, was blown into the pool on March 14, 2011, when the No. 3 reactor building exploded following an earthquake and tsunami that wrecked the power plant and caused a station blackout.
And for our final item, also from the Japan Times:
Fukushima governor all but accepts radioactive storage plan
The Fukushima Prefectural Government effectively agreed Friday to the central government’s plan to store radioactive debris accumulating from nuclear decontamination efforts in the prefecture for three decades in return for ¥301 billion in subsidies.
“We’ve screened and confirmed safety and regional promotion measures as offered by the state,” Gov. Yuhei Sato told reporters after meeting with senior officials to discuss the matter.
Sato is formally convey his acceptance to Environment Minister Nobuteru Ishihara and Reconstruction Minister Takumi Nemoto as early as Monday. Arrangements are also under way for him to meet with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo.
