All posts by nedhamson
Ebola vaccine arrives in DRC; campaign to begin within days
The nightmare of proving that you live in East Jerusalem | +972 Magazine – Palestinian Irony: Living Kafka but not written by Kafka
The employee who hands out our number tells me that I don’t have an appointment. I show him a message from the Interior Ministry asking me to confirm my appointment, which I have done. The employee hands me another number and orders me to wait for my turn to be called. An hour later, at 2:30 p.m., the information desk calls my name and informs me that my appointment was at 11:45. I tell the man at the desk that I was unable to get through due to the overcrowding outside. He hands me another number and asks me to wait, again, for my name to be called.
Source: The nightmare of proving that you live in East Jerusalem | +972 Magazine
New Ebola virus disease case confirmed in a third DRC health zone
Alert, alert…
The Democtraic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Ministry of Health (MOH) today announced that 1 of 2 suspected EVD cases in the Mbandaka Health Zone has tested positive for Ebola virus.[1]
This weekend, two suspected cases of haemorrhagic fever were reported in the health zone of Wangata, one of the health zones of the city of Mbandaka. After analysis, one of the two samples was positive for Ebola virus disease.
-TRANSLATED from [1]
Zoomed in section of the adjacent DRC map highlighting the Wangata Health Zone (purple area) housing ta new EVD confirmed case, just below Mbandaka (Pin4), capital of Équateur Province.
What does it mean?
This is of particular concern as the cases lie adjacent to Mbandaka, the capital of Équateur province and a city of approximately 1 million people.[2]
Now is certainly a good time to have the experimental Ebola virus vaccine (V920) onsite and ready to be distributed to healthcare workers and contacts of cases in a ring vaccination format. This approach encircles cases with vaccinated people to prevent further spread from known foci of infection.[2]
New numbers
Case numbers have now changed again. As at the 15th May:
- 44 total EVD cases (includes suspect, probable and confimred)
- 2 new suspect cases, 1 each in Bikoro and Wangata health zones
- 21 suspect cases
- 20 probable cases
- 3 confirmed cases
- 23 deaths (proportion of fatal cases = 52%)
Case numbers are always changing so please use these as a guide only.
This latest turn of events is something to keep a close eye on. When EVD reaches more populated areas and transport hubs, we’ve seen how things can quickly spiral out of control. Hopefully the fast and collaborative response to date will stay on top of things.
It’s still too early to tell whether this outbreak is under control or not yet.
References…
- Special Communication from His Excellency the Minister of Health on May 16, 2018 on the evolution of the Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo
https://us13.campaign-archive.com/?u=89e5755d2cca4840b1af93176&id=a902d8be0b - Experimental Vaccine Will be Used against Ebola Outbreak in the DRC
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/experimental-vaccine-will-be-used-against-ebola-outbreak-in-the-drc/ - Effective Post-Exposure Treatment of Ebola Infection
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17238284 - Recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus vector mediates postexposure protection against Sudan Ebola hemorrhagic fever in nonhuman primates
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18385248 - Efficacy of Vesicular Stomatitis Virus-Ebola Virus Postexposure Treatment in Rhesus Macaques Infected With Ebola Virus Makona
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27496978 - Postexposure Treatment of Marburg Virus Infection
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/16/7/10-0159_article - Recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus vector mediates postexposure protection against Sudan Ebola hemorrhagic fever in nonhuman primates
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18385248
The post New Ebola virus disease case confirmed in a third DRC health zone appeared first on Virology Down Under.
ASIA/HOLY LAND – Catholic Bishops: the massacre in Gaza could have been avoided. Jerusalem can also be the capital of Palestine

Jerusalem – The dozens of deaths and about 3 thousand people wounded during the Palestinian protests organized at the border fence between the Gaza Strip and Israel could have been avoided “if non-lethal tools had been used by the Israeli forces”. The Catholic Bishops of the Holy Land are pointing their finger at the Israeli army, who yesterday, Tuesday, May 15, issued a statement about the tragic events that bring bloodshed to the land where Jesus Christ was born, died and resurrected. In their message, released through the official channels of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and also sent to Agenzia Fides, the Ordinary Catholic Bishops’ Assembly of the Holy Land calls to end the siege imposed on about two million Palestinians in Gaza Strip as soon as possible.
The Catholic Bishops add that the relocation of the US Embassy in the State of Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, like any other unilateral moves and decisions about the Holy City of Jerusalem, “does not contribute to advancing the long awaited peace between Israelis and Palestinians”. And they also refer to the need, insistently referred to by the Holy See, to make Jerusalem “a city open to all peoples, the religious heart of the three monotheistic religions”, avoiding unilateral measures that could alter the profile of the Holy City. “We believe”, say the Catholic Bishops of the Holy Land, “that there is no reason that could prevent the City from being the capital of Israel and Palestine,”, adding that this should be done through “negotiation and mutual respect”.
The Assembly of ordinary Catholic Bishops of the Holy Land gathers all the Bishops of the Catholic Churches – Latin, Greek Melkite, Armenian, Maronite, Chaldean and Syrian Catholic – present in that region, together with the Franciscan Custodian of the Holy Land. On Tuesday, May 15, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Apostolic Administrator of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, also invited “all priests, religious men and women, seminarians, all the faithful of Jerusalem and those who wish “to take part in the prayer vigil for peace that will be celebrated in the afternoon of next Saturday, on the eve of Pentecost, in the church of Sant’Etienne.
Since March 30, when Palestinian demonstrations started along the Israeli border line, at least 110 Palestinian demonstrators have been killed and more than 3,000 have been wounded in the Gaza Strip.
In a first, a drone helps nab illegal logger in Peru

A man was caught illegally cutting down trees in Peru’s Alto Mayo Protected Forest.
Nestle Launches Global Initiative To Help Children Lead Healthier Lives
While it is stealing public water for profit?
‘Impossible to Ignore’: Why Alaska Is Crafting a Plan to Fight Climate Change
Many solidly Republican states have resisted aggressive climate policies, but Alaska is already seeing the dramatic effects of global warming.
DeVos Visits New York Schools, but Not Ones Run by the City
She favors private schools to support segregation In visits to two Orthodox schools, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos offered her strongest comments to date in support of public funding for religious schools.
White House Should State Opposition to Saudi Threat to Acquire Nuclear Weapons

Japanese A-bomb survivors and ICAN demonstrate before the UN vote in October 2016. Credit: Peace Boat
By Daryl G. Kimball and Thomas Countryman
WASHINGTON DC, May 16 2018 (IPS)
We are deeply disappointed by the counterproductive response from the Trump administration to the statements from senior Saudi officials threatening to pursue nuclear weapons in violation of their nonproliferation commitments.
We call on the White House to immediately reiterate the longstanding, bipartisan policy of the United States that it will actively work against the spread of nuclear weapons to any country, friend or foe.
President Donald Trump’s reckless decision to violate the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which has blocked Iran’s pathways to nuclear weapons and put in place a robust monitoring system to detect and deter cheating, has not only opened the door to an expansion of Iran’s capability to produce bomb-grade nuclear material, but it has increased the risk of a wider nuclear arms race in the Middle East, which is already home to one nuclear-armed state.
Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister Adel Al-Jubeir told CNN May 9, that his country, which, like Iran, is a party to the 1968 nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), stands ready to build nuclear weapons if Iran restarts its nuclear program.
Al-Jubeir also praised Trump’s decision to abandon the Iran nuclear deal and seek to reimpose sanctions on firms and business engaging in legitimate commerce with Iran.
Asked what his country will do if Iran restarts its nuclear program, he told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that “we will do whatever it takes to protect our people. We have made it very clear that if Iran acquires a nuclear capability, we will do everything we can to do the same.”
Asked to clarify whether that means the kingdom will work to acquire its own nuclear capability, al-Jubeir replied, “That’s what we mean.”
This follows similar comments by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in a March 15 interview with CBS News that Saudi Arabia will quickly follow suit if Iran acquires nuclear weapons.
When asked May 9 whether Saudi Arabia would “have the administration’s support in the event that that occurred,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said:
“Right now, I don’t know that we have a specific policy announcement on that front, but I can tell you that we are very committed to making sure that Iran does not have nuclear weapons,” she stated.
The administration’s nonresponse to Prince Salman’s threat in March and Sanders’ weak response May 9 amounts to an irresponsible invitation for mischief.
They imply that Trump administration would look the other way if Saudi Arabia breaks its NPT commitments to pursue nuclear weapons.
It is bad enough that the Trump administration, by violating the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, has threatened the NPT regime by opening the door for Iran to expand its nuclear capacity.
President Trump and his advisors must not compound that error by swallowing their tongues when another NPT member state in the region threatens to pursue the bomb.
We call on the White House to immediately clarify that it is the longstanding policy of the United States, as an original party to the NPT:
“…not to in any way to assist, encourage, or induce any non-nuclear-weapon State to manufacture or otherwise acquire nuclear weapons …” and “… to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament ….”
We also call on the U.S. Congress to reject any proposed agreement with Saudi Arabia that permits U.S. nuclear cooperation if Saudi Arabia seeks to or acquires sensitive uranium enrichment or plutonium separation technology which can be used to produce nuclear weapons.
The post White House Should State Opposition to Saudi Threat to Acquire Nuclear Weapons appeared first on Inter Press Service.
Excerpt:
Daryl G. Kimball is Executive Director, Arms Control Association & Thomas Countryman is Board of Directors, Chairman, and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Nonproliferation
The post White House Should State Opposition to Saudi Threat to Acquire Nuclear Weapons appeared first on Inter Press Service.

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