Dr. Abou Beckr Gaye, WHO representative for Guinea ; Dr. Sakoba Keita, Ebola response national coordinator for Guinea (center); and Dr. Bruce Aylward, WHO executive director for outbreaks and health emergencies . Courtesy of WHO/M. Winkler

Health authorities from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone and representatives of partner organizations have expressed confidence in the capacity of the three Ebola-impacted countries to effectively manage residual risks of new Ebola infections--pointing to the rapid government-led containment of recent flare-ups of the disease.

Freetown, 21 March 2016 - On the eve of World Water Day, UNICEF said the push to bring safe water to millions around the world is going to be even more challenging due to climate change, which threatens both water supply and water safety for millions of children living in drought- or flood-prone areas.

The effects of climate change are felt through water (or the absence of it) - floods, storms and droughts. Water supplies which are destroyed or contaminated put the lives of millions of children at risk; without clean water, children are at risk of diseases such as diarrhea, which already kills more than 800 children under five every day.

Hundreds of contacts identified and monitored in new Ebola flare-up in Guinea

“Our findings counter the idea that Ebola virus infection is immunosuppressive, at least in the patients we were able to study,” Anita McElroy, MD, assistant professor of pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine, said in a press release. “They also demonstrate the value that supportive care may have in enabling the immune system to fight back against Ebola virus infection.”

McElroy and colleagues examined the T- and B-cells of four Ebola survivors to gauge the immune system’s response to Ebola virus infection. Using the CDC’s biosafety level-4 laboratory space, they determined the frequency of activated immune cells, phenotyped activated CD8 T-cells, and measured the kinetics of each patient’s response.