Top stories: Ebola outbreak challenges, Viking cats, and a new kind of placebo - Science Magazine

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Ebola has spread for nearly a year in Congo. Officials are scrambling to ‘reset’ the response. - The Washington Post

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June 20 at 4:06 PM BUTEMBO, Congo —  A dozen young men revved their motor­cycle engines in front of the wooden gate of a makeshift checkpoint — too impatient to have their temperatures checked or to wash their hands with chlorinated water. Health workers manning the post had little choice but to let them pass. Every day, thousands of people travel this road through the epicenter of Congo’s ongoing Ebola outbreak, where they are supposed to comply with field nurses toting gun-shaped thermometers testing for fevers. But that operation is far from perfect, and extinguishing the nearly year-old outbreak is months away at best. Days with a dozen new cases are normal.  “Ebola is like water. If you don’t build a perfect dam, even a small hole can lead to a flood of new cases,” said Marie Roseline Belizaire, the World Health Organization’s deputy manager for the response.  Health officials are confident the outbreak is not spiraling out of control but are worri...
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c diff outbreak :: Article Creator Fidaxomicin Underused For C Diff Infections, Study Finds CDC / Alissa Eckert Global health organization Unitaid last week called for a "concerted global effort" to introduce accurate and affordable diagnostic tests in low-resource countries to address the rising number of gonorrhea infections and antimicrobial resistance (AMR). In a report released ahead of the United Nations High-Level Meeting on AMR, Unitaid highlights the diagnostic access gaps that results in both undertreatment and overtreatment of gonorrhea infections in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) with a high burden of gonorrhea. Because of the lack of affordable, rapid point-of-care (POC) diagnostic tests in these settings, treatment decisions are based on observed signs and reported symptoms. Yet more than half of gonorrhea cases are asymptomatic, resulting in a high number of untreated, missed infections. Conversely, lack of gonor...
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Allergies or COVID-19: What Are the Differences?

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itchy skin allergy :: Article Creator Spring Allergy Season Affecting Some People For The First Time Seasonal allergies aren't just for lifelong sufferers anymore.  Doctors say it's increasingly common for adults who've never had allergies to suddenly experience symptoms like sneezing, runny nose, and itchy eyes, especially in the spring. "Allergies can develop later in life," said Dr. Jonathan Matz, an allergist and immunologist with Life Bridge Health. "Over successive exposures, the immune system starts to recognize these allergens and produces antibodies that bind to pollen proteins. It just turns it on." Right now, tree pollen is the biggest trigger. While local trees may not be fully in bloom, pollen from southern New England and the Mid-Atlantic is making its way north, carried by the wind. Experts say allergies often run in families, and people with asthma may be more vulnerable. The combination of p...
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