Ebola Virus Disease

Editas Medicine ( NASDAQ:EDIT ) and BAVARIAN NORDIC/S ( OTCMKTS:BVNRY ) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability and earnings. Risk & Volatility Editas Medicine has a beta of 3.37, indicating that its share price is 237% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BAVARIAN NORDIC/S has a beta of 0.68, indicating that its share price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500. Valuation & Earnings This table compares Editas Medicine and BAVARIAN NORDIC/S’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation. Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Editas Medicine $13.73 million 84.70 -$120.32 million ($2.98) -8.18 BAVARIAN NORDIC/S $208.06 million 3.86 $27.54 million $0.29 28.59 BAVARIAN NORDIC/S has higher rev...

Written by Harrison Cook | October 24, 2018 | Print  | Email A 40-year-old-man died from influenza B complications the week of Oct. 21 in Pierce County, Wash., according to a report from the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department. The patient, who had other pre-existing conditions, was admitted to an intensive care unit for more than a week before his death, according to KING 5 News . Four other individuals have been hospitalized with the flu in Pierce County since mid-September. Two cases involved influenza A, and two involved influenza B. The patients' ages ranged from teens to late-60s. During the 2017-18 flu season, Washington state reported 247 flu-related deaths. The CDC recommends everyone age 6 months and older receive a flu vaccine by the end of October. More articles on clinical leadership and infection control: Mental health survey asks 5k+ patients: What should researchers study? CDC director says he pushed to keep Ebola experts in Congo's out...

Written by Harrison Cook | October 24, 2018 | Print  | Email CDC Director Robert Redfield, MD, on Oct. 23 said he pushed for American experts to stay in the Democratic Republic of Congo's Ebola outbreak zone, but was overruled by federal officials due to safety concerns, according to STAT . The CDC withdrew Ebola experts from the outbreak zone, currently centered in the city of Beni, a few weeks ago due to security concerns over increased violence in the area. "Those decisions are security decisions that really are outside the realm of my public health expertise," Dr. Redfield told STAT . It's unclear whether HHS wanted the experts to stay in the outbreak zone. In early October, sources told STAT the U.S. Department of State prohibited the experts and other federal employees from traveling to the Congo to participate in on-the-ground aid. "I do think they're at an enormous disadvantage by not having the expertise the CDC has on the ground," Dr...

Opinion writer October 24 at 5:16 PM * Devlin Barrett, Mark Berman, and Cleve Wootson have the latest on the bombings : Authorities said Wednesday they had intercepted packages containing homemade explosive devices addressed to former secretary of state Hillary Clinton in New York and former president Barack Obama in Washington, while another bomb was discovered at CNN’s offices in Manhattan. These devices in Washington and New York — sent to the homes of former presidents and a cable news network in what politicians called attempted terror attacks — prompted bipartisan condemnation and set off spasms of unease across the country, as security and law enforcement officers rushed to scour incoming mail for other potential undiscovered bombs. The bombs and other suspicious packages were located after an explosive device was found this week in a mailbox at the Bedford, N.Y., home of George Soros, the liberal philanthropist who is a frequent target of criticism from far-right ...

The most-read story in infectious disease this week was the CDC announcement that 92 people in 29 states were sickened in an outbreak of multidrug-resistant Salmonella tied to raw chicken products. The second-most read story was a study that found commercial washing and drying under the United Kingdom’s health care laundry policy did not remove all Clostridium diffic i le spores from hospital bedsheets. Other popular stories included a report that detailed how researchers contained a prolonged outbreak of carbapenemase-producing bacteria Enterobacteriaceae, a study that found Batronella bacteria was common in vampire bats and a committee that concluded that the current Ebola outbreak in Congo is not a global public health emergency. – by Janel Miller 29 states hit by outbreak of multidrug-resistant Salmonella linked to raw chicken The CDC announced that 92 people in 29 states have been sickened in an outbreak of multidrug-resistant Salmonella linked to raw chicken products. R...

1. Highlights In response to the re-classification of South Sudan to “very high risk” from “high risk”, the WCO South Sudan has deployed members of staff to the prioritized states of Yambio, Yei, Torit (Nimule) and Wau to strengthen the EVD preparedness coordination with partners on ground and the national task force in Juba. The WHO Representative to South Sudan, Dr Olushayo Olu led a team to Yambio to reinforce the WHO’s leadership in EVD preparedness activities in the state. One suspected EVD case was reported in Gumbo Juba on Monday, 15th October 2018. The rapid response team in Juba was dispatched to investigate the alert. Preliminary GenXpert result from the National Public Health Laboratory and the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) polymerase chain reaction results showed negative for Ebola virus disease, Marburg, RVF, Congo Crimean Hemorrhagic Fever and Sosuga virus. https://ift.tt/2PTlVI9

A team of University of Nebraska Medical Center health professionals entered Uganda to make a difference with education on how to tackle the Ebola virus. The group of one doctor, three nurses and a respiratory therapist departed from Maryland on Sept. 25, and returned Oct. 3. Over the course of a week, they trained Ugandan medical professionals on Ebola virus treatment and prevention. The World Health Organization reports 237 confirmed cases of the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the organization predicts the virus could reach Uganda with the migration of refugees from the DRC to the country. The team assembled in response to a request from Medical Teams International, a non-governmental organization that supports refugees fleeing the DRC to western Uganda, which is where the team was located. UNMC has experience with the Ebola virus. During the 2014 West Africa outbreak, UNMC health professionals transported and treated infected American citizens. In U...

A team of University of Nebraska Medical Center health professionals entered Uganda to make a difference with education on how to tackle the Ebola virus. The group of one doctor, three nurses and a respiratory therapist departed from Maryland on Sept. 25, and returned Oct. 3. Over the course of a week, they trained Ugandan medical professionals on Ebola virus treatment and prevention. The World Health Organization reports 237 confirmed cases of the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the organization predicts the virus could reach Uganda with the migration of refugees from the DRC to the country. The team assembled in response to a request from Medical Teams International, a non-governmental organization that supports refugees fleeing the DRC to western Uganda, which is where the team was located. UNMC has experience with the Ebola virus. During the 2014 West Africa outbreak, UNMC health professionals transported and treated infected American citizens. In U...

The  "Ebola nurse" from Doctors Without Borders who sued former Gov. Chris Christie over her three days spent in quarantine during the 2014 Ebola scare has returned to work for the humanitarian organization again.  Kaci Hickox, of Fort Kent, Maine, worked as an infectious disease public health nurse in Sierra Leone when the 2014 Ebola outbreak began in West Africa.  Her LinkedIn profile  now says she's an "infection prevention and control advisor" for Doctors Without Borders in Amsterdam, Netherlands, as of October 2018. She also  updated her Facebook with the new position on Oct. 11.  Hickox, now 37, made international headlines for weeks when she was  quarantined upon returning to the U.S. from Sierra Leone. She was pulled aside for a health screening at Newark Liberty International Airport. A thermometer test registered a slight fever, leading officials to detain her at the airport for several hours before she was transfe...

NHIS boss Usman Yusuf suspended indefinitely again Nigeria’s health sector was shocked during the week as the governing council of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) suspended Usman Yusuf, the Executive Secretary of the scheme indefinitely. It was the second time Mr Yusuf was suspended from office since he took over July 29, 2016. The Chairperson of the NHIS governing council, Enyantu Ifenne, who disclosed the resolution of the council to suspend the ES after a two days of a closed door meeting at the Abuja head office of the scheme, said the council was inundated with petitions alleging infractions by the official. Mrs Enyanatu said the council also resolved to set up a panel to examine the allegations against Mr. Yusuf, stating that the council got the approval of the Minister of Health, Isacc Adewole , before the suspension. Sadiq Abubakar was appointed as the acting Executive Secretary in Mr Yusuf’s stead. Type 2 Polio Virus In Bauchi – WHO The World Health Orga...

KENILWORTH, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 20, 2018--Merck (NYSE:MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced the first presentation of results from an interim analysis of KEYNOTE-057, a Phase 2 trial evaluating KEYTRUDA, Merck’s anti-PD-1 therapy, for previously treated patients with high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) with carcinoma in situ (CIS) or CIS plus papillary disease (Cohort A). An interim analysis of the study’s primary endpoint showed a complete response (CR) rate of 38.8 percent (95% CI, 29.4-48.9) (n=103) at three months with KEYTRUDA in patients whose disease was unresponsive to Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) therapy, the current standard of care for this disease, and who were ineligible for or who refused to undergo radical cystectomy. These results, as well as other study findings, are being presented today in an oral session at the ESMO 2018 Congress (Abstract #864O). “Treatment options for high-risk non-muscle invasive blad...

Written by Harrison Cook | October 19, 2018 | Print  | Email Children under age 16 made up nearly 60 percent of Ebola cases reported in the first two weeks of October in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to STAT . The World Health Organization confirmed 43 Ebola cases in early October, 20 of which occurred in children. Of those cases, nine occurred in kids under age 5. "It is unusual for this outbreak and it is unusual in previous outbreaks … to see this proportion of kids," Peter Salama, MD, deputy director of emergency preparedness and response, told STAT . "[It's] a very high number." Epidemiologists working in the city of Beni, the current hot spot for the Ebola outbreak, have a theory for the spike in pediatric cases, according to Dr. Salama. Many of the children infected with Ebola recently saw a medical practitioner or traditional healer in Beni, as it is peak malaria season in the area. Epidemiologists said the children might have c...

Written by Harrison Cook | October 19, 2018 | Print  | Email Children under age 16 made up nearly 60 percent of Ebola cases reported in the first two weeks of October in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to STAT . The World Health Organization confirmed 43 Ebola cases in early October, 20 of which occurred in children. Of those cases, nine occurred in kids under age 5. "It is unusual for this outbreak and it is unusual in previous outbreaks … to see this proportion of kids," Peter Salama, MD, deputy director of emergency preparedness and response, told STAT . "[It's] a very high number." Epidemiologists working in the city of Beni, the current hot spot for the Ebola outbreak, have a theory for the spike in pediatric cases, according to Dr. Salama. Many of the children infected with Ebola recently saw a medical practitioner or traditional healer in Beni, as it is peak malaria season in the area. Epidemiologists said the children might have c...

The West African Health Organisation (WAHO) says there is urgent need for countries to prepare for emergencies to prevent economic, human and other losses, especially as the region lost 7 billion dollars in terms of cost during the 2014 Ebola epidemic. Stanley Okolo, the Director-General of the organisation, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) during the Regional Disease Surveillance Systems Enhancement (REDISSE) sub-committee meeting in Lagos on Friday. The sub-committee meeting started on October 15. REDISSE project is a regional project funded by the World Bank, covering all the 15 ECOWAS countries and Mauritania in five-year phases from 2016 to 2023. The first phase covers three countries, including Guinea, Senegal and Sierra Leone, the second phase covers four countries of Nigeria, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia and Togo. Its implementation is in the third phase, covering four countries – Benin, Mali, Niger and Mauritania. Mr Okolo said, “I am challenging the 15 count...