“Western cultures have generally regarded bats with superstition and fear; but in China, expressed in art and handicrafts, the bat has achieved respectability as a symbol of happiness and good luck. Too often, popular misconceptions have labeled bats as “dirty,” “disease carriers,” or “blood suckers,” an unenviable—and unjust—reputation to be sure. In reality, the more than 1,300 bat species […]
The 2014 Ebola epidemic began as a mysterious disease in a small village in Guinea at the end of 2013, but was not identified as Ebola until March 2014. From the original location near a tropical rainforest, it spread to major rural and urban areas across West Africa. Formerly known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever, Ebola […]
A few months ago, Zmapp made its way across the ocean — from the United States to Liberia, where it was administered to Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol. Both of them had contracted Ebola while doing missionary aid work, helping people infected with the virus. Both of them recovered. However, we don’t know the exact […]
On October 24, 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced plans to produce millions of doses of experimental Ebola vaccines by the end of 2015, with hundreds of thousands ready halfway through the year. Marie-Paule Kieny, WHO assistant director-general for health systems and innovation, said that although vaccines are not magic bullets, they may be a good part […]