Found out Kate went home today...her husband texted me that "after 74 days in ICU and 24 operations, we're thrilled she's home with the kids and myself where she belongs".

Amen

Thanks for the update, Blurf. Good news.

---

Saudi man, 82, among 4 more MERS victims

Four more people have succumbed to the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-conronavirus (MERS-CoV) and a fresh case has been reported from Jeddah, the Ministry of Health said on Saturday.

https://en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com/saudi-man-82-among-4-more-mers-victims-053838787.html

---

Big mistake.

U.S. Will Stop Ebola Screenings for Air Passengers from Liberia

The country was declared Ebola-free—for the second time—on Sept. 3

Federal agencies have decided to end the mandatory screening for air travelers arriving in the U.S. via Liberia, effective Monday.

http://time.com/4041386/ebola-screening-liberia/

---

AP Investigation: World Health agency's bungling hindered Ebola response in Sierra Leone


KENEMA, Sierra Leone (AP) — The chlorine was expired. The protective gear was missing. And the red tape was so thick that responders fighting last year's Ebola outbreak in West Africa had trouble getting approval for boots and buckets.

The 2014 Ebola epidemic pitted a lethal virus against barely-there health systems, and it was always going to be deadly. But an Associated Press investigation has found that a string of avoidable errors badly undermined the work of international aid workers.

http://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2015/09/21/ap-investigation-bungling-by-un-agency-hurt-ebola-response

---

Ukraine health officials fear big polio outbreak

Health officials in Ukraine are gripped by fears of a major polio outbreak, after it was announced this month that the disease had paralysed two children in the south-western region of Trans-Carpathia.

Concerns that the virus could cut a deadly swathe through the country has mobilised officials to launch a national immunisation campaign that would embrace all children up to 10 years old.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34289480

---

Yes.
A combination of public mistrust in vaccinations, poor vaccine supply, and corruption in the health system has left Ukraine with worryingly low rates of immunisation.
http://www.unicef.org/ceecis/media_24342.html

In Russia there are lot of Tuberculosis infected peoples...

UN Ebola response now planned to continue into 2016 after initial hopes it would end by 2015

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The United Nations is now planning for its Ebola response to last into mid-2016, suggesting the battle against the virus that has killed more than 11,000 people won't be over by year-end, according to a report Wednesday.

The news comes as health officials struggle to contain a resurgence of cases in both Sierra Leone and Guinea largely because of problems tracing patients.

http://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2015/09/23/un-ebola-response-now-planned-to-continue-into-2016

---

MERS alert for homebound Haj pilgrims

HYDERABAD: With Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus (MERS-CoV) causing high mortalities in Saudi Arabia in August-September, city health experts have sounded an alarm bell over the possibility of the virus making its entry with the arrival of over 5,000 Haj pilgrims from AP and Telangana next month.

In its latest health bulletin on MERS-CoV, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that in August, MERS-CoV led to eight deaths even as dozens of fresh cases continue to pour in every week, including 22 cases in Saudi Arabia between September 6 and 11.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/MERS-alert-for-homebound-Haj-pilgrims/articleshow/49083712.cms

prayer for those killed in the stampede.

---

Chip-based technology enables reliable direct detection of Ebola virus

A team led by researchers at UC Santa Cruz has developed chip-based technology for reliable detection of Ebola virus and other viral pathogens. The system uses direct optical detection of viral molecules and can be integrated into a simple, portable instrument for use in field situations where rapid, accurate detection of Ebola infections is needed to control outbreaks.

http://phys.org/news/2015-09-chip-based-technology-enables-reliable-ebola.html

http://in.reuters.com/article/2015/09/25/us-kenya-kenya-airways-idINKCN0RP1CF20150925
Kenya Airways resumes West Africa flights banned due to Ebola

---

Nigeria reaches polio 'milestone'

Nigeria has been removed from the list of polio endemic countries in what is being regarded as a "milestone" on the quest to eradicate the disease.

The announcement by the World Health Organization (WHO), was made at a meeting of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) in New York.

It follows Nigeria going more than a year without a case of wild - naturally occurring - polio.

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-34328447

---

No Ebola found in year of screening at O’Hare, other airports

After screening more than 30,000 travelers for Ebola as they arrived at O’Hare Airport and other U.S. airports from West African countries over the past year, federal health authorities say they never detected a single case of the often-fatal disease.

http://chicago.suntimes.com/news-chicago/7/71/990854/year-screening-ohare-airports-didnt-detect-ebola

---

No Ebola found in year of screening at O’Hare, other airports

After screening more than 30,000 travelers for Ebola as they arrived at O’Hare Airport and other U.S. airports from West African countries over the past year, federal health authorities say they never detected a single case of the often-fatal disease.

http://chicago.suntimes.com/news-chicago/7/71/990854/year-screening-ohare-airports-didnt-detect-ebola

That type of screening is pointless!
My brother who were in Laos during the SARS peek got a savere flue when coming back to Sweden.
He called these https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=sv&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=sv&ie=UTF-8&u=https%3A%2F%2Fsv.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FSmittskyddsinstitutet&edit-text=
The answer he got without being screened was. "It's probably nothing to worry about" !!!

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2015/09/26/150-cases-shigella-reportedly-confirmed-in-kansas-city/

citing newly released numbers from the Kansas City Health Department on Friday, reports the city usually sees 10 cases of Shigella per year, but so far in 2015 there have already been 150 reported cases. From Jan. 1 to July 1, there were only 16 cases, but in the last two months there have been 134 additional cases. The outbreak is 15-times the annual average.

---

Guinea celebrates victory over Ebola

Thousands of Guineans celebrated the country reaching the final stages of the battle with the deadly Ebola epidemic at a concert featuring artists from across Africa.

The tropical virus has killed more than 11,000 people in west Africa - 2500 of them in Guinea - since it emerged in the country's southern forests in December 2013.

http://www.skynews.com.au/news/world/africa/2015/09/27/guinea-celebrates-victory-over-ebola.html

---

Sierra Leone's last known Ebola patients leave hospital

Freetown (AFP) - Sierra Leone began a second 42-day countdown to becoming Ebola-free on Sunday as it discharged its last two known patients and lifted its quarantine restrictions in the north, local health officials said.

http://news.yahoo.com/sierra-leones-last-known-ebola-patients-leave-hospital-172438094.html

---

An asset in a new treatment programme using Favipiravir, a drug that has yet to be approved for use against Ebola. Preliminary results have shown, however, that the drug reduces the mortality rate of Ebola by 30 to 15 per cent in people with a moderate virus infection.
The Doctor Without Borders’ Nongo centre is what Dr Nordenstedt calls a “State of the Art- centre”, with its superior layout, monitoring facilities and, above all, own laboratory.
http://ki.se/en/news/doctor-and-ki-scientist-helena-nordenstedt-a-volunteer-in-the-fight-against-ebola

Sierra Leone Begins New Ebola 42-day Countdown

A Sierra Leone official said the government is cautiously optimistic the country will successfully complete a new 42-day countdown to be declared Ebola-free without any setback.

The country began the new countdown Saturday after discharging its last two known patients from the International Medical Corps Treatment Center in Kambia District.

http://www.voanews.com/content/sierra-leone-begins-new-ebola-42-day-countdown/2982177.html

---

Sierra Leone Begins New Ebola 42-day Countdown

A Sierra Leone official said the government is cautiously optimistic the country will successfully complete a new 42-day countdown to be declared Ebola-free without any setback.

The country began the new countdown Saturday after discharging its last two known patients from the International Medical Corps Treatment Center in Kambia District.

http://www.voanews.com/content/sierra-leone-begins-new-ebola-42-day-countdown/2982177.html

Fingers crossed.

---

rOZZ
Music
Pictures

Flea must stay in Amber.

Black Death Bacteria Found on Frozen-in-Time Flea

A 20-million-year-old flea preserved in amber harbors the likely ancestor of bacteria that caused one of the world’s deadliest plagues, the Black Death, according to a new study.

Researchers believe the bacteria, described in the Journal of Medical Entomology, was an ancient strain of Yersinia pestis, which caused the bubonic plague, aka the Black Death. More than a third of Europe’s population — at least 30 million people — succumbed from the scourge in the 14th century.

http://news.discovery.com/animals/insects/black-death-bacteria-found-on-frozen-in-time-flea-150929.htm

---

Ebola is all but over, but the postmortem is just getting started

Smiles and banter have returned to Sierra Leone. On its neglected, but beautiful, white sand beaches, boys are playing football again with a new energy. The ban on public gatherings has been lifted. Ebola is a bad memory.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/30/ebola-inquest-un-united-nations-world-health-organisation

---