Infectious diseases of poverty
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Health care workers are at the frontline in the fight against infectious disease, and as a result are at a high risk of infection. During the 2014-2015 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, many health care workers contracted Ebola, some fatally. However, no members of the Chinese Anti-Ebola medical team, deployed to provide vital medical care in Liberia were infected. This study aims to understand how this zero infection rate was achieved. ⋯ The comprehensive and multidisciplinary measures employed to protect the health of the medical team proved successful even in Liberia's resource-limited setting. The global health community can learn valuable lessons from this experience which could improve the safety of health care workers in future emergencies. These lessons include: establishing capable command systems; implementing effective coordination mechanisms; providing adequate equipment; providing training for medical teams; investing in the development of global health professionals; and improving research on ways to protect health care workers.
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A high prevalence of epilepsy has been observed in many onchocerciasis endemic regions. This study is to estimate the prevalence of active epilepsy and exposure to Onchocerca volvulus infection in a rural population in Ituri province, Democratic Republic of Congo. ⋯ A high prevalence of epilepsy and a significant association between epilepsy and exposure to O. volvulus were observed in the population in Ituri province, Democratic Republic of Congo. There is an urgent need to implement a CDTI programme and to scale up an epilepsy treatment and care programme.