Global Health

Health & Safety

When Holding An Orphaned Baby Can Mean Contracting Ebola

11:38am October 10, 2014

by NPR Staff

Anne Purfield and Michelle Dynes, epidemiologists at the CDC, recently spent several weeks in Sierra Leone. The Ebola epidemic, they explain, has taken a heavy toll on local health care workers.

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101st Airborne Switches Gears; Prepares To Fight Ebola

8:05am October 10, 2014

by Blake Farmer

The 101st Airborne leaves for Liberia over the next few weeks to help battle the Ebola outbreak. Soldiers say in some ways, the Ebola virus is a more intimidating enemy than insurgents.

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Health & Safety

In Collecting And Cremating Ebola Victims, A Grim Public Service

8:28pm October 09, 2014

Robert Siegel talks to Stephen Rowden, a volunteer with Doctors Without Borders who was in Liberia. For a month, Rowden was in charge of removing and cremating the bodies of Ebola victims.

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Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf visited West Point in August, when the impoverished neighborhood was quarantined to prevent the spread of Ebola.

Three Forlorn Presidents Bring Ebola Wish List To The World Bank

6:28pm October 09, 2014

by Jackie Northam

The leaders of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone pleaded for help at the annual World Bank-IMF meeting: "This slower-than-the-virus response needs to change."

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Astrophysicist Szabolcs Marka has a radical idea: Use light as a barrier between mosquitoes and humans. He was awarded a $100,000 Grand Challenge grant by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to see if the idea really works.

Help Wanted: Unlikely Geniuses To Solve Public Health Problems

3:13pm October 09, 2014

by Linda Poon

The Grand Challenge is a new tradition in the world of public health: asking anyone (and everyone) to come up with innovations. The latest assignment: design cooler protective gear for Ebola teams.

U.S. Ambassador To Liberia: Many Challenges Remain In Ebola Response

9:58am October 09, 2014

Melissa Block speaks with U.S. ambassador to Liberia Deborah Malac about the U.S. effort to combat Ebola in West Africa. Work has been slowed by difficult conditions and a shortage of trained workers.

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The home of Marthalene Williams, the Ebola-stricken woman aided by Thomas Eric Duncan. A man on the porch, who appeared to be in the late stages of Ebola, informed our photographer that he'd been to a hospital but was told to return home and quarantine hi

Fond Memories Of Ebola Victim Eric Duncan, Anger Over His Death

9:13am October 09, 2014

by Jason Beaubien

He likely contracted the virus when he carried an ailing pregnant woman into her home. Relatives and neighbors in Liberia miss his jovial spirit — and lash out at their government and the U.S.

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Ebola Protective Suits Are In Short Supply

7:09am October 09, 2014

by Jackie Northam

The Ebola outbreak created a demand for personal protective equipment. Clinics can go through hundreds of PPE suits a day. Manufacturers increased production but agencies say there's still a shortage.

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A comparison of reproduction numbers, or R0s, for several viruses. R0 is one measure of contagiousness.

No, Seriously, How Contagious Is Ebola?

8:22pm October 08, 2014

by Michaeleen Doucleff

A man with Ebola spent four days out in the Dallas community, possibly infecting others. So why are health officials so sure they can stop Ebola from spreading?

A team from Dr. Paul Farmer's Partners In Health nonprofit visited southeast Liberia's Martha Tubman Memorial Hospital in September. The hospital has a new, six-bed isolation unit financed by the U.N.

A Strong Voice From The Ebola Front: Lorenzo Dorr

4:23pm October 08, 2014

by Hannah Bloch

Drugs are in short supply. So is protective gear. Muddy roads may be impassable. But community health worker Lorenzo Dorr continues his efforts to keep Ebola in check in remote parts of Liberia.