The current Ebola outbreak sweeping through West Africa likely began at the funeral of a healer in Sierra Leone. “The funeral was for an herbalist or traditional medicine practitioner in Koindu, a town in Sierra Leone,” says Robert Garry, professor of microbiology and immunology at Tulane University. “The herbalist had treated several patients from neighboring … Continue reading How did the Ebola outbreak start? It likely started at a funeral in Sierra Leone

Ebola is threatening much of the world’s chocolate supply. Ivory Coast, the world’s largest producer of cacao, the raw ingredient in M&M’s, Butterfingers and Snickers Bars, has shut down its borders with Liberia and Guinea, putting a major crimp on the workforce needed to pick the beans that end up in chocolate bars and other … Continue reading Ebola virus threatens chocolate in Ivory Coast

When the experts describe the Ebola disaster, they do so with numbers. The statistics include not just the obvious ones such as caseloads, deaths and the rate of infection, but also the ones that describe the speed of the global response. Right now, the math still favors the virus. Global health officials are looking closely at … Continue reading The ominous math of the Ebola epidemic – The Washington Post