Ebola Fight Gets 50 Million Donation from Gates Foundation

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation pledged Wednesday a donation of $50 million to help boost the fight against the Ebola outbreak as overwhelmed medical teams struggle to contain the disease.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation pledged on Wednesday a donation of $50 million to help boost the fight against the Ebola outbreak as overwhelmed medical teams in west Africa struggle to contain the disease.

The foundation said in a statement it would immediately release funds to UN agencies and international organizations involved in the outbreak in order to "scale up" emergency efforts in affected countries.

Ebola Patient Arrives at US Hospital for Treatment
An Ebola patient has arrived for treatment at a US hospital where two Americans were previously treated, Emory University Hospital said on Tuesday.

The foundation also vowed to work with the public and private sector to help speed up the development of therapies and vaccines to tackle the deadly virus.

"We are working urgently with our partners to identify the most effective ways to help them save lives now and stop transmission of this deadly disease," said Sue Desmond-Hellmann, chief executive of the Gates Foundation.

"We also want to accelerate the development of treatments, vaccines and diagnostics that can help end this epidemic and prevent future outbreaks."

Ebola Virus Disease | Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever: Cause Symptoms Diagnosis Treatment
Ebola is caused by a virus via direct contact with body fluids or infected blood. Scientists have identified five types of Ebola or Ebola hemorrhagic fever virus.

Overwhelmed west African nations have called states of emergency across the region as they attempt to staunch the scale of the outbreak.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has predicted an "exponential increase" in infections across west Africa, and warned that Liberia alone will face thousands of new cases in the coming weeks.

Quiz on Ebola
Why is the deadly Ebola virus outbreak making the health experts hit the panic button? Find out from this quiz.

More than 2,200 people have died in the outbreak from more than 4,200 infections in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Nigeria.

Source-AFP

Resentment Simmers in Liberia's Ebola Jail
The residents of Dolo Town are becoming increasingly resentful over their incarceration in Liberia's open Ebola jail , trapped since officials placed them in quarantine two weeks ago.