Liberia declared Ebola-free after weeks of no cases

10:41 AM

Liberia declared Ebola-free after weeks of no cases

Liberia is now officially Ebola-free, but health authorities are urging vigilance

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared Liberia free of the Ebola virus, confirming that the country has had no new cases in 42 days.

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf told the BBC that Liberia had "crossed the Rubicon" and would be celebrating a concerted effort to stem the disease.
More than 4,700 deaths from Ebola have been recorded in Liberia, more than in any other affected country.
Neighbouring Guinea and Sierra Leone continue to fight the outbreak.
It has claimed over 11,000 lives across the region since last year.



The WHO regards a country Ebola-free after a 42-day period without a new case - twice the maximum incubation period.
The last confirmed death in Liberia was on 27 March. On Saturday the World Health Organization said in a statement: "The outbreak of Ebola virus disease in Liberia is over."
President Sirleaf told the BBC: "We will celebrate our communities which have taken responsibility and participated in fighting this unknown enemy and finally we've crossed the Rubicon. Liberia indeed is a happy nation."

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650 dead, many injured as massive earthquake hits Nepal

6:57 AM

650 dead, many injured as massive earthquake hits Nepal

Posted by Anup Baral April 25th, 2015 :
7.5 magnitude earthquake has struck in Kathmandu and all other parts of Nepal. According to U.S. Geological Survey, earthquake occurred less than 50 miles from the capital city Katmandu. 

Source : Kantipur TV / Nepal 

 Breaking News: 7.5 magnitude earthquake has struck in Kathmandu and all other parts of Nepal. According to U.S. Geological Survey, earthquake occurred less than 50 miles from the capital city Katmandu. Watch Exclusive footage from Nepal television of powerful 7.5 magnitude earthquake. "We need support from the various international agencies which are more knowledgeable and equipped to handle the kind of emergency we face now," Information Minister Minendra Rijal.

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Magic mushrooms

1:43 PM

Magic mushrooms in Seattle and heroin in Philadelphia: Google Trends plots drug addictions across the US

• The graphic was created by detox and rehab site Withdrawal.net
  
• It used Google Trends to track the popularity of drug searches since 2004
  
• This included crystal meth, cocaine, Xanax, Adderall and heroin
  
• The team then plotted the most searched for drugs across the US
  
• Maps reveal how searches for meth peaked in 2007 and again in 2013
  
• Cocaine has consistently been the most searched for drug since 2001=4
  
• Adderall is most commonly searched for in New Orleans, cocaine is a prolific drug in New York, and OxyContin is popular in Seattle
  

Official crime rates and hospital figures give an insight into drug abuse across the US, but the data Google reaps can also reveal just how prevalent the spread of an illicit substance truly is.

A team of researchers used Google Trends, which tracks trending topics over time, to see how the popularity of different drugs has changed in the country over the past decade.

It found that searches for crystal meth are steadily rising, heroin is considered an ‘epidemic’ in Pennsylvania, and prescription drugs such as Xanax and Adderall dominate the south.

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Healthy People 2020

1:24 PM

Healthy People

Healthy People provides science-based, 10-year national objectives for improving the health of all Americans. For 3 decades, Healthy People has established benchmarks and monitored progress over time in order to:

• Encourage collaborations across communities and sectors
• Empower individuals toward making informed health decisions
• Measure the impact of prevention activities

In December 2010, Healthy People launched Healthy People 2020, setting an ambitious 10-year agenda for improving the Nation’s health. Healthy People 2020 strives to:

• Identify nationwide health improvement priorities
• Increase public awareness and understanding of the determinants of health, disease, and disability and the opportunities for progress
• Provide measurable objectives and goals that are applicable at the national, state, and local levels
• Engage multiple sectors to take actions to strengthen policies and improve practices that are driven by the best available evidence and knowledge
• Identify critical research, evaluation, and data collection needs

Visit HealthyPeople.gov and explore Healthy People 2020’s: Link

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