Disease outbreak news from the WHO: Ebola virus disease – Democratic Republic of the Congo

From 22 to 28 April 2020, one new confirmed case of Ebola virus disease (EVD) was reported from Beni Health Zone in North Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Figure 1). This person was listed as a contact of a confirmed case, a family member who was reported on 17 April. The person was vaccinated on 20 April and was followed by the contact tracing team, though not on a regular basis due to insecurity.

Since the resurgence of the outbreak on 10 April 2020, seven confirmed cases have been reported, all from Beni Health Zone. Of these, one is receiving care at the Beni Ebola treatment centre (ETC), one who was receiving care at the ETC recovered and was discharged, and one remains in the community. Response teams are engaging with the community in order to try to bring that person to the ETC for access to treatment and supportive care, and to prevent further transmission in the community. Four of the people confirmed to have Ebola died, including two community deaths and two deaths in the ETC in Beni.

Published on April 30, 2020
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Shining a Light on Dark Matter

Dark matter, although invisible, makes up most of the universe’s mass and creates its underlying structure. via NASA https://ift.tt/35i4vgE

Mars Helicopter to Fly on NASA's Next Red Planet Rover Mission

The Mars Helicopter, a small, autonomous rotorcraft, will travel with NASA's Mars Perseverance rover, currently scheduled to launch in July 2020. via NASA https://ift.tt/3bOe0GT

30 Years of the Hubble Space Telescope

On April 25, 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope was deployed from the cargo bay of space shuttle Discovery. via NASA https://ift.tt/2y6EiFF

NASA Joins the Fight Against COVID-19

On Friday, April 24, 2020, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine visited the White House to brief President Trump on NASA's fight to alleviate COVID-19. via NASA https://ift.tt/2KDmoNp

Disease outbreak news from the WHO: Measles – Mexico

Mexico is experiencing a measles outbreak. Between 1 January and 2 April 2020, 1,364 probable¹cases of measles were reported, of which 124 were laboratory confirmed, 991 were discarded and 328 remain under investigation. The age of the confirmed measles cases ranged from three months to 68 years (median=20 years), and 59% were male. Analysis conducted by the National Reference Laboratory (InDRE) identified the genotype D8 (similar to other countries in the Region), linage MVs/GirSomnath.IND/42.16/ for 17 of the confirmed cases.

Of the 124 confirmed cases, 105 were in Mexico City, 18 in Mexico State, and one in Campeche State; the following is a summary of the epidemiological situation in each:

Published on April 24, 2020
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Space Station Crew Snaps an Image of the Susquehanna River

The Susquehanna River cuts through the folds of the Valley-and-Ridge province of the Appalachian Mountains in this photograph taken by the crew of the International Space Station. via NASA https://ift.tt/2xVzL90