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In a great success story for Africa and medical research in Africa, Congolese medical scientist Dr. Jean-Jacques Muyembe's research helps find a solution for tackling the Ebola virus.  The Ebola virus has killed 9 out of ten patients in outbreaks in Africa, particularly in the Congo.  A international coalition of doctors and scientists have proven in clinical trials that new Ebola drugs, a result of Dr. Muyembe's research, work effectively to save lives. Dr. Muyembe was one of the first scientists to identify the Ebola virus. The disease began in 1976 from a remote village near the Ebola river in the Congo. The clinical trials were done in the middle of a war torn country, in the northeast of the COngo, in tent-sided field hospitals that served as Ebola treatment centers. Two treatment centers were set on fire. Ebola patients recovered often after a single intravenous dose.  Dr. Muyembe's scientific research that showed that antibodies or proteins that the immune system produces to fight infections can build up a patient's defenses against Ebola, was initially received with skepticism and doubts by the medical research community. In trials patients given a single anti-body drug  had a 35% mortality rate compared a common 90% mortality rate without treatment. The NAID-led drug , mAb114, was made from an antibody of n Ebola survivor found by Dr. Muyembe who has dedicated his life to fighting Ebola, and is the head of the  Congo National Institute of Biomedical Research. The WHo and NAID, organized the clinical trials. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals has developed a drug based on this research REGN-EB3 which shows 34% mortality rate and better results when patients received the treatment soon after the illness.  About 240,000 people in the northeastern Congo have received vaccination for Ebola to contain the virus and prevent it from spreading. ...

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The drug Remdesvir diminishes time to recovery by almost a third, say health experts. A key member of the American task force Dr. Anthony Fauci said it has "a clear cut significant positive effect in diminishing time to recovery." It was used in treating Ebola virus.

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Dr. Antnony Faucci has been at the forefront of every major medical crisis from SARS, swine flu to ebola virus. He is credited with convincing president Reagan of the dangers of HIV. He is now at the forefront for coronavirus. 

In daily briefings he is present answering questions in the White House Brady Room with president Trump, vice president Pence and Deborah Brx the response coordinator.

For 32 years he has taken on each challenge of increasing public awareness of dangers in public health crises, meeting controversy along the way. 

He is son of Italian immigrants and helped his father in a Brooklyn, New York,  pharmacy. 

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The contrast between lack of effective measures taken in the Lombardy region with the aggressive action in Veneto that has proved effective. Veneto followed the method of quarantining, mass testing for clusters and isolating the affected people.  The Italian government took the first steps to close off northern Italy Feb 22, and it was not till March 10 that a nationwide lockdown was done. The action taken in the Veneto region is shown here in this WSJ report with the town of Vo as an example of steps taken that worked. A microbiology professor and infectious diseases expert at the University of Padua, Dr Crisanti, developed a test for the coronavirus as early as mid-January using the information made public by Chinese doctors. Dr. Crisanti oversaw the testing of 95% of residents of Vo, a town of 3400 people in Veneto region. He found 3% of the population was infected, with half testing positive asymptomatic. Following the aggressive lockdown the tests were done two weeks later and the rate of infection had fallen to 0.1% with only 8 new infections. "The main lesson from VO is that when you have a cluster of infected people, you should do a very aggressive lockdown and then test as many people as possible," Dr Crisanti says. The results from Vo led to Veneto increasing testing in the rest of the region carrying out 80,000 tests, compared to 88,000 in Lombardy, with double the population and 5 times more infections. Lombardy followed government directives to test only those with symptoms. When it spreads it is harder to do the test isolate clusters, test isolate clusters, in a continual loop, yet this remains the method cited by Dr. Brx in the U.S. today as the right way to target clusters in a laser approach. In yesterday's briefing at the White House Dr Brx said this is a method the U.S. is familiar with and has used in Africa to tackle HIV, Ebola Virus. It is possible using GPS to target down to a specific clinic in a specific place, which is how it was successfully done in Africa. ...

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The appreciation of the U.S. dollar and depreciating currencies in Africa in 2015 makes it costlier to import manufactured goods to African countries. Quality Supermarkets in Kampala, Uganda, struggles to fill its shelves with imported packaged foods and manufactured goods. The lack of financing for $30 million in crude supplies leads to the closure of a refinery in Lusaka, Zambia, and long lines at gas stations. The Zambian currency kwacha has depreciated by 17% against the U.S. dollar in 2015. Uganda's currency the shilling, Angola's currency the kwanza, and Nigeria's currency the Naira, all depreciated in 2015. This means larger trade deficits to finance consumer imports or upgrade infrastructure. In Uganda this means delays in upgrades to power lines and transformers. In oil producing countries such as Angola and Nigeria, and oil producers at the early stage such as Uganda and Ghana, there is a double whammy with lower oil prices leading to lower revenues to finance costlier imports. This is likely to slow growth in Africa from about 5% in recent years to 3.7%, according to Capital Economics forecast. Countries in Africa that import oil will see lower import bill for oil, but that benefit eroded by a depreciating currency. South Africa sees benefit of lower oil prices offset by lower revenues from commodity exports of iron ore, and the higher cost of imports with a depreciating currency. ...