Ebola

The Sierra Leonean documentary is a complex portrait of courageous solidarity amid contagion.

In the absence of good vaccines, doctors treating epidemic diseases must rely on cumbersome PPE as their one safety net. At least modern hazmat suits, unlike the 17th century plague doctor's all-leather outfit, actually work.

Guinea declares end of Ebola outbreak after 42 days without new cases. Outbreak resulted in 23 likely cases, 12 deaths since February. Success attributed to community buy-in, capacity building and vaccination.

Calling variants by their country of origin has politicised the pandemic response, leading to countries being blamed and people originating from those countries stigmatised and targeted – sometimes violently. Now, the World Health Organization is advising people to use a new, neutral naming system.

Trying to control a pandemic can feel like being in a warzone, yet even as we fight COVID-19 we still need to keep one eye on the future and potential emerging pandemics. Dr Velislava Petrova, senior manager in vaccine policy and investment at Gavi, explains why.

To mark the first anniversary of #VaccinesWork, we look back at some of the most read articles on diseases other than COVID-19 during an unprecedented year for global health.

Ebola has so far only affected African countries, and occasional cases outside of the continent have been rapidly contained. But the virus could mutate to spread more easily between people, making it more of a pandemic threat.

Genetic sequencing has linked the recent outbreak of Ebola disease to a survivor of the 2014-16 West Africa epidemic, meaning the virus could have laid dormant in one survivor for over five years. What does this mean for our efforts to control the disease?

The virus is always present in nature and when circumstances allow, it may jump from one species to another.

The tracking of antibodies in Ebola survivors suggests they wax and wane, which could make vaccine booster shots necessary.