Ebola Drug Zmapp Is 100% Effective At Treating Monkeys

Hopes of a breakthrough in the fight against Ebola have been raised by the 100 per cent successful treatment of monkeys with the deadly disease.

The experimental drug ZMapp cured the animals even when administered five days after infection, while they were displaying severe symptoms.

All 18 rhesus macaques made a complete recovery, in contrast to three other untreated monkeys that quickly fell seriously ill and died.

ZMapp is a blend of three laboratory-made antibodies designed to neutralise the virus.

Two U.S. doctors given the drug after they were infected with Ebola while working in Liberia subsequently recovered.

But it is not known whether they were saved by the drug or just lucky. About 45 per cent of those infected in the current outbreak have survived without treatment.

At least two other patients treated with ZMapp have died, possibly because help got to them too late.

Doctor Dies of Ebola In Port Harcourt

Nigeria has confirmed its first Ebola death outside Lagos – a doctor in the oil hub of Port Harcourt.

Nigeria’s Health minister Onyebuchi Chukwu said the Port Harcourt doctor had died on 22 August, but the results of the tests have only just been made public.

A further 70 people are under surveillance in the city, while his wife has been put under quarantine.

The doctor had treated a patient, who later recovered, who had met Patrick Sawyer, the man who took Ebola from Liberia to Nigeria.

West Africa’s health ministers are meeting later to discuss how to tackle the world’s most deadly Ebola outbreak.

More than 1,550 people have died, with more than 3,000 confirmed cases –mostly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

More than 240 health workers have been infected with Ebola – a rate which the World Health Organization (WHO) said was “unprecedented”.

It noted that in many cases protective suits, even rubber gloves and face masks, were not available.

The doctor becomes the sixth fatality in Nigeria, which is Africa’s most populous country.

On Wednesday, Nigeria announced that schools would not reopen after holidays until 13 October in order to try and contain the disease.

ANGEL IN RED DEVIL SHIRT (United Sign Angel Di Maria For Record Fee)

Argentina international midfielder joins on five-year contract.

Manchester United is delighted to announce that Angel Di Maria has completed his transfer for a British record fee of £59.7million. Angel joins on a five-year contract.

Di Maria, 26, began his career at one of the most prolific youth academies in Argentinian football, Rosario Central. In 2007, he moved to Europe to play for Portuguese club Benfica, before signing for Real Madrid in 2010.The Argentina international has 52 caps for his national team, scoring 10 goals.

Angel Di Maria said: "I am absolutely delighted to be joining Manchester United. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in Spain and there were a lot of clubs interested in me, but United is the only club that I would have left Real Madrid for.

"Louis van Gaal is a fantastic coach with a proven track record of success and I am impressed by the vision and determination everyone has to get this club back to the top – where it belongs. I now just cannot wait to get started."

Louis van Gaal said: "Angel is a world-class midfielder but most importantly he is a team player. There is no doubting his immense natural talent.

"He is a tremendously fast and incisive left-footed player who puts fear into the most accomplished defence. His dribbling skills and his ability to take on and beat opponents are a joy to watch. He is an excellent addition to the team."

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Angel Di Maria Arrives In Manchester United

MARIO BALOTELLI FINALLY WITH LIVERPOOL

Bad Boy Mario

As the transfer window coming to an end, the last minute shopping is involving the big names and players that can turn things around for the new respective clubs.

One of these new signings is Mario Balotelli who is now Liverpool player.

Michael Brown: As He Is Laid To Rest Finally Today

Michael Brown’s death was a case of the incessant Police brutality that is usually witnessed in United States and some other parts of the World.

Brown’s promising life was brought to a halt from the brutality melted on him by a white Police officer who sees no reason not to kill the innocent and unarmed black teenager. His death erupted demonstrations and civil unrest in the area of Fergusson (a city in St. Louis County, Missouri in USA). This is like the story of Trayvon Martin that was exterminated last year by another White Police officer.

Study Reveals Failure Rate in Addiction Treatment For Gays

Gays and lesbians are three times more likely to have multiple inpatient addiction treatments than heterosexual patients. That’s one of the findings in a new study that addresses issues of addiction treatment LGBT patients, which is set to be published in the August edition of the Journal of Gay and Lesbian Social Services.

The study, written by researchers at the Hazelden Springbrook alcohol and dream treatment center in Newberg, Ore., also underscored the growing need for inpatient treatment programs to tailor their services to the sexual and social issues faced by many gay and lesbian patients.

According to the study, they are three times more likely to have suffered sexual abuse; twice as likely to have reported physical or emotional abuse; and are more likely to report struggling with issues of depression, anxiety, and other psychiatric issues than heterosexual patients. Gay patients are also more likely to have multiple patient treatments prior to admission than heterosexuals. “[This] means that treatments are not working as well for gay and lesbian people,” said study co-author Buster Ross.

Nollywood Movie "30 Days In Atlanta” Gets 10 Nominations In U.S.

A Nigerian movie, “30 Days in Atlanta” scored one of the highest nominations for the 3rd annual Golden Icons Academic Awards, GIAMA, scheduled for October 25, in Houston, Texas U.S.A. The movie got a whooping 10 nominations.

The Movie Producer and comedian, Ayo Makun, popularly known as AY, in a statement expressed satisfaction that the efforts put into making the movie paid off.

The Delta State University Theatre Arts graduate said “I am so happy that the sleepless nights and days of shooting the movie in Nigeria and Atlanta is beginning to pay off.

“This is affirmation to the efforts put into the production of the movie and to celebrate the great team that worked with me on the project.

“The main idea was to recreate the Akpos Character on The AY Show’s `Who Wants to Be a Billionaire Segment’. “It was also to establish the AY brand as an actor and a producer in the movie industry”.

Nigeria Recorded First Ebola Survivor.

Ebola infected medical doctor; Ameyo Adadevoh has recovered from the attack with the deadly Ebola virus. Dr. Adadevoh was declared Ebola-free and discharged from quarantine, becoming Nigeria’s first Ebola survivor.

Dr. Adadevoh was the doctor who treated Patrick Sawyer, the Liberian-American who brought Ebola into the country, at First Consultant Hospital, and was subsequently infected with the virus, has recovered and was discharged from the Isolation centre in Lagos Saturday

Ameyo Adadevoh, a senior consultant, was the first Nigerian infected with the virus and had been receiving treatment at the Isolation centre.

The Director of Communication and Community Mobilisation for the Nigerian Emergency Operation Centre on Ebola Virus Disease, Adebayo Onajole, confirmed that Adadevoh had been discharged.

HORROR! EBOLA PATIENTS ON THE RUN IN LIBERIA AS QUARANTINE CENTER LOOTED

An Ebola treatment/quarantine center in Liberia has been attacked while the suspected victims under close monitoring escaped. According to Liberian Health ministry, the vandals were suspected family members of the quarantined victims of Ebola.

MONROVIA, Liberia - Liberian officials fear Ebola could soon spread through the capital's largest slum after residents raided a quarantine center for suspected patients and took items including bloody sheets and mattresses.

The violence in the West Point slum occurred late Saturday and was led by residents angry that patients were brought to the holding center from other parts of Monrovia, Tolbert Nyenswah, assistant health minister, said Sunday.

Local witnesses said: "They broke down the doors and looted the place. The patients all fled," said Rebecca Wesseh, who witnessed the attack and whose report was confirmed by residents and the head of Health Workers Association of Liberian, George Williams.

Robin Williams And The Dark Legacy Of An Era Of Brilliant Addicts

Robin Williams came to notice as a brilliantly original performer in the 1970s, a time when alcoholism and drug addiction came to define an era of brilliant comic performers. Like Richard Pryor, George Carlin, and so many other amazing performers of the time, Williams used drugs and alcohol in legendary quantities, calming down that manic stage presence; or, given his enormous use of cocaine, to help him keep up with his own awe-inspiring comedic powers. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Williams was addicted to both cocaine and heroin, with alcohol being a constant companion.

As a hard-drinking cocaine-addict, Williams used the rush of the stimulant to power the lightning-fast improvisational genius of his comic bits. As he rose to fame as the manic Mork from Ork on the 1970s hit sitcom Mork & Mindy, Williams developed a hard-partying reputation for drug abuse and alcoholism. In the 'live fast, die young' era of the 1970s, developing such a reputation was not easy and with Williams, it was clearly well deserved.

What was he afraid of? "Everything. It's just a general all-round arggghhh. It's fearfulness and anxiety."

Alcohol and Energy Drinks A Dangerous Combo

In a study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, researchers at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan have concluded that mixing alcohol and energy drinks poses a serious public health risk, especially among college students. "We found that college students tended to drink more heavily, become more intoxicated, and have more negative drinking consequences on days they used both energy drinks and alcohol, compared to days they only used alcohol," said Megan Patrick, a research assistant professor and co-author of the study.

According to the study, students who either drank alcohol and energy drinks on the same day or who combined the two at the same time wound up spending more time drinking – thus consuming more alcohol – than they would have without the caffeinated drinks. The result of spending more hours drinking raised users' blood alcohol levels to higher peaks. But because of the stimulant effects of the energy drinks, the users reported that they felt less drunk than they actually were. "This can have serious potential health impacts, for example if people don't realize how intoxicated they actually are and decide to drive home," Patrick said.

Robin Williams Found Dead At 63 In California Home

The Hollywood star Robin Williams has been found dead at his home in Northern California from an apparent suicide. He was 63.

Marin County Sheriff's Office said it suspected the death was a suicide due to asphyxia, but the cause of death remains under investigation.

Williams's third wife Susan Schneider released a statement on Monday night in which she said: "This morning, I lost my husband and my best friend, while the world lost one of its most beloved artists and beautiful human beings. I am utterly heartbroken.”

The star’s publicist Mara Buxbaum said Williams had recently been suffering from severe depression.

In his final posting on Instagram on 1 August, Williams had wished his daughter Zelda a happy 25th birthday. Late on Monday, Zelda paid tribute to her father with an excerpt from French poet and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupery's El Principito, which read: "You - you alone will have the stars as no one else has them... In one of the stars I shall be living.

Nine-year-old Boy Survives Attack By Alligator

James Barney sustained 30 marks from the 9ft-long creature's claws and teeth, all of them non-life-threatening, but had surgery to clean and stitch his wounds.

Speaking from Florida's Arnold Palmer hospital, James told reporters that he did not initially realise what was happening as the reptile approached him.

"It really amazed me what happened," said James.

"At first I thought someone was just playing with me and I didn't know what happened.

Pregnant Woman Tests Positive For Ebola

A pregnant woman who went for her usual check up at the First Consultant Hospital Obalande – same hospital that Patrick Sawyer was admitted – tested positive of the virus on Friday. She got infected after being treated by the same nurse, Obi Justina Ejelonu, who attended to the Liberian carrier, Patrick Sawyer.

Recall that two nurses came in direct contact with Mr. Sawyer and one of them died this week – the other nurse, Justina is still alive. The pregnant woman has since been quarantined at the mainland hospital where there is an isolation emergency centre for Ebola virus victims.

A-Z ALPHABET OF LIFE

Watch and listen to this simple but loaded A-Z of life

‘Life is a natural phenomenon that unfolds itself in unpredictable manners’---Adetunji Oduduwa

5 DAYS TO ELECTION: APC Mandates Members to Report in Osun

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has mandated all its elected members at state and national levels to converge on Osun from Tuesday and remain in the state until Saturday's gubernatorial election, as a way of showing the party's unalloyed support for incumbent Gov. Rauf Aregbesola.

In a statement issued in Osogbo on Monday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the directive also covers all political appointees in states under the control of the APC, especially Special Advisers and Commissioners.

Also expected in Osogbo are members of the party's national Ex-Co and the national elders' caucus.

APC said it perceives the forthcoming election as a celebration of democracy and a harvest time for the party, whose candidate has worked so hard to implement his mandate and make life more abundant for the people of the state.

The party also called on its members in Osun to be vigilant ahead of the poll, considering the myriad of desperate tactics being perfected by the PDP to reap where it did not sow.

Obama: 'Russia Doesn't Make Anything,'

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama dismissed Russia as a nation that "doesn't make anything" and said in an interview with the Economist magazine that the West needs to be "pretty firm" with China as Beijing pushes to expand its role in the world economy.

Obama has tried to focus U.S. foreign policy on Asia, a response to China's economic and military might. But for months, that "pivot" has been overshadowed by a flurry of international crises, including Russia's support for separatists in eastern Ukraine.

Russia is the world's third-largest oil producer and second-largest natural gas producer. Europe relies heavily on Russian energy exports, complicating the West's response to the Ukraine crisis.

Obama downplayed Moscow's role in the world, dismissing President Vladimir Putin as a leader causing short-term trouble for political gain that will hurt Russia in the long term.

"I do think it's important to keep perspective. Russia doesn't make anything," Obama said in the interview.

World’s Most Expensive RV

Not all rides need to be powerful to be bold. Some are bold just for their design and, in the case of one RV that recently sold in Dubai, for being the world’s most expensive.

That’s the claim being made for the 40-foot-long eleMMent Palazzo, from Austrian company Marchi Mobile. It sold for a purported asking price of $3 million. That is somewhat understandable considering its outside is supposedly covered in gold

But it is still a lot of money for something that could be considered a lot of ugly – at least on the outside. It looks like one of those creatures of the deep caught on camera during the raising of the Titantic. To drive something this hideous you need to have some deep pockets.

Grandma Will Spend 6 Months In Jail For Public Sex

A married grandma of 14 faces six months behind bars after she had public sex with a man who was not her husband at a public pavilion in Florida.

Peggy Klemm, 68, and her 49-year-old copulation co-conspirator, David Bobilya, were sentenced Wednesday after their romp at Lake Sumter Landing Market Square, Click Orlando reports. Apparently, a retirement community there called The Villages, which houses 100,000 people, is known for its wild nights, $3.75 cocktails and public sex.

Klemm likely got arrested because she was on probation for a previous reckless driving charge, the Daily Mail reports. She was slapped with six months in jail when she took a plea deal for the public sex.