Health Bulletin

A health worker checks the temperature of a man arriving at Bata Airport. PHOTO: REUTERS

Ebola outbreak in West Africa appears to be slowing down: UN

An outbreak of Ebola that has claimed more than 8,400 lives in West Africa appears to be slowing down, though the battle to contain the disease is not over, the U.N. special envoy on Ebola said on Thursday.
Asked about lessons to be taken and suggestions that the World Health Organisation (WHO) had been slow in sounding an alarm about Ebola., Nabarro said: "I hope that the result of this epidemic and the investigations done ... will better enable us to work out the way in which to predict" an outbreak, reports Reuters.

Better prevention could cut high cost of leprosy complication

The loss of earnings and cost of treatment for a common complication of leprosy can seriously damage the finances of Indian households with a leprosy patient, and better prevention could help, a study said recently.
More than one third of households affected by the leprosy complication face catastrophic costs exceeding 40% of their income, the study in the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases said.