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Daily Archives: August 28, 2014

The 2014 Ebola Outbreak: International and U.S. Responses

CRS – The 2014 Ebola Outbreak: International and U.S. Responses, Tiaji Salaam-Blyther, Specialist in Global Health. August 26, 2014.

“Ebola virus disease (Ebola or EVD) is a severe, often fatal disease that was first detected near the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 1976. Originating in animals, EVD is spread to and among humans through contact with the blood, secretions, organs, or other bodily fluids of those infected. It is not transmitted through the air. On March 22, 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that 49 people had contracted EVD in Guinea, West Africa, and 29 of them had died. As of mid-August, the virus had quickly spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria. The Ebola virus that is circulating in West Africa is not new, but the current Ebola outbreak has infected and killed more people than all previous Ebola outbreaks combined. As of August 20, 2014, the WHO reported that 2,615 people had contracted the disease, of whom over 1,427 have died, slightly less than the combined cases (2,387) and deaths (1,590) from previous outbreaks…In July 2014, two U.S. citizen health workers contracted Ebola in Liberia and were first provided medication that had shown promise in animal studies but that had not yet been tested in humans. They were evacuated to the United States to receive additional care. Debate in the United States has ensued regarding entry and exit rights of people infected with communicable diseases; whether the international community (including the United States) had responded early and effectively enough to contain the virus; the appropriate use of experimental drugs that had not yet been tested for human safety and effectiveness, including how to choose recipients of scarce and sometimes costly drug supplies and how to arrange dispensing to allow analysis of safety and effectiveness; and feasible approaches to accelerating drug and vaccine development and the scale-up of manufacturing capacity for investigational products.”

World Bank Report: Digital Payments Vital To Economic Growth

News release: “Integrating digital payments into the economies of emerging and developing nations addresses crucial issues of broad economic growth and individual financial empowerment, according to a new report by the World Bank Development Research Group. The report, The Opportunities of Digitizing Payments, examines, for the first time, growing evidence from around the world about how… Continue Reading

Conventional Prompt Global Strike and Long-Range Ballistic Missiles: Background and Issues

CRS – Conventional Prompt Global Strike and Long-Range Ballistic Missiles: Background and Issues, Amy F. Woolf, Specialist in Nuclear Weapons Policy. May 5, 2014. “The George W. Bush Administration’s interest in the use of conventional weapons for precision, long-range strike missions became evident in the 2001 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR). This study called for the integration of precision… Continue Reading

Immigration Policies and Issues on Health-Related Grounds for Exclusion

CRS – Immigration Policies and Issues on Health-Related Grounds for Exclusion, Ruth Ellen Wasem, Specialist in Immigration Policy. August 13, 2014 “News of humans infected with Ebola in West Africa, avian influenza in China, polio in the Middle East, and dengue fever in the Caribbean are examples of reports that heighten concerns about the health screenings of people arriving… Continue Reading

2014 Cost of Data Breach: Global Analysis

News release: “Throughout the world, companies are finding that data breaches have become as common as a cold but far more expensive to treat. With the exception of Germany, companies had to spend more on their investigations, notification and response when their sensitive and confidential information was lost or stolen. As revealed in the 2014… Continue Reading

Judge Posner Solves Sherlock Holmes Copyright Case

Rita Yoon, McDermott Will & Emery: “The original character of the famous detective Sherlock Holmes, along with his sidekick, Dr. John H. Watson, are no longer subject to copyright protection.  In an opinion by Judge Richard A. Posner, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that copyright protection in these century-old literary characters… Continue Reading

GDP Up in Second Quarter 2014

News release and tables, BEA: “Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased 4.2 percent in the second quarter of 2014, according to the “second” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the first quarter, real GDP decreased 2.1 percent. The second-quarter growth rate was revised up 0.2 percentage point from the “advance” estimate released… Continue Reading

Free Federal Rules books from LII and CALI

Via Sarah Glassmeyer, Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction: “The 2015 versions of the Federal Rules of Evidence, Criminal Procedure and Civil Procedure are now available.  These books are powered by the Legal Information Institute at Cornell University Law School and distributed by the Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction’s eLangdell Press.  The books come in .epub format,… Continue Reading