Ebola fighters are Time's "persons of the year" 2014. The publication has chosen to highlight the importance of those "heroes" who courageously fight day by day the biggest outbreak of the deadly disease. "Anyone who gives care to Ebola victims is at risk of becoming one" said Nancy Gibbs, director of the American publication: "The rest of the world can sleep at night thanks to this group of men and women willing to stand and fight."


The latest news about Ebola virus, which in recent months has become a real nightmare, talk about of new cases in Mali, where authorities are keeping under observation 26 people who have had contact with some patients. All of them recently crossed the Guinea border. The Ebola disease presents a high risk of death, killing between 25 percent and 90 percent of those infected with the virus. This is often due to low blood pressure from fluid loss, and typically follows six to sixteen days after symptoms appear. World Health Organization's latest figures show 6,583 people have died out of 18,188 recorded Ebola cases.

Several Ebola vaccine are being developed in many countries, including USA, Germany, Switzerland and Canada, but none had yet been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for clinical use in humans. The latest news is the suspension of the clinical trial of a vaccine at the University Hospital of Geneva. Why? Some of the volunteers who participated experienced muscle and joint pain, symptoms which were not among the expected side effects.

In the meanwhile, Christmas and New Year gatherings have been banned by Sierra Leone government throughout the whole country: authorities fear the Ebola virus will spread to rural villages as people go home to celebrate. Officials in Liberia have postponed - again - senatorial elections until the end of this week, while some urged calling off the vote for fear the results would not be credible. Here, virus Ebola has killed nearly 3,200 people this year and isn't stopping.
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