The Ebola Crisis

UPDATED 1.10.17 Funeral services have been announced for Dr. Ulder Tillman. A viewing will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Kensington. The service will follow at 11 a.m. on Jan. 13. For more information, visit the county’s website, here. ORIGINAL POST Montgomery County is […]

The county’s health officer updated the Montgomery County Council Tuesday on the topics of Ebola, tuberculosis and school vaccinations. Dr. Ulder Tillman gives a public health briefing to the county council about twice a year. Of the 11,001 Montgomery County Public Schools’ sixth graders entering seventh grade in August, 7,098 still do not have the required  Tdap (tetanus-diphtheria-acellular […]

UPDATED April 9, 5:44 p.m. The American healthcare worker admitted to the NIH Clinical Center on March 13 with the Ebola virus was discharged today in good condition after having been successfully treated at the NIH Clinical Center Special Clinical Studies Unit. According to NIH officials, the individual is no longer contagious to the community. No […]

Here are your five things to know today, April 8, in Montgomery County: 1. A Hate Crime: Gaithersburg police are looking for the vandal(s) who defaced a synagogue in the Lakelands community and city leaders are speaking out about the incident. 2. Getting Better: NIH officials have upgraded the condition of a patient with the Ebola […]

Here are your five things to know today, March 13, in Montgomery County. 1. The 41st annual Public Safety Awards ceremony takes place today at the Bethesda North Marriott. 2. A healthcare worker diagnosed with the Ebola virus is scheduled to be admitted to NIH today. 3. Meet the two MCPS students who are campaigning […]

In this MyMCMedia Extra video, Zalgen Labs’ co-founder Dr. Luis Branco said as the newly approved rapid diagnostic test for Ebola hits the market he will need to ramp up production at his startup company. Related:

In this MyMCMedia Extra video, Zalgen Labs’ co-founder Dr. Luis Branco said the approval of a rapid diagnostic test for Ebola is a gamechanger. Related:

In this MyMCMedia Extra video, Dr. Luis Branco said he plans to return to Eastern Sierra Leone sometime this year to continue work on the recently approved rapid diagnostic test for the Ebola virus. Despite progress, he said there are always more questions to answer. Related:

In this MyMCMedia Extra video, Zalgen Labs’ co-founder Dr. Luis Branco talks about his work on the rapid diagnostic test for Ebola late last year in Africa and what happened when he returned to the United States. The World Health Organization approved a rapid diagnostic test for Ebola last week. Related:

It’s called a gamechanger: a rapid diagnostic test for Ebola has recently been approved and a startup Germantown company, Zalgen Labs, played a part in the development of that test. MyMCMedia’s Sonya Burke reports. You can find more information about this development and the Viral Hemorrhagic Fever Consortium that made it happen on its website. […]

Susan Prince, development specialist for the Montgomery County Department of Economic Development, talks about Zalgen Labs and the impact that company’s success has on the life sciences industry here.

In this MyMCMedia Extra video, Dr. Luis Branco of Zalgen Labs in Germantown says the team that helped develop the rapid diagnostic test for Ebola will be meeting this week in New Orleans to discuss recent developments and to plan the future in the fight against this deadly virus. The rapid test was recently approved […]

In this MyMCMedia Extra video, Dr. Luis Branco of Zalgen Labs in Germantown shares his pride for the medical staff and scientists who worked as a team on the rapid Ebola diagnostic test. He credits a lot of dedication “on both sides of the ocean” to make it possible so quickly. Take a look: According […]

In this MyMCMedia Extra video, Dr. Luis Branco of Zalgen Labs said his Germantown company may need to hire more employees and expand its lab space if the demand for the rapid diagnostic Ebola test is great. The World Health Organization recently approved the Ebola test and FDA approval is pending, according to Dr. Branco. […]

 Here are five things to know today, Feb. 25, in Montgomery County: 1. Police are investigating the death of a 95-year-old retired Naval officer as a homicide. 2. The Silver Spring Library gets ready to close a chapter at one location and open another at a new location. Find out about the plans to celebrate.  3. Montgomery College […]

In this MyMCMedia Extra video, Zalgen Labs’ co-founder Dr. Luis Branco says the rapid test to diagnose Ebola is a game changer when it comes to fighting the spread of this deadly virus. Take a look: Related:

In this MyMCMedia Extra video, Dr. Luis Branco of Zalgen Labs in Germantown says a rapid test for diagnosing Ebola has been approved by the World Health Organization and he expects the test will also receive FDA approval as early as this week. According to Branco, Zalgen Labs helped develop the test along with a […]

In this MyMCMedia Extra video, Zalgen Labs’ co-founder Dr. Luis Branco said he expects FDA approval this week for the rapid diagnostic test for Ebola. http://youtu.be/U3nkcbInrAk The breakthrough test was approved last week by the World Health Organization. Related:

UPDATED Dec. 20  -The NIH Clinical Center has discharged the patient who was admitted to the hospital on December 11 following a high-risk exposure to Ebola virus while providing bedside nursing care in Sierra Leone. According to a statement issued by NIH, the patient showed no clinical or laboratory evidence of Ebola infection and will complete […]

It’s Giving Tuesday. Here are five more things to know today, Dec. 2, in Montgomery County: 1. Traffic may be impacted this afternoon when President Obama visits NIH in Bethesda. 2. Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett announced a new six point economic plan during his Inaugural Address. Watch him take the Oath of Office here. […]

An experimental vaccine to prevent Ebola virus disease was well-tolerated and produced immune system responses in all 20 healthy adults who received it in a Phase 1 clinical trial conducted by researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). According to NIH, the candidate vaccine, which was co-developed by the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy […]

Members of the African Affairs Advisory Group and the Coalition Against Ebola hosted the Ebola: Get Informed, Get Involved town hall meeting on Nov. 25 in Silver Spring to educate attendees about the current Ebola outbreak situation. Aline Barros reports. “If you’re going to return to either Liberia or Sierra Leone, Guinea or now even Mali that […]

State health officials are currently monitoring 113 travelers who left West Africa in the past few months as part of an Ebola prevention effort, but none are from Montgomery County. According to a Montgomery County health official, the state has been monitoring all travelers from Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, and Mali. “These travelers are being called […]

Montgomery County Interfaith Community Working Group and the West African Muslim Alliance are hosting a prayer for Ebola relief on Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. in Silver Spring. County officials and several religious leaders will be in attendance to learn important information about the Ebola virus from local and international experts. According to a press […]

Montgomery County health officials are presenting an educational workshop on the Ebola virus at the Germantown Library at 7 p.m. on  Nov. 20.

UPDATED The co-founder of Zalgen Labs in Germantown is on his way to eastern Sierra Leone to test a diagnostic platform for detection of active Ebola virus infections. Dr. Luis Branco took off on Nov. 11 for Kenema to work at the Lassa fever laboratory at the Kenema Government Hospital. “My mission is to validate […]

UPDATED, Oct. 31, 1:30 p.m. – A woman who was being arrested on a burglary warrant faces additional charges after she allegedly falsely told Montgomery County Police she had the Ebola virus. Montgomery County Police responded to the Panera restaurant at the Westfield Wheaton Mall in Wheaton Thursday at about 4:14 p.m. to serve an arrest […]

Maryland travelers from certain West African countries should expect to hear from the state’s health department for 21 days to make sure they didn’t contract the Ebola Virus. That’s according to new regulations announced by Governor Martin O’Malley on Monday. Starting today the state will directly monitor the health of all returning travelers from the […]