Ebola spreads from jungle to urban centers

[CaseyJones]

http://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/ebola-outbreak-least-100-die-west-africa-n80351

More than 100 people have died from the latest Ebola outbreak in West Africa. With no cure or vaccine, it is one of the most deadly of viruses, killing between 60 to 90 percent of those infected. Heath officials in Conakry, the capital of Guinea, have set up isolation centers and are screening at the airport.

Passengers with flu like symptoms -- fever, diarrhea, or joint pain -- aren’t allowed to fly.

“It's probably one of the more complicated outbreaks because it is occurring in a very densely-populated urban area, unlike previous outbreaks,” he said by phone from Conkary, which has a population of 2 million.

Dr. Jagatic described it as the biggest known Ebola outbreak an urban area.

 

[Brian4Liberty]

Not good. Zombie apocalypse time.

 

[FindLiberty]

PREPARE: http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showth...ed-on-humans&p=5492580&viewfull=1#post5492580

 

[Brian4Liberty]

http://abcnews.go.com/International/t/story/gambia-passengers-ebola-hit-areas-23320074

Death Toll in Ebola Outbreak Rises to 121

DAKAR, Senegal —
Apr 14, 2014, 9:32 AM

An outbreak of Ebola in West Africa has been linked to the deaths of more than 120 people, according to the latest World Health Organization count.

There is no vaccine and no cure for the deadly virus, and its appearance in West Africa, far from its usual sites in Central and East Africa, has caused some panic.
...
As of Monday, the U.N. health agency said it had recorded a total of 200 suspected or confirmed cases of Ebola, the majority of which are in Guinea. That figure includes some of the Mali cases that the government now says are negative. The organization said the deaths of 121 people in Guinea and Liberia have been linked to the disease.

 

[Cutlerzzz]

Someone needs to send them hemp oil and organic food ASAP.

 

[donnay]

I want to know why this is happening--is it Ebola or the Marburg virus? Is it weaponized? Was it caused by bats? Was it caused by Monkeys? Was it spread due to hospitals not sterilizing their equipment?

1976-

The first known Ebola virus outbreaks occurred in villages in former Zaire and Sudan (Zaire and Sudan ebolavirus). 318 people were infected and 280 died. The reuse of needles in hospitals contributed to the spread of the disease.

https://www.fas.org/programs/bio/factsheets/ebola.html

History of Ebola

There are four types of Ebola: Ebola-Sudan, Ebola-Zaire, Ebola-Reston, and Ebola-Cote-d'Ivoire. A 30%-45% difference in nucleotides has been established between these strains.

The Ebola virus was first identified in a western equatorial province of Sudan. The outbreak began in the Nzara Cotton Manufacturing Factory and spread to the Nzara and Maridi areas of Sudan. Between June and November 1976 the Ebola virus infected 284 people in Sudan, with 53% mortality (117 deaths). That same year, an accident in a laboratory in England resulted in 1 non-fatal case of Ebola-Sudan. In 1979, another outbreak occurred in Nzara of Ebola-Sudan, and 65% of the 34 cases resulting in fatalities. Ebola-Sudan was again found in 2000-2001 in the Gulu, Masindi, and Mbarara districts of Uganda. Fatalities reached 53% of the 425 cases.

Closely following the outbreak in Sudan, Ebola surfaced in a nearby region of Zaire in 1976 after significant epidemics in Yambuku, northern Zaire, and Nzara, southern Sudan. This strain, known as Ebola-Zaire, is the most deadly of the four strains. The Yambuku case in 1976 proved deadly to 88% of the 318 cases (280 people). It began on September 1st with a 44-year-old male Mission school teacher who sought treatment for what he thought was a case of malaria at the Yambuku Mission Hospital. He received an injection of malaria medication, and the Ebola virus spread through medical equipment that was no sterilized. The hospital shut down on September 30th, and on October 18th, a World Health Organization Commission was formed. The last case died on November 5th. One case was discovered in Tandala, Zaire, in 1977. The next major outbreak of Ebola-Zaire was in Gabon in 1994 in the Mekouka and other gold-mining camps in the deep rain forests. The fatality rate was 59% (29 out of the 49 infected).

In 1995, a severe outbreak of Ebola-Zaire began in Kikwit, Zaire, beginning with a charcoal worker on January 6th. The disease spread by person-to-person contact and through ritual cleansings of the victims' bodies before burial. Of the 315 cases, there was a 77% case-fatality rate (244 dead). The outbreak officially ended on August 24th. In 1996, an outbreak in the Mayibout area of Gabon occurred following the ingestion of a dead chimpanzee found in the forest. The fatality rate was 68% of the 31 victims. A similar outbreak occurred in 1996 in the Booue area of Gabon that spread from a hunter who lived in a forest camp. 75% of the 60 cases resulted in fatalities. The virus was transported from Gabon to Johannesburg, South Africa, via a medical professional who had treated Ebola patients. While he recovered, a nurse who treated him died from the Ebola virus. In 2001-2002, an outbreak of the Ebola-Zaire strain occurred on the border area between Gabon and the Republic of the Congo. Of the 122 cases, there was a 79% fatality rate.

In 1989 and 1990, a filovirus, named Ebola-Reston, was isolated in monkeys being held in quarantine in a laboratory in Reston (Virginia), Alice (Texas) and Pennsylvania. Four humans developed antibodies without showing symptoms. In the Philippines, Ebola-Reston infections occurred in the quarantine area for monkeys intended for exportation, near Manila. A similar outbreak occurred in monkeys in 1996 in Texas and the Philippines. In 1992, Ebola-Reston virus was introduced into quarantine facilities in Sienna by monkeys imported from the same export facility in the Philippines that was involved in the episodes in the United States.

One human case of Ebola hemorrhagic fever and several cases in chimpanzees were confirmed in Côte d'Ivoire in 1994-95. A Swiss scientist became ill after conducting an autopsy on a wild chimpanzee in the Tai Forest, but the case did not result in a fatality.

Ebola as a Biological Weapons Agent

As a biological weapons agent, the Ebola virus is feared for its high case-fatality rate. Because of its rarity, the disease may not be diagnosed corrected at the onset of an outbreak. Reports suggested that the Ebola virus was researched and weaponized by the former Soviet Union's biological weapons program Biopreparat. Dr. Ken Alibek, former the First Deputy Director of Biopreparat, speculated that the Russians had aerosolized the Ebola virus for dissemination as a biological weapon. The Japanese terrorist group Aum Shinrikyo reportedly sent members to Zaire during an outbreak to harvest the virus.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/intro/bio_ebola.htm

 

[Brian4Liberty]

I want to know why this is happening--is it Ebola or the Marburg virus? ... Was it caused by bats? Was it caused by Monkeys? Was it spread due to hospitals not sterilizing their equipment?

As for the origins of the disease, that has always been my personal hypothesis. The virus needs a "bridge" to cross over the species boundary. Dirty needles, especially those used on both animals and humans, could have provided that bridge (either by accident or by ignorance or incompetence). The virus can then mutate in the new species. I believe this is also the origin of HIV.

 

[James Madison]

I want to know why this is happening--is it Ebola or the Marburg virus? Is it weaponized? Was it caused by bats? Was it caused by Monkeys? Was it spread due to hospitals not sterilizing their equipment?

Ebola, Zaire strain
No
Bats are the suspected reservoir, but at this point it is too early to tell
Not likely
Most victims have been traced to a single funeral in Guinea, where local customs call for close contact with the dead, including the handling of the deceased's bowels (where Ebola is found in the stool)

 

[FindLiberty]

close contact with the dead, including the handling of the deceased's bowels

NICE, What could go wrong with that?

There's only ONE solution when dealing with an infectious Zombie outbreak:

 

[FindLiberty]

Oh, also wash those hands before eating or infecting yourself.... (after handling raw eggs, intestines, etc.).

 

[KCIndy]

I've been following the news out of Guinea for a while now. Ebola is serious stuff. And with air travel, a person exposed to the virus could be halfway around the world before showing any symptoms at all.

Has anyone read The Hot Zone by Richard Preston? The book was written twenty years ago, but it is still scary as hell:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Hot-Zone-Terrifying-Story/dp/0385479565

 

[James Madison]

Great book. I read The Hot Zone when I was eight. Been fascinated with infectious diseases ever since, lol.

 

[FindLiberty]

I hope the TSA changes their gloves frequently since they are used for probing and handling human "intestines" - (lower colon, rectum, vagina and mouth sweep etc.). Those gloves are not just for the TSA's protection! PLEASE CHANGE THEM OFTEN! At least between flights!!!

In fact, it's better not to fly at all. Remember, the infection could still be spread at the bus/train/subway or roadside safety/papers-in-order check!

Best to just hide under your bed like I do each night...

 

[Henry Rogue]

Great book. I read The Hot Zone when I was eight. Been fascinated with infectious diseases ever since, lol.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Hot-Zone-Terrifying-Story/dp/0385479565
"The Hot Zone" is an excellent book. My Sister a Veterinarian, lent the book to me back in the mid Nineties. I read another book about ebola after that, I think it was called "Ebola".

Marburg virus is probably an Ebola strain as they are all filoviruses. Marburg had its origins in Africa even though it surfaced in Germany. Ebola Reston is unique as it was airborne and only infected monkeys. It also had the highest death rate of all filoviruses, that being to the monkeys as it was not virulent to humans. IIRC, 100% death rate. It was the only ebola outbreak in the U.S. It is true that Ebola Zaire was the deadliest to humans. A gruesome disease, ebola causes a hemorrhagic fever, IIRC, ebola liquifies cells, people sweat blood, even cry blood. It is easy to see how a bloodborne disease could spread so easily when blood is seeping out of every pore.

 

[green73]

Zzzz. This thing burns itself out too fast.

 

[presence]

Zzzz. This thing burns itself out too fast.

so much for that claim huh?

 

[donnay]

so much for that claim huh?

Especially if it is weaponized.

 

[Brian4Liberty]

I've been following the news out of Guinea for a while now. Ebola is serious stuff. And with air travel, a person exposed to the virus could be halfway around the world before showing any symptoms at all.

That's just irresponsible crazy talk!