Major Ebola Outbreak Spreads in DR Congo
Terry Trippany on Sep 12 2007 at 7:55 am | Filed under: Feature Article, Linkfest, World News
Someone needs to call on the real world equivalent of Dustin Hoffman, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Rene Russo because a major Outbreak of ebola has struck the Democratic Republic of Congo. I saw this story yesterday but kind of lost sight of it until I saw it repeated today.
The problem with Ebola is that it has no cure and about 9 out of every ten people who get infected can die in the most extreme of cases. The 2001 outbreak in Uganda had a mortality rate of 50%. Uganda borders DR Congo and has issues a red alert on travel.
The Ebola virus was first identified in a western equatorial province of Sudan and in a nearby region of Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo) in 1976 after significant epidemics in Yambuku, northern Zaire, and Nzara, southern Sudan.
Ebola haemorrhagic fever (EHF) is one of the most virulent viral diseases known to humankind, causing death in 50-90% of all clinically ill cases. Several different species of Ebola virus have been identified.
The Ebola virus is transmitted by direct contact with the blood, body fluids and tissues of infected persons.Transmission of the Ebola virus has also occurred by handling ill or dead infected chimpanzees. (src. WHO)
My biggest fear is in the following statement from the BBC report.
Uganda has issued a red alert to border posts neighbouring the DR Congo and has instructed staff at Entebbe international airport to be on the look out for passengers who show symptoms of fever.
Whoa, slow down there, we are going to rely on the African equivalent of the TSR to screen passengers for fever like symptoms as a preventative to containing this infection? How about a doctor at the gate?
The virus has been infecting people in DR Congo for three months and WHO has requested international support. WHO also says that there is no need for additional restrictions on travel or trade. Whenever the word trade comes to play and the economic factors are part of the equation I turn a little left and become suspicious.
On the up side it’s not like the WHO hasn’t done a bang up job of preventing the spread of extremely resistant strains of tuberculosis and other menacing diseases. (yeah there have been incidents but not global pandemics).
The symptoms of ebola are described by the CDC as follows.
The incubation period for Ebola HF ranges from 2 to 21 days. The onset of illness is abrupt and is characterized by fever, headache, joint and muscle aches, sore throat, and weakness, followed by diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pain. A rash, red eyes, hiccups and internal and external bleeding may be seen in some patients.
Dustin Hoffman, Cuba Gooding Jr., Rene Russo, WHO, DR Congo, ebola, CDC
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