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Killer virus may have reached Johannesburg
The Australian ^ | 22 apr 2005

Posted on 04/21/2005 5:53:08 PM PDT by Fitzcarraldo

SOUTH African health officals in Johannesburg have quarantined a sick passenger who arrived by plane from Angola, amid fears the Marburg virus may spread south.

The plane was taken out of service and disinfected, and the passenger was taken to hospital for tests after arriving from Angola's capital Luanda. Marburg, a haemorrhagic fever related to Ebola, has killed 239 people in Angola.

Most have died in the northern province of Uige, although a few cases have been recorded in other areas, including Luanda, among people who have travelled from Uige.

The death toll from the virus continues to climb, but at a slower rate as more citizens join in a mass effort to stamp out the disease.

Out of a total 264 cases detected since October 13 in Angola, 239 people have died, with the overwhelming number - 223 - of fatalities in Uige, according to the Angolan Health Ministry and the World Health Ministry. A total of 518 people were under observation, of whom 406 were in Uige after coming in contact with the virus.

Health Ministry spokesman Carlos Alberto said the reduction in cases and deaths was due to the mobilisation of the population in Uige.

International health experts who converged on Angola in the wake of the outbreak have faced hostility and suspicion from the local population.

Teams of health workers who roam Uige to find suspected cases of Marburg have been attacked by rock-throwing residents, and international officials have sought help from local leaders to dispel the hostility. The Marburg virus can kill a healthy person in a week, causing diarrhoea and vomiting followed by severe internal bleeding.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: angola; marburg; outbreak; virus

1 posted on 04/21/2005 5:53:09 PM PDT by Fitzcarraldo
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To: Fitzcarraldo

Important...But Breaking?


2 posted on 04/21/2005 5:54:38 PM PDT by el_doctor2
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To: Fitzcarraldo

Not good news if true, hope they are monitoring the
other passengers.

I expected more cases to break out in Luanda before a person was able to use air transport and spread it.


3 posted on 04/21/2005 5:59:56 PM PDT by tet68 ( " We would not die in that man's company, that fears his fellowship to die with us...." Henry V.)
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To: Judith Anne

ping your list, please...


4 posted on 04/21/2005 6:01:33 PM PDT by bitt ("There are troubling signs Bush doesn't care about winning a third term." (JH2))
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To: Fitzcarraldo

uh oh...


5 posted on 04/21/2005 6:11:36 PM PDT by Wiseghy ("Sometimes you're windshield, sometimes you' re the bug")
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Comment #6 Removed by Moderator

To: Battle Axe

Earlier post from the same thread:

S.Africa says suspected Marburg case is malaria

21 Apr 2005 10:51:44 GMT
Source: Reuters
JOHANNESBURG, April 21 (Reuters) - A sick Angolan traveller under observation in South Africa as a possible victim of the deadly Marburg virus has been determined to be suffering from malaria,



35 posted on 04/21/2005 8:06:59 AM PDT by EBH


7 posted on 04/21/2005 7:19:36 PM PDT by Judith Anne (Thank you St. Jude for favors granted.)
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To: Fitzcarraldo

See post 7 please...


8 posted on 04/21/2005 7:20:50 PM PDT by Judith Anne (Thank you St. Jude for favors granted.)
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To: bitt

See post 7 please...

References a post by EBH, linked by Battle Axe.


9 posted on 04/21/2005 7:22:03 PM PDT by Judith Anne (Thank you St. Jude for favors granted.)
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To: Judith Anne

The current story was just published in Australia - maybe they are still catching up.


10 posted on 04/21/2005 7:53:35 PM PDT by Fitzcarraldo
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