Uige, Angola
Posted on 04/13/2005 10:59:43 AM PDT by Dog Gone
Seems like any short-term survivors are left with problems that could get them in the medium turn.
Swedish government grants 421 US dollars to fight Marburg fever {Just about fell out of my chair at this title}
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/VBOL-6BEHQV?OpenDocument&rc=1&emid=ACOS-635NGV
Luanda, 13/04 - The Swedish Government has granted about 421,000 American dollars to aid the fight against Marburg haemorrhagic fever in Angola, a press note says.
According to the document, the amount will be used by the United Nations agencies to intensify their efforts in the fight against the sickness that has already killed 203 people.
Northern Uije Province has already recorded 184 obits, out of the 196 cases, said the document, adding that there are others 362 suspected cases.
Marburg haemorrhagic fever appeared in Uije on October 2004, being that the two first cases were identified in March 2005.
Yeah, right.
Total US dollars 421,000...[of which] 421 American dollars....will be used by the United Nations agencies to intensify their efforts in the fight against the sickness. The remaining amount will be in Coffee Anon's Swiss account
On one of the other threads Judith Anne had posted the horrific effects even on survivors, most of whom don't live beyoind a few more years at best IIRC.
But still, a government wanting to calm its citizenry would paint a picture with at least some hope. That silence as to survivors among the infected speaks to the virulence of this infection. This is a whole new beast that is rewriting the medical dictionary as we watch it unfold.
And Luanda is about the size of the Miami metro area. But that picture of Uige is not unlike some suburban areas of Wash. DC
We've already had a loss of containment of a strain of ebola. It's "Ebola Reston," after Reston, VA, a suburb of Washington DC. It was a strain that did spread via airborn transmission, but we got very lucky in that the strain is only fatal in monkeys: In humans, it only causes cold-like symptoms.
It's documented in the book, "The Hot Zone."
Mark
I am a visual type person and the graphs you all have been posting really help me. I hope the pictures of the cities we're discussing give everyone a better idea of the challanges that are being faced. Luanda isn't some small town in the jungle it's a bustling urban place on the port. The big economics are oil and diamonds.
I've tried to do the same with the maps.
I noticed your map over here
I've been playing with this one...trying to keep it small with losing too much detail.
with=without
Ping
I thought I remembered reading that it COULD be spread during the incubation period...
Here on this thread I see that someone says it cannot...I'm not sure what to think. I guess it's time to do some re-checking of my facts.
We have known for a while that some people, perhaps a majority, will not contract the disease even if the virus gets in system. Precisely why and how often is yet unknown, but research on sporadically recurring Level IV pathogens is damned difficult. During the outbreak, typically at some spot inconveniently distant from a world class virology research center, the priority tends to be treatment and suppression.
Usually, the horrific lethality of Marburg and Ebola actually help contain its spread. It is actually inefficient for a pathogen to kill this effectively and this quickly. The indigenous population of potential hosts has a tendency to, in medical terms, run like hell! Deprived of further vectors, the virus usually subsides into whatever long-term resevoir sustains it between human outbreaks. Unfortunately from the research perspective, this has so far left us with more questions than solid answers.
You are correct based on the old knowledge, prior to this outbreak. The WHO and the DWB both concur this is a more virulent strain than has been dealt with in the past, adding onto that this is not some remote villages but is hitting urban areas. Another week or two will tell us if the efforts to control are working or we have a true crisis on our hands. The Angolan government has already issued a National Crisis statement...
This is just a note to those of you who are new to the viroogy/infectious disease threads.
A little Free Republic history:
In the spring of 2003 Mother Abigail posted one of the strangest treads ever posted on this site. It was called Precogntion
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/865868/posts
within a few days the SARS story began to break and MA became the resident FR expert.
FR became the central clearing house for all SARS information, and for those of us who followed her posts it was an awakening.
I have my own opinion about who she is and what her specialty is, but let's just say that IMHO she is the FR virologist of record and one of the kindest and most giving of people.
As the SARS epidemic grew and fear and anxiety built everywhere, some posters on FR turned on MA and began to call her a fear monger and worse. It was some of the most unpleasant reading I have ever done.
She went away and finally came back (I am not sure when) to post once again.
My wife and I are among her bigest fans and read everything she writes. I urge you to read the entire SARS episode, it is both enlightning and freightning.
When you speak of Viri (sp) you should always include MA, she is our treasure and the founder of using Free Republic as a conduit for Virology issues.
Amen to everything you said.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.