New Ebola strain found in Sudan

[mom cat]

World Health Organization officials have traced an Ebola-like disease to the town of Yambio, in the Western Equatorial region of south Sudan.

Fifteen cases of the potentially fatal virus have been confirmed over the past fortnight and four people have died.

More than 100 others are being kept under surveillance.

Four people are in isolation at Yambio Hospital, so the total infected could still rise.

The Ebola virus in its early stages is hard to diagnose because some of the symptoms, like fever and joint pain, mimic malaria.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3741137.stm

[kalian]

1. What's worrisome is....

that they don't really state what the "new strain" is or how it
gets transmitted... Airborne, anyone? :shrug:

[mulethree]

2. touch, body fluids

also called haemorrhagic fever

Causes lots of bleeding. Some outbreaks have been traced to the carcasses of ? chimps I think maybe it was a monkey.

[davsand]

3. Ebola is a fragile virus, however.

This new strain is creepy, because it may have mutated enough to be even MORE hardy, but the other strains they have seen thus far are fairly fragile. They have one strain that they think may possibly be capable of airborne transmission--but even that one they are not sure about.

Usually, Ebola is unable to survive under UV light (sunlight will kill it) and it does not deal well with cold. I also remember reading that the Ebola virus is pretty much dependent on transmitting via body fluid or direct contact (rather like HIV or even Hepatitis.)

The biggest issue they have faced with it is that medical practices in most areas are not as concerned with sterility, and most folks are cared for at home by family members who DO come in contact with virus laden fluids and then they become infected. Additionally, burial practices in parts of Africa can contribute to the spread.

Ebola is so particularly creepy because it essentially dissolves the internal organs and you bleed out from it...(It has a particular affinity for the liver.) Every bit of that blood or fluid is just crawling with that virus, and in the early stages when people are first beginning to manifest symptoms (anywhere between three to 20 days after exposure) when they vomit or excrete they are throwing off that virus. That is when most of the family is exposed--before they ever realize just how serious it is.

This stuff scares hell outta me, and I made a point to learn more about it after I read about it several years ago.

Laura

[ze_dscherman]

4. There are serious speculations that "Black Death" was Ebola

Since the description of those killed by Black Death vastly differs from the symptoms of todays plague, some scientists suggested it may have been related to Ebola or a similar virus.

See also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Death
under "Alternative explanations"

[davsand]

5. There was an article about the Black Death I saw just yesterday.

It was out of the BBC as well, and there is a new book out that speculates that the Black Death was possibly a virus that is just waiting to re-appear.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3735943.stm

Something interesting out of that article (and germane to this discussion) however, is the statement by one of the guys who is an expert:

"...However, Dr Michael Smith, a leading expert on plague, played down the claims.

"For many years, there have been queries about whether the bubonic plague was responsible for the Black Death," he told BBC News On line.

"However, much of the clinical descriptions certainly fit bubonic plague. A paper, published by French researchers recently, based on DNA tests on the remains of two people who died during this time also found evidence that it was bubonic plague.

"The body of evidence suggests that it was bubonic plague..."


Read the DU thread on this here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=1651368

What really creeps me out is the idea that somewhere, someplace, you just know some maniac is working with this stuff to make it applicable to bio-warfare.

IF you stop to think about it, bio-war is gonna appeal to somebody simply because it leaves the structures in place--you could wait for everyone to die off and let the disease run its course and then just march in and assume control of the turf...

That kind of thought is one you don't want to dwell on in the middle of the night with guys like shrub and rummy at the helm.


Laura

[ze_dscherman]

6. The paper by French researchers

Their findings could not be confirmed by others. There are also hints to Black Death being connected to anthrax. The question is still out.

[scotty2004]

7. that´s for shure