People can be exposed to Ebola virus from direct contact with the blood and/or secretions of an infected person. Thus, the virus is often spread through families and friends because they come in close contact with such secretions when caring for infected persons. People can also be exposed to Ebola virus through contact with objects, such as needles, that have been contaminated with infected secretions.
Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said one woman died on Sunday, while another man succumbed in Mweka on Christmas Day.
MSF is treating 24 other suspected Ebola cases at isolation units in the villages of Kaluamba and Kampungu.
It is monitoring 102 people who may have had contact with the virus. The latest outbreak in Western Kasai province emerged in late November.
MSF said there is fear and confusion among local civilians and health staff as rumours circulate of suspected cases or deaths from the disease.
It is the first Ebola outbreak in Africa since February and the fourth in DR Congo since 1976. The highly infectious bleeding fever kills 80% of those it infects and there is no known cure.
The Plum Island researchers also isolated the Reston-Ebola virus from 6 of the 28 swine samples tested. This marks the first time the Ebola virus has been isolated from swine.
The Ebola virus belongs to the Filoviridae family to which humans and other primates are susceptible. It was first reported in the Ebola River Valley in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1976. Human pathogenic strains can result in fatality rates of 50 to 90 percent.
I hope it’s non-transferable to humans but I think I will eat only American pigs for a while.
Forewarned is fore-armed.
BZ
Ah, I’ll see you an Ebola and raise you a Yellowstone Caldera Event. Remember, that is but one of the bad things that will happen to North America someday. And we are only prepared for one of them… barely. Ebola? Uh-huh… say, there have been a number of earthquakes in TN recently, too…mmmmm… wonder what is happening out at the Atlantic these days…
You want disasters?
I got disasters.
Such fun!
Ebola apparently, isn’t terribly picky about what it eats…
There is also the South Atlantic Anomaly, showing increasing signs of a magnetic pole reversal.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Atlantic_Anomaly
I have read a few times lately that the number of volcanic and earth quake events have been increasing of late. This is theorized to go along with the magnetic pole reversal.
The bitch of it all is we are also in a remarkable period of solar inactivity. Many theorize that the solar wind (now at a lull) creates the protective barrier as it collides with our magnetic field. So if both are decreasing, what is happening to their product, the protective layer????
If both are falling to low levels expect more particles from other celestial sources to make it into the upper atmosphere, which seeds clouds, which is theorized to cool the planet.
Did any of y’all notice that we are having some record breaking cold snaps, snow falls and ice cap expansions over the last few years?
From what I understand, and I am not an expert, far from, the only ice caps that are not expanding are the ones in the Greenland, yeah the ones over the large geo-thermal and under water volcanic activity, hmmm.
We have to track down that China man who wish that we live in interesting times and beet him, mercilessly.
To All:
Ain’t 2009 gonna be GRAND??
BZ
With all the world travel and people going to and fro – God forbid it comes State side.
Ye gads, BZ! I agree that forwarned is fore-armed, but geez… that’s enough to give a person nightmares. WOW!
I don’t believe any of us will be bored in 2009. I’m going to focus on worrying about the things I can do something about, and pray about the things I can do nothing else about.
Happy New Year!
Good heavens, that’s some scary stuff there BZ.
On that dire note, Happy new year to you and your readers. May it be a better year for us Conservatives and may we all never cross paths with any of the Ebola virus’ variations..