By James Simpson.
The Ebola outbreak has stirred worldwide concern—and panic in some quarters. It is by far the largest outbreak of the deadly disease in recorded history. The media have jumped on the story for its obvious headline value, but at the same time they have served us poorly by misreporting, minimizing or simply refusing to report this administration’s glaring failure to protect American citizens. So what are the facts, and what kind of response can we expect from official Washington?
Just the Facts
As best can be determined at this point, the first Ebola fatality was a boy of two from the town of Gueckedou, Guinea, who died on December 6th, 2013 following a brief illness. He infected other members of the family, who in turn infected relatives and a health worker. These victims, in turn, carried the disease to other nearby towns. It took time however, for people to realize what was happening. A World Health Organization (WHO) timeline indicates the outbreak was first reported on March 14th, 2014, after eight people died in the city of Macenta, Guinea. Both Gueckedou and Macenta—about 50 miles apart—are major trading centers in the heart of the Guinean jungle and are located near the border with both Sierra Leone and Liberia. By March 19th, 23 deaths had been reported—all from the same area—with 35 suspected cases.
By March 23rd, Guinea’s Ministry of Health reported Ebola had spread to the capital, Conakry, some 450 miles away. On March 22nd, the first Ebola death in Sierra Leone was reported. The 14-year-old victim died after attending a funeral for someone who had died in Guinea. Liberia reported its first victims on March 25th. By the end of the month there were a total of 81 deaths, including two in Liberia. Today the reported number of cases in Africa is over 9,200, with at least 4,604 deaths.
The original source for this outbreak is believed to be tainted fruit bat meat. So-called “bushmeat,” including bats, primates, cane rats, big cats, dog and other sources, is widely prized by Africans, and there is a major black market for bushmeat among African expatriates here in the U.S. But bushmeat is a vector for a host of deadly diseases, including Ebola, monkey pox, HIV, Marburg and others. Primates and other animals may eat fruit already partially consumed by infected bats and imbibe their saliva, or otherwise come in contact with bat saliva or feces. These animals in turn become disease vectors for other animals and humans. According to one extensive video report from a Vice News journalist on the ground in West Africa, bush meat is brought into the tri-border region from the surrounding Guinean jungle by hunters. It is then transported to markets in nearby Sierra Leone and Liberia. Thus, tainted meat can wind up quickly distributed throughout the region. This is a possible explanation for its rapid spread.
As shown in chart 1, both cases and deaths have grown exponentially. These are only the reported instances. There are likely many others that have gone unreported.
Read more from this story HERE.
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If no checks, more Ebola cases might leave Africa
By MARIA CHENG.
A new study underscores the potential danger of airplane passengers infected with Ebola leaving West Africa: If there were no exit screening in place, researchers estimate that three people with the disease might fly out of the region each month.
The hardest-hit West African nations have been checking passengers since summer, but the new work is a reminder of how much easier it could be for the virus to travel outside the outbreak region if those measures weren’t in place — and that screening can’t catch every case.
Since the Ebola outbreak was first identified in March, there have been only two known exported cases involving flights, one before and one after screening began in Liberia.
A Liberian-American flew to Nigeria in July and sparked a small outbreak there, which has since been contained. The second man, Liberian Thomas Eric Duncan, passed a screening when he left for the U.S. last month; he didn’t have a fever or symptoms until days after arriving in Dallas.
Read more from this story HERE.
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9 in Connecticut Being Watched for Symptoms of Ebola
By ANEMONA HARTOCOLLIS.
Nine people in Connecticut who may have been exposed to the Ebola virus have been told to stay at home and are being monitored by local health authorities for symptoms, a spokesman for the State Public Health Department said on Wednesday.
The people in question were not sick, the spokesman, William Gerrish, said, but were being watched under an order signed by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on Oct. 7, declaring a public health emergency in the state.
They were not publicly identified because of privacy concerns, but officials said three were Yale University students and the others were from one family. At least some had traveled to West Africa.
Read more from this story HERE.
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Photo Credit: APWest African travelers to be monitored for 21 days in U.S.
By Sherry Jacobson.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Wednesday that all travelers will be monitored for 21 days after arriving in the U.S. from the three West Africans countries where Ebola is spreading.
Starting Monday, each traveler from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea will be given a “care kit” that includes a thermometer and instructions for how to use it as well as a description of possible Ebola symptoms and what to do if any of them develop.
Read more from this story HERE.
