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Marburg virus in Angola not under control: WHO
People's Daily (China) ^ | April 9, 2005 | Xinhua

Posted on 04/08/2005 11:27:43 PM PDT by FairOpinion

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned Friday that the outbreak of the deadly virus Marburg which has killed 174 people in Angola is not yet under control.

"The situation right now in Angola is not under control yet," Mike Ryan, head of the WHO's emergency response unit, told reporters here.

He asked international agencies and local health authorities to remain firmly engaged in Angola for the next four to six weeks to control the epidemic.

"This is still a crisis, and a health crisis at the national level, and requires a profound commitment from national authorities and the international community," he said.

On Thursday, the WHO recommended that four nearby countries -- Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Namibia and Zambia -- go on alert following the outbreak of deadly Ebola-like disease.

The death rate is unusually high among the 200 cases identified since last October, and the victims are mainly children under five.

Marburg hemorrhagic fever is characterized by headache, nausea, vomit and bloody diarrhea. It spreads through close contact with bodily fluids including blood, saliva and semen.

Scientists from laboratories in Canada, Germany, South Africa and the United States are collaborating to help analyze samples taken from victims and interpret results, the WHO said in a statement.


TOPICS: Front Page News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: angola; congo; ebola; marburg; namibia; virus; zambia
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It has been going on for weeks and it's disturbing that it's not under control.

There is no cure and there is a very high fatality rate.

1 posted on 04/08/2005 11:27:43 PM PDT by FairOpinion
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To: FairOpinion

Related earlier article:


Ebola-like virus prompts warning (Marburg Case Fatality Rate of 93% Exceeds Ebola Virus)

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1371719/posts


2 posted on 04/08/2005 11:29:53 PM PDT by FairOpinion
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To: FairOpinion

No flames here, just a question: Can Xinhua be trusted?


3 posted on 04/08/2005 11:30:22 PM PDT by Petronski (I thank God Almighty for a most remarkable blessing: John Paul the Great.)
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To: FairOpinion

More disturbing is that this strain seems to have a longer incubation time than before and is notably more virulent and deadly. Airborne transmission has not yet been ruled out for this strain. On top of all that, it's not killing its victims nearly as fast as ebola does, so it's less likely to burn out than prior events. I don't think this is a worldkiller bug, but this is certainly NOT a good thing.


4 posted on 04/08/2005 11:32:38 PM PDT by Spktyr (Overwhelmingly superior firepower and the willingness to use it is the only proven peace solution.)
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To: FairOpinion

Summary about Marvurg hemorrhagic fever

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/bt/vhf/biofacts/vhffactsheet.html#ClinMarburg


5 posted on 04/08/2005 11:34:20 PM PDT by FairOpinion
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To: Petronski
There are a lot of other articles on the subject and have been for some time. I chose this one, because a title was more descriptive, and is more recent.

FR Search on "Marburg"

Google News search on Marburg

1340 articles

6 posted on 04/08/2005 11:37:33 PM PDT by FairOpinion
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To: FairOpinion

7 posted on 04/08/2005 11:38:24 PM PDT by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi ...... The War on Terrorism is the ultimate 'faith-based' initiative.)
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To: NormsRevenge

"Currently no vaccine or effective treatment".

If this were to spread, it could wipe out a large number of people...


8 posted on 04/08/2005 11:40:28 PM PDT by FairOpinion
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To: Petronski

NYT: Fear and Violence Accompany a Deadly Virus Across Angola

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/09/health/09angola.html?oref=login

LUANDA, Angola, April 8 - The death toll in Angola from an epidemic caused by an Ebola-like virus rose to 174 Friday as aid workers in one northern provincial town reported that terrified people had attacked them and that a number of health workers had fled out of fear of catching the disease.

International health officials said the epidemic, already the largest outbreak of Marburg virus ever recorded, showed no signs of abating. Seven of Angola's 18 provinces have now reported suspected cases and several neighboring countries have announced health alerts.


9 posted on 04/08/2005 11:44:11 PM PDT by FairOpinion
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To: FairOpinion

Thanks.


This fresh Marburg is some scary shit.


10 posted on 04/08/2005 11:45:00 PM PDT by Petronski (I thank God Almighty for a most remarkable blessing: John Paul the Great.)
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To: FairOpinion

"There is no phone ringing dammitt! There is no phone-" Sorry, I was just rehearsing.


11 posted on 04/09/2005 12:13:33 AM PDT by WestVirginiaRebel (Carnac: A siren, a baby and a liberal. Answer: Name three things that whine.)
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To: FairOpinion
It has been going on for weeks and it's disturbing that it's not under control.
There is no cure and there is a very high fatality rate.

These African nitwits are going to get more of it. They just murdered about 3 of the health workers who were sent to help them. They believed that the health workers were responsible for the disease. Africa is one giant petri dish for new pathogens, and the behavior of its population will guarantee that one of these outbreaks will go out of control.

12 posted on 04/09/2005 12:42:27 AM PDT by Bon mots
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To: Bon mots

"These African nitwits are going to get more of it."

Dude, how many air-hours is it from there to here? The world is in for more of this.


13 posted on 04/09/2005 12:47:18 AM PDT by Owl558 (Please excuse my spelling)
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To: Owl558
Dude, how many air-hours is it from there to here? The world is in for more of this.

Just like with AIDS, the hygiene habits of Africans as well as their funeral rites in this case, exacerbate the spread of this disease.

Hopefully it won't spread in the West. Of course, I'm not wishing it on anyone, but to see articles about how they are butchering health workers in their cars makes one just throw up their hands.

As you know, Marburg gets its name from the woman who flew from Africa to Marburg, Germany. In the West, it was controlled rather easily, and its spread stopped cold.






Marburg virus death toll hits 180

205 cases have been reported

Friday, April 8, 2005 Posted: 5:30 PM EDT (2130 GMT)

(CNN) -- The World Health Organization is investigating an outbreak of hemorrhagic fever in northwestern Angola, it said Friday.

As of Thursday, 205 cases of Marburg hemorrhagic fever had been reported in the country, and 180 of those affected had died. Seven provinces have been affected, the latest being Zaire province, where six cases have been reported, the WHO said in its most recent update.

"It is a very, very dangerous and lethal virus in human beings," Mike Ryan, director of and response operations for WHO, told CNN. The virus -- in the same family as the Ebola virus -- spreads through blood and body fluid contact.

In this case -- only the second natural outbreak of the virus -- there is evidence it has been amplified through ineffective containment in hospitals, Ryan said.

According to WHO, the first large outbreak under natural conditions occurred from 1998-2000 in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Some Angolans have taken their anxiety out on health workers.

Mobile surveillance teams in Uige were forced to suspend operations Thursday when vehicles were attacked and damaged by residents, the WHO said Friday. "As the situation has not improved, no surveillance teams were operational today in the province."

In addition, organization staff in Uige were notified Friday of several workers' fatalities, but teams were unable to investigate the causes of death or collect the bodies for burial. Discussions "to find urgent solutions" were under way with provincial authorities, the WHO said.

A WHO worker in Angola told CNN that health workers had been killed by residents who erroneously believed the workers were exposing them to the virus.

"The dramatic symptoms of Marburg hemorrhagic fever and its frequent fatality are resulting in a high level of fear, which is further aggravated by a lack of public understanding about the disease," the organization said. "Moreover, because the disease has no cure, hospitalization is not associated with a favorable outcome, and confidence in the medical care system has been eroded."

WHO said it has seen similar reactions during outbreaks of the Ebola virus. Two medical anthropologists are in Uige and will be joined by experts in social mobilization from Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique.

Through the United Nations, WHO launched an appeal Friday for $2.4 million to support the emergency response to the outbreak. In addition, the organization has established an international network of laboratories to help in the investigation of this and other viral hemorrhagic fevers. They include two portable field laboratories in Angola.

"Sophisticated laboratory studies of the virus may help shed some light on certain unusual features of the outbreak, including the high fatality rate and the overwhelming concentration of initial cases in children under the age of five years," said a WHO statement.

A longer-term objective, the organization said, is to determine where the Marburg virus hides in nature between outbreaks. Studies of the Angolan virus may offer some clues.



As you can see, the behavior of Africans serves to make things much, much worse.

"A WHO worker in Angola told CNN that health workers had been killed by residents who erroneously believed the workers were exposing them to the virus."
14 posted on 04/09/2005 1:17:22 AM PDT by Bon mots
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To: Bon mots

"Marburg virus pictured between two human liver cells at 75,000 xmagnification."
15 posted on 04/09/2005 1:32:53 AM PDT by Bon mots
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To: Bon mots
Bon mots, I agree with your comments. Maybe I've become cynical, but what should we do. If we send emergency health care, that won't be enough (and risk their lives) , money, it will a go to the local thugs and government. To solve the problem, they'd probably just burn the villages down with the infection (dead & alive) and claim "solved.. now give more money to rebuild." Sad, sad.
16 posted on 04/09/2005 3:54:38 AM PDT by poobear (just a shy lurker, no troll here folks, just move along)
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To: FairOpinion

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/news/Angola

Here is a link to a list of articles.


17 posted on 04/09/2005 5:14:33 AM PDT by EBH
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To: Bon mots

These people are very scared. Understand the disease differential went from 5 and was raised to 27 on Friday. That means we could be seeing close to 5000 people infected?


18 posted on 04/09/2005 5:17:06 AM PDT by EBH
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To: FairOpinion

Panic in Angola as killer virus sweeps the slums

FRED BRIDGLAND
IN JOHANNESBURG


THE worst ever outbreak of highly lethal Marburg virus should be a "wake-up call to the world", United Nations health officials said yesterday.

The death toll from the Ebola-like virus, which causes terrible internal bleeding, reached 174 yesterday in Angola as the infection spread well beyond the initial outbreak area in the far northern Angolan province of Uige. Most of the victims are children under five.

Panic has spread among the residents of the slums of Luanda, Angola’s capital 100 miles south-west of the Uige provincial border.

Two Marburg deaths have been confirmed so far in Luanda and the virus has also spread to four other provinces.

The World Health Organisation in Geneva and the Angolan government are desperate to stop the virus gaining a strong foothold in Luanda, a steamy city of four million living in some of the world’s most overcrowded and fetid slums.

The country’s huge border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been sealed in an attempt to prevent its spread to another desperately poor country where living conditions are highly unsanitary.

However there were reports yesterday of at least one detected but as yet non-fatal case in the DRC.

http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=374742005


19 posted on 04/09/2005 5:30:54 AM PDT by EBH
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To: FairOpinion
...requires a profound commitment...

Third World, French and Communist Translation: that evil and wicked corruption of the western hemisphere needs to cough up billions for this. Unilaterally, this is their fault! Besides, Koffi has gone though his oil money. But seriously, trust us, we'll manage the money correctly this time.
20 posted on 04/09/2005 5:36:24 AM PDT by AD from SpringBay (We have the government we allow and deserve.)
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