The closing of three hospitals in Uige would truly be remarkable, and may force more to flee the area, spreading the Marburg virus even further. Although said to be transmitted by bodily fluids, there are now 15 dead nurses and 2 dead physicians, suggesting viral spread is quite efficient. The deaths of the 17 health care workers have all been within the last month.
The situation in Angola is clearly deteriorating. Closing the hospital in Uige may create similar new outbreaks elsewhere. The closing of three hospitals in Uige that are 60 miles apart demonstrates the rapid spread of the virus, and will almost certainly ring alarm bells in Luanda, where transmission has been reported.
This will almost certainly result in some leaving Luanda, increasing the likelihood of Marburg being seeded internationally.
As I understand it, Uige has a population of 500,000.
Additionally, many of the back roads of Angola are mined, making contact tracing, if the populace were not hostile, extremely dangerous.
So no one knows how many cases there are, actually. Some estimates I have read are double the known cases, but I think it is far higher than that. No one is telling people to flee--they are doing it on their own.
"Although said to be transmitted by bodily fluids, there are now 15 dead nurses and 2 dead physicians, suggesting viral spread is quite efficient. The deaths of the 17 health care workers have all been within the last month."
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
This is one scary bug and obviously we'll be hearing lots more about it.
One person on one jet and we could have a pandemic that would make the influenza epidemic of 1918 look like the common cold.
True, and I am astonished that Doctors without Borders advised that the hospital be closed.
That was exactly my reaction when I read this. I can see isolating the hospitals for only Marburg victims - but to totally shut them down sounds to me like the wrong move.
The airport should be closed.
bump
FReepmail me if you want on or off my health and science ping list.
MA, thanks for the ping.
Oh no.
There was a story in the past week about Delta releasing passenger lists to the CDC, and one a week or two ago about, IIRC, the feds being able to deny flights, or not let people disembark? I wonder if that's all related.
What worries me the most is the lag time that always seems to occur in reporting cases, or the inability to report cases in outlying rural areas, which then may be transmitted to more people.
Oh my God...
Archaeologists say that Africa is the original home of mankind. I do not know about that, but it certainly seems to be quite a focal point for human misery.
Prayers up for those poor people.
<< The situation in Angola is clearly deteriorating. >>
As -- in quantum jumps -- is "the situation" in every other deepest, darkest corner of Africa.
Anyone for [Even Portuguese!] Colonialism?
I am.
BUMPping
My advise to the medical personnel in Angola: abandon command and control; quarantine the country; return home asap.