Deadly Ebola & Lassa Viruses May Be More Common Than Thought

Live Science ^ | 11-8-2012 | Wynne Parry

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Deadly Ebola & Lassa Viruses May Be More Common Than Thought

Wynne Parry, LiveScience Contributor
Date: 08 November 2012 Time: 02:01 PM ET

Ebola and Lassa are hemorrhagic fevers, made memorable by the horrific symptoms that can accompany them.

First identified about four decades ago, these killer viruses can cause their victims to bleed both internally and from the mucosal membranes of the eyes, nose and elsewhere. A severe infection can also produce neurological problems, including tremors and brain swelling.

But mounting evidence indicates these terrifying diseases, which occur in Africa, may not be the terrifying new arrivals — called emerging infectious diseases — they have been labeled, a team of researchers argues.

Genetic evidence and signs of widespread exposure to these diseases in parts of Africa indicate they are, in fact, well-established diseases only discovered by Western medicine about 40 years ago, they say.

Tricky symptoms

The horrific symptoms associated with these hemorrhagic fevers may have obscured their more mundane manifestations, said researcher Pardis Sabeti, an associate professor at Harvard University.

"You notice something when it does something horrible, and you just assume that whenever it happens, the horrible thing happens," Sabeti said. "You see what is visible, and you don't see what is not."

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[acapesket]

gee! Monsanto was there 40 years ago! Shocking...not.

[dr_lew]

"You notice something when it does something horrible, and you just assume that whenever it happens, the horrible thing happens," Sabeti said. "You see what is visible, and you don't see what is not."

Sooooooooo .... OK!