Posted on 12/12/2001 10:51:22 PM PST by GatorGirl
28 November 2001
Have Soviet-era bio-weapons infected Afghan refugees?
Ominous news from Pakistan and Iran indicate that at best a viral pandemic may be brewing among Afghan refugees, at worst that former Soviet biological weapons have possibly made their first appearance.
In Pakistan, at least 75 people have been diagnosed in Quetta, capital of Baluchistan province, with Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever in the largest outbreak of the disease ever recorded. Eight have already died. All the infected are refugees recently arrived from Afghanistan or people living close to the border. An isolation ward surrounded by barbed wire has been established at the Fatima Jinnah chest and general hospital in Quetta.
Ali-Safar Makaanali, head of Iran’s Border Quarantines, has confirmed that Iranian health officials are also dealing with an outbreak of the virus, with more than 100 citizens having been infected. Iranian health authorities have established 40 quarantine bases on the border in an attempt to halt the spread of the disease. In addition, more than 100 mobile quarantine bases have been set up, and 39 hospitals have been prepared to cope with patients. As the traditional infection vector are ticks and as refugees would undoubtedly bring their livestock with them, the possibility of a pandemic looms large, especially if the current campaign causes a flood of refugees.
The virus has a mortality rate of over 50 per cent, damaging arteries, veins and other blood vessels before leading to the collapse of major organs, eventually causing its victim to die of internal bleeding. The disease is highly infectious and can be transmitted via contact with infected individuals.
Soviet biological arsenal at large
What makes the viral outbreak menacing is the knowledge that in the 1980s the USSR’s biological warfare research organisation Biopreparat intensively studied biological weapons and maintained a bank of 10,000 of the most dangerous and exotic viruses known, including smallpox, Ebola and Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever. Many intelligence analysts believe that Osama bin Laden acquired biological weapons agents from Kazakh arms dealers.
Therefore, it begs the question: Are the Iranian and Pakistani outbreaks an unfortunate coincidence or something more sinister?
So glad we have our own personal thread on this. I somehow thought more people would be interested... Maybe a change of title?
does anyone else see a reason to secure our boarders yet ?
bttt very important topic
we need to get our guys off the ground over there ... we can pound them to dust from the air
bttt
BUMP
Tony
We can make more, and the world will know what happens when someone pulls this $hit.
I would think so too. How common is the fever in this area? When was the last outbreak? I'll see if I can do some research on that (in between work projects).
Media reports have claimed that 75 people, including 8 who have died, have been infected with Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus in Pakistan, on the border with Afghanistan.
The WHO Country Office in Pakistan and its team in Quetta, and the WHO Office for the Eastern Mediterranean Region have investigated this report. Their findings follow: This week, a hospital in Quetta opened a new ward specifically for managing CCHF patients since cases occur each year in the region.
As soon as the ward was open, 4 suspected cases were transferred or referred by other health care providers to the new ward. All the cases were from Pakistan, had disease onset within the past week and were not linked. As per the usual procedure, samples have been collected and sent to the National Institute of Health in Islamabad.The total number of suspected CCHF cases reported in Pakistan in 2001 is 41 cases with 12 deaths (onset March to October). An additional 6 cases with 2 deaths (onset May to August) were persons infected in Afghanistan who were treated in Pakistan. In summary, these recent cases exhibit the typical pattern for this endemic disease. CCHF is a viral haemorrhagic fever, primarily a zoonosis, although sporadic cases and small outbreaks of CCHF affecting humans do occur. It is endemic in the area (see Disease Outbreak News Report: 8 May 1998 - Afghanistan; Pakistan). The virus is transmitted by argasid or ixodid ticks. With cooler weather approaching, virus transmission is expected to end within several weeks
Links? Info?
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