Ebola outbreak 'may spread' in Congo

BBC News ^ | February 11, 2003 | Pascale Harter

[HighRoadToChina]

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Tuesday, 11 February, 2003, 18:12 GMT

Ebola outbreak 'may spread' in Congo

By Pascale Harter

BBC, Brazzaville

Thirty-eight people have died in a suspected outbreak of the Ebola virus in the north of Congo-Brazzaville, near the border with Gabon.

The Congolese authorities say they are concerned that the virus might spread.

Ebola is spread through contact with small amounts of body fluids.

Little more is known about the virus, which causes its victims to die from internal bleeding.

Bush meat

The Congolese Ministry of Health says the people died in the villages of Kelle and Mbou, about 800 kilometres north of Brazzaville, in the Region known as Cuvette West.

The authorities were first alerted to a possible outbreak of Ebola when a clan of gorillas in the region began to die in December.

Tests carried out on the bodies confirmed that the gorillas had died from the Ebola virus, which has now claimed more than 80% of that gorilla clan.

For the authorities, the Ebola virus is the stuff of nightmares.

Spread almost as easily as the flu but far more deadly, Ebola can result in the death of 95% of its victims.

The Congolese practice of washing the body before burial is just one of the factors that makes the virus so difficult to contain.

The Ministry of Health suspects that the current outbreak was caused by villagers eating primates in the area who were already infected with Ebola.

Hostile

But confirmation that the virus is responsible for the recent human deaths has not yet been possible.

This is because local inhabitants are refusing to co-operate with teams of Ministry of Health workers and World Health Organisation specialists who have gone to the region to study and contain the outbreak.

The villagers of Kelle and Mbou have so far refused to give blood samples needed to test for the virus, and have become hostile towards the visiting medical teams.

They claim it is the medical workers who bring the virus to the region.

The local inhabitants, who are mostly Pygmies, were badly mistreated by Gabonese troops who came to the area to contain an Ebola outbreak in 1996 and 97.

And this may be the reason why the local population is fearful.

Since an outbreak in the same area in June last year, the Congolese ministries of Forestry and the Environment have had teams of workers in the region trying to raise the awareness of the local population to the dangers of eating gorillas and chimps, particularly those which they find already ill or dead.

But they admit it is an uphill struggle in a region where bush meat has been a staple part of the local diet for centuries.

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[HighRoadToChina]

Could this be somehow related to the news that Communist China is sending her UN "peacekeeping" troops to Congo just yesterday?!? Something smells fishy here.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/840096/posts

[HighRoadToChina]

Congo ping from yesterday's article!

[The Old Hoosier]

I think that's the OTHER Congo. The one that used to be Zaire.

[TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!]

This is truly sad. But how could this happen now? Are we (the U.S.) going to have to give them another billion or so as we just did for aids?

What does the U.N. do? Are we the only country that funds the starving and inflicted? Where has all the U.N. UNICEF money in orange boxes been going to, Koffi's limos?

[TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!]

Red China has peace keeping troops? Oh that's right even communists are the U.N. so the U.N. sent these troops? Who is exactly on the U.N. army? They have a web page but who are their troops?

[HighRoadToChina]

"Red China has peace keeping troops?"

You said it all.

[blam]

I posted this just before Christmas, it got zero hits.

Purdue Research Hints That Birds Could Spread Ebola Virus

[blam]

"I think that's the OTHER Congo. The one that used to be Zaire."

LOL. The Congo has always been the Congo. They changed the name to DRC, Democratic Republic of Congo.

[Cold Heat]

One of the biggest fears in the civilized world is that this stuff gets out some how and moves into the international systems. It would cause total paralysis when and if it ever did.

[Iwentsouth]

Spread almost as easily as the flu but far more deadly Ebola is a hard disease to spread. If it wasn't there would be millions dead like with the flu. Now if Ebola was airborne like the Flu I would worry.

[perspectiveplease]

Wait, so are you implying that China is spreading the ebola virus in Congo? Or am I completely missing something here? I'm confused.

[HighRoadToChina]

Thanks for reposting it. Sometimes things gets missed. But if you keep trying, it usually works out.

[blam]

"Wait, so are you implying that China is spreading the ebola virus in Congo? Or am I completely missing something here? I'm confused."

There's no connection.

[HighRoadToChina]

There is just something fishy when Communist Chinese "UN peacekeeping" forces go to the middle of nowhere--expect a country known for Ebola. You don't think that the ChiComs are doing their peacekeeping out of the generosity of their good hearts, do you?

[HighRoadToChina]

How do you know for sure? Maybe they are there to study how to utilize Ebola. Never know about these ChiComs.

[Centurion2000]

Could this be somehow related to the news that Communist China is sending her UN "peacekeeping" troops to Congo just yesterday?!?

Sounds like China wants a sample for its bioweapons program.

[perspectiveplease]

Got it.

No, I don't think the Chinese government does much out of the generosity of their good hearts. They are trying desperately to become a developed nation though, which means relying pretty heavily on western countries for things like trade. So whatever their ultimate goals may be, my personal guess is that things like this fit into the "prove to the West that we are good people so that they will help us" category.

[HighRoadToChina]

"They are trying desperately to become a developed nation though..."

The only thing that they are trying to do is to stay in power. All the slave labor trade is meant to help them maintain power. And to be able to take on the US. Pure and simple. Read the speech below.


Never Again Speech
Boycott Made in China
The Laogai Research Foundation

[perspectiveplease]

"The only thing that they are trying to do is to stay in power"

Now that you mention it, a very likely motivation for said developing.

[Terridan]

"...local inhabitants are refusing to co-operate with teams of Ministry of Health workers and World Health Organisation specialists who have gone to the region to study and contain the outbreak. The villagers of Kelle and Mbou have so far refused to give blood samples needed to test for the virus, and have become hostile towards the visiting medical teams."

Well, the way things are going, the U.S. has enough on its plate! Just step back, relax, and this disease will take care of itself. I know, will get slammed for this but I am tired of us rushing to the rescue, only to get attacked.



They claim it is the medical workers who bring the virus to the region.