The real Planet (island) of the infected apes released from biolab (in Liberia)

a reply to: LDragonFire

Having just watched a documentary about Liberia it seems that they are not panicking. In fact they have a hit song called Ebola. They are in denial. Monkey meat has been banned but that has not stopped them eating it. Check out the video 2 posts above. hmmmmm on 1st page

will post again here for people that are too lazy

a reply to: maythetruthbeknown

originally posted by: ccseagull
a reply to: crazyewok

But maybe, just maybe, they infected others (before they died their early death), the virus mutated and the disease carried on.
Just thinking of the possibilities.

It is entirely possible. It is possible they could be a carrier and not have any symptoms. Recent studies have shown that even after getting better . it is possible to infect others with your semen up to 90 days after.

a reply to: maythetruthbeknown

This is an Ebola patient escaping running through a market but then being caught again. The quarantine they place people under is obviously not very effective

a reply to: maythetruthbeknown
Here is another short video of one of the islands.Showing the cages the apes were kept in.

a reply to: maythetruthbeknown

Ok off to bed now, If anyone has any relevant information they wish to post I would appreciate it.

Dont think it is real but one day they may rise

Lool despite recent reports I am not patient zero.
Yes we were all freed but only I had the intelligence to shave and learn to blend into society.
The ladt time I saw my ape brothers they were ok but gasping for a fag.

I found a link/documentary about the island. It's dated July 3, 2014 Real-life 'Planet of the Apes' thrives on Monkey Island

over 100 chimps were infected with diseases like hepatitis and river blindness in order to find cures, the documentary says.

In addition to traveling to Africa, the documentary team heads to Berkley Heights, NJ, to interview Betsy Brotman, the former head of the project -- and that's where the film truly gets engaging. Brotman was in Liberia during two extremely bloody civil wars.

Through all of the turbulence, including the loss of her husband who was shot in the conflict, she managed to provide refuge for both the chimps and a group of women and children who were affected by the violence. "When we went to the island to feed the chimps, we would see bodies floating in the water, sometimes women with babies tied to their back," she recalls at one particularly poignant moment in the documentary.

I can't watch videos and was surprised to learn the island is in the middle of a river. I assumed it was off the Liberian coast. They put chimps infected with river blindness on an island in the middle of a river?

I guess people still frequent the island.

Working with a team of Liberians, the New York Blood Center continues to feed the chimps, most -- if not all -- of whom have recovered from their diseases and continue to live out their lives on a very real "Island of the Apes."

They kinda gloss over exactly what diseases and sounds like they're not sure if they've all recovered.

A river island inhabited by diseased chimps occasionally visited by floating dead bodies sounds pretty bad. Wouldn't surprise me if something worse than ebola wasn't stewing in that mess. I can't believe there's a refuge for women/children close by. I hope they weren't staying on the island the article doesn't say.

Betsy Brotman seems to have survived it but I wonder if she drank the river water? Willing to bet the locals do, probably eat the fish too.
Interesting thread.

a reply to: Morningglory

Thanks for posting this information. The video is the same as in my original OP but the information contained is good.

You are correct, who knows what kind of diseases are festering there. The locals like to eat monkey meat and even though it is banned in Liberia due to a possible cause of Ebola it is still common place.

It is hard to find the exact diseases being studied in that particular lab. I still find it hard to understand how they were able to operate during the civil wars.
There are many labs over West Africa. It would only take one accident or intentional release to create a disaster.
Maybe this has already happened.

a reply to: maythetruthbeknown

Finally managed to embed original video. Hmm has only taken 14 hours

Here it is.

a reply to: maythetruthbeknown

Sorry if it was already posted. Wish I could watch the videos. Wonder who thought it was a good idea putting the chimps in the middle of a river? Was it just a panicked response by Betsy Brotman in the midst of war? The OP says the islands were off the coast of Liberia. So how the hell did the chimps end up in a van down by the river?

I don't think they were operating normally. Betsy Brotman's husband was killed in the conflict so it sounds like all hell broke loose in the area of the facility. She rescued women/children, saw dead bodies in the river obviously war was all around her.

Seems likely armed men would've stormed the facility after killing her husband. It's possible he was shot trying to keep them out. Who knows what they found/contracted once inside.

Why be so vague about the diseases? What about the chimps released into the jungle? Did something go wrong with that stroke of genius, in response they came up with the idea of island sanctuaries? The article only says they "were infected with diseases like hepatitis and river blindness." What kind of BS is that? What do they mean by diseases "like." I suspect hepatitis/river blindness were the only two they cared to mention.

The tone of the article seemed to be more about the plight of the rescued chimps who "continue to live out their lives on a very real "Island of the Apes." Sounds like they just want to portray a happy ending and gloss over the rest. Apparently they're not even sure they've all recovered. So I'm guessing they haven't drawn blood and don't know if there's carriers.

Imo none of this makes sense. They should've gotten out of dodge before the onset of the first civil war. Even if hepatitis/river blindness was the worst of it, why continue to do such risky research in a war zone? They don't even mention contamination of a fresh water supply. The thought of run off from that island ending up in someone's drinking water makes me want to puke.

Thought I'd look for a Liberian source and found an interesting article.

theliberiandialogue.org...

There are closed to 1,000 ”retired” and highly infected chimpanzees/apes that were used as experimental animals in different studies of hepatitis viruses which are now living on six man-made islands.

6 "man-made" islands and they're rapidly multiplying/competing with locals for food. It's suspected poachers are hunting them.

Some of the diseases are mentioned.

How safe are those chimps to co-exist with the surrendering communities? How many Liberians were treated for hepatitis, river blindness and schistosomiasis or snail fever? These were the main thrusts of ‘Vilab II’ and the Liberian Institute for Biomedical Research, respectively?

Those diseases were Vilab's "main thrusts" wonder what else they researched?

Not sure what to think about this.

Could the disposal of the ‘Disneyland of infected apes’ in Liberia established by the New York Blood Center reduce or eliminate the current uncontrollable spread of Ebola virus? According to the prestigious Institute of Medicine, among the factors listed for emerging infectious diseases include “microbial adaptation and change,” meaning as researchers have changed the natural biophysical properties of these apes in the context of finding treatments for human diseases, they have alternated the microbes of these chimps, thereby creating new strains of virus. In other words, no scientist can say that these exercises are not often sensitive to variations that could lead to another pathogen.

It's hard for Liberians to justify the expense of taking care of chimps when so many people in their country go hungry.

With Ebola rampaging not sure what will happen to the chimps.

Ebola virus is believed to be transmitted to human after coming in contact with dead and living chimpanzees, gorillas, monkeys, and forest antelope. Therefore, the way the government of Liberia handles ‘Disneyland of Infected Apes’ should show how committed it is in its flight against the Ebola virus.

a reply to: Morningglory
Thankyou again for another great post. You bring up some good points.
I think there is some confusion, the testing facility was located on an island in the river in the jungle.
Apparently as many as 6 islands were purchased which were used for relocation after the facility shut doen. I am not sure of the exact location as it is hard to find this information.

By the time the facility closed the civil war had been over for 2 years. This it seems is when the main relocation of chimps occurred.
However as seen in the 1984 article from OP chimps were being released from then.

So that is 20 years of releasing tested on animals, this In its self I do not understand. They tested on animals, many I am sure died why ,would any secure facility release previously infected animals.?I do not condone it, but for public safety wouldn't the best thing be to put the animals down humanely. It just doesn't make sense . Unless of course they were not worried about possible infection spreading.

Also as you stated who knows what was released or stolen during the two wars. The Liberians love eating monkey,chimp meat which of course is another method of infection. As you mentioned the run off would almost certainly pollute the river. Again thanks for your contribution

a reply to: Morningglory
Just saw your other post, we must of both been posting at the same time. I read that article when I wrote the op but I wasn't sure if it was a propaganda piece. The Liberians are not really known for being reasonable about the Ebola situation. That being said there is still a lot of good information within so thank you for posting.

a reply to: maythetruthbeknown

I assumed it was a good bit of propaganda. He did list a few of the diseases and mentioned the chimp's impact on neighboring villages.

As far as the location from what I understand the island closest to the facility is the first stop. It's easier feeding them there, sometime later they're moved to other islands to start learning survival skills before being released in game preserves. Some have chronic infections or are carriers making them unsuitable for release.

Here's another link, I'm determined to find something.

A Life's Work Disrupted in Liberia;Newark Native Hopes to Return to Her Study of Chimps

During the civil wars the facility was looted/ransacked.

Officials at the Blood Center said that 15 of the chimps at the Liberian lab carried hepatitis C and one had hepatitis B, but that they posed no serious risk to people or wildlife should they be released or eaten.

If that's the case why keep them quarantined on an island? Is it solely for the chimps protection because they're unfit for the wild? I assumed it's because some are infected carriers?

The Liberian link suggests animal rights activists are behind it. I can understand trying to rehab these animals but the exact nature of their infections needs to be disclosed. Saying they have diseases like hepatitis/river blindness doesn't cut it.

Many scientists who have worked at the center are already mourning its loss, even though Ms. Brotman remains determined to rebuild it. Dr. Preston Marx, a professor of microbiology at New York University, first visited the Liberian center in 1988 to study the correlation between viruses found in monkeys and those in neighboring human populations. He returned during a break in the fighting in 1994 and worked with Ms. Brotman on monkey viruses.

They will share authorship on a paper in the June issue of the journal Virology that bolsters the theory that viruses related to the agent causing AIDS can move quite readily from monkeys to humans, Dr. Marx said. That is one of many papers on which Ms. Brotman -- despite the lack of an advanced degree -- has shared authorship.

Sounds like Dr. Marx was studying a wide range of viruses. The facility was set up to research blood borne diseases but Ebola hasn't been mentioned.

I think these folks had good intentions but because of war they lost control of the facility. Local chimps were used, I wonder if some could have been harboring Ebola? According to Betsy Brotman chimps have far superior immune systems. They can carry human viruses without developing serious illness. Ebola kills them too but maybe it takes longer for them to become symptomatic. Maybe depending on the strain they have a better survival rate.

Working in the middle of a war zone was a careless way to do biz. Especially when the soldiers want to eat the damn specimens. I read somewhere Betsy Brotman saved her pet pig by telling a soldier it was infected with AIDS but apparently hepatitis is ok.

I don't think they acted responsibly concerning the facility and I expect they'll drop the ball when they release the chimps. After stewing on that island they can't be sure what they have without further testing.

CHIMPANZEE HEALTH IMPROVEMENT, MAINTENANCE AND PROTECTION ACT

Young chimps are most desirable for research. After about 4 years of age for whatever reason research/testing isn't as productive/reliable. Chimps can live for 50 years it's too expensive housing them at research centers. The facility would be more about caring for retired apes than research. In the past they were euthanized.

I didn't read through it all but the protection act entails setting up sanctuaries for retired research animals. Sounds idyllic and it's cheaper than housing them at research facilities but it still comes at a cost.

Some of the apes would never be eligible for release, someone would have to feed/care for them for the rest of their life. Even if funding is available, I don't know if that's a reasonable expectation in war zones or impoverished nations.

Vilab II was a US based facility but they used local Liberian chimps so it seems they have to remain there. I don't know if it's legal or desirable to transport them to the states for care. The feeling is it's more beneficial if the animals remain in their natural range until release. The Liberians have been left with the task. I imagine funding/manpower is an issue.

I've read the feeding regimen on the islands is sometimes delayed/missed, the apes become aggressive/compete with locals for food. Not a good situation. Betsy Brotman stated she can't walk amongst the apes like she used to so I assume no follow up testing is being done.

Amongst other things Liberia is dealing with an Ebola epidemic, there's not much local support/interest. Especially due to the fact Ebola effects ape populations. While some are wiling to eat them others are afraid to get anywhere near the place. Some nearby villagers have left the area because of them. I think the Liberians would prefer to just put them down but activists are watching.

Liberians are pressured into caring for these animals but they're doing a half ass job. Activists need to either move to those islands for the next 50 years or bring the chimps to the states but that won't work because activists are intent on releasing them into their natural environment. So the situation seems to be stagnating.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Without lots of oversight the ball will get dropped concerning these chimps.

With wars/Ebola raging it's getting harder to care for them humanely. If people can't get in to feed them they'll starve. If they're released without proper testing who knows what could get out.

Humans/wildlife have had contact with these chimps. Over the years any number of things could've gotten passed back/forth. The problem is no one seems to be studying that. They're barely housing them. Imo it's a recipe for disaster.

For all we know Ebola is/has been festering on those islands. It may not be directly related to the research but if the population overruns the island diseases will take hold. Although it's a natural habitat it's not nature. The animals will need monitoring until they're released and I don't think that's going to happen.

We can't expect to successfully push our western ways on people who are barely surviving. High ideals with no follow up is destined to fail and with Ebola in the neighborhood it could fail in a big way.