Out of the frying pan, into the fire with a new Ebola outbreak in Congo

One week after celebrating the end of a potentially explosive Ebola outbreak in Équateur province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Peter Salama received startling news: It was time to again pack his bags and help mount yet another counterattack against an apparently new outbreak in the same country. Salama, an Australian epidemiologist who heads the Health Emergencies Programme of the World Health Organization (WHO) and is based in Geneva, Switzerland, says he is “more concerned” about the new outbreak—in North Kivu province, 2500 kilometers east by road of the previous one—because it appears to be growing rapidly, has already reached a city, and is in a conflict zone with many armed insurgents and refugees.

Source: Out of the frying pan, into the fire with a new Ebola outbreak in Congo

An interview with Australian epidemiologist Peter Salama asked many questions....however for me, this one is the most troubling here:

Q: What most worries you now?
A: Béni is very close to Butembo, a commercial center with a lot of trade that has a population of 800,000 to 1 million. And Béni is on the road to Goma, another major population center, where we’ve already had suspected cases. Superspreading in a village might mean seven people in Mangina with an unsecured burial. In an urban area, it might mean one person going to a shopping center and affecting 1000. That’s going to be a trend we’re going to have to grapple with for years and decades to come.

This particular outbreak seems to have happened in an area that has a more mobile and connected population than previous outbreaks. I intend to follow this one, to see if they can contain it to that area, or at least that continent and prevent it from going pandemic.

Keep your eyes and ears out too ATS!

I'll be keeping my eye out...for the Ebola/Zika Map guy! 😂

a reply to: Krakatoa

That report is highly misleading. For example, "In an urban area, it might mean one person going to a shopping center and affecting 1000", that's highly unlikely. Its unlikely because a person has to come into contract with bodily fluids of an infected person or corpse. Its not an airborne virus.

Many news stories have driven home the point that the virus is mainly transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids, people are only infectious when they develop symptoms, and it’s unlikely that Ebola will evolve to become airborne.

www.sciencemag.org...

The only way one person could infect 1000 people at a shopping center is is they ran through spitting into the faces of 1000 people. Not gonna happen.

Is it Ebola boogeyman time again?

Slowest apocalypse ever.

originally posted by: Jefferton
Is it Ebola boogeyman time again?

Slowest apocalypse ever.

Yes and no. First off, the outbreaks seem to be occurring with a bit more frequency. This suggest that either the condition in the countries affected are getting worse which for many is true, and could also suggest a slow mutation into a strain that is more easily caught and perhaps advances in its communicability

Right now the two most important factors with ebola is that it kills fast which can limit spread, and its not yet become airborne. Once airborne its going to be a modern version fo the black death.

Most 1st world health care systems lack any sort of surge capacity to deal with a MCI. TO give you an idea there at at most 400-500 Pediatric ICU beds in the state. Normal utilization rates hover around 80%. This is in a state with 35 million people. This is just bedspace mind you and not staffing or doctors and nurses, RT's and the like. The situation in the adult ICU's is similar. More beds than say peds but typically the same occupancy rate. California or any other state or nation simply could not deal with the mass casualties such an outbreak would generate.

Far better to be over cautious when it first strikes than deal with it once it spreads beyond out control

Apparently they have not been sufficiently educated on how it's spread?

originally posted by: angeldoll
Apparently they have not been sufficiently educated on how it's spread?

They seem actually seem pretty good at it and the health care providers in these areas do an excellent job with almost no equipment and little in the way of real protective gear. You also have family members taking care of the sick who get little or no training thus are at grater risk themselves.

We, that is my transport team, is trained and stand up as needed during these situations as my hospital is one of the designated centers in thee vent of an ebola outbreak. IT takes me 30-40 minutes to get suited up and 45minutes plus to doff the gear under supervision. The expectation is a 12 hour shift in the gear with no breaks and all hands on deck so traditional roles are blurred between MD, RN and RT. Countries experiencing these outbreaks do not get this kind of luxury. Thats me on the right

a reply to: FredT

thanks for the info and posting the pic! will keep an eye on this..never know when something like this will evolve...

I noted a similar event, also in the DRC, back in May. I hope this one ends the same way - quickly.

link

Ebola outbreaks in recent history can all be attributed to biological warfare from EU nobility and Illuminati politicians, who have repeatedly done this using genetically engineered mosquitos to transport diseases. Some of the most notorious ones come from Italian military labs and are commonly known as "Tiger Mosquitos".

The growing outbreak has a case fatality rate of nearly 63 percent. There have been 510 deaths thus far, including 449 people who died from confirmed cases of Ebola. The other deaths are from probable cases, the ministry said.

The number of new cases spiked in January, from about 20 a week to more than 40, according to Save the Children, which expressed concern about misinformation in the local community and mistrust of the medical response.

abcnews.go.com, Feb. 11, 2019 - Nearly 100 children dead as world's 2nd-largest Ebola outbreak surpasses 800 cases.

And if you haven't been following the political chaos in the DRC here is a small write up over at Vox.

vox.com - The Ebola outbreak in Eastern Congo is moving toward a major city. That’s not good.

The fear is that this outbreak will reach Goma, a city with a million residents and more importantly, a steady ingress and egress of travelers. With a 2 to 21 day incubation period the virus could spread far and wide across the African continent.

The ABC article states the current outbreak could go on for another 6 months or possibly an entire year!

This story is not over by a long shot.