“Results
from the Virus characterization, together with findings from the
epidemiological investigation, are definitive: the outbreak in DRC is a
distinct and independent event, with no relationship to the outbreak in West
Africa”
WHO (World Health
Organization) commenting on Tuesday September 2nd 2014 on the
findings of Centre International de Recherches Médicales, confirming that the
Ebola Virus Strains from West Africa and DRC are different
I’ve
now begun an Ebola Watch after the WHO (World Health Organization) declared
that the Epidemic would claim some 20,000 lives before the Ebola virus is
brought under control as stated in the articles “Ebola outbreak: WHO warns
that virus could infect 20,000”, published 28 August 2014 14:51 GMT, BBC News and “Ebola
Could Strike 20,000, World Health Agency Says”, published AUG. 28, 2014 By
NICK CUMMING-BRUCE and ALAN COWELL, NY Times.
That
predicting made me think, initially, that the Ebola outbreak in the DRC
(Democratic Republic of Congo) was confirmation of its continued spread that’s
now at Epidemic Proportions in Africa. However, the WHO has now reported that
the DRC Strain genetically different form that affecting West African countries
as stated in the article “New
Ebola Cases Unrelated To West African Outbreak”, published 9/02/2014 @ 9:59AM by David Kroll, Forbes.
This
was confirmed by the Centre International de Recherches Médicales, a WHO collaborating
research center in Franceville, Gabon, who announced that, quote: “the Virus in
the Boende district is definitely not derived from the Virus Strain currently
circulating in West Africa.” This Laboratory had previously identified six (6)
samples from West Africa as those of persons infected with the Ebola Virus.
They would logically be in a position to make that distinction between the West
Africa Strain and the DRC Strain.
Those
affected with one particular Strain of Ebola Virus are as follows:
1.
Guinea
2.
Liberia
3.
Sierra Leone
4.
Nigeria
The
Ebola Virus has claimed some 1,552 plus lives in West Africa since August 2014
as per my blog
article entitled “Jamaica's
Ebola Risk - How a ZMapp cured Americans of Ebola as Jamaica can become Guinea
Pig to Test an Ebola Cure”.
Ebola Virus outbreak in
DRC – Ebola Virus Brothers from the same Zaire Strain Mother
The
DRC Outbreak, which the WHO states is occurring in the Boende District, a remote
region of the DRC some 750 miles from the capital of Kinshasa in, has this claimed
fewer than 100 lives thus far. To be precise, up until Tuesday 2nd September
2014, the figures reported were as thus:
1.
53 Ebola Virus Cases
2.
31 Ebola Virus Deaths
3.
7 Healthcare workers among the Ebola Virus
Deaths
Good
to note at this point that both the Ebola Viruses outbreaks in West Africa and
DRC are of the Zaire Strain of Ebola Virus, so called because the Ebola Virus
first originated in Zaire, now called DRC. However, in terms of their Genome
they are slightly different, suggesting that the one in the DRC Outbreak,
though the same species of Ebola Virus, is a genetically different Ebola Viruses
from the West African Ebola Virus.
In
short they are different Ebola Virus Brothers from the same Zaire Strain
Mother!
In
fact, this recent Ebola Virus outbreak is genetically similar to the 1995
outbreak in the city of Kikwit in the DRC. Thus it's easy to see why many
believe the Ebola Virus is spreading when in fact it's more a case of the Virus
re-emerging. The current Ebola Virus outbreak, 7th on record in the
DRC, has a history that spans back to 1976 when it first appeared and ravaged
that country along with South Sudan.
Ebola Spread in DRC –
Situation made worse by Traditional Hunting and Burial problems
Ground
zero for this latest infection was a pregnant woman from Ikanamongo Village who
died on August 11 after preparing bushmeat that her husband had hunted as
reported by the WHO in the article “Ebola virus disease –
Democratic Republic of Congo”, published 27 August 2014 by Disease outbreak
news, WHO.
Lends
more credence to the DRC Strain of the Ebola Virus being a mere re-emergence
from the Bush as opposed to a spread, especially as the countries in-between
DRC those West African countries have reported no cases of imported Ebola Virus
infections.
This
suggests that the Ebola Virus was lurking in the bushes of the DRC Jungle and
has infected the primates and Bats, a primary traditional food hunted by many
Congolese. Thus, expect more infections in the coming months due to traditional
hunting of these animals for food, making the WHO prediction of 20,000 infected
by December 2014 look like a prophetic statistical prediction.
The
situation is made worse by the traditional burial practices of the people of
DRC as noted by the WHO, quote: “Local customs and rituals associated with
death meant that several health-care workers were exposed and presented with
similar symptoms in the following week.” These customs involve the family
washing and embalming the body for live burial, resulting them coming in
contact with the following body fluids:
1.
Blood
2.
Saliva
3.
Semen
4.
Stool
5.
Sweat
6.
Urine
Thus
the Ebola Virus spreads rapidly and within seven (7) days the symptoms become
self-evident:
1.
Diarrhoea
2.
Headache
3.
Intense weakness
4.
Muscle pain
5.
Rash
6.
Sore throat
7.
Sudden onset of fever
8.
Vomiting
Good
to note here that hemorrhaging associated with the Ebola Virus is as a result
of the Body T-Cells deciding to launch an all out attack against the Ebola Virus
in what’s called a Cytokine
Storm. This after the Body's defense system, which the Ebola virus attacks last,
is crippled.
Thus,
with no means to produce an antibody response to the Ebola Virus Antigen, the
your Body’s immune system launches an all out attack using all its known
antibodies in what’s known as a Cytokine Storm.
This
results in the Blood of the victim becoming flooded with anti-coagulant, making
the patient literally drown to death in their own Blood as it drains through
their Blood vessels and into their organs, including the skin. Given its
incubation period of 2 weeks, it can easily travel around world and become a
Global Pandemic if Countries aren’t vigilant.
Here’s
hoping that the Ebola Virus doesn’t spread to Jamaica as Prime Minister Kamla
Persad-Bissessar suspects is possible and is deserving of a meeting to discuss
the Travel situation in the Caribbean as stated in my blog article
entitled “Trinidad
PM Kamla Persad-Bissessar's CARICOM Meeting - Preventing Caribbean Chikungunya Virus
and Ebola Virus Epidemic by Christmas 2014”.
Very
necessary precaution, given the rampant spread of Chikungunya Virus thus far!
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