Jump to content

Ebola outbreak


bernorange

Recommended Posts

Quote

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield said Monday that the Ebola outbreak in conflict-ridden Congo has become so serious that international public health experts need to consider the possibility that it cannot be brought under control and instead will become entrenched.

If that happened, it would be the first time since the deadly viral disease was first identified in 1976 that an Ebola outbreak led to the persistent presence of the disease. In all previous outbreaks, most of which took place in remote areas, the disease was contained before it spread widely. The current outbreak is entering its fourth month, with nearly 300 cases, including 186 deaths.

If Ebola becomes endemic in substantial areas of North Kivu province, in northeastern Congo, “this will mean that we’ve lost the ability to trace contacts, stop transmission chains and contain the outbreak,” said Tom Inglesby, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, which hosted the briefing on Capitol Hill that featured the Ebola discussion with Redfield.

In that scenario, there would be a sustained and unpredictable spread of the deadly virus, with major implications for travel and trade, he said, noting that there are 6 million people in North Kivu. By comparison, the entire population of Liberia, one of the hardest-hit countries during the West Africa Ebola epidemic of 2014-2016, is about 4.8 million.

The outbreak is taking place in a part of Congo that is an active war zone. Dozens of armed militias operate in the area, attacking government outposts and civilians, complicating the work of Ebola response teams and putting their security at risk. Violence has escalated in recent weeks, severely hampering the response. The daily rate of new Ebola cases more than doubled in early October. In addition, there is community resistance and deep mistrust of the government.

Some sick people have refused to go to treatment centers, health-care workers are still being infected, and some people are dying of Ebola or spreading the virus to new areas. An estimated 60 to 80 percent of new confirmed cases have no known epidemiological link to prior cases, making it very difficult for responders to track cases and stop transmission. In late August, the United States withdrew some of the CDC’s most seasoned Ebola experts who had been stationed in Beni, the province’s urban epicenter, because of security risks.
...

More:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2018/11/05/cdc-director-warns-that-congos-ebola-outbreak-may-not-be-containable/?utm_term=.87871e7d32c6

Good thing that Houston has one of the largest trading ports in the world.  It's a good bet that the Ebola will find it's way into the USA via Houston if it does break containment.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Flashback to the old site and the Ebola outbreak thread over there and the panic and constant updates that were going on.  Hell, I even read a pretty lengthy book about Ebola as a result.  And now, Congo is in its FOURTH month of a massive outbreak and it's just now making news? Times change. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, next2naus said:

shithole country

So interesting though.  I've been on a bender watching documentaries, reading books, and personal accounts of that place.

 

It's like the most beautiful car crash.  Just a mesmerizing wreck of a country.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, Continental Op said:

Oh man...  The people pissing their pants over this shit on the old site were amazing.  If their posts were all you had to go on I guess it is a miracle that we aren't all wandering around in some post apocalyptic hellscape right now. 

Have you seen the Longhorn Football team the last few years?

 

  • Like 1
  • Haha 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, BlueGreySky said:

Flashback to the old site and the Ebola outbreak thread over there and the panic and constant updates that were going on.  Hell, I even read a pretty lengthy book about Ebola as a result.  And now, Congo is in its FOURTH month of a massive outbreak and it's just now making news? Times change. 

300 deaths and counting in the Congo aren’t nearly as important or newsworthy as 2 deaths in the US.  Because you know why. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, BlueGreySky said:

Flashback to the old site and the Ebola outbreak thread over there and the panic and constant updates that were going on.  Hell, I even read a pretty lengthy book about Ebola as a result.  And now, Congo is in its FOURTH month of a massive outbreak and it's just now making news? Times change. 

Dude, I've been watching the Cowboys offense for the past 3 months so I've been well aware.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I "survived" the H1N1 "epidemic" about 8 years ago - remember that?.  I can "survive" this.

Also, just re-read OP.  Whatever Ebola that tries to make its way up in the Ship Channel whater will be obliterated, no worries.

Edited by phdhorn
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Pato del Muerto said:

300 deaths and counting in the Congo aren’t nearly as important or newsworthy as 2 deaths in the US.  Because you know why. 

Need Kanye or some other celeb to livestream one of those poor people dying, that'll get the ball rolling.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Bernard said:

China did it. Congo has all the cobalt. Too many people though. Best to solve the people problem first. Lots of time to loot the resources later. Same playbook the Euros used to get at North America a few hundred years ago.

Bernard

Do we get the vibranium? 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, Continental Op said:

Oh man...  The people pissing their pants over this shit on the old site were amazing.  If their posts were all you had to go on I guess it is a miracle that we aren't all wandering around in some post apocalyptic hellscape right now. 

May have posted this on the wives thread back then, but my wife purchased chemical suits...they are still stashed away somewhere in our bathroom along with all of the Harvey supplies. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, BottleRocket said:

My father flew C-130's in the '60's and flew several covert spook missions into the congo in 1967.  I'll try and post some pictures later.  There is one pic of a king loading into his plane and he has a parrot and pet monkey with him.  

Image result for south park wheel of fortune

  • Like 3
  • Haha 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 11/9/2018 at 10:50 AM, Pato del Muerto said:

300 deaths and counting in the Congo aren’t nearly as important or newsworthy as 2 deaths in the US.  Because you know why. 

actually yeah, the first occurrence of two people dying of ebola in densely populated urban centers of the greatest goddamn country on the planet is indeed a much bigger news story than several hundred people dying from ebola in a third world country where it’s happened several times before.  it’s pretty simple.  what was your point?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

isn’t it rife with natural resources?  you’d think at some point someone could consolidate power and eradicate much of the tribal factions in a sort of Middle East-style dictatorship.  and get rich while still providing some baseline for modern infrastructure.  of course none of this will happen.  and you know why. 

  • Fuck You 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, futureman said:

isn’t it rife with natural resources?  you’d think at some point someone could consolidate power and eradicate much of the tribal factions in a sort of Middle East-style dictatorship.  and get rich while still providing some baseline for modern infrastructure.  of course none of this will happen.  and you know why. 

giphy.gif?cid=4bf119fc5be7c8ff3832485645

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

isn’t it rife with natural resources?  you’d think at some point someone could consolidate power and eradicate much of the tribal factions in a sort of Middle East-style dictatorship.  and get rich while still providing some baseline for modern infrastructure.  of course none of this will happen.  and you know why. 

Not enough rains down there.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, futureman said:

isn’t it rife with natural resources?  you’d think at some point someone could consolidate power and eradicate much of the tribal factions in a sort of Middle East-style dictatorship.  and get rich while still providing some baseline for modern infrastructure.  of course none of this will happen.  and you know why. 

I bet the Belgians could do it.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...