Spread of deadly Ebola virus...

[USFREEDOM911]

Spread of deadly Ebola virus to Guinea capital raises fears; at least 70 dead

Ebola, one of the world's most deadly viruses, has spread from a remote forested corner of southern Guinea to the country's seaside capital, raising fears that the disease, which causes severe bleeding and almost always death, could spread far beyond this tiny West African nation's borders.

In the first outbreak of its kind here, Ebola already has killed at least 70 people including one man whose family brought him to Conakry, the capital, for medical treatment. Now six of his relatives and two others exposed to him are being kept in isolation at a hospital.

Health officials warn that the arrival of Ebola in this sprawling city of some 2 million people with an international airport could spell disaster. Among the poorest countries in the world, Guinea has severely limited medical facilities and a large population living in slums where the virus could spread quickly.

"Poor living conditions and lack of water and sanitation in most parts of Conakry poses a serious risk of this epidemic spiraling into a crisis," said Ibrahima Toure, country director for the aid group Plan International.

Panic already has grown among residents since the government announced the Conakry cases late Thursday on national television. While most days up to 300 patients seek treatment at Donka Hospital, less than 100 came on Friday as news spread that the Ebola patients were being quarantined there.

"My daughter is sick and coughing but I prefer to keep her at home. I wouldn't set foot inside Donka Hospital for anything in the world right now," said Djalikatou Balde, a teacher.

International aid groups like Doctors Without Borders and Plan International are trying to educate Guineans about how the disease is spread, and working to identify and isolate anyone who may have been exposed. There is no cure for the disease and the virus strain in Guinea has a fatality rate of up to 90 percent. Some 111 people have fallen ill already and authorities in neighboring Liberia and Sierra Leone are also investigating suspected cases.

"Above all, we must avoid widespread panic," said Marie-Christine Ferir, emergency coordinator for Doctors Without Borders. "That is why it is so important to spread correct information so people understand the disease and how to protect themselves."

Medical teams have been traveling on foot to villages where cases have been reported. The number of people possibly contaminated expanded exponentially when the Conakry patient traveled some 300 miles (430 kilometers) across the country in search of help.

The Ebola virus causes severe hemorrhagic fever in patients, in some cases leading to grisly deaths as patients bleed both internally and externally. Its initial symptoms — high fever, headache and weakness — can mimic malaria.

Joseph Gbaka Sandouno, a program unit manager with Plan International in the village of Gueckedou, said it's been especially difficult for people to stay calm after having witnessed "frightening scenes where people have died with severe bleeding."

"People are getting desperate as every other day somebody is dying," he said, noting that 51 of the deaths had taken place there. "People are saying only God can save us now."



The Ebola incubation period can be as short as 2 days or as long as 21 days.

[Minister of Truth]

That virus is no joke. I'd have to rank it as one of the most frightening things on the face of the Earth. Luckily it is such a damned quick virus that it doesn't travel well.

[USFREEDOM911]

That virus is no joke. I'd have to rank it as one of the most frightening things on the face of the Earth. Luckily it is such a damned quick virus that it doesn't travel well.

But with airlines; an affected person could be back to his hometown and interacting with people, before an signs of the infection showed.

Even if a person exhibits no signs or symptoms of Ebola, he or she can still spread the virus during the Ebola incubation period. Once Ebola virus symptoms begin, the person can remain contagious for about three more weeks.

Just think how many people a person comes into contact with, over a 3 week period.

[Truth Detector]

Ebola has to be the single worst virus to ever attack a host. It appears to be geographically confined which is not great news considering how victims die by it, but comforting in that the chances it can travel globally like the aids virus are very low.

This is a strange virus by the fact that it kills it's host with such rapidity.

[USFREEDOM911]

Ebola has to be the single worst virus to ever attack a host. It appears to be geographically confined which is not great news considering how victims die by it, but comforting in that the chances it can travel globally like the aids virus are very low.

This is a strange virus by the fact that it kills it's host with such rapidity.

It's only contained, for the moment, probably because not many of the victims really have a chance to fly to other countries; but consider a tourist coming into contact, on the last day of their travels.
By the time it's discovered that they're infected, they could have exposed thousands; which in turn could result in millions being exposed, all within that 21 day incubation period.

There are other scenarios, that I don't even feel comfortable discussing.

[Minister of Truth]

Isn't the record only like 10 days after the incubation period, though? Usually people are gone within 48 hours.

[USFREEDOM911]

Isn't the record only like 10 days after the incubation period, though? Usually people are gone within 48 hours.

The Ebola incubation period can be as short as 2 days or as long as 21 days.

[USFREEDOM911]

Ebola patients await death in Guinea isolation wards as health workers try to contain virus

Bakari Soumaoro carried his sick friend all the way to the hospital on his back, not realizing that the man's fever and chills were caused by one of the deadliest diseases on Earth.

A week after his friend died, Soumaoro himself fell ill.

Hospital officials soon determined that both men had contracted Ebola, a disease causing severe bleeding that had never before struck this corner of West Africa. The outbreak has killed more than 86 people in Guinea and Liberia, and it's not over.

Soumaoro, a driver for an aid group, Plan International, died soon after symptoms appeared. Before long, everyone who had visited him at the hospital was placed into an isolation ward set up by health workers here.

"Fortunately after the waiting period we all tested negative, thanks be to God," said Mamady Drame, the local director for Plan International in Macenta, 715 kilometers (445 miles) southeast of the capital, Conakry.

Ebola is so virulent that those who do test positive can only wait to die in a special ward where they are treated by medical personnel wearing protective suits and gear. The Zaire strain detected in Guinea kills up to 90 percent of its victims, and with no cure all that can be done is to make patients comfortable as their organs begin failing.

The West African nation of Guinea is among the poorest in the world, and is severely lacking in health care facilities outside Conakry. Those who have been exposed to Ebola in southern Guinea are kept in one ward. If it's confirmed they do have Ebola, they then are moved to the second pavilion to await death.

Three more suspected cases were put into quarantine on Wednesday in Macenta, where already 14 people have died.

It's a similar situation in neighboring Liberia, where health officials say the deaths of two sisters have been confirmed as Ebola. One of the women left behind a baby and a husband who are now in isolation.

The cases have been dramatic: One man dropped dead only 30 minutes after he arrived at a hospital in Liberia. Another person was taken not to a clinic, but to a church for a prayer of divine intervention. She died on Wednesday.

Amid Ebola's near-certain death sentence, fear and panic have spread. Passengers fled a bus after an elderly man vomited on board. In neighboring Liberia, one market emptied out when people falsely believed they could catch the disease simply from breathing the same air as victims. In Liberia's capital, Monrovia, cashiers at one grocery store wore rubber gloves to protect themselves.

In southern Guinea, church pews are now empty on Sundays. People are fearful of shaking hands and instead make the sign of the cross when they greet a friend or loved one.

"Here it's like time has stopped. Every day is potentially dangerous for us. And it's only God who can save us from this disease," said Lalla Balde, who lives in Macenta.

"We don't know what sin we have committed so that the Ebola fever has befallen us," said another resident, Cece Lohalamou. "We already have enough problems here."

[Minister of Truth]

I wonder if Cece is of Hawaiian descent? That last name jumped out at me for some reason...

[USFREEDOM911]

I had never seen this movie before; but it was on Cable tonight.
It's a 2011 movie called Contagion.

Highly probable, who knows.

[BRUTALITOPS]

Ebola has to be the single worst virus to ever attack a host. It appears to be geographically confined which is not great news considering how victims die by it, but comforting in that the chances it can travel globally like the aids virus are very low.

This is a strange virus by the fact that it kills it's host with such rapidity.

The reason ebola doesn't spread very far is because it's so deadly it just fucking wrecks the host before it can spread itself all over the place.

I remember reading the hotzone in 5th grade and reading about this guy's guts being shit out of his butthole. good read. good times.

[/MSG/]

Yeah, hemorrhagic fever is some scary shit.

[USFREEDOM911]

The reason ebola doesn't spread very far is because it's so deadly it just fucking wrecks the host before it can spread itself all over the place.

I remember reading the hotzone in 5th grade and reading about this guy's guts being shit out of his butthole. good read. good times.

Not sure what the time frame was on the original cases, years ago; but this one can be infectious from 2 to 21 days.

[canceled.2021.2]

Spread of deadly Ebola virus to Guinea capital raises fears; at least 70 dead

Ebola, one of the world's most deadly viruses, has spread from a remote forested corner of southern Guinea to the country's seaside capital, raising fears that the disease, which causes severe bleeding and almost always death, could spread far beyond this tiny West African nation's borders.

In the first outbreak of its kind here, Ebola already has killed at least 70 people including one man whose family brought him to Conakry, the capital, for medical treatment. Now six of his relatives and two others exposed to him are being kept in isolation at a hospital.

Health officials warn that the arrival of Ebola in this sprawling city of some 2 million people with an international airport could spell disaster. Among the poorest countries in the world, Guinea has severely limited medical facilities and a large population living in slums where the virus could spread quickly.

"Poor living conditions and lack of water and sanitation in most parts of Conakry poses a serious risk of this epidemic spiraling into a crisis," said Ibrahima Toure, country director for the aid group Plan International.

Panic already has grown among residents since the government announced the Conakry cases late Thursday on national television. While most days up to 300 patients seek treatment at Donka Hospital, less than 100 came on Friday as news spread that the Ebola patients were being quarantined there.

"My daughter is sick and coughing but I prefer to keep her at home. I wouldn't set foot inside Donka Hospital for anything in the world right now," said Djalikatou Balde, a teacher.

International aid groups like Doctors Without Borders and Plan International are trying to educate Guineans about how the disease is spread, and working to identify and isolate anyone who may have been exposed. There is no cure for the disease and the virus strain in Guinea has a fatality rate of up to 90 percent. Some 111 people have fallen ill already and authorities in neighboring Liberia and Sierra Leone are also investigating suspected cases.

"Above all, we must avoid widespread panic," said Marie-Christine Ferir, emergency coordinator for Doctors Without Borders. "That is why it is so important to spread correct information so people understand the disease and how to protect themselves."

Medical teams have been traveling on foot to villages where cases have been reported. The number of people possibly contaminated expanded exponentially when the Conakry patient traveled some 300 miles (430 kilometers) across the country in search of help.

The Ebola virus causes severe hemorrhagic fever in patients, in some cases leading to grisly deaths as patients bleed both internally and externally. Its initial symptoms — high fever, headache and weakness — can mimic malaria.

Joseph Gbaka Sandouno, a program unit manager with Plan International in the village of Gueckedou, said it's been especially difficult for people to stay calm after having witnessed "frightening scenes where people have died with severe bleeding."

"People are getting desperate as every other day somebody is dying," he said, noting that 51 of the deaths had taken place there. "People are saying only God can save us now."



The Ebola incubation period can be as short as 2 days or as long as 21 days.

Want to chip in for a first class ticket for Rune to Guinea?

[USFREEDOM911]

Want to chip in for a first class ticket for Rune to Guinea?

Can we make it a round trip from New York and have Darla pick him up?