DEADLY VIRAL HEMORRHAGIC FEVERS
EBOLA KILLS 100 IN W. AFRICA
MALI SUSPECTS EBOLA HF
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Mali suspects EHF cases as death toll reaches 100 in W. Africa
Mali health authorities say they have identified possible cases of Ebola HF since the epidemic outbreak in neighboring Guinea.
The outbreak, which originated in Guinea in early March, has since spread to the neighbors Sierra Leone and Liberia.
Guinea has reported an increased total of 127 probable and suspect cases, including 86 deaths (case fatality ratio: 68%), as of April 4, 2014. Of the suspect cases, 35 have been laboratory confirmed positive cases of Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), including 14 health care workers and 11 cases in Conakry, the capital, according to various sources.
Liberia has reported 14 suspect cases, which include 7 deaths and 2 laboratory-confirmed cases of EHF from persons with recent travel history to Guinea. Authorities are investigating reports of additional suspect cases in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever Outbreak, Guinea and Liberia 2014
Source: CDC/National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID)
Possible Outbreak in Senegal and Gambia
News of a possible outbreak in Senegal may have been suppressed.
Gambia has placed at least two people with suspected EHF under quarantine.
Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever(EHF)
EHF is a highly contagious virus that spreads via close personal contact and kills up to 90% of the victims.
Five subspecies of Ebolavirus have so far been found. Four of those have caused disease in humans: Ebola virus (Zaire ebolavirus); Sudan virus (Sudan ebolavirus); Taï Forest virus (Taï Forest ebolavirus, formerly Côte d’Ivoire ebolavirus); and Bundibugyo virus (Bundibugyo ebolavirus). The fifth, Reston virus (Reston ebolavirus), has caused disease in nonhuman primates, but not in humans, according to CDC.
There are no known cure or vaccine for the Ebola virus.
In Africa, confirmed cases of Ebola HF have previously been reported in the following countries:
- Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
- Gabon
- South Sudan
- Ivory Coast
- Uganda
- Republic of the Congo (ROC)
- South Africa (imported)
The current outbreak is the first known occurrence of Ebola HF in Guinea.
“The natural reservoir host of ebolaviruses, and the manner in which transmission of the virus to humans occurs, remain unknown. This makes risk assessment in endemic areas difficult. With the exception of several laboratory contamination cases (one in England and two in Russia), all cases of human illness or death have occurred in Africa; no case has been reported in the United States,” said CDC.
Ebola virions (image 2 colorized 1), diagnostic specimen from the first passage in Vero cells of a specimen from a human patient — this image is from the first isolation and visualization of Ebola virus, 1976. In this case, some of the filamentous virions are fused together, end-to-end, giving the appearance of a “bowl of spaghetti.” Negatively stained virions. Magnification: approximately x40,000. Micrograph from F. A. Murphy, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas.
12 deadly pathogens could spread into new regions aided by climate change
A report by Wildlife Conservation Society released on October 7, 2008 lists 12 deadly pathogens that could spread globally as a result of climate change. “All have potential impacts to both human and wildlife health as well as global economies.” Report said.
Titled ‘The Deadly Dozen: Wildlife Diseases in the Age of Climate Change,’ the report illustrates examples of diseases that could spread due to temperatures changes and variations in regional precipitation levels.
The “Deadly Dozen” list [ABC]
- Avian influenza
- Babesia
- Cholera
- Ebola
- Intestinal and external parasites
- Lyme disease
- Plague
- Red tides
- Rift Valley fever
- Sleeping sickness (trypanosomiasis)
- Tuberculosis
- Yellow fever
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Photo showing Tungurahua volcano eruption associated with an explosion at 18:10 (local time) on April 4, 2014. Source F. Vásconez – OVT/IGEPN
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