Again CalcGames.org has decided to have a decidedly non calculator related news item, because this concerns all humanity. I've been keeping close tabs on the Marburg Virus outbreak in Angola. It's similar in type to Ebola, but this strain of Marburg is much more deadly, with rates hovering at 100%, this could, and is, posing a major health threat. The capital, Luanda, has an international airport, and the country has strong colonial ties to Portugal. Obviously, if someone unknowingly carried virus entered Europe, the consequences could be disastrous. This situation is all the more dangerous as the humanitarian group Doctors Without Boarders is recommending that hospitals be shut down in parts of Uige, the province where the outbreak started, as they are suspected of being a main vector for the spread of the virus. This action, combined with the populations growing distrust in its medical workers, could lead to civil unrest. Already the CDC has been forced to scale back its activities as their convoys are being attacked. I expect if this situation deteriorates further, international quarantine of the entire region may be seriously considered.

There are some sites that contain good information about this outbreak: The WHO has a page containing daily updates.

Also, the CDC is a good place to look for more information.

The last site I'll list is the one I favor the most, and I highly recommend that you read what they have to say about this. Recombinomics has excellent analysis on this event, even though its news system is cryptic to navigate. Their latest report is quite frighting. I found that the best way to get the latest from Recombinomics is to go to google news, and on the Health news tabs, click for more stories about Marburg, then sort by date, and look for the latest from them.

If anything new comes out, I'll post it here. Thanks for reading.

Update: 4/11/2005 11:06 PDT
It appears that The Uige hospital is the main source of the virus, and that a possible explanation for the large amount of those who have died from Marburg were under five was because the injection equipment was infected itself, and that helped the virus spread. It also appears that the residents are not going to the hospitals after becoming infected, as they see a trip to the isolation as a death sentence, which in the case of this virus, is true. This means that many people(and thus cases) are not being tracked, which could lead to a explosion of new cases as these people spread the virus (especially if this strain is airborne). However, international aid convoys have resumed, as attacks seem to have slackened off somewhat.



Update: 4/10/2005 10:10 PDT
Link for Recombinomics has been updated. They are now reporting that it is looking that Marburg has gained the ability to become airborne, as healthcare workers are being infected at a rate higher than should be expected if it was only contact transmissible.

They know the city and neighborhood, but nothing more specific. Very Happy

Well, this AIDS thing should only aply to those who are sexually active with people they don't know I think we all know how to prevent this...condoms



I know your name, your parents name, your apartment number, your SSN, and...
I'll be taking a trip by car to Massachusettes this sumer, and I'll be diving through New York City. Who knows, we just might meet each other