Ebola Epidemic Could Become Global Crisis

reply to post by BurningSpearess


The Nigerian Minister of Information jumped in in the middle of the fray, apparently trying to turn back the clock. Obviously a bit of a fool in every respect. Before and since, other Nigerian authorities' reports seem much more truthful and responsible.

....Guinea's and everyone's economy is going to take a huge hit over this one, particularly since the World Health Organization and other international agencies took so long to get involved, and left Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), or Doctors Without Borders, alone on the front lines for so long. ...That delay looks to have been critical.

...Thanks.

reply to post by PurpleDog UK


KSA are hardly the touchstone for international standards of infection control. They also have a ban on anyone with HIV and anyone diagnosed with it in KSA are immediately deported. Not exactly known for their expertise of subtlety when dealing with matters of health.

reply to post by crazyewok

....What your saying about Ebola never being seen in the area is wrong.

In 1994 a Strain of Ebola was found in Côte d'Ivoire in a Chimpanzee outbreak, and it infected 1 person.

So its not far fetched that its caused a human outbreak in the area.

The strain in Côte d'Ivoire was CIEBOV - the strain that emerged in Guinea is the Zaire strain or ZEBOV - it's true ZEBOV recombines, but I'm not aware of similar evidence regarding CIEBOV. Are you?

And for the record Ebolas sister Marburg has caused a western outbreak before in Germany due to infected imported monkeys and even in 1967 it was contained even after it spread to a couple of other country's.

As I stated earlier, it's been easy to contain Ebola outbreaks historically - but containment in a lab obviously doesn't correspond to several simultaneous outbreaks in the middle of the jungle or in crowded cities without adequate medical services and hospitals.


ed. to add

I just don't think running round like headless chickens calling it a zombie apocalypse helps anyone.

I know that's not what I do, yet you have been characterizing my thread and posts like that since the outset - I find your consistent dismissals ....suspect. Thurisaz's use of the phrase was media shorthand - perhaps ill-chosen from a diplomatic perspective - but rather effective for lighting needed fires imho.

soficrow
reply to post by BurningSpearess

 

The Nigerian Minister of Information jumped in in the middle of the fray, apparently trying to turn back the clock. Obviously a bit of a fool in every respect. Before and since, other Nigerian authorities' reports seem much more truthful ...

So is Nigeria equipped with vaccines, or not???

Thanks for your knowledgeable answer if you have it...

reply to post by BurningSpearess


No one has vaccines or anti-virals that work - unless some bioterrorist lab has them squirrelled away (unlikely). ....Canada has been working on a vaccine and just teamed with the US as I recall but it will be years before anything is available. There's never been much profit potential in tackling Ebola - small outbreaks, restricted to Africa - so Big Pharma was never interested.

....As far as I can tell, one of the big obstacles is the fact that the human genome contains sequences from the Ebola gene - so attacking Ebola means attacking our own genome. Not such a good idea.

soficrow

The strain in Côte d'Ivoire was CIEBOV - the strain that emerged in Guinea is the Zaire strain or ZEBOV - it's true ZEBOV recombines, but I'm not aware of similar evidence regarding CIEBOV. Are you?

The Ebola family is very very similar. Ok its two different strains we are talking about but the differences genetically wont be much difference. We are talking 1 or two proteins. To be far Im not keyed up on the exact same details of the Côte d'Ivoire strain but It does show Ebola is found over a vast area of Africa.

I just don't think its a far stretch to find the Zaire or other strains that far out. Especially if found in bats which I strongly suspect are the reservoir.

soficrow
As I stated earlier, it's been easy to contain Ebola outbreaks historically - but containment in a lab obviously doesn't correspond to several simultaneous outbreaks in the middle of the jungle or in crowded cities without adequate medical services and hospitals.

The Marburg outbreak wasn't confined to a lab. It spread out amongst the community and even traveled to Frankfurt and Belgrade.

soficrow

No one has vaccines or anti-virals that work -

Actually the USA has a very very promising DNA vaccine candidate.

It going through trials now so there MAY be some hope.

Ok its not a definite thing that works but its not like the situation is hopeless.

If Ebola hits the west Im sure Pharma will dump billions into rushing the development through.

reply to post by crazyewok


Didn't ebola-Zaire15 make it all the way to the USA through monkey imports before? (Albeit a mutated form what was not infectious to humans)

Reston Monkey House Outbreak 1995

reply to post by crazyewok


I outlined several points to support the idea that this so-called outbreak is very different from previous ones - starting with the fact that it is more than one single outbreak, with several centers and possibly, more than one epicenter.

Obviously the Ebola virus can spread, especially as it's in bats and whether or not they are the reservoir, but the current spread IS unprecedented. Better to admit the truth and look for the reason. Is it climate change? Habitat destruction? Recombination? Something new and unsuspected?

...As far as the European outbreak goes, Europe has transportation and medical systems that Africa can't even dream about. Not a legitimate comparison at all.

crazyewok

soficrow

No one has vaccines or anti-virals that work -

Actually the USA has a very very promising DNA vaccine candidate.

Wish you posted links to substantiate all your various claims. Do you mean this anti-viral?

...on March 5, Canadian firm Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corp. unveiled a project with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which agreed to a fast-track grant to develop TKM-Ebola, an anti-Ebola viral therapeutic, according to a company press release. It would augment what the Canadian company had already put into the project as part of a $140 million contract with the U.S. Department of Defense starting in 2010.

Or this one?

Inovio Pharmaceuticals DNA Vaccine Against Ebola and Marburg Filoviruses Provides Complete Protection in Preclinical Challenge Study

Polyvalent Vaccine Design Stimulates Significant Antibody and T-Cell Responses with 100% Survival Against Multiple Families of Most Lethal Virus Known to Man

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements relating to our business, including our plans to develop electroporation-based drug and gene delivery technologies and DNA vaccines and our capital resources.

reply to post by redshoes


RESTON is a different Ebola strain and is not infectious to humans.

Interesting little bit of Information.

Ebola Outbreaks (not including the current one)



Egyptian fruit bat range:


Hammer-headed bat:


Franquet's epauletted fruit bat:


Little Collared Fruit Bat:




The Egyptian fruit is a bat species they found Marburg in and is suspected along with the megabat species to be a carrier or Ebola. Megabat species of the Hammer-headed bat, Franquet's epauletted fruit bat and Little Collared Fruit Bat has in the past tested positive for Ebola without becoming sick.


National Geographic, October 2007. "Deadly Contact," David Quammen, pp. 78-105.
Deadly Virus found in fruit bats

soficrow


Wish you posted links to substantiate all your various claims.

Not hard to pick up a text book on microbiology

Problem is I cant post link to text books or my brain. A lot of the information is from professors I have worked with or personal knowledge, I dont use the media much.

But yeah the links you posted are what I was on about. Last I heard and this was a couple of years back they were making good progress.

Sad fact is no one cares in the world of Pharma about a few dead Africans, so there no hurry really.

reply to post by soficrow


Yes I know that, but wasn't it presumed that the original strain imported with the first monkey was ebola-Zaire15, which is infectious to humans. The Reston strain, was created through the original virus mutating as it jumped between the different species of monkeys in the monkey house, in the process becoming air borne?

It's worth mentioning, as it demonstrates how the virus has been able to migrate from Zaire to VA before it was detected in the past, however, by sheer fluke of nature, the Reston Variant lost its ability to become infectious to humans.

The point I'm trying to make is that given a similar set of circumstances, it could happen again, and this time the resulting mutated strain could (in theory) retain its lethality to humans.

The longer this current outbreak continues, the more chance there is that the virus will mutate, and how it may mutate is largely unpredictable.

Have you read 'Hotzone'? by the way? or are you getting all your info from the internet?

reply to post by crazyewok


OMG are you for real? Bats?

Jesus Christ:
prediction about virus & bats

I spent ages researching bats and viruses after that... your pulling my leg aren't you?

reply to post by soficrow


Ok I will admit the way it popped up in many places at once is different. The ares its popped up in is too me not odd but yes its strange how it emerged.


My theory is that it may have been spread by contaminated bat meat. I obvious cant back that up, but its a theory in my opinion most likely and one of the better ones.

Thurisaz


your pulling my leg aren't you?

No.

But we are talking African bats here. Plus unless you eat, handle them, them or roll around in there waste I hardly think your at risk.


O and its not 100% proven. Just extremely strongly suspected as both filioviruses have been detected in bats.

reply to post by crazyewok


Nice maps. Thanks. Fruit bats clearly are a key carrier if not the reservoir, but diseases are usually species specific.

* Can you link to evidence that various/several fruit bat species carry Ebola?

* Can you link to information about African fruit bats' long distance flying ranges?

* Can you link to information about fruit bats' relocation in Africa?

soficrow

* Can you link to evidence that various/several fruit bat species carry Ebola?

* Can you link to information about African fruit bats' long distance flying ranges?

* Can you link to information about fruit bats' relocation in Africa?

Il do some digging if you like and get back too you.

The first point I think is in one of the sources I posted but Il take a look for some more.

redshoes
reply to post by soficrow

 

....wasn't it presumed that the original strain imported with the first monkey was ebola-Zaire15, which is infectious to humans. The Reston strain, was created through the original virus mutating as it jumped between the different species of monkeys in the monkey house, in the process becoming air borne? ....demonstrates how the virus has been able to migrate from Zaire to VA before it was detected in the past, however, by sheer fluke of nature, the Reston Variant lost its ability to become infectious to humans.

RESTON was mis-identified in VA as ebola-Zaire15 - it was first thought to be lethal because the monkeys were coinfected with Simian hemorrhagic fever virus (SHFV). RESTON is from the Phillipines and

The genus Ebolavirus of the family Filoviridae currently consists of five species. All species, with the exception of Reston ebolavirus, have been found in Africa and caused severe human diseases. Bats have been implicated as reservoirs for ebolavirus. Reston ebolavirus, discovered in the Philippines, is the only ebolavirus species identified in Asia to date. Whether this virus is prevalent in China is unknown.

Filoviruses are associated with acute fatal hemorrhagic diseases of humans and/or nonhuman primates when they spill over from their wildlife reservoir hosts. The family consists of two genera: Marburgvirus and Ebolavirus[1,2]. Five species of ebolavirus have been identified: Ivory Coast ebolavirus, Sudan ebolavirus, Zaire ebolavirus (EBOV), Reston ebolavirus (RESTV) and Bundibugyo ebolavirus. RESTV is the only known filovirus that does not cause severe disease in humans; however, it can be fatal in monkeys [3].

Also see:

Reston ebolavirus in humans and animals in the Philippines: a review.

....by sheer fluke of nature, the Reston Variant lost its ability to become infectious to humans.

Never was infectious to humans - the only Ebola strain that isn't.

The longer this current outbreak continues, the more chance there is that the virus will mutate, and how it may mutate is largely unpredictable.

My point is that it's already mutating and recombining, perhaps faster than the World Health Organization and other agencies recognize.

Have you read 'Hotzone'? by the way? or are you getting all your info from the internet?

Why don't you read a few of my threads and posts before you ask insulting questions? Although I do consider "the internet" to be the world's best library, and just as reliable if you have any critical thinking ability at all.

The airborne RESTON virus in "The Hot Zone" is not the (Zaire) Ebola virus, which was not known to be airborne. There's always the concern that a deadly virus can go airborne but in this case, for the Zaire Ebola Virus, it was not "already known in the 90's." [Ed. to add: The Hot Zone was published in 1994; airborne experiments infecting monkeys with Ebola were published 1995. Maybe Preston had the inside track.]