Ebola death toll jumps to 467

Well ATS, this Ebola outbreak is now the largest and the most deadliest on record having killed 467 of the 759 known infected individuals.

The outbreak of the deadly disease is already the largest and deadliest ever, according to the WHO, which previously put the death toll at 399 as of June 23, out of 635 cases.

The 17 percent rise in deaths and 20 percent jump in cases in the space of a week will add urgency to an emergency meeting of 11 West African health ministers in Accra, Ghana on Wednesday and Thursday, which aims to coordinate a regional response.

As you all know, Ebola is a very deadly disease with a 90% mortality rate. It hasn't spread outside of Africa yet but it could very easily spread outside of its borders due to human error or if it mutates and becomes airborn or something. Concerned, ATS?

www.trust.org...

a reply to: lostbook

And alarmingly, more than 10% of the dead er health workers. According to Danish media 50 of them are dead.

That outbreak got out of control a long time ago. And I bet it was at the exact moment Reuters hit us with the "it is under control-bulletin"

Yes, I've had my eye on the spread of this outbreak since the death toll was around 60-90.

It truly is unprecedented (in recent history anyway, *cough, bubonic plague, cough*) as far as the rapid geographical spread is concerned.

The alarming thing to me is that just last week, the numbers I was seeing were in the 500 range. Even more troubling, there's been talk in the press of Liberia "fudging the numbers" and only "officially reporting" cases that were confirmed by lab testing, roughly only 60% of cases if I recall correctly.

a reply to: lostbook

This is the first time that Ebola has actually hit in urban areas outside of the small African villages it usually devastated. It will be very interesting to see how they contain this thing before it spreads outside of Africa. They're now fighting a monster they've never dealt with before.

Yes, this has gotten my attention before this point, but now I am really getting concerned. My concern is that it mutates and becomes airborne, and rather than warn the public they downplay it out of fear of panic among the population.
The number of deaths keep growing, but is it still localized, or has it spread to more neighboring countries recently?

originally posted by: Rezlooper
a reply to: lostbook

This is the first time that Ebola has actually hit in urban areas outside of the small African villages it usually devastated.

To make matters even worse, Ebola was reported by aid workers to have reached the capitol Monrovia some time back.

That would be the Monrovia with the Monrovia International Airport. Scary stuff that the scary stuff get so little attention.

a reply to: DupontDeux

Yeah, they're trying not to be alarmist, but I think it's time they sound the alarms. The MSM isn't really covering this story at all and it should be. I wonder when it will get the attention it deserves.

I have also been watching this fairly closely. Ebola was once a virus that would (pretty much anyway) stay isolated to a small village here or even neighboring villages has now hung on this time to be a regional scare (for now). I mainly worry about it mutating before the outbreak is contained. In the past most of these outbreaks have been small and contained for the most part. This time it's different...it's not contained and the situation is not under control. If it does not mutate we will probably see it die down over the next 60-90 days. If a mutation takes place before then I have no idea what will happen. I do not think it will be global even with a mutation at this stage BUT I am not a scientist so what do I know! My older brother just returned from a mission trip to Africa a few days ago but he was not in an area of concern and he saw no mention of Ebola during his 2 weeks there. Time will tell.....hope for the best.

originally posted by: SpaDe_
Yes, this has gotten my attention before this point, but now I am really getting concerned. My concern is that it mutates and becomes airborne, and rather than warn the public they downplay it out of fear of panic among the population.
The number of deaths keep growing, but is it still localized, or has it spread to more neighboring countries recently?

It started in Feb. '14 in rural Guinea. By late May, there were cases announced in Sierra Leone. Mid-June, Liberia.

Three countries so far.

On June 23, 2014, Doctors without Borders, "the only aid organisation treating people affected by the Ebola virus", warned "that it has reached the limits of what its teams can do."

“The epidemic is out of control,” says Dr Bart Janssens, MSF director of operations. “With the appearance of new sites in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, there is a real risk of it spreading to other areas.”

Difficulties faced in attempting to contain the outbreak include the outbreak's multiple locations across country borders, inadequate precautions taken by medical personnel, funeral practices, and community resistance including: "freeing" suspected Ebola patients from isolation, attacking aid workers, and suspecting that the disease is caused by witchcraft or that doctors are killing patients. As of 23 June 2014, the disease had spread to "60 separate locations across the three countries."

Reportage I've seen so far suggests that if it were to spread much further, Paris would be the most likely to be affected.

a reply to: CloudsTasteMetallic

Thanks for the response. I was aware of the three countries so far, but didn't know if more were reported to have cases. If it spreads to Paris I don't know how the MSM could continue to ignore and or downplay it like they have been. Lets hope they contain it and it dies out before it mutates or spreads further.

And alarmingly, more than 10% of the dead er health workers. According to Danish media 50 of them are dead.

Wow.

Here's another link to an article with the all the current numbers from the WHO in a table at Business Insider.

The disease's spread seemed to slow down for a while, but has picked up in recent weeks. An estimated 759 people have been infected, and 467 have died in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. While it's likely that many cases go uncounted, the Associated Press notes that previously, the largest reported death toll was in the Congo in 1976, when 280 people died. (The most widespread outbreak infected 425 people in Uganda in 2000, killing 224.)

and if you're not sweating a little yet, here's some scary quotes from the BI source:

"The epidemic is now in a second wave," Bart Janssens, the director of operations for Doctors Without Borders told the Associated Press. "It is totally out of control."

In an interview with NBC News, Robert Garry, a microbiology professor at the Tulane University School of Medicine, warned that the outbreak so far is just "the tip of the iceberg."

It doesn't sound like things are going well at all.

a reply to: lostbook

Here's some information from WIKI for anyone who has questions about it:

Ebola virus disease (EVD) or Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) is the human disease caused by ebola viruses. Symptoms start two days to three weeks after contracting the virus with a fever, throat and muscle pains, and headaches. There is then nausea, vomiting and diarrhea along with decreased functioning of the liver and kidneys. At this point some people begin to have problems with bleeding.[1]

The disease is first acquired by a population when a person comes into contact with the blood or bodily fluids of an infected animal such as a monkey or fruit bat. Fruit bats are believed to carry and spread the disease without being affected by it. Once infected the disease may be spread from one person to another. Men who survive may be able to transmit the disease sexually for nearly two months. To make the diagnosis, typically other diseases with similar symptoms such as malaria, cholera and other viral hemorrhagic fever are excluded. The blood may then be tested for either antibodies to the virus, the viral DNA, or the virus itself to confirm the diagnosis.[1]

Prevention involves decreasing the spread of the disease from infected monkeys and pigs to humans. This may be done by checking these animals for infection and killing and properly disposing of the bodies if the disease is discovered. Properly cooking meat and wearing protective clothing when handling meat may be helpful, as may wearing protective clothing and washing hands when around someone sick with the disease. Samples from people with the disease should be handled with an extra degree of caution.[1]

There is no specific treatment for the virus with efforts to help people including giving the person either oral rehydration therapy or intravenous fluids. The disease has a high death rate: possibly up to 90%. It typically occurs in outbreaks in tropical regions of Sub-Saharan Africa.[1] Between 1976, when it was first identified, and 2014, fewer than 1,000 people a year have been infected.[1][2] The largest outbreak as of 2014 was the 2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak, which affected Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.[2] The disease was first identified in the Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Efforts are ongoing to develop a vaccine; however, none exists as of 2014.[1]

Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia are major hubs in Africa with outlets for the disease to spread quickly. The WHO needs to start to take Ebola seriously because it's going primetime, it seems.

a reply to: theantediluvian

Ebola is usually "too deadly, too fast" to spread so quickly. It's quite frankly too good at what it does.

The average time between contracting the infection and the onset of symptoms is 13 days, but can be as long as 25 days. Patients are not contagious while the virus is incubating, only once symptoms have started showing. Human-to-human transmission occurs via direct contact (open wound, mucous membranes, etc) with blood or bodily fluids from an infected person (including embalming of an infected dead person) or by contact with contaminated medical equipment such as needles.

The potential for widespread EVD epidemics is considered low due to the high case-fatality rate, the rapidity of demise of patients, and the often remote areas where infections occur.

The main hurdles in containing this seem to be in cultural differences, such as traditional African funeral and burial rites, also an inherent distrust of the health workers.

I'd probably be suspicious of anyone wearing a full hazmat suit too.

Here's a map from CDC, current as of June 27th. Source

Biggest nightmare getting worse...and Ill be moving closer... joy.

a reply to: DupontDeux

And alarmingly, more than 10% of the dead er health workers. According to Danish media 50 of them are dead.

When people get sick they go to a hospital and spread the virus to doctors and nurses causing a quarantine and shutting the place down.

Thats part of the insidiousness of the plaque in the modern world.

The other part is that people who think they may have been exposed but aren't sure tend to run away from quarantine. They flee ahead of the containment hiding as far way as they can. Thus spreading the virus to others and creating another micro break. Even when they begin to show symptoms they will deny it because first symptoms are flu like.

The only way to stop this cluster of micro breaks is to trace the contacts of people that have been exposed and quarantine them until they either get it or not. Fear causes people who are still n the incubation stage to try and hide from the authorities. Their logic being, I may not have it and I refuse to be quarantined with others who do and maybe get it for sure…

The skill of the health workers in enforcing quarantine may not be up to the same standards in the west, making it even worse.

So here we are. At some point if they don;t get a handle on it things will reach a critical mass…

Ebola sees people as meat to burn through, like fire sees a forest of trees.

a reply to: CloudsTasteMetallic

Thats scary. A cluster of micro breaks. If they are not careful things there could slip out of hand.

Ebola is 24 hours from anywhere on earth by jet liner.

a reply to: intrptr

Very true. The thing that stuck out to me most from the map, was the outbreaks in Conkary (Capital of Ginuea, population 2 million) Freetown, and Monrovia, all fairly major shipping ports. Why fly when you can sail?

Edit!!!
Opps sorry, just saw the Spain ebola case was negative.

a reply to: CloudsTasteMetallic
Thanks for the map, it helps get a handle on it, not to say it's any less scary