I IRREVOCABLY BELIEVE THAT APPLIED KNOWLEDGE IS POWER. PONDER MY THOUGHTS AS I PUT THIS RAPIDLY-FATAL EBOLA VIRUS DISEASE INTO PROPER PERSPECTIVE. The Ebola virus is extremely rare. Among the leading causes of death in Africa, it only accounts for a tiny fraction. People are much more likely to die from AIDS, respiratory infections, or diarrhea, as you can see. There are five strains of Ebola, four of which have caused the disease in humans: Zaire, Sudan, Taï Forest, and Bundibugyo. The fifth, Reston, has infected nonhuman primates only. The current outbreak involves the Zaire strain, which was discovered in 1976 — the year Ebola was first identified in what was then Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). That same year, the virus was also discovered in South Sudan. Though scientists havent been able to confirm this, the animal host of Ebola is widely believed to be the fruit bat, and the virus only seldomly makes the leap into humans. Since 1976, there have only been about 20 known Ebola outbreaks. Until last year, the total impact of these outbreaks included 2,357 cases and 1,548 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They all occurred in isolated or remote areas of Africa, and Ebola never had a chance to go very far. And thats what makes the 2014 outbreak so remarkable: the virus has spread to five countries in Africa, and already infected 6,263 people. It has killed 2,917 people. That is more than double the sum total of all previous outbreaks combined.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Sep 2014 06:15:10 +0000
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