Daniel Flynn and Saliou Samb, of Reuters, publish Senegal shuts land border with Guinea to prevent Ebola spreading, reporting the death toll has now reached 70. If all of these cases are confirmed to be Ebola, this will qualify as the worst outbreak in Africa in seven years. Liberia and Sierra Leone have now reported 11 suspected deaths from Ebola of people recently traveling to Guinea.
The vast majority of the cases in Guinea have been detected in the country's remote southeast, near the border with Sierra Leone and Liberia. It took authorities nearly six weeks to identify it as Ebola, allowing the virus to spread.
The arrival of the disease this week in the capital Conakry, where hundreds of thousands of people live tightly packed in rambling shanties, marked a sharp increase in the population at risk compared with the sparsely populated villages of the forested interior.
"There have been delays in applying certain measures in our health system," Keita told a news conference, noting six medical staff were among those killed by the disease. "From today, strict hygiene measures will be observed in our hospitals." ... There is no vaccine and no known cure for Ebola, which initially induces fever, headaches, muscle pain and weakness. In its more acute phase, Ebola causes vomiting, diarrhoea and external bleeding that carry the virus outside victims' bodies and threaten to infect anyone who touches them.
Although this Zaire strain of Ebola is the deadliest, with a mortality rate of up to 90%, with an adequate medical response it should be containable because it kills its victims relatively quickly, and requires direct contact with an infected person, their bodily fluids, or and object they have touched. Unfortunately, the medical infrastructure in this region is woefully inadequate. Here we see another example where government plays a vital role in protecting the public good, that the for-profit sector either can not, or will not, serve.
Yesterday, and the day before, I reported here that bats have been identified as the hidden reservoir harboring the virus for long period of years and even decades between outbreaks. For reasons that do not seem to be understood, Ebola does not effect bats. Consumption and selling of bats in Guinea and all surrounding countries has been banned.
Grilled bat, and bat soup are a delicacy in some areas, however, the biggest problem seems to be that that the dwindling fishery stocks are driving people to look for alternative food sources.
This tragic epidemic remind us how lucky we are to have a Center for Disease Control, and National Institute of Health and other government health agencies here. The next time some ignorant person suggests we shut down government agencies and let the free market take care of our social needs please let them know that they are poorly informed and tell them about this epidemic.
9:21 PM PT: Thanks to Nchristine for suggestion that "for-profit companies will not serve."
Speaking of changes, Instead of
The next time some ignorant person suggests we shut down government agencies and let the free market take care of our social needs please let them know that they are poorly informed and tell them about this epidemic.
Which although very similar, has some subtle differences in tone.
The next time some ignorant person suggests we shut down government agencies and let the free market take care of our social needs please let them know that they are stupid frigging morons and they should pull their heads out of their asses, and tell them about this epidemic.
I was also going to put in a nasty comment about Rick Perry, but then I ask, is it nice, is its necessary, is it true? And, also then I thought people might think I was one of those angry leftists, with unresolved anger issues, who don't know how to deal civilly with our colleagues across the aisle, and be invited to leave. So I went with the milder version, which makes me sound a bit like a mush head.
I'm looking for a slightly edgier, younger image, with more street cred, and more attractiveness to the ladies. Any suggestions on how to strike a happy medium?
