Scientists close in on Ebola

Scientists close in on Ebola
October 3, 2009
The Age

SCIENTISTS are closing in on the source of the Ebola and Marburg viruses, two of the world’s most lethal infectious diseases.

After a five-year search in Africa, virus hunters have identified a fruit bat that may be the natural host for both hemorrhage-causing diseases. The viruses also are more widespread than previously thought, according to their research, which will appear in BioMed Central journal.

The study, based on blood tests on more than 2000 bats in Gabon and the Republic of Congo, will help scientists solve a 30-year mystery: which species harbour Ebola and Marburg without getting sick.

Full Article

Here is a more in-depth article
Pro Med Mail-Ebola & Marburg hemorrhagic fever, Egyptian fruit bat – W. Africa

I have been waiting for this. Looks like the source of Ebola and Marburg has been found and the carrier is fruit bats. Considering many Ebola and Marburg outbreaks have started with miners, where bats live there. It would not surprise me if they find a vaccine and treatment for these horrifying diseases.

The first Marburg outbreak happened in 1967 in Germany and Yugoslavia. 31 people were infected and 7 died. Ebola was first known in 1976 in Northern Zaire (Congo), which swept 55 villages. 358 people were infected and 325 died.

Dog suspected source of China plague

Dog suspected source of China plague
Breitbart
Aug 6 07:07 AM US/Eastern

A dog is suspected to be the origin of an outbreak of pneumonic plague in northwest China that has killed three people and left 10,000 under strict quarantine, state media reported.

Ziketan, a remote town in a Tibetan area of Qinghai province, has been locked down since Saturday in an effort to contain the spread of the highly virulent disease.

One patient was in critical condition and eight others were infected, most of them relatives of the first fatality, a 32-year-old herdsman, or local doctors, Xinhua news agency said.

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Odie is not going to like this. This will Garfield more reasons to hate dogs.

Senator questions firing of 3 inspectors general

Senator questions firing of 3 inspectors general
By Tom Hamburger and Peter Wallsten | Tribune Newspapers
June 18, 2009

WASHINGTON – — He was appointed with fanfare as the public watchdog over the government’s multi-billion dollar bailout of the nation’s financial system. But now Neil Barofsky is embroiled in a dispute with the Obama administration that delayed one recent inquiry and sparked questions about his ability to freely investigate.

The disagreement stems from a claim by the Treasury Department that Barofsky is not entirely independent of the agency he is assigned to examine ¿ a claim that has prompted a stern letter from a Republican senator warning that agency officials are encroaching on the integrity of an office created to protect taxpayers.

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, sent the letter Wednesday to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner demanding information about a “dispute over certain Treasury documents” that he said were being “withheld” from Barofsky’s office on a “specious claim of attorney-client privilege.”

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This just got more interesting and worse. Two more inspector generals were fired. It is clear that an inspector general cannot be fired on the spot without a 30 day cooling off period and review. This is serious folks. The firing of Gerald Walpin is the most serious and is illegal.

First U.S. case of Marburg fever treated in Denver

First U.S. case of Marburg fever treated in Denver
The Denver Post
Posted: 02/08/2009 12:30:00 AM MST

WHEAT RIDGE — Exempla Lutheran Medical Center treated a patient in January 2008 who was sick with the nation’s first case of Marburg fever.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has informed the hospital it has confirmed that a patient who got sick during a trip to Uganda had the tropical disease.

Article

Marburg, a relative of Ebola, one of the deadliest known diseases has came to America in the first known filovirus infection to arrive here. Ebola and Marburg are filoviruses and they are noted for their gruesome symptoms of bleeding and vomiting blood. To make matters worse, the mortality rate is from 23 to 90 percent for Marburg, while Ebola has a mortality rate of 50 to 90 percent and kills within 5 to 9 days. Horrible diseases that they are.

Marburg was first known in 1967 in an outbreak in Marburg, Germany, which later spreaded to Belgrade, Yugoslavia. It infected 31 people and killed 7 of them. The origin of Marburg and Ebola is a mystery, but likely bats are the carrier of Marburg and Ebola.