Are pigs a potential source of an Ebola pandemic in Africa and elsewhere? There are at least 288,000 pigs in Liberia where Ebola has broken out in people. Could Ebola-infected pigs spread Ebola throughout the country? The World Health Organization on Ebola: "Pig farms in Africa can play a role in the amplification of infection because of the presence of fruit bats on these farms." New York Times article mentions pigs eating garbage in Conakry, the capital of Guinea (where Ebola is spreading now)
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Friday, April 18, 2014
Thursday, April 17, 2014
West Africa's Ebola outbreak has killed nearly 150, UN says
http://www.41nbc.com/story/d/story/west-africas-ebola-outbreak-has-killed-nearly-150/12731/3_i0wlbXEEu0CV4WnpBh
"In a statement posted on its website Thursday, the U.N. health agency said authorities have identified more than 220 suspected or confirmed cases of the disease in the two countries. Nearly 200 of those are in Guinea."
"In a statement posted on its website Thursday, the U.N. health agency said authorities have identified more than 220 suspected or confirmed cases of the disease in the two countries. Nearly 200 of those are in Guinea."
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Is Guinea covering up the size of the Ebola epidemic?
Guinea: Nine new Ebola deaths, including two doctors
http://crofsblogs.typepad.com/h5n1/2014/04/guinea-nine-new-ebola-death-including-two-doctors.html
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Monday, April 14, 2014
Sunday, April 13, 2014
Ebola death toll in Liberia had reached 12
http://www.thenewdawnliberia.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11396:ebola-kills-2-health-workers&catid=46:health&Itemid=60
Saturday, April 12, 2014
News slow in coming from Ebola-affected countries
Reporters seem to be holding their fire on a story that is threatening the regional economy.
Friday, April 11, 2014
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Are Bats Spreading Ebola Across Sub-Saharan Africa?
"Ebola is not a stranger to West Africa—an outbreak in the 1990s killed
chimpanzees and sickened one researcher. But the species
of virus that has so far killed more than 100
people in Guinea has only been seen before in Central Africa. Scientists
are
combing the forests, and the genome of the virus
itself, looking for clues to how this strain ended up so far west, and
whether
its spread suggests people in forested areas all
across sub-Saharan Africa are at risk."
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/344/6180/140.short
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/344/6180/140.short
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Liberians Face More Ebola Danger: ‘Suspects’ Go Hiding
http://sengbeh.wordpress.com/2014/04/09/lliberians-face-more-ebola-danger-suspects-go-hiding/
"Deaths relating to the incurable Ebola virus in Liberia have hit at least 12."
"Deaths relating to the incurable Ebola virus in Liberia have hit at least 12."
3.5 million pigs in Nigeria
http://www.fao.org/livestock/agaP/Frg/FEEDback/War/t1300b/t1300b0g.htm
Potential vectors for Ebola if it moves into the country from Guinea?
Potential vectors for Ebola if it moves into the country from Guinea?
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
WHO Reports On Ebolavirus, Emergency Response And Disease Transmission
WHO finally mentions pigs as possible source of Ebola.
http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1113114635/understanding-ebolavirus-new-cases-who-reports-040714/
http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1113114635/understanding-ebolavirus-new-cases-who-reports-040714/
It is assumed that fruit bats
are the most common natural host of ebolavirus in Africa. It is further
assumed that most wildlife that suffer from ebolavirus is the result of
contact with saliva or feces from infected fruit bats. Humans get the
disease by contact with these infected animals, such as pigs or monkeys,
or by direct contact with infected bats
Read more at http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1113114635/understanding-ebolavirus-new-cases-who-reports-040714/#IVGgSkH37vOxP0dU.99
Read more at http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1113114635/understanding-ebolavirus-new-cases-who-reports-040714/#IVGgSkH37vOxP0dU.99
It is assumed that fruit bats
are the most common natural host of ebolavirus in Africa. It is further
assumed that most wildlife that suffer from ebolavirus is the result of
contact with saliva or feces from infected fruit bats. Humans get the
disease by contact with these infected animals, such as pigs or monkeys,
or by direct contact with infected bats
Read more at http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1113114635/understanding-ebolavirus-new-cases-who-reports-040714/#IVGgSkH37vOxP0dU.99
Read more at http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1113114635/understanding-ebolavirus-new-cases-who-reports-040714/#IVGgSkH37vOxP0dU.99
It is assumed that fruit bats are the most common natural host of ebolavirus in Africa. It is further assumed that most wildlife that suffer from ebolavirus is the result of contact with saliva or feces from infected fruit bats. Humans get the disease by contact with these infected animals, such as pigs or monkeys, or by direct contact with infected bats.
It is assumed that fruit bats
are the most common natural host of ebolavirus in Africa. It is further
assumed that most wildlife that suffer from ebolavirus is the result of
contact with saliva or feces from infected fruit bats. Humans get the
disease by contact with these infected animals, such as pigs or monkeys,
or by direct contact with infected bats.
Read more at http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1113114635/understanding-ebolavirus-new-cases-who-reports-040714/#IVGgSkH37vOxP0dU.99
Read more at http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1113114635/understanding-ebolavirus-new-cases-who-reports-040714/#IVGgSkH37vOxP0dU.99
It is assumed that fruit bats
are the most common natural host of ebolavirus in Africa. It is further
assumed that most wildlife that suffer from ebolavirus is the result of
contact with saliva or feces from infected fruit bats. Humans get the
disease by contact with these infected animals, such as pigs or monkeys,
or by direct contact with infected bats.
Read more at http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1113114635/understanding-ebolavirus-new-cases-who-reports-040714/#IVGgSkH37vOxP0dU.99
Read more at http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1113114635/understanding-ebolavirus-new-cases-who-reports-040714/#IVGgSkH37vOxP0dU.99
Monday, April 7, 2014
The African Ebola outbreak that keeps getting worse
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/04/07/the-african-pandemic-that-keeps-getting-worse/?tid=hp_mm
"Then there’s the fact that Ebola deaths are particularly gruesome. The disease comes from an infected animal – most likely the fruit bat, which infects monkeys, apes, pigs and, finally, humans. The disease is not airborne, but spreads through blood, secretions or other bodily fluids. Its early symptoms include fever and intense weakness, WHO says, then deepens with bouts of diarrhea, vomiting, and internal and external bleeding."
"Then there’s the fact that Ebola deaths are particularly gruesome. The disease comes from an infected animal – most likely the fruit bat, which infects monkeys, apes, pigs and, finally, humans. The disease is not airborne, but spreads through blood, secretions or other bodily fluids. Its early symptoms include fever and intense weakness, WHO says, then deepens with bouts of diarrhea, vomiting, and internal and external bleeding."
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Saturday, April 5, 2014
CBS: Ebola breaks out on a scale never seen before
Once again, wild pigs are not mentioned as bushmeat.
From Vice News: Medical Response to Ebola Outbreak
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/j35v8wi8W_k" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
WHO: Ebola virus disease, West Africa (Situation as of 5 April 2014)
5 April 2014 – As at 4 April 2014, the Ministry of
Health of Guinea has reported a cumulative total of 143 clinically
compatible cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD), of which 54 are
laboratory confirmed by PCR. The total number includes 86 deaths (CFR
60%). New cases have been reported from Conakry, Guekedou and Macenta;
23 patients are currently in isolation units. The date of onset of the
most recent laboratory confirmed case is 3 April. The current number of
clinical and confirmed cases and deaths by place of report is Conakry
(18 cases, including 5 deaths), Guekedou (85 cases/59 deaths), Macenta
(27 cases/14 deaths), Kissidougou (9 cases/5 deaths), and Dabola and
Djingaraye combined (4 cases/3 deaths).
http://www.afro.who.int/en/media-centre/pressreleases/item/6429-ebola-virus-disease-west-africa-situation-as-of-5-april-2014.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:%20who-press-releases%20%28WHO/AFRO%20-%20Press%20Releases%29
http://www.afro.who.int/en/media-centre/pressreleases/item/6429-ebola-virus-disease-west-africa-situation-as-of-5-april-2014.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:%20who-press-releases%20%28WHO/AFRO%20-%20Press%20Releases%29
Friday, April 4, 2014
Fear and frustration as Guinea struggles to contain Ebola outbreak
"Virus has claimed 84 lives and jumped borders to Sierra Leone and Liberia, raising concerns that it could sweep across region."
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Liberia: Close the Border
http://allafrica.com/stories/201404030861.html
"Following extensive deliberation by the National Executive Committee of Liberty Party at its regular Tuesday meeting, the party has reasoned that it will be in the best interest of Liberia to have its borders with the Republic of Guinea closed in the wake of an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in that country which has now entered Liberia."
"Following extensive deliberation by the National Executive Committee of Liberty Party at its regular Tuesday meeting, the party has reasoned that it will be in the best interest of Liberia to have its borders with the Republic of Guinea closed in the wake of an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in that country which has now entered Liberia."
BBC: Man lost 10 relatives to Ebola
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-26868674
These numbers raise the question of whether there has been a serious undercount of Ebola cases.
These numbers raise the question of whether there has been a serious undercount of Ebola cases.
Ebola cases confirmed in Sierra Leone
http://www.ibtimes.com/fears-ebola-outbreak-spreading-guinea-unfounded-health-officials-say-1566750
Three species of wild pig occur in Sierra Leone:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildlife_of_Sierra_Leone
Three species of wild pig occur in Sierra Leone:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildlife_of_Sierra_Leone
Mali's health minister says three suspected cases of the deadly Ebola virus have been detected in the country after an outbreak in Guinea
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/04/04/mali-reports-three-suspected-ebola-cases
Wikipedia on Mali:
Mali i/ˈmɑːli/, officially the Republic of Mali (French: République du Mali, French pronunciation: [maˈli]), is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali is bordered by Algeria to the north, Niger to the east, Burkina Faso and Côte d'Ivoire to the south, Guinea to the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania to the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 square kilometres (480,000 sq mi) with a population of 14.5 million. Its capital is Bamako.
Factfish: As of 2011 Mali had about 79,000 pigs: http://www.factfish.com/statistic-country/mali/pigs
Senegal has at least 364,000 potential pigs carriers of Ebola
Source: Factfish: http://www.factfish.com/statistic-country/senegal/pigs
A sign of things to come?
A sign of things to come?
Epidemiology of Staphylococcus aureus in pigs and farmers in the largest farm in Dakar, Senegal.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22953738
Zoom Dosso of AFP: Liberia reports suspected Ebola outbreak unconnected to Guinea
http://news.yahoo.com/liberia-reports-suspected-ebola-outbreak-unconnected-guinea-130714958.html;_ylt=AwrBEiFsmz1TRCoAQCnQtDMD
Ebola Reston Virus Infection of Pigs: Clinical Significance and Transmission Potential
http://jid.oxfordjournals.org/content/204/suppl_3/S804.full
Abstract
In 2008, Reston ebolavirus
(REBOV) was isolated from pigs during a disease investigation in the
Philippines. Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome
virus (PRRSV) and porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV-2)
infections were also confirmed in affected herds and the contribution
of REBOV to the disease outbreak remains uncertain.
We have conducted experimental challenge studies in 5-week-old pigs,
with
exposure of animals to 106 TCID50
of a 2008 swine isolate of REBOV via either the oronasal or
subcutaneous route. Replication of virus in internal organs and
viral shedding from the nasopharynx were documented
in the absence of clinical signs of disease in infected pigs. These
observations
confirm not only that asymptomatic infection of
pigs with REBOV occurs, but that animals so affected pose a transmission
risk
to farm, veterinary, and abattoir workers.
The Scientist on Pigs and Ebola
Ebola from Pigs to Monkeys
A deadly Ebola virus can
spread from pigs to monkeys without direct contact, pointing to pig
farms as a possible contributor to outbreaks.
Ebola and Pigs in Liberia
Liberia, where Ebola has broken out, is now the home to at least 288,000 (potentially Ebola-carrying) pigs.
Factfish on the number of pigs in Liberia: http://www.factfish.com/statistic-country/liberia/pigs
Factfish on the number of pigs in Liberia: http://www.factfish.com/statistic-country/liberia/pigs
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