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| -Signs, Portents, and the Weather- |
| Ebola death toll tops 4,900 as virus spreads - WHO |
| 2014-10-28 |
| [ENNAHARONLINE] The corpse count from the Ebola epidemic rose to 4,922 out of 10,141 known cases in eight countries through Oct. 23, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday. The virus, which reached Mali through a two-year-old girl who died on Friday, now threatens Ivory Coast, having infected people virtually all along its borders with Guinea and Liberia. Ivory Coast is the world's biggest cocoa producer. The Ebola outbreak has hurt the economic growth that has been raising living standards in the region. The three worst-hit countries of West Africa -- Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone -- account for the bulk of the world's worst Ebola outbreak, recording 4,912 deaths out of 10,114 cases, the WHO said in its update. The overall figures include outbreaks in Nigeria and Senegal ... a nation of about 14 million on the west coast of Africa bordering Mauretania to the north, Mali to the east, and a pair of Guineas to the south, one of them Bissau. It is 90 percent Mohammedan and has more than 80 political parties. Its primary purpose seems to be absorbing refugees... , deemed by the WHO to be now over, as well as isolated cases in Spain, the United States and a single case in Mali. But the true toll may be three times as much: by a factor of 1.5 in Guinea, 2 in Sierra Leone and 2.5 in Liberia, while the death rate is thought to be about 70 percent of all cases. The WHO has said that many families are keeping infected people at home rather than putting them into isolation in treatment centres, some of which have refused patients due to a lack of beds and basic supplies. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #6 the region does have a past history - numbering upwards of a dozen instances - of having previously contained emerging outbreaks. The virus may be different this time around - the little sumbitches do mutate. But Africa itself is different. More people and a whole lot more connectivity. Roads and transportation mean you can get to another village/city/country pretty quick compared to years gone by. And once you are in a city, there are buses and planes to take you anywhere... |
| Posted by: SteveS 2014-10-28 21:45 |
| #5 I've not been keeping track, as closely as I should have, in order to be making comments - but with the news about Ebola screaming from every corner of every news website - I'm pretty sure that they were all recording around 10,000 infections and 5,000 deaths ten days ago - with predictions that by October month-end, there would be 20,000/50,000/250,000 (pick a large number) dead. I'm not trying to make light of the problem, but - I think that the Draconian countermeasures that have naturally arisen in the hard-hit areas in the face of the pestilence have - in fact - served their purpose well. Although this "epidemic" has been worse than previous outbreaks, the region does have a past history - numbering upwards of a dozen instances - of having previously contained emerging outbreaks. Necessity is indeed the mother of invention - and DIRE necessity creates a very motivated mother. My guess is that this thing has peaked, and is on its way in the right direction. |
| Posted by: Lone Ranger 2014-10-28 21:16 |
| #4 Elementary JohnQC. It is an exponential growth. If there were two active cases today then in three weeks there would be four. So, since there are at least a thousand active cases now, in three weeks there will be two thousand. Except reporting spotty, so there are really three thousand active cases now, and there will be 6,000 in three weeks. Anyone reading this who doesn't have a month or two worth of food stashed, really needs to get that. |
| Posted by: rammer 2014-10-28 20:22 |
| #3 If it is so difficult to catch as is said by the CDC, why are so many dying in Africa? Why is the death rate climbing so rapidly? |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2014-10-28 11:38 |
| #2 reuters is now reporting death toll has topped 5000 but it's not the death toll that counts... it's the new infections my calculations say 8000 for the month to Oct 31, 17,000 for November |
| Posted by: anon1 2014-10-28 10:57 |
| #1 Is/was Samantha Power going to be quarantined for 21 days when she returns/returned from West Africa ebola inspection tour? It only seems right. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2014-10-28 08:28 |