RandomGuy
10-10-2008, 02:27 PM
GENEVA – The U.N. health agency says it is investigating a mystery disease that killed three people in the South African city of Johannesburg.
The World Health Organization says the disease appears to be a form of hemorrhagic fever.
It says tests have proved negative for Ebola, Lassa fever, Rift Valley fever, Marburg fever and other main types of hemorrhagic fever.
WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl says the first death on Sept. 13 was a tour guide who had fallen ill in Zambia before being evacuated to South Africa. Two further deaths on Sept. 30 and Oct. 4. involved a paramedic and a nurse who treated the woman.
Hartl said Friday that 121 people are being monitored and WHO hopes to receive further test results by Sunday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081010/ap_on_re_af/un_un_mystery_disease
In movies and books, diseases that end up killing off the bulk of humanity always start off with little blurbs like this.
This probably isn't going to do that, but that is always what I think of when I see short, vague news stories like this.
The fact that two health workers exposed to the initial victim are dead within 2-4 weeks of exposure says that this is likley a quick killer and unlikely to be that civilization ending type of disease.
The charactoristics of a civilization ending disease:
1) High mortality rate
2) High transmission rate
3) Long incubation period
This seems to have the first two, but not the last one.
Just thought I would interject these cheery thoughts into your day.
The World Health Organization says the disease appears to be a form of hemorrhagic fever.
It says tests have proved negative for Ebola, Lassa fever, Rift Valley fever, Marburg fever and other main types of hemorrhagic fever.
WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl says the first death on Sept. 13 was a tour guide who had fallen ill in Zambia before being evacuated to South Africa. Two further deaths on Sept. 30 and Oct. 4. involved a paramedic and a nurse who treated the woman.
Hartl said Friday that 121 people are being monitored and WHO hopes to receive further test results by Sunday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081010/ap_on_re_af/un_un_mystery_disease
In movies and books, diseases that end up killing off the bulk of humanity always start off with little blurbs like this.
This probably isn't going to do that, but that is always what I think of when I see short, vague news stories like this.
The fact that two health workers exposed to the initial victim are dead within 2-4 weeks of exposure says that this is likley a quick killer and unlikely to be that civilization ending type of disease.
The charactoristics of a civilization ending disease:
1) High mortality rate
2) High transmission rate
3) Long incubation period
This seems to have the first two, but not the last one.
Just thought I would interject these cheery thoughts into your day.