- Written by Wade C. L. Williams, wade.williams@frontpageafricaonline.com
- Published: 16 September 2014
Monrovia - The
spread of the deadly Ebola Virus knocked Liberians off their feet and
crippled an already broken health system, leaving the health care
delivery in a total mess.
Some Liberians who may not have the
luxury of sophistication in education still hold the view that the
disease is not ordinary to the extent that some believe it was exported
into the African forest by what they call ‘The White man’.
Famata Jabateh used to sell bush meat at the Duala Market but now she has gone underground with her soul always looking out for the Police and thoroughly, making sure that her potential buyers are not in a covert operation to seize her supply.
“There is nothing else for us to do. So I have to continue to sell my meat. They say Ebola from Monkey meat? Who say Ebola from Monkey meat? That the white people bring an Ebola here,” she said angrily snapping her fingers.
“You know I hear say Obama bringing hospital here, you think America will just bring hospital here if they not know about this thing here? Your leave peoples here ya, we know where this thing coming from. That the white people bring an Ebola here.”
The government placed a ban on the sale of bush meat because it is believed that the deadly virus is also spreading through the consumption of the product, which is a delicacy for many tribes in Liberia.But Jabateh’s view is far from the reality in the scientific world at the moment about what is causing the outbreak.
Jabateh’s assertion that the disease may have been exported to West Africa also supports widespread conspiracy theories that have been making rounds in the academic circles since the beginning of the deadly Ebola outbreak.
Many pundits have alleged that there is an Ebola Vaccine that US Pentagon scientists were developing for 30 years, and all the rights for the drug belong to the government of the United States. These pundits believe Ebola is a perfect biological weapon because it spreads quickly with a nearly 90 percent mortality rate in some cases.
Ebola is listed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a possible bioterrorism agent, but experts say that does not necessarily mean the virus could be used in a bomb. These experts pointed to three key reasons why Ebola is unlikely to be used as a bioterrorism agent anytime in the near future.
Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, CEO of SecureBio, a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear security firm in the United Kingdom told CBS News that once a live host was captured, it would need to be transported to a "suitably equipped" laboratory, in order to extract the virus. Such laboratories, known as Category 4 or Biosafety level 4 Labs, are not easy to come by.
Experts say there are less than two-dozen Category 4 laboratories in the world and failure to work in one of these labs when handling the Ebola virus would likely results in the death of whoever is doing the weaponizing.
Some Experts say to make Ebola into a biological weapon a terrorist organization would need to first obtain a live host infected with the virus, either a human or an animal.
Many Liberians have wondered whether this is the reason for countries in the West airlifting their citizens who contract the deadly disease, so they do not fall in the hand. The United States have now safely treated three of its citizens who were working as medical aid workers and contracted the disease in Liberia. All have recovered from the deadly virus.
“If a terrorist organization were able to obtain a host, gain access to a Category 4 Lab and isolate the virus, they still would have a lot of work to do before they could use Ebola as a biological weapon,” de Bretton-Gordon said.
"The process to weaponize a biological agent is complex and multi-staged, involving enrichment, refining, toughening, milling and preparation." The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa has nothing to do with biological warfare.
During a recent visit to Liberia CDC Dr. Kevin DeCock doubted the potential for a biological weapon coming out of this current Ebola outbreak. He said it would be difficult and has never before been proven that Ebola has been used as a biological weapon.
“There is no evidence that Ebola has been used as a biological weapon by anybody or under any circumstances. It is believed and thought that the natural reservoir of Ebola is in nature, probably in fruit bats,” he said.
“What happens usually is that humans get infected, by contact with bats; sometimes by other species of animals in the forest that it is infected with the Ebola like monkeys. Or chimpanzees and then human-to-human infection is established and then there is human-to-human spread. That’s what we think has happened in all Ebola epidemics.”
But he did not dismiss the fear expressed by many that some troublemakers to produce what the world dread the most, could exploit the disease. “The reason that it is mentioned in the context of biological weapons is that there have been instances of intentional transmission of certain infectious agents including diseases such as Anthrax,” said Dr. De Cock.
“There is a greater fear that these dangerous viruses like Ebola virus, if they fell into the hands of the wrong people could be used. So there is a lot od emphasis on security of laboratories and the containment of specimens of these types of viruses or similar agents.”
Already the world is not looking at the West Africa Ebola outbreak as an African problem anymore. Organizations such as the WHO and the CDC has said the outbreak is unprecedented and spiraling out of control therefore a global action is needed to combat it. Governments around the world are stepping up efforts to contain the outbreak.
America has come up with a two-pronged strategy, according to the Associated Press, something that will be detailed by President Barack Obama in his Tuesday message on Ebola.
The US is set to step up desperately needed aid to West Africa and, in an unusual step, train U.S. doctors and nurses for volunteer duty in the outbreak zone. At home, the goal is to speed up medical research and put hospitals on alert should an infected traveler arrive. President Obama has called the outbreak a national security priority and is to travel to Atlanta on Tuesday to deliver his much awaited speech on the Ebola crisis during a visit to the CDC, the White House said.
During his visit, Obama is to be briefed about the outbreak and discuss the U.S. Response with officials, according to AP. The administration hasn't said how big a role the military ultimately will play — and it's not clear how quickly additional promised help will arrive to the stricken region. "This is also not everything we can and should be doing," Sen. Chris Coons, who chairs a Foreign Relations subcommittee that oversees African issues, told the US Senate last week.
He called for expanded military efforts and for President Obama to appoint someone to coordinate the entire government's Ebola response. Supplies aren't the greatest need: "Trained health professionals for these Ebola treatment units is a critical shortage," said Dr. Steve Monroe of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC.
The U.S. The government has spent more than $100 million so far, said Ned Price of the National Security Council. Last week, the U.S. Agency for International Development announced it would spend up to $75 million more to provide 1,000 treatment beds in Liberia and 130,000 protective suits for health workers. The Obama administration has asked Congress for another $88 million to send additional supplies and public health experts, and to develop potential Ebola medications and vaccines.
Also, the State Department has signed a six-month contract, estimated at up to $4.9 million, for a Georgia-based air ambulance to be on call to evacuate any Ebola-infected government employees, and other U.S. aid workers when possible.
"The ability to evacuate patients infected with the Ebola virus is a critical capability," Dr. William Walters, the State Department's director of operational medicine. The current distribution of the infection is said to be a continuation of a dangerous outbreak of the disease since 1982. Russian doctors have developed an experimental vaccine against the deadly Ebola virus The Moscow Times cited Russia’s Health Minister VeronikaSkvortsova as saying.
The Russian team responsible for researching the deadly virus — including employees of the Ivanov Institute under the Russian Health Ministry and an employee from Russia's health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor worked in Guinea, which is the epicenter of the outbreak. The outbreak, which world health experts have termed as "racing ahead of the control efforts" in the affected countries is said to get worse before it gets better and requires a well-coordinated, scale up of response urgently.
UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson said yesterday during a high-level briefing on the UN’s response to the unprecedented outbreak criticized assertions that Ebola is an African disease.
"Ebola is now being labeled as an African disease, this is not justified, this is unfair and uncalled for,” she said. “The level of anxiety and fear is high worldwide because of the severity of the disease and there is a lot of misunderstanding."
"The fear factor plays a strong role in the crisis. I encourage the Member States and businesses and individuals as well, to take decisions based on scientific evidence, not on fear."
The region is waiting for the much needed response from the world and fears that this could be a biological warfare from an unknown enemy could continue to spread if the world does not contain the deadly virus that has claimed over two thousand deaths in the region.
Famata Jabateh used to sell bush meat at the Duala Market but now she has gone underground with her soul always looking out for the Police and thoroughly, making sure that her potential buyers are not in a covert operation to seize her supply.
“There is nothing else for us to do. So I have to continue to sell my meat. They say Ebola from Monkey meat? Who say Ebola from Monkey meat? That the white people bring an Ebola here,” she said angrily snapping her fingers.
“You know I hear say Obama bringing hospital here, you think America will just bring hospital here if they not know about this thing here? Your leave peoples here ya, we know where this thing coming from. That the white people bring an Ebola here.”
The government placed a ban on the sale of bush meat because it is believed that the deadly virus is also spreading through the consumption of the product, which is a delicacy for many tribes in Liberia.But Jabateh’s view is far from the reality in the scientific world at the moment about what is causing the outbreak.
Jabateh’s assertion that the disease may have been exported to West Africa also supports widespread conspiracy theories that have been making rounds in the academic circles since the beginning of the deadly Ebola outbreak.
Many pundits have alleged that there is an Ebola Vaccine that US Pentagon scientists were developing for 30 years, and all the rights for the drug belong to the government of the United States. These pundits believe Ebola is a perfect biological weapon because it spreads quickly with a nearly 90 percent mortality rate in some cases.
Ebola is listed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a possible bioterrorism agent, but experts say that does not necessarily mean the virus could be used in a bomb. These experts pointed to three key reasons why Ebola is unlikely to be used as a bioterrorism agent anytime in the near future.
Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, CEO of SecureBio, a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear security firm in the United Kingdom told CBS News that once a live host was captured, it would need to be transported to a "suitably equipped" laboratory, in order to extract the virus. Such laboratories, known as Category 4 or Biosafety level 4 Labs, are not easy to come by.
Experts say there are less than two-dozen Category 4 laboratories in the world and failure to work in one of these labs when handling the Ebola virus would likely results in the death of whoever is doing the weaponizing.
Some Experts say to make Ebola into a biological weapon a terrorist organization would need to first obtain a live host infected with the virus, either a human or an animal.
Many Liberians have wondered whether this is the reason for countries in the West airlifting their citizens who contract the deadly disease, so they do not fall in the hand. The United States have now safely treated three of its citizens who were working as medical aid workers and contracted the disease in Liberia. All have recovered from the deadly virus.
“If a terrorist organization were able to obtain a host, gain access to a Category 4 Lab and isolate the virus, they still would have a lot of work to do before they could use Ebola as a biological weapon,” de Bretton-Gordon said.
"The process to weaponize a biological agent is complex and multi-staged, involving enrichment, refining, toughening, milling and preparation." The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa has nothing to do with biological warfare.
During a recent visit to Liberia CDC Dr. Kevin DeCock doubted the potential for a biological weapon coming out of this current Ebola outbreak. He said it would be difficult and has never before been proven that Ebola has been used as a biological weapon.
“There is no evidence that Ebola has been used as a biological weapon by anybody or under any circumstances. It is believed and thought that the natural reservoir of Ebola is in nature, probably in fruit bats,” he said.
“What happens usually is that humans get infected, by contact with bats; sometimes by other species of animals in the forest that it is infected with the Ebola like monkeys. Or chimpanzees and then human-to-human infection is established and then there is human-to-human spread. That’s what we think has happened in all Ebola epidemics.”
But he did not dismiss the fear expressed by many that some troublemakers to produce what the world dread the most, could exploit the disease. “The reason that it is mentioned in the context of biological weapons is that there have been instances of intentional transmission of certain infectious agents including diseases such as Anthrax,” said Dr. De Cock.
“There is a greater fear that these dangerous viruses like Ebola virus, if they fell into the hands of the wrong people could be used. So there is a lot od emphasis on security of laboratories and the containment of specimens of these types of viruses or similar agents.”
Already the world is not looking at the West Africa Ebola outbreak as an African problem anymore. Organizations such as the WHO and the CDC has said the outbreak is unprecedented and spiraling out of control therefore a global action is needed to combat it. Governments around the world are stepping up efforts to contain the outbreak.
America has come up with a two-pronged strategy, according to the Associated Press, something that will be detailed by President Barack Obama in his Tuesday message on Ebola.
The US is set to step up desperately needed aid to West Africa and, in an unusual step, train U.S. doctors and nurses for volunteer duty in the outbreak zone. At home, the goal is to speed up medical research and put hospitals on alert should an infected traveler arrive. President Obama has called the outbreak a national security priority and is to travel to Atlanta on Tuesday to deliver his much awaited speech on the Ebola crisis during a visit to the CDC, the White House said.
During his visit, Obama is to be briefed about the outbreak and discuss the U.S. Response with officials, according to AP. The administration hasn't said how big a role the military ultimately will play — and it's not clear how quickly additional promised help will arrive to the stricken region. "This is also not everything we can and should be doing," Sen. Chris Coons, who chairs a Foreign Relations subcommittee that oversees African issues, told the US Senate last week.
He called for expanded military efforts and for President Obama to appoint someone to coordinate the entire government's Ebola response. Supplies aren't the greatest need: "Trained health professionals for these Ebola treatment units is a critical shortage," said Dr. Steve Monroe of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC.
The U.S. The government has spent more than $100 million so far, said Ned Price of the National Security Council. Last week, the U.S. Agency for International Development announced it would spend up to $75 million more to provide 1,000 treatment beds in Liberia and 130,000 protective suits for health workers. The Obama administration has asked Congress for another $88 million to send additional supplies and public health experts, and to develop potential Ebola medications and vaccines.
Also, the State Department has signed a six-month contract, estimated at up to $4.9 million, for a Georgia-based air ambulance to be on call to evacuate any Ebola-infected government employees, and other U.S. aid workers when possible.
"The ability to evacuate patients infected with the Ebola virus is a critical capability," Dr. William Walters, the State Department's director of operational medicine. The current distribution of the infection is said to be a continuation of a dangerous outbreak of the disease since 1982. Russian doctors have developed an experimental vaccine against the deadly Ebola virus The Moscow Times cited Russia’s Health Minister VeronikaSkvortsova as saying.
The Russian team responsible for researching the deadly virus — including employees of the Ivanov Institute under the Russian Health Ministry and an employee from Russia's health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor worked in Guinea, which is the epicenter of the outbreak. The outbreak, which world health experts have termed as "racing ahead of the control efforts" in the affected countries is said to get worse before it gets better and requires a well-coordinated, scale up of response urgently.
UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson said yesterday during a high-level briefing on the UN’s response to the unprecedented outbreak criticized assertions that Ebola is an African disease.
"Ebola is now being labeled as an African disease, this is not justified, this is unfair and uncalled for,” she said. “The level of anxiety and fear is high worldwide because of the severity of the disease and there is a lot of misunderstanding."
"The fear factor plays a strong role in the crisis. I encourage the Member States and businesses and individuals as well, to take decisions based on scientific evidence, not on fear."
The region is waiting for the much needed response from the world and fears that this could be a biological warfare from an unknown enemy could continue to spread if the world does not contain the deadly virus that has claimed over two thousand deaths in the region.
end quote from:
Ebola: A Biological Warfare With An Unseen Enemy?
www.frontpageafricaonline.com/.../3024-ebola-a-biolo...
20 hours ago - Monrovia - The spread of the deadly Ebola Virus knocked Liberians off ... and failure to work in one of these labs when handling the Ebola virus ... that the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa has nothing to do with biological warfare. ... employees of the Ivanov Institute under the Russian Health Ministry ...
FrontPage Africa
I, myself suspect tampering with this virus by people like ISIS, Boko Haram or even Russia. Because all of these groups might get what they really want if the U.S. and Europe are financially bogged down in dealing with Ebola in Africa. By diverting U.S. and European resources These three groups might do "Whatever it is they want" with the world.
However, this whole thing completely backfires on them if 77% of the world gets Ebola and dies from it which is about 5.3 billion people.
So, whether groups or countries are manipulating or weaponizing this virus or not, the end result might cut the human race in half or more within the next 5 to 10 years the way this thing is going at present.
At present I'm not seeing anything actually slowing this thing down anytime soon. So, whether an RO of less than one is reached this year or 5 years from now it appears a whole lot more people are going to die from it.
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