"I wish you good luck." Those were the words of Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni after announcing on 28 July that there were cases of Ebola haemorrhagic fever in the capital, Kampala. He asked that people avoid physical contact and report suspected cases.
The outbreak is the Sudan strain of Ebola, which kills around 60 per cent of those infected – unlike the Zaire strain, which kills 90 per cent. There have been 20 known cases so far, and 14 deaths, starting in early July with a pregnant woman in the Kibaale district, then eight relatives who attended her funeral. It also killed her nurse, and the nurse's baby. The virus appears to be spreading only with close contact, making it unlikely to rampage through Kampala.
The Sudan strain killed 224 people in north-west Uganda in 2000 and one person last year. The virus persists in wild fruit bats and occasionally jumps to people.
If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.
Have your say
Only subscribers may leave comments on this article. Please log in.
Only personal subscribers may leave comments on this article
All comments should respect the New Scientist House Rules. If you think a particular comment breaks these rules then please use the "Report" link in that comment to report it to us.
If you are having a technical problem posting a comment, please contact technical support.
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar