Ebola and a reading assignment..

First of all, something from my own imagination. Since it has been known since 1992 that certain species of bats of the family Pteropodidae have been found with ebolas and the related Marburg viruses, a quick look at a map of Africa that shows both ebolas and fruit bats(pteropodidae) overlap to a striking degree. I will produce a map later. I would claim that i would get to it today, but I have a client's notebook to repair..with no data loss. Tech forensics--which is what this really is--is a drag. It will likely take me the balance of the day. *sigh*

So, expect new graphs and maps by 1 Oct.

More ebola stuff..

Since the ebola affecred countries are among the world's poorest, it is hardly a surprise that Liberia's health system is quickly becoming more overwhelmed.

Here is an interesting article concerning the militarization of the ebola fight in Liberia. The piece is a nice overview of what the US may possible want in exchange for aid. The article has a nice, healthy undercurrent on anger running through it. I would like to believe that my government is capable of altruism, but there is precious little evidence to support such a belief. The piece is really a good read. I have looked at other people's stuff that are blogging specifically about the ebola crisis. I have simply tried to offer up the underreported stories of an underreported tragedy. Since I cast a very wide net with my RSS reader, I think that I do okay.<.br>
Okay, a couple more before I give you your reading assignment.

Surely the Liberian people are freaked out. Then there is the stigma concerning ebola survivors, then there are reports of ghosts and/or zombies. By the way, AllAfrica is a great resource.

One more ebola piece that states what is so abundantly clear to me that it really does not need be spoken. The Experts The Ebola Response May Need: Anthropologists. Anthropologists? Really? Here is a bit:

"To contain this epidemic we must come to grips with dynamics of fear and obligations of care in a context where everyone is afraid," Kelly co-wrote with colleagues Almudena Marí Sáez and Hannah Brown. "It is an anthropological truism, but this means seeing populations not as a stumbling block to halting the spread but as our only resource."

"These people have lived with and around animals for generations, but have never seen this kind of disease," she writes. Thus, "the epidemic becomes linked instead to practices never before seen or out of context: disinfecting houses, erecting barriers, taking relatives to the hospital, from where they do not return."

"Disease becomes then a logical extension of the efforts of government officials and foreigners," she writes. Anthropologists could bridge that gap.

Duh-fuh? All of the human touch stuff is true. In fact, triusm is nearly the ideal word as it is so clear that it not need warrant comment. As far as the people of West Africa never having "seen this kind of disease," well, that is simply wrong. Viral hemorrhagic fevers(VHFs) are fairly common in the area. Lassa fever presents with many of the same symptoms as the ebolas. That is simply one of the VHFs endemic to the region. I am a semicon gate engineer by training, but I have wide enough interests to know not to state specious things..unless I toss out the "speculation disclaimer."

Okay, enough ebola stuff, onto your reading assignment.

A lovely friend that knows me perhaps too well, gave me a book yesterday morning. Once I started reading it, I could not put it down. It is an ideal companion to where this blog is currently focused, and is better than everything combined that I had yet read concerning emerging--and emerged--diseases. It is not specifically about ebola, but ebola gets lots of time. The book is: The Viral Storm by eminent virologist Nathan Wolfe. If you are interested at all in virology, pathogenic bacteriology, epidemiology, and/or the die off of amphibians, this book is must read. Really, if you are reading to this point, you need to get hold of this book and several hours of time. It is not that good, it is better.