Published Date: 2001-12-16 23:50:00
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Gabon: dead wildlife
Archive Number: 20011216.3041
EBOLA HEMORRHAGIC FEVER - GABON: DEAD WILDLIFE
**************************************
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org>
See Also
Viral hemorrhagic fever, suspected - Gabon 20011205.2950Viral hemorrhagic fever, suspected - Gabon (06) 20011210.2994
Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Gabon: WHO confirms 20011211.3002
Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Gabon (02) 20011213.3012
Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Gabon (03) 20011214.3023
1996
------
Hemorrhagic fever - Gabon (2) 19960216.0312
Hemorrhagic fever - Gabon (3) 19960216.0313
1995
------
Ebola new case 19950413.0206
Ebola new case (2) 19950413.0207
[1
Date: Wed, 12 Dec 2001 14:26:45 -0500
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: Reuters Online
Hunt for Killer Ebola Virus Turns to Dead Apes
---------------------------------------------
Reports of dead gorillas and chimpanzees in a central African forest
are being investigated for links to an outbreak of the deadly Ebola
virus, health authorities in Gabon said Wednesday.
Ebola is thought have killed 10 people in the remote Mekambo district
in the northwest, and one more is seriously ill.
Research Minister Andre-Dieudonne Bere said in an official statement
that the government had been told of "the discovery in the forest of
the corpses of many great apes, gorillas, chimpanzees and so on.''
"The government has sent a team to carry out investigations with the
aim of determining the origin and extent of this epidemic,'' he said.
Dead Ape Links
--------------------
Where the virus hides in the wild before breaking forth to kill humans
and other primates remains a mystery. Searching for the cause of the
first outbreak in 1994, investigators were told of the deaths of many
apes in the forest nearby, but found none. In the 1996 outbreak, 13
people fell ill after butchering a dead chimpanzee they had found.
[Byline: Antoine Lawson
*****
[2
Date: 14 Dec 2001
From: William Karesh <wkaresh@wcs.org>
We have received verbal reports of gorillas, chimpanzees, and duikers
(small
forest antelope) being found dead in the areas of the current Ebola
outbreak in
Gabon. One of our wildlife veterinarians arrived in the area earlier
this week
and has been visiting affected villages along with WHO, CIRMF (Centre
International de Recherches Medicales de Franceville), and ECOFAC (a
European Union funded conservation project) personnel to investigate
the
reports of wildlife mortalities.
--
William B. Karesh, D.V.M.
Department Head
Field Veterinary Program
Wildlife Conservation Society
2300 Southern Blvd.
Bronx, NY 10460 U.S.A.
Co-chair, IUCN Veterinary Specialist Group
<wkaresh@wcs.org>
[I believe the great apes are capable of catching & killing small
antelope, so this could be the missing link in the infection chain.
Can anyone confirm? - Mod.JW
.............................................as/pg/mpp/jw
*##########################################################*
ProMED-mail makes every effort to verify the reports that
are posted, but the accuracy and completeness of the
information, and of any statements or opinions based
thereon, are not guaranteed. The reader assumes all risks in
using information posted or archived by ProMED-mail. ISID
and its associated service providers shall not be held
responsible for errors or omissions or held liable for any
damages incurred as a result of use or reliance upon posted
or archived material.
************************************************************
Visit ProMED-mail's web site at <http://www.promedmail.org>.
Send all items for posting to: promed@promedmail.org
(NOT to an individual moderator). If you do not give your
full name and affiliation, it may not be posted. Send
commands to subscribe/unsubscribe, get archives, help,
etc. to: majordomo@promedmail.org. For assistance from a
human being send mail to: owner-promed@promedmail.org.
############################################################
############################################################