Ebola - Biological Weapon?

 
I was just in the gym this morning (Thursday, 9th of October, 2014). A group of guys in the male’s bathroom stated that Ebola did not originate in Africa but created by the USA in a laboratory to wipe out the black population. And that this is a test run, and why did they ‘suddenly’ come up with a drug that ‘cured’ the white guys infected.  They pointed to the fact that the US has already got a patent for the drug since 2008 (http://www.google.com/patents/US20120251502.)

All I could tell them was that I knew about the Viral Haemorrhagic Fevers for about 30 years, and there were recorded incidents in the 1960s, and this could be traced back to the 1920s. Most doctors know about these already – most of the time, it mentions in their footnotes (but you have to be ready to treat a case and diagnose one). The reason why the majority of the population have not heard of them is that until now they have been affecting mainly rural areas deep in the African Jungle (Congo, Zaire, etc.). As a medical student, we were taught about Viral Haemorrhagic Fevers, and at the time, it was said that it was so rare (compared to Malaria, Cancers, other infections, childhood diseases etc. which numbers could run to 100 000s daily) and some affecting less than 40 people at a time and a total of 1,700 over a 55 year period. These were like footnotes, and lecturers loved putting them in the exam to ensure you read all their notes. They were known to be endemic in wild animals and not causing significant harm to them and because humans were increasing invading areas inhabited by wild animals these diseases are crossing the human-animal barrier with increasing frequency.

These guys in the gym bathroom were totally convinced that they were right and not moving an inch. Their eyes were bloodshot red because they were stressing, and they were shouting at the top of their voices. During the time in the shower, you could just hear them going on. When drying ourselves, it was getting to the point that they nearly came to blows, and it seemed that they were going to rip their towels apart, especially when they were stressing a point. As these were massive muscular guys (bodybuilders) and were often carrying weights, I felt that I should very quickly excuse me as I was getting late for work.

But they did raise a point. Blacks have been used in ‘experimentation’ in the past by the US government, until very recently – 1972. They were told that they were receiving free health (Tuskegee syphilis experiment); meanwhile, the US government was said to be deliberately infecting them with syphilis and monitoring their response. And during the Cold War, the Americans were looking for the ‘magic bullet’, a biological weapon that will just kill your enemies and not affect your own forces. This also involved experimenting with a wide range of individuals without their consent.

But with my knowledge, I disagree that Ebola was made by the US Military. It is a virus, and it could be easily modified, but at the same time, it could mutate as it is a simple RNA virus. The fact that it could be easily killed by bleaching agents means that it could be relatively easily controlled. Zmapp is an experimental drug and is said to have a 100% cure rate in monkeys infected with a particular strain of Ebola after 5 days. Still, to tell you the truth, I believe that supportive therapy plays a significant role in the treatment, which is too lacking in some areas in Africa. But the fact that it could easily spread says something that Africa MUST be on its toes. Since the virus lives in vomit, diarrhoea, blood and sweat. Everything should be treated as you are in an aseptic environment, like the threat. Using full "Aseptic Non-Touch Techniques (ANTT)" plus extras, experience in dealing with MRSA would prove essential. There is no place for corruption and mismanagement here. Staff would have to be trained specially. To control this, we have to be totally transparent and accountable. Everything used has to be up to date, and proper records have to be kept about who touched what, when and where,. Everybody infected has to be isolated, no favouritism, and no-nonsense of bribing your way through. Individuals should be identified, isolated, monitored and treated if they show signs. As an individual is infected, each cell the virus enters produce almost millions of viruses.

Also there are conspiracy theories, myths, a legend that mix truth and lies and emphasize a small portion hence distorting the whole picture. One of the reasons for the international response is that the rate of its increase especially in the capital cities of the most affected countries Liberia (Monrovia), Sierra Leone (Freetown) and Guinea (Conakry) is phenomena.  From their calculations, plus due to the frequent movement and air travel, if it is not controlled there, it might become a pandemic. Also, there is a very slight possibility although very unlikely, it might mutate to being airborne. All the professionals and most of the virologists have said this is very unlikely. As of now, it could be according to US public health director Thomas Frieden: "This is controllable, and this was preventable". Control this virus in its steps, build infrastructures to monitor and control further outbreaks