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More than a month after it began, doctors appear no closer to determining the cause of a fatal disease outbreak in northern Uganda, where the death toll reportedly stands at 38.
I last reported on this outbreak three weeks ago in Uganda: Unidentified Hemorrhagic Outbreak.
Health Ministry officials have stated that laboratory tests have come back negative for the usual suspects from that part of the world; Ebola, Marburg, Congo Crimean fever, Rift Valley fever and Typhoid.
Additional testing is ongoing.
There are reportedly more than 90 people currently reporting symptoms of the disease, which includes severe headache, dizziness, and a mild fever to start - followed by abdominal pain with diarrhea and vomiting.
Some hemorrhagic symptoms have been reported in early media reports as well, although it is unclear whether this is really a hemorrhagic disease.
Chen Qi has a report from the Ugandan Sunday Monitor with more on this story.
Strange disease kills 38
By Evelyn Lirri
While I won’t speculate on the cause of this particular outbreak, Africa continues to be the place of origin of newly identified – often zoonotic – diseases.
Accordingly, this morning would seem a good time to mention once again the work of Dr. Nathan Wolfe, the world famous virus hunter and founder of the Global Viral Forecasting Initiative (GVFI).
I wrote about Dr. Wolfe last year (see Nathan Wolfe: Virus Hunter) in this blog, and also featured a TED Talk by Dr. Wolfe.
TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. Each year they hold a 4 day long event at Long Beach, California where 50 people are urged to give the 18-minute talk of their lives.
About this talk
Virus hunter Nathan Wolfe is outwitting the next pandemic by staying two steps ahead: discovering new, deadly viruses where they first emerge -- passing from animals to humans among poor subsistence hunters in Africa -- before they claim millions of lives
Full bio and more links
(Click Image to view video)
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