lethologica

C'Mon, You Know You Wanna...

I spent several minutes just staring at them (and trying to convince them to bite my fingers.) When my sister’s violin lesson ended, her teacher came out to the yard and explained that these goldfish were the same small creatures that were often unfortunately sold in plastic bags at state fairs. They were only about two inches long apiece, when she bought them and put them in the new, empty pond. In essence, they were like every goldfish I had seen before, but they had been given a much larger, much richer environment in which to flourish. As a result, they had grown into some of the most remarkable, vibrant creatures my twelve-year-old self had ever met with. All because of a pond. 

We have been aware of ebola for the past 50 years. We know bats in west and central Africa are virus reservoirs, they carry the viruses without showing symptoms. Outbreaks of ebola keep occurring because the viruses are now endemic and bats aren’t the only species that can harbor the virus without showing symptoms.

This is the 17th ebola outbreak in the DRC in the past 19 years. This is the second outbreak of the Bundibugyo virus in the DRC. The current outbreak is decimating gold mining regions because panning for gold is a perfect storm for zoonotic & water-based illnesses, you are constantly outside in nature, ankle deep in rivers and streams, interacting with others, often temporary workers sharing cramped accommodations. Historically and worldwide, mining camps and mining settlements have been decimated by infectious disease.