It is really scary to see the conspiracy theories about ebola take shape and begin to weave their way through the internet. We are going to continue to see the emergence (and associated outbreaks of) new and novel viruses because of global warming, because the earth’s global population is higher than it has ever been and we are constantly on the move AND because so many ecosystems have been decimated. It is not a conspiracy. It is something we must be aware of. We cannot continue with the same conspiratorial and individualistic thinking that arose during the COVID pandemic, it will kill us all.
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.
Ebola outbreaks will continue occurring for the foreseeable future, unless we figure out how to eradicate them in disease reservoirs. Downplaying the lethality of the viruses, turning a blind eye to it because it is occurring on another continent or preying on fear and creating conspiracies about it is extremely dangerous.
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