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U.S. Army confirm Ebola variant was airborne in 19
This is a little unsettling! Whatever variant of Ebola that's out there someone has another very hot one! It's been weaponized!
serf
http://www.naturalnews.com/047317_ebola_reston_airborne_transmission_usamriid.html
U.S. Army virologists working at USAMRIID (U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases) [1] confirmed in 1990 that a strain of Ebola was airborne and could spread through air ducts, resembling the contagiousness of the flu.
This could happen??
http://www.amazon.com/The-Hot-Zone-Terrifying-Origins/dp/0385479565
serf
http://www.naturalnews.com/047317_ebola_reston_airborne_transmission_usamriid.html
U.S. Army virologists working at USAMRIID (U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases) [1] confirmed in 1990 that a strain of Ebola was airborne and could spread through air ducts, resembling the contagiousness of the flu.
This could happen??
http://www.amazon.com/The-Hot-Zone-Terrifying-Origins/dp/0385479565
Comments
"In a wild attempt at revisionist history, the Obama administration is today telling us that Ebola can't be airborne; that it can't spread via contaminated surfaces; and that we are all in no real danger from it."
Well, serf, if all of the above quote is true, time to be a man and prove what you claim.
Otherwise, this is getting pretty tiresome.
Yeah I know some people just can't fathom biological weapons that could be devised or used under the cloak of a nature event. Especially if it appears to have mutated naturally. Here this is what published about it.
serf
http://ispub.com/IJPRM/2/1/12768
On November 28, 1989 nearly six weeks after monkeys began dying in Reston, USAMRIID verified the Ebola finding. The following day, representatives from USAMRIID, the CDC, and the Virginia Department of Health met and developed an action plan. The CDC would handle people; USAMRIID would handle the monkeys and the monkey facility. Because of the threat that Ebola might spread to staff, Reston and the greater Washington, DC community, the Army determined that all remaining monkeys would be immediately euthanized. The first task was to determine how best to administer a solution to a building potentially full of Ebola.
COL Gerald "Jerry" Jaax was in charge of eradicating the virus. An initial entry team examined the buildings layout, entrances, exits, and unprotected openings. LTC Nancy Jaax (wife of COL Jaax), a veterinarian and pathologist, and COL C. J. Peters, chief of USAMRIID's assessment division and in charge of the Reston operation, conducted a walkthrough to determine the condition of the monkeys and what problems an operations team might encounter: blood, body fluids, as well as excited monkeys. Alarmingly, they also found that Hazelton staff and animal handlers were still working in the building without hazmat suits and most were unaware of the grave danger that they were in.
On November 30, LTC Nancy Jaax and another officer donned Hazmat suits and began to euthanizing 65 monkeys. Crab-eating Macaques males are considerably larger than females, weighing 5 kg to 9 kg compared to the 3 kg to 6 kg of female. Ketamine, a general anesthetic, was initially administered followed by xylazine#9472; an analgesia and finally T-61, a euthanasia solution. By late afternoon, the monkeys were dead and liver and spleen samples collected. The remains were then triple-bagged for incineration or in some cases, a fuller evaluation at USAMRIID lab facilities. However, 450 monkeys remained alive.
Nearly a week later, on December 5, a group of 91 Tangos broken up into two-person teams entered the facility. 91 Tangos are animal care specialist that generally care, manage, treat, and clean government owned animals, with a primary responsibility of prevention and control of diseases transmitted from animal to humans. Consisting of mostly young soldiers, most were unfamiliar with encapsulating suits, the tools they would be working with, the behavior of monkeys or of the full potential of the medical problem they were facing.
The same procedures used by LTC Nancy Jaax to put down the 65 monkeys were followed. The process was slow and the following day, one of the monkeys escaped. Efforts to net the animal were unsuccessful and only agitated the other monkeys. Shooting it was out of the question for fear that a loose round would end up somewhere unwanted. And, no one had thought of bringing a dart gun or other immobilizing device. Ultimately, it was decided to let the monkey roam freely and to try again the next day.
"Several of us spent the better part of a day trying to catch it. When we talk about the Reston incident, we compare the frustration of that day with the Hollywood version in the movie `Outbreak,' in which an infected monkey was coaxed from a tree and captured within minutes. It is a great example of reality vs. Hollywood"26. Finally the escapee was caught after it had jammed itself into a crevice leaving only its rump exposed. The creature was quickly euthanized.
That afternoon, building decontamination efforts began#9472; chipping, scrubbing and bleaching. This continued for 11 days, followed by the introduction of Bacillus subtilis niger. Strains of the species Bacillus subtilis are used for sterilization control. This species produces spores resistance to dry heat or ethylene oxide and are used for testing the effectiveness of sterilization. When over exposed extensively to formaldehyde vapors, the Bacillus subtilis niger spores die. Their death presumes all bacteria and viruses to be dead 5.
About 6:00 p.m. on December 18, electric fry pans, set on high, volatized the formaldehyde crystals. For three days, the building was cooked. Finally it was determined that the building was decontaminated. Reston's three month ordeal with Ebola was over.
Conclusion
While the cleanout of the monkey house was going on, two out of the four monkey care takers were hospitalized. One had a heart condition; the other had high fever and nausea27. Both men survived their illnesses unharmed. If these men were infected, it is hard to guess why Ebola-Reston did not cause in them the violent, hemorrhagic death it did in the mon?keys. Perhaps a very tiny difference in the genetic code of the virus made it react differently within the systems of humans and macaques.
And, indeed researchers discovered that this was a new species of Ebola virus, which they named Ebola-Reston15, 28, 29. The new virus was highly pathogenic in monkeys but apparently not in humans. The researchers also dispelled the idea that filoviruses were found only in Africa, because the monkeys had been imported from the Philippines. The investigators documented a high likelihood of aerosol transmission outside a controlled laboratory setting, because the virus appeared to pass between rooms to infect susceptible monkeys. Specimens from animals that died or were killed to eradicate the outbreak yielded fertile ground for research in new Ebola virus detection and identification techniques and the virological and pathological events associated with infection.
Twenty years later there still is no standard treatment for Ebola. Currently, patients are provided supportive therapy consisting primarily of balancing the patient's fluids and electrolytes, maintaining their oxygen status and blood pressure, and treating them for any further complications.
In the aftermath of the Reston outbreak, Hazelton Research Products was purchased by Covance Inc., formerly Corning Incorporated. Headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey, Covance is a contract research organization that continues to conduct drug development and animal testing services. Monkeys continue to be housed in urban areas. Less than 13 km away, on Leesburg Pike, a Covance research facility continues to house monkeys.
In January 1997, unable to halt another outbreak of Ebola-Reston virus, Ferlite Scientific Research Farm killed 600 monkeys and soon thereafter permanently closed. In June 1995, the "Monkey House" was torn down. Even though the inside of the building was fumigated with formaldehyde and scrubbed with bleach several times, the closed facility remained unoccupied.
I remember touring the inside of the building in early 1992 when the accounting firm that I conducted business with suggested the site as a site to possibly site for my business and its 40 employees. By this time, however, the story of the "Monkey House" was well known and Ebola had made its way into our lexicon, so I politely declined the offer.
Shortly after the Reston facility was demolished, a new building built on the same site became a Kindercare. Today a Mulberry Child Care and Preschool sits at 1946 Isaac Newton Square West.
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Kathryn C. Brue of Reston, VA, USA, who took a flawed manuscript and turned it into an interesting, readable article.
References
1. Cron TO, Goldblatt B. Portrait of Carnegie Hall; a nostalgic portrait in pictures and words of America's greatest stage and the artists who performed there. New York,: Macmillan; 1966.
2. Studies. WCfM. Reston: a study in beginnings. Washington, DC: Washington Center for Metropolitan Studies; 1966.
3. Grubisich T, McCandless P, Watt D. Reston, the first twenty years. Reston, VA: Reston Publishing Co.; 1985.
4. Washington Center for Metropolitan Studies. Reston: a study in beginnings. Washington, DC: Washington Center for Metropolitan Studies; 1966.
5. Preston R. The hot zone. 1st ed. New York: Random House; 1994.
6. Roberts JA, Andrews K. Nonhuman primate quarantine: its evolution and practice. ILAR journal/National Research Council, Institute of Laboratory Animal Resources. 2008;49(2):145.
7. Palmer A, Allen A, Tauraso N, Shelokov A. Simian Hemorrhagic Fever: I. Clinical and Epizootiologic Aspects of an Outbreak among Quarantined Monkeys. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. 1968;17(3):404.
8. Kuhn J, Jahrling PB, Calisher CH. Simian Hemorrhagic Fever. New York: Springer; 2011.
9. Emond RT, Evans B, Bowen ET, Lloyd G. A case of Ebola virus infection. Br Med J. Aug 27 1977;2(6086):541-544.
10. Johnson BK, Gitau LG, Gichogo A, et al. Marburg, Ebola and Rift Valley Fever virus antibodies in East African primates. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 1982;76(3):307-310.
11. Morikawa S, Saijo M, Kurane I. Current knowledge on lower virulence of Reston Ebola virus (in French: Connaissances actuelles sur la moindre virulence du virus Ebola Reston). Comp Immunol Microbiol Infect Dis. Sep 2007;30(5-6):391-398.
12. US Centers for Disease Control. Marburg Hemorrhagic Fever: Known Cases and Outbreaks of Marburg Hemorrhagic Fever, in Chronological Order. 2010; http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/spb/mnpages/dispages/marburg/marburgtable.htm. Accessed November 2, 2010.
13. Peters CJ, Olshaker M. Virus hunter : thirty years of battling hot viruses around the world. 1st Anchor Books ed. New York: Anchor Books; 1997.
14. Geisbert TW, Jahrling PB. Use of immunoelectron microscopy to show Ebola virus during the 1989 United States epizootic. Journal of Clinical Pathology. Oct 1990;43(10):813-816.
15. Jahrling PB, Geisbert TW, Dalgard DW, et al. Preliminary report: isolation of Ebola virus from monkeys imported to USA. Lancet. Mar 3 1990;335(8688):502-505.
16. Petersen W. Outbreak. Warner Bros. 10 March, 1995.
17. WHO. Ebola haemorrhagic fever in Zaire, 1976. Bulletin of the World Health Organization. 1978;56(2):271-293.
18. WHO/International Study Team. Ebola haemorrhagic fever in Sudan, 1976 Bulletin of the World Health Organization. 1978;56(2):247-270.
19. World Health Organization. Ebola haemorrhagic fever in Zaire, 1976. Bulletin of the World Health Organization. 1978;56(2):271-293.
20. World Health Organization/International Study Team. Ebola haemorrhagic fever in Sudan, 1976 Bulletin of the World Health Organization. 1978;56(2):247-270.
21. US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Special Pathogens Branch. Known Cases and Outbreaks of Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever, in Chronological Order 2010; http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/spb/mnpages/dispages/ebola/ebolatable.htm. Accessed May 4, 2010.
22. US Centers for Disease Control. Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever Known Cases and Outbreaks of Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever, in Chronological Order. 2008; http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/spb/mnpages/dispages/ebola/ebolatable.pdf. Accessed 14 October, 2008.
23. World Health Organization. Tuberculosis. Fact sheet N?104 2010; http://who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs104/en/. Accessed December 10, 2010.
24. World Health Organization. Global health risks: mortality and burden of disease attributable to selected major risks: Geneva, Switzerland; 2009.
25. World Health Organization. Measles. Fact sheet N?286 2009; http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs286/en/index.html. Accessed December 10, 2010.
26. Veterinary Medicine. An Interview with... Drs. Jerry and Nancy Jaax. 2005; http://veterinarymedicine.dvm360.com/vetmed/Medicine/An-Interview-with-Drs-Jerry-and-Nancy-Jaax/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/150700.
27. Ebola virus infection in imported primates--Virginia, 1989. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 8 December 1989;38(48):831-832, 837-838.
28. Miranda ME, White ME, Dayrit MM, Hayes CG, Ksiazek TG, Burans JP. Seroepidemiological study of filovirus related to Ebola in the Philippines. Lancet. Feb 16 1991;337(8738):425-426.
29. Geisbert TW, Jahrling PB, Hanes MA, Zack PM. Association of Ebola-related Reston virus particles and antigen with tissue lesions of monkeys imported to the United States. J Comp Pathol. Feb 1992;106(2):137-152.
{full_citation}
Author Information
Crist?bal S. Berry-Cab?n, PhD
Department of Research, Womack Army Medical Center
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https://web.stanford.edu/group/virus/filo/ebor.html
On October 2, 1989, 100 cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis) from Ferlite Farms in Mindanao Island, Philippines were flown from Manila, through Amsterdam to New York, and then transported by truck to Hazleton Research Products' (HRP) Reston Primate Quarantine Unit in Reston, Virginia. These monkeys were placed in Room F of the Reston Unit on October 4. HRP's Reston Unit already had approximately 500 cynomolgus monkeys when this shipment arrived. There had not been any African species quarantined in the Reston unit for many years, ergo it is not possibile that the monkeys contracted Ebola from fomites contaminated by a prior shipment of monkeys. Because of the 1976 Marburg incident, all primates imported into the United States must be quarantined for 30 days to insure that they are disease free before they are released. In any transcontinental shipment of animals, a high attrition rate is to be expected due to this experience. However, this particular shipment of nonhuman primates had a far larger number of deaths in Room F than would normally have been expected. The HRP veterinarian conducted a few necropsies of the dead monkeys from this shipment in Room F and, based on the clinical symptomatology and on gross anatomy, made an initial diagnosis of simian hemorrhagic fever (SHF). SHF is a terrible disease in monkeys (fortunately it does not infect humans) and is easily transmitted amongst them. The HRP vet sent samples of the dead monkey tissue to United States Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) for conclusive diagnosis. SHF was isolated in the tissue cultures that HRP sent to USAMRIID. Before USAMRIID finished their diagnosis, HRP made the decision to euthanize all of the remaining monkeys in Room F to prevent possible further spread. During the 10 days following the euthanization of the monkeys in Room F, there were sporadic deaths in the remaining monkey population at Reston. The pattern of the deaths nor the pathology in the dead monkeys was indicative of SHF. The HRP vet became alarmed by this. Meanwhile, USAMRIID was conducting additional tests on the monkey tissue cultures and discovered that Ebola was also responsible for the Reston monkey deaths from an electron micrograph of damaged tissue from one of the dead Reston monkeys. Unfortunately, the pathogen was not contained by the euthanization of the monkeys in Room F. 29 additional monkeys in Room H had also died. The monkeys in Room H were from a separate shipment (but from the same supplier, Ferlite Farms) that had arrived at the Reston Unit on November 8.
Were the Room H monkeys contracting the pathogen from the Reston Quarantine Unit or were they infected with the pathogen back in the Philippines? The Room F monkeys were euthanized on November 16. The Room H shipment of monkeys arrived on November 8. Both the Room F and Room H cynomolgus monkey shipments came from Ferlite Farms in the Philippines. Ferlite Farms was experiencing a hemorrhagic disease outbreak concurrently. It is likely that the Room H monkeys were sub-clinically harboring EBO on arrival. EBO has an incubation period ranging from five to seven days in nonhuman primates (personal correspondence, Anderson). The Room H monkeys arrived at the Reston unit while the Room F monkeys were still alive.
On November 29, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the Virginia Department of Health met with USAMRIID, and a coherent plan of action was formulated to insure the safety of the community and the humane treatment of the Reston primates. Because of the threat that Ebola might spread to the remaining animals in the quarantine unit and that it might infect the staff, the remaining animals (~500) in Room H were euthanized on November 30, 1989. On November 28, 1989, Ferlite Farms, unknowingly, sent a shipment of EBO-infected cynomolgus monkeys to Philadelphia.
Six of the 178 people who had contact with the infected monkeys at the Reston Quarantine Unit seroconverted. All six of the individuals worked with the primates. None of the six who seroconverted developed a filovirus-related illness. Of them, four (all of whom were animal handlers at one quarantine facility) had serologic evidence of recent infection with Ebola-Reston. It is likely that one of the four infected himself when he cut his finger while performing a necropsy on an infected monkey. The mode of transmission for the other three handlers is not known. The remaining two people were seropositive at low titer and had evidence of past infection. One of these two people is a worker at a facility that temporarily houses nonhuman primates before delivery to U.S. quarantine facilities and had had regular contact with quarantined nonhuman primates for three years. The second person was an employee at Hazleton's Texas Primate Center.
Oh no, we are all going to die!
Well with 9000 virus vials missing at Ft.Derick you may on to something! [:D]
serf
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/17/AR2009061703271.html
Ft. Detrick Lab Missing 9000 Virus Vials!
But some scientists are skeptical. Unlike uranium or chemical weapons, pathogens are living materials that can replicate and die. A small amount can easily be turned into a large amount.
The vials contained some dangerous pathogens, among them the Ebola virus, anthrax bacteria and botulinum toxin, and less lethal agents such as Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus and the bacterium that causes tularemia. Most of them, forgotten inside freezer drawers, hadn't been used in years or even decades. Officials said some serum samples from hemorrhagic fever patients dated to the Korean War.