This is a truly frightening development. From the BBC:
A rare strain of hantavirus, which has been known to spread between people in close contact, has been found in patients linked to a deadly outbreak on a Dutch cruise ship.The health ministry in South Africa said the Andes strain of the virus was identified in two people who had been evacuated from the ship to the country.Three passengers on the MV Hondius have died, after it set sail from Argentina on its voyage across the Atlantic Ocean around a month ago.Another three people with symptoms were evacuated from the ship to receive medical care in the Netherlands on Wednesday morning, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced. “At this stage, the overall public health risk remains low,” the WHO’s chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
Hantavirus will kill you dead. Thirty-eight percent of people who develop symptoms will die from it, and there is no cure for it. It is generally spread through contact with infected rodents. In the spring of 1993, an outbreak connected to deer mice in the Four Corners of the American Southwest killed 14 people by the end of July. The strain behind the current outbreak on the cruise ship spreads from human contact.
Around 150 people remain aboard the MV Hondius under “strict precautionary measures,” Oceanwide Expeditions has said. The vessel is currently anchored near Cape Verde, off Africa’s west coast, and intends to travel to the Canary Islands, where passengers could finally be allowed to disembark. Spanish authorities have agreed to the move, but the Canary Islands’ president has announced his opposition to the plan and demanded an urgent meeting with Spain’s prime minister. “I cannot allow [the boat] to enter the Canaries,” Fernando Clavijo told Spain’s Onda Cero radio. “This decision is not based on any technical criteria and nor have we been given enough information.”The virus typically spreads from rodents via their feces, saliva, and urine. But experts have observed the Andes strain spreading between human patients in previous outbreaks. South African health authorities have said that the Andes strain—which is prominent in Latin America where the cruise originated—was found in both confirmed patients after tests conducted by the country’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases. A document presented to South Africa’s parliament on Wednesday morning, seen by the BBC, says the Andes strain is “the only strain that is known to cause human to human transmission.” It stressed that transmission of the virus is still rare and it only spreads between people in “very close contact.”
It would be nice during the current unpleasantness if the United States were still a member of the World Health Organization, but we left it immediately after the current administration moved in because the WHO was another international organization dedicated to bilking the innocent American people. And also because masks and Dr. Fauci. Luckily we have Secretary Roadkill in charge of public health and making command decisions like this one. From The New York Times:
Officials at the Food and Drug Administration have blocked publication of several studies supporting the safety of widely used vaccines against Covid-19 and shingles in recent months, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed. The studies, which cost millions of dollars in public funds, were conducted by scientists at the agency, who worked with data firms to analyze millions of patient records. They found serious side effects to be very rare.The withdrawal of the studies is the latest step by the administration to try to limit access to vaccines. It has sharply cut research funding for vaccine development, released unvetted information casting doubt on vaccines, and blocked other information supporting their safety, most recently a paper on Covid-19 vaccine effectiveness by career scientists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
An outbreak of any disease more serious than Covid-19 and this country is in a world of hurt. No amount of raw milk and thoughts of “wellness” are going to be adequate. We are in the hands of the madmen now.
Download Exclusive Digital Issues
Comments (0)