Sub-saharan Africa: Too depressing to be funny.

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > Sub-saharan Africa: Too depressing to be funny.

Dolash: Oct 23, 2008; aNYWAY,
tHAT'S REALLY ALL THERE IS,
tO REPORT ON THE SUBJECT,
oF ME GETTING HURT,

It might be possible to buy them back, but that might involve having to accept that some of them won't ever be returned willingly if reports of some of the girls already being forced to marry their captors are true. That's a difficult admission and extremely legitimizing for the organization and its tactics.

# ? May 8, 2014 22:22

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# ? Jun 7, 2024 08:19

Volkerball: Oct 15, 2009; by FactsAreUseless

Back to Darfur, where things have been degrading over the last year. The ICC's chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, has called for a �thorough, independent and public inquiry� from the UN security council into allegations that UN peacekeeping forces in Sudan were subject to �manipulation� through acts committed �with the intentional effect of covering up crimes committed against civilians and peacekeepers." The claims were based around the testimony and leaks of a whistleblower, Aicha Elbasri, who was the spokesperson for UNAMID (the African Union/UN joint peacekeeping force in Darfur) until she resigned in protest. Her leaks were done in coordination with foreign policy, who used them in an in depth article detailing the failures of UNAMID in April. Long story short, the UNAMID reports largely glossed over atrocities committed by government forces by either handwaving away the seriousness of what occurred, or by demanding a standard of evidence that was highly unlikely to be met given the limitations of what the UN force on the ground was capable of. This lead to things like airstrikes by the government, the only force in the country with air power, going unreported and the government not being held accountable, despite there being a UN ban on those airstrikes, and the continued use of them being pretty loving important.

quote:

"WE CAN'T SAY ALL WHAT WE SEE IN DARFUR."

Throughout the conflict in Darfur, UNAMID has collected extensive evidence linking Sudanese authorities to serious crimes, notably its use of air power and Arab proxies in attacks on communities suspected of supporting the rebels. But much of that evidence has been withheld from public reports. Lyman, Obama's special envoy for Sudan and South Sudan from March 2011 to March 2013, said the UNAMID's refusal to explicitly note the connection between the attacks and Khartoum had long been a source of frustration for American policymakers. "We complained quite a bit about it the human rights reporting was not as vigorous or as public as it could have been," he said.

Sudan's aerial bombardment campaign, which drew widespread condemnation during the early years of the Darfur conflict, was banned by the U.N. Security Council, which adopted a March 2005 resolution threatening Sudan with sanctions if it did not "immediately cease" all offensive military flights in Darfur.

But the U.N. Security Council has never enforced the ban, and the aerial bombing campaign has surged over the past two years. Sudanese warplanes carried out at least 106 bombing strikes in 2012 and 85 in 2013, up from 64 in 2006, according to a study conducted by independent experts appointed by the U.N. Security Council. In 2012, for instance, the largest spike in fatalities occurred between the months of June and September, when 134 civilians were killed during Sudanese air strikes, according to internal UNAMID figures.

Khartoum, though, has routinely barred UNAMID peacekeepers from investigating reports of civilian casualties following Sudanese bombardment campaigns. As a result, many bombing operations have gone unreported to the U.N. Security Council.
UNAMID, meanwhile, has been reluctant to cast blame on the Sudanese government -- the only entity in Darfur with air power -- without irrefutable firsthand proof collected by its personnel, an evidentiary standard that has been impossible to achieve. As a result, UNAMID public reporting has often minimized Sudan's violations or withheld strong circumstantial evidence of Khartoum's complicity in, or responsibility for, attacks in UNAMID's reports to the U.N. Security Council.

In March 2013, a Sudanese Antonov warplane bombed a watering hole near the village of Um Agaga in northern Darfur, killing three men, one woman, and a child, according to a UNAMID report. A translator working with UNAMID witnessed the air strike. A local sheikh, meanwhile, later confirmed the attack -- which also killed 280 animals -- in an interview with UNAMID police. But the testimony of local observers did not meet UNAMID evidentiary standards. As a result, the incident -- which constitutes a violation of U.N. ban on offensive air strikes -- was never reported to the U.N. Security Council.

Ladsous, the U.N.'s chief peacekeeping official, also omitted key information collected by UNAMID peacekeepers about a suspected government role in an ethnic cleansing operation by Arab tribesmen in Jebel Amer, a gold mining center in north Darfur, in late 2012. The fighting triggered the flight of more than 30,000 civilians, mostly members of the tribe that had managed the gold mines.

"UNAMID has noted the media reports asserting that some quarters of the government support to the [Arab] militia during the hostilities, but the mission is not in possession of information that could substantiate such an allegation," Ladsous told the U.N. Security Council on March 18, 2013, according to a March 20 cable.

But internal UNAMID reports produced before the Security Council briefing noted that two Sudanese government auxiliary forces, the Border Guards and the Central Reserve Police, provided security for the Arab militia once they seized the gold mines. The Arab fighters launched their attack using heavy weapons that were likely acquired from the Sudanese military. One report claimed that Sudanese troops and border guards participated in an attack. The Arab militia "called supporters for help, and started to attack with heavy machine guns and rocket propelled grenades (RPG). Huge number of armed people in more than 200 military vehicles (border guards, SAF [Sudan Armed Forces]) came to Jebel Amer area and started to attack" the tribe that managed the gold mines, according to an internal report by UNAMID. "During the attack, they shot at people randomly, burnt houses, and looted private properties of the villages," the report said.
It is unclear whether Ladsous was aware of the earlier accounts, or whether they had not been reported through the U.N. chain of command because there was insufficient evidence to prove government involvement. The U.N. did not respond to a request for comment on the discrepancy.

But U.S. and U.N. officials have frequently expressed concerns that UNAMID bureaucrats, afraid to run afoul of Khartoum, have routinely withheld key information from policymakers at U.N. headquarters in New York.

In an email exchange with Elbasri, Aichatou Mindaoudou, a top UNAMID civilian official, privately confessed that information describing attacks on civilians was being "manipulated" by a couple of unnamed U.N. staffers who had "hijacked" UNAMID's reporting process.

"A lot of games are being played and people have a different agenda not every time in line neither with the mission's mandate nor with the sake of Darfuris," according to the Dec. 28 email to Elbasri, the former UNAMID spokeswoman who leaked the documents to FP. Mindaoudou did not respond to an emailed request for comment.

In an interview, Elbasri said she encountered serious shortcomings in UNAMID's willingness to report on human rights abuses shortly after she arrived in Darfur.

On August 2012, a convoy of 150 to 180 military trucks transported Sudanese soldiers, as well as armed militiamen, toward a stronghold of the Sudan Liberation Army, raiding three villages in the area of Tawila. They torched homes, stole property, and raped women. More than 5,000 fled their homes in fear, according to an internal UNAMID report.
But the local UNAMID police based in the area had reported nothing. UNAMID subsequently dispatched a fact-finding team to area. The team's report indicated that the raids were a reprisal for the downing of a government helicopter by Sudanese rebels. "They shot in the air and began looting of dwellings, personal belongings and, furniture, money cell phones, valued documents, etc. Persons who did not have anything to give to them were beaten with sticks or gun butts and were asked to tell them which tribe they belonged to," according to the report.

Elbasri says that she raised concerns about UNAMID's refusal to acknowledge the government role with one of the peacekeepers' local commanders, Maj. Gen. Wynjones Matthew Kisamba. She still remains shaken by his answer. The UNAMID forces, she recalls Kisamba saying, had to occasionally massage the truth. "You know, sometimes we have to behave like diplomats," he told her. "We can't say all what we see in Darfur."

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/04/07/special_report_darfur_united_nations_peacekeeping_investigation

That's only one section of the article, the rest of which outlines the lack of international support and support from Khartoum for the UN mission, and the frustration among Sudanese civilians and UN workers at the resulting inability to do anything.

Bensouda's call for an investigation is outlined by Human Rights Watch here.

http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/06/25/un-investigate-alleged-darfur-cover-ups

I imagine we'll learn more about the Security Council's decision regarding the investigation in the coming days, but the UK for one implied that the Secretariat should conduct it, not the UNSC, in their statement.

Volkerball fucked around with this message at 10:36 on Jun 26, 2014

# ? Jun 26, 2014 10:17

Sheng-Ji Yang: Mar 5, 2014

Ebola is spreading out of control in West Africa.

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/jun/23/west-africa-ebola-epidemic-out-of-control

# ? Jun 26, 2014 12:23

Slaan: Mar 16, 2009; ASHERAH DEMANDS I FEAST, I VOTE FOR A FEAST OF FLESH

Yeah, its getting kind of scary for those of us living here. I've also heard that big cities like NYC and Paris actually have a good chance of getting infected too because Ebola has a long enough dormant period for someone to be able to get onto a plane. It wouldn't take long for the original carrier(s) to be found in such a city thanks to good Public Health response systems, and the vectors (wiki says its from direct contact or contaminated hospital equipment or animal contact) are not generally a worry in the West thanks to better training and different culture. But if it does spread, there will be such huge panic.

# ? Jun 27, 2014 07:47

Charlz Guybon: Nov 16, 2010

20% increase in cases and another 68 dead this week! :stonk:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-28114159

quote:

Crisis meeting as Ebola death toll rises in West Africa

Healthcare workers from Medecins Sans Frontieres in Gueckedou, Guinea - 28 March 2014 The WHO has sent dozens of experts to West Africa in recent months to try and contain the outbreak

The World Health Organization (WHO) is hosting an emergency meeting in Ghana on Wednesday on the deadly Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

Health officials from 11 countries are meeting in Accra to discuss how to put an end to the crisis.

More than 400 people have died in what has now become the worst Ebola outbreak in history.

Most of the deaths have been in Guinea but there are an increasing number of cases in Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Health ministers from the three affected countries will join officials from neighbouring Ivory Coast, Mali, Guinea Bissau and Senegal, as well as Uganda, DRC, Gambia and hosts Ghana.

Tulip Mazumdar, the BBC's global health correspondent, says all of these countries are considered at risk from Ebola, which is one of the deadliest viruses on the planet.

On Tuesday, the WHO said the death toll in West Africa had risen to 467, with 68 of the deaths recorded since 23 June.

The number of cases had risen from 635 on 23 June to 759, a 20% increase, the WHO added.

Experts on the ground say one of the key reasons for the continuing spread is the fear and denial around the illness.

Some communities are said to be hiding loved ones who get sick, instead of taking them to hospital, increasing the risk of the virus spreading.

The WHO has already sent more than 150 experts into West Africa over the last few months to try and contain the outbreak.

But it says political commitment is needed from the region itself to ensure this virus is wiped out soon.

"Containment of this outbreak requires a strong response in the countries and especially along their shared border areas," it said in a statement.

Most of the deaths have been centred in the southern Guekedou region of Guinea, where the outbreak was first reported in February.

But health officials say the regions porous borders have allowed infected people to carry the disease into other countries.

Symptoms include high fever, bleeding and central nervous system damage
Fatality rate can reach 90%
Incubation period is two to 21 days
There is no vaccine or cure
Supportive care such as rehydrating patients who have diarrhoea and vomiting can help recovery
Fruit bats are considered to be the natural host of the virus

# ? Jul 2, 2014 06:30

mitztronic: Jun 17, 2005; mixcloud.com/mitztronic

One of the head doctors was infected. Ebola is such an awful way to die.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-28439941

quote:

The doctor leading the fight against Ebola in Sierra Leone is now being treated for the deadly virus, a statement from the presidency has said.

Sheik Umar Khan tested positive and has been admitted to hospital in Kailahun, the epicentre of the outbreak.

More than 630 people have died of Ebola in the three West African states since the outbreak began in Guinea in February, United Nations figures show.

It is the world's deadliest outbreak to date and there is no cure for Ebola.

It kills up to 90% of those infected but if patients receive early treatment, they have a better chance of survival.

It spreads through contact with an infected person's bodily fluids.

WHO: Latest West Africa Ebola outbreak figures
---------

Guinea - 310 deaths, 410 cases
Liberia - 116 deaths, 196 cases
Sierra Leone - 206 deaths, 442 cases

---------

'National hero'

The statement from State House said that the minister of health was in tears when she heard the news about Dr Khan.
line

Health Minister Miatta Kargbo called him a "national hero" and said she would "do anything and everything in my power to ensure he survives", Reuters news agency reports.

The Ebola cases in Sierra Leone are centred in the country's eastern districts of Kailahun and Kenema.

The BBC's Umaru Fofana in the capital, Freetown, says dozens of nurses at the government hospital in Kenema town - which treats all Ebola cases in the district - went on strike on Monday following the death of three of their colleagues of suspected Ebola.

But they have since suspended their sit-down strike as the government looks into their demands, which include the relocation of the Ebola ward from the hospital and the takeover of its operations by the medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres.

On Saturday, the World Health Organization said that of the 632 deadly Ebola cases, 206 people had died in Sierra Leone.

# ? Jul 24, 2014 01:59

Ethiser: Dec 31, 2011

I was listening to an NPR story about this yesterday that talked about the misinformation and urban legend like stories that are spreading among the more rural people and the saddest thing was that a group of youths came up with a song to inform people how to not get Ebola and the first four or five lines were just "Ebola is real".

# ? Jul 24, 2014 02:17

Charlz Guybon: Nov 16, 2010

Looks like it's on its way to being established in two more big cities.
Case number has passed one thousand.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-28485041

quote:

Sierra Leone hunts Ebola patient kidnapped in Freetown

A hunt has been launched in Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, for a woman with Ebola who was forcibly removed from hospital by her relatives.

Radio stations around the country are appealing for help to find the 32-year-old who is being described as a "risk to all".

She is the first Freetown resident to have tested positive for the virus.

Meanwhile, Nigeria's health minister has confirmed that a Liberian man has died of Ebola in Lagos.

According to the Reuters news agency, he collapsed on arrival in Lagos on Sunday and was taken from the airport and put in quarantine at a hospital in the Nigerian city.

Since February, more than 660 people have died of Ebola in West Africa - the world's deadliest outbreak to date.

It began in southern Guinea and spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone. The case in Nigeria is the first in Africa's most populous country.
Angry protesters

The virus kills up to 90% of those infected but if patients receive early treatment, they have a better chance of survival.

It spreads through contact with an infected person's bodily fluids.

Sidi Yahya Tunis, a spokesperson for Sierra Leone's ministry of health, said the King Harman Road Hospital was stormed by the Ebola patient's family on Thursday.

The BBC's Umaru Fofona in Freetown said the woman, who is an apprentice hairdresser, is a resident of the densely populated area of Wellington in the east of the city.

The Ebola cases in Sierra Leone are centred in the country's eastern districts of Kenema and Kailahun, just over the border from the Guekedou region of Guinea where the outbreak started.

Our reporter says there is increasing anger and confusion over the handling of the outbreak.

Police say thousands of people have taken to the streets of Kenema to protest - thronging to the town's hospital, which treats all Ebola cases in the district.

The father of a nine-year-old boy has told the BBC that his son was shot and injured by police as they tried to put down the angry demonstration, in which he says his son was not involved.

Our reporter says the police have not been able to confirm this as they say they are still busy with operational matters.

Nurses at Kenema hospital went on strike for a day on Monday after three of their colleagues died of suspected Ebola.

Earlier this week, it was announced that the doctor leading Sierra Leone's fight against Ebola was being treated for the virus.

On Thursday, the World Health Organization said that 219 people had died of Ebola in Sierra Leone.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/25/us-heath-ebola-nigeria-idUSKBN0FU1LE20140725

quote:

Nigeria government confirms Ebola case in megacity of Lagos

By Felix Onuah and Tom Miles

ABUJA/GENEVA Fri Jul 25, 2014 3:25pm EDT

(Reuters) - A Liberian man who died in Nigeria's commercial capital Lagos on Friday tested positive for the deadly Ebola virus, Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu said.

Patrick Sawyer, a consultant for the Liberian finance ministry in his 40s, collapsed on Sunday after flying into Lagos, a city of 21 million people, and was taken from the airport and put in isolation in a local hospital. Nigeria confirmed earlier on Friday that he had died in quarantine.

"His blood sample was taken to the advance laboratory at the Lagos university teaching hospital, which confirmed the diagnosis of the Ebola virus disease in the patient," Chukwu told a press conference on Friday. "This result was corroborated by other laboratories outside Nigeria."

However, at a separate press conference held by the Lagos state government at the same time, the city's health commissioner, Jide Idris, said that they were only "assuming that it was Ebola" because they were "waiting for a confirmative test to double check" from a laboratory in Dakar.

Paul Garwood, spokesman for the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, said the U.N. health agency was also still waiting for test results.

"We're still waiting for laboratory-confirmed results as to whether he died of Ebola or not," he said.

It could not be immediately determined why there was a contradiction in the comments from central government and city officials.

If confirmed, the man would be the first case on record of one of the world's deadliest diseases in Nigeria, Africa's biggest economy and with 170 million people, its most populous country. Ebola has killed 660 people across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone since it was first diagnosed in February.

Sawyer was quarantined on arrival and had not entered the city, a Nigerian official told Reuters.

"While he was quarantined he passed away. Everyone who has had contact with him has been quarantined," the official said.

Liberia's finance minister Amara Konneh said Sawyer was a consultant for the country's finance ministry.

"Our understanding is that the cause of death was Ebola," Konneh told Reuters.

The victim's sister had died of the virus three weeks previously, and the degree of contact between the two was being investigated by Liberian health ministry officials, he said.

Earlier on Friday, WHO spokesman Paul Garwood said: "I understand that he was vomiting and he then turned himself over basically, he made it known that he wasn't feeling well. Nigerian health authorities took him and put him in isolation."

Nigeria has some of the continent's least adequate healthcare infrastructure, despite access to billions of dollars of oil money as Africa's biggest producer of crude.

Some officials think the disease is easier to contain in cities than in remote rural areas.

"The fear of spread within a dense population would be offset by better healthcare and a willingness to use it, easier contact tracing and, I assume for an urban population, less risky funerary and family rites," Ian Jones, a professor of virology at the University of Reading in Britain, said.

"It would be contained more easily than in rural populations."

There have been 1,093 Ebola cases to date in West Africa's first outbreak, including the 660 who have died, according to the WHO.

(Reporting by Tom Miles; Additional reporting by Tim Cocks and Oludare Mayowa in Lagos, Kate Holtan in London, Clair MacDougall in Monrovia, Emma Farge in Dakar and Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; Writing by Stephanie Nebehay and Tim Cocks; Editing by Susan Fenton and Sonya Hepinstall)

# ? Jul 26, 2014 01:30

illrepute: Dec 30, 2009; by XyloJW

What's the mortality rate on this strain? Is it the godawful but hey-at-least-the-numbers-are-on-your-side 25% or is it the end-of-days 90%?

# ? Jul 26, 2014 01:56

New Division: Jun 23, 2004; I beg to present to you as a Christmas gift, Mr. Lombardi, the city of Detroit.

illrepute posted:

What's the mortality rate on this strain? Is it the godawful but hey-at-least-the-numbers-are-on-your-side 25% or is it the end-of-days 90%?

It's 90% mortality.

Of course, this Ebola strain is not airborne so at least there's that to be thankful for. But it could still spread quite a bit in packed metropolis like Lagos or Freetown.

# ? Jul 26, 2014 02:01

Nintendo Kid: Aug 4, 2011; by Smythe

Also the 90% mortality one is the one that spreads least easily, so there's that too.

# ? Jul 26, 2014 02:02

illrepute: Dec 30, 2009; by XyloJW

Super. I've also been trying to follow the violence in the Central African Republic, where conflict has been tearing the county apart for some time now:

quote:

Seleka rebels in the Central African Republic have rejected a ceasefire deal and demanded the country be partitioned between Muslims and Christians.

In an interview with the BBC's Andrew Harding, Seleka military chief Joseph Zoundeiko said his forces would ignore the ceasefire agreed on Thursday.

He said the deal had been negotiated without proper input from the military wing of the former Seleka alliance.

Almost a quarter of the 4.6 million population have fled their homes.

The peace agreement between mainly Muslim Seleka rebels and the largely Christian anti-Balaka militia was signed in the Congolese capital, Brazzaville.

Muslims have been forced to flee the capital of the Central African Republic (CAR) and most of the west of the country, in what rights groups described as ethnic cleansing.

Both sides have been accused of war crimes such as torture and unlawful killing.

'Immediate partition'
But Maj-Gen Zoundeiko has now called for the entire country to be split in two, arguing that CAR as a nation state is finished.

This seems like an unbelievably lovely idea for a few reasons, not least of which is that the CAR is already an extremely small country, with a population of less than 5 million, of which Muslims only make up <20%. Which means that the population of the Muslim-breakaway north would be less than a million, total, and the CAR is already one of the poorest countries on the planet. There's no way that state would be viable in the least.

# ? Jul 26, 2014 02:08

RCK-101: Feb 19, 2008; If a recruiter asks you to become a nuclear sailor.. you say no

Nckdictator posted:

Seeing as this is the only non South Africa thread here and Nigeria doesn't fit in the Middle East thread...

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-27283383

Ugh.. see, Boku Haram is part of the 'invisible war' that is happening in the North. Now unlike 90% of people in this thread, I have regular phone conversations with people there. The big deal is pretty much.. this is a front on the "GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR" that people are angry about the West intervening in (and Goodluck .. is dealing with modernization, and couldn't lead his way out of a a bag of flour but that's another rant), but the West is helping push back Al Qaeda backed northern militants. It does not help that the rebels are using oil revenues to fund their Islamic front, when we in the South struggle to deal with proper infrastructure and the lack of money we get.

If I am called 'imperialist," for wanting more Western aid, then I'm sorry but we honestly need it, Goodluck can't manage things, a large chunk of the North is effectively under Islamic control.. and I don't think he will be able to manage this crisis.

# ? Jul 26, 2014 02:11

Communist Zombie: Nov 1, 2011

illrepute posted:

Super. I've also been trying to follow the violence in the Central African Republic, where conflict has been tearing the county apart for some time now:

This seems like an unbelievably lovely idea for a few reasons, not least of which is that the CAR is already an extremely small country, with a population of less than 5 million, of which Muslims only make up <20%. Which means that the population of the Muslim-breakaway north would be less than a million, total, and the CAR is already one of the poorest countries on the planet. There's no way that state would be viable in the least.

Well shouldnt it atleast end the violence and allow people to rebuild? Sure it might not be very viable, but I dont think itd worse than whats going currently.

# ? Jul 26, 2014 02:29

kustomkarkommando: Oct 22, 2012

illrepute posted:

This seems like an unbelievably lovely idea for a few reasons, not least of which is that the CAR is already an extremely small country, with a population of less than 5 million, of which Muslims only make up <20%. Which means that the population of the Muslim-breakaway north would be less than a million, total, and the CAR is already one of the poorest countries on the planet. There's no way that state would be viable in the least.

Yeah, I can't see a partition of CAR working in anyway what so ever. The international response has been plagued by funding shortfalls and complete fuckwittery, a couple of months back they threw in towel and gave up trying to keep in the peace in Bangui, instead opting for the mass evacuation of Muslims from the capital to Bambari in the east. They didn't really seem to think this through though as the sudden mass influx of refugees destabilized Bambari and actually escalated the violence. The cease-fire should hopefully stop the fighting between the majority of the groups involved, there's a whole bunch of splinter factions and ethnic militias involved now, but I doubt it will hold until September when the UN peace-keeping mission is due to be deployed (finally).

Speaking of Boko Haram, check out their latest video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ipwr3Myz-Q

Yep, totally not crazy.

# ? Jul 26, 2014 02:33

Constant Hamprince: Oct 24, 2010; by exmarx; College Slice

Communist Zombie posted:

Well shouldnt it atleast end the violence and allow people to rebuild? Sure it might not be very viable, but I dont think itd worse than whats going currently.

How would both sides agree on a border? Even if they did, there would inevitably be whole villages left on the 'wrong' side of the border, which would lead to the majority in each new state trying to 'clean up' the remainders.

# ? Jul 26, 2014 04:25

Communist Zombie: Nov 1, 2011

Jonad posted:

How would both sides agree on a border? Even if they did, there would inevitably be whole villages left on the 'wrong' side of the border, which would lead to the majority in each new state trying to 'clean up' the remainders.

Completely forgot about that. :doh:

Yea that will be its own clusterfuck.

# ? Jul 26, 2014 04:51

Charlz Guybon: Nov 16, 2010

New Division posted:

It's 90% mortality.

Of course, this Ebola strain is not airborne so at least there's that to be thankful for. But it could still spread quite a bit in packed metropolis like Lagos or Freetown.

This outbreak has consistently killed about 60% of its victims.

Last numbers were 660 of 1093 cases were fatal.

# ? Jul 26, 2014 10:34

Banemaster: Mar 31, 2010

Charlz Guybon posted:

This outbreak has consistently killed about 60% of its victims.

Last numbers were 660 of 1093 cases were fatal.

This isn't really the proper way to calculate this, as some of those current cases will still die.

(To get more accurate number, take number of cases two weeks back and see how many of those died)

...

:smith:

# ? Jul 26, 2014 16:25

Slaan: Mar 16, 2009; ASHERAH DEMANDS I FEAST, I VOTE FOR A FEAST OF FLESH

So exactly how fast does the virus die outside of a human body? Does it basically only survive long enough to pass with direct contact, or could blood/saliva get into a water source with nobody noticing and infect people over several hours? Obviously, the vast majority of people in West Africa don't have plumbing. People take showers outside in small uncovered buildings, from which the water flows out of and pools on the ground until it evaporates; so in busy households or the wet season (which is now until ~September/October), the water may never fully dry out. How likely is it that Ebola can spread from someone at the very earliest stages into this water, infecting anyone who contacts the pool?

# ? Jul 26, 2014 16:59

meristem: Oct 2, 2010; I HAVE THE ETIQUETTE OF STIFF AND THE PERSONALITY OF A GIANT CUNT.

I think that you might want to contact actual people about it - the factsheets from the CDC and the WHO, as well as the WHO FAQ, don't mention anything about it. (Although they do mention, for example, "the virus has been isolated in semen for as many as 61 days after illness onset".) Similarly, PubMed search for "ebola transmission water" gave me nothing.

If you don't want to go through forms, here's the CDC communique, with email to the scientist who wrote it. They will probably know, or know someone who knows, or someone who can test the specific conditions you describe. Ask them to update the factsheets, or something.

# ? Jul 26, 2014 18:35

New Division: Jun 23, 2004; I beg to present to you as a Christmas gift, Mr. Lombardi, the city of Detroit.

Realistically any Muslim enclave carved out of the current CAR boundaries would be even more unviable as a state than the CAR currently is.

But Chad could absorb the Muslim area if there was political will to allow the expansion of Chad to cover the new territory (There isn't). That's the only feasible to break up the CAR in my humble opinion. But like I said, it's not going to happen.

# ? Jul 26, 2014 18:40

ukle: Nov 28, 2005

Banemaster posted:

This isn't really the proper way to calculate this, as some of those current cases will still die.

(To get more accurate number, take number of cases two weeks back and see how many of those died)

...

I have seen a death toll of 75% using the 2 week gap.

This whole situation is very alarming to outsiders, the big worry has to be that the Nigeria case will have spread it to other people at the airport / on the airline given he was in the final stages and was definitely infectious. Given that it seems this strain has a incubation period about 3 weeks it could well already be in many other countries, even outside of Africa and we wont know it. This really is becoming a worst case scenario, and kind of surprising the WHO hasn't tried to get all air travel banned out of the 3 main countries.

# ? Jul 26, 2014 18:51

New Division: Jun 23, 2004; I beg to present to you as a Christmas gift, Mr. Lombardi, the city of Detroit.

Banning air travel can hurt economic activity so they really try to avoid doing it until the absolute last possible minute. They're not like the Madagascar President in Pandemic

# ? Jul 26, 2014 18:57

Sheng-Ji Yang: Mar 5, 2014

The epidemic is only getting worse.

This is outdated, another 150 cases have been announced today. Sierra Leone has declared a state of emergency.

quote:

Sealing off towns and homes where the disease is identified until they are cleared by medical teams.

Restricting public meetings and gatherings.

�Active surveillance and house-to-house searches� designed to trace Ebola victims and people who might have been exposed.

New protocols for screening both arriving and departing passengers at the country�s main airport.

Police and troops will be used to make sure that people cooperate with the medical teams. All three of the countries have reportedly had a problem with villagers resisting or rejecting medical attention, in some cases because they fear that their presence is a cause of the disease.

Sheng-Ji Yang fucked around with this message at 20:28 on Jul 31, 2014

# ? Jul 31, 2014 20:23

Slaan: Mar 16, 2009; ASHERAH DEMANDS I FEAST, I VOTE FOR A FEAST OF FLESH

That line is looking far too exponential for my tastes. :stare:

# ? Jul 31, 2014 20:42

treasured8elief: Jul 25, 2011; Salad Prong

Slaan posted:

That line is looking far too exponential for my tastes.

also outdated, before our new spike:

treasured8elief fucked around with this message at 04:57 on Aug 1, 2014

# ? Aug 1, 2014 04:45

treasured8elief: Jul 25, 2011; Salad Prong

sorry, doublepost

treasured8elief fucked around with this message at 04:56 on Aug 1, 2014

# ? Aug 1, 2014 04:53

Zeroisanumber: Oct 23, 2010; Nap Ghost

The two American aid workers who contracted Ebola are on their way back home aboard a special flight. The CDC is putting them up at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, presumably so that they can see if all of the wizardry of modern western medicine can improve their chances of survival.

# ? Aug 1, 2014 06:11

fspades: Jun 3, 2013; by R. Guyovich

Some guy on Reddit did a statistical analysis and he concludes that it's likely the worst isn't over yet and expects steady spread for the next few weeks.

# ? Aug 1, 2014 06:51

kustomkarkommando: Oct 22, 2012

Some minor good news for anyone interested, the Ugandan constitutional court has struck down the infamous Anti-Homosexuality Bill :toot:

It was struck down on a technicality, there was no quorum in Parliament when the bill was passed, but it's still a minor victory for LGBT rights in Africa. In saying that, this was predicted a while back by a lot of Uganda watchers. Yoweri Museveni, Uganda's President for the last 28 years, is a canny political operator and has played the debate about the Bill within Uganda to curry popular favour for his re-election, by backing the bill and shaking his fist at Western condemnation he has rejuvenated his image among the average Ugandan. Meanwhile members of his own party closely allied to him sponsored the legal challenge to the bill, Western aid reductions coming off the back of the bill are too damaging for it to be allowed to stand.

If Museveni accepts the courts decision to strike down the bill (which I think is certain) Western donors will be over the moon, not only will the bill be defeated but Museveni will also have appeased donors who have become increasingly concerned with the lack of judicial independence in Uganda. Museveni can have his cake and it eat it to; He gets to ride a wave of popular support for backing the bill and also repair his relationship with Western donors (a relationship that has been damaged somewhat by Uganda's recent military adventures in South Sudan).

# ? Aug 2, 2014 18:59

Sheng-Ji Yang: Mar 5, 2014

Again this is outdated, with 1600+ cases now.

A second case has been reported in Nigeria, as well.

# ? Aug 5, 2014 10:35

Slaan: Mar 16, 2009; ASHERAH DEMANDS I FEAST, I VOTE FOR A FEAST OF FLESH

Sheng-ji Yang posted:

Again this is outdated, with 1600+ cases now.

A second case has been reported in Nigeria, as well.

Crap! Nigeria is the most heavily populated (and densely populated?) country on the continent. If Ebola actually starts spreading there, this epidemic just got a lot worse. There is a lot more travel and trade going through Nigeria than Sierra Leone et al, so Ebola could spread to a lot more nations via Nigeria.

:smithicide:

# ? Aug 5, 2014 10:51

ukle: Nov 28, 2005

Edited, as the Morroco info has conflicting information from the government.

There are 8 people under quarantine in Nigeria as well as the doctor, 3 of which have the symptoms of Ebola.

Various people being tested all over the world who have come from affected areas. Most will turn out negative, but some might end up being confirmed as Ebola. Does look like this is the early stages of a pandemic and possibly a global pandemic if one or 2 countries outside of Africa mess up, thankfully it can be easily managed so that shouldn't happen.

Good source of none nutter info in these kinds of outbreaks is - http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=3136
It has a lot of doctors on there and they just stick to the facts. As they mention the Nigeria case could be an important one to truly indicate how infectious this Ebola strain is, if it stays at 1 then its great, but if those other 3 people are confirmed then its very worrying, even with the fact they treated the original patient with only normal hygiene protocols.

ukle fucked around with this message at 13:09 on Aug 5, 2014

# ? Aug 5, 2014 12:47

illrepute: Dec 30, 2009; by XyloJW

Slaan posted:

Crap! Nigeria is the most heavily populated (and densely populated?) country on the continent. If Ebola actually starts spreading there, this epidemic just got a lot worse. There is a lot more travel and trade going through Nigeria than Sierra Leone et al, so Ebola could spread to a lot more nations via Nigeria.

They're saying the additional cases are all people who came in contact with the Liberian dude who flew in and died. If that's true, they're all under quarantine and it can't spread beyond them.

...Right?

# ? Aug 5, 2014 20:30

WoodrowSkillson: Feb 24, 2005; *Gestures at 60 years of Lions history*

illrepute posted:

They're saying the additional cases are all people who came in contact with the Liberian dude who flew in and died. If that's true, they're all under quarantine and it can't spread beyond them.

...Right?

Also their family members, friends, etc. They were not initially under quarantine. And yes, that means people who were pissed on by a known ebola victim were not placed under immediate quarantine and instead went home.

# ? Aug 5, 2014 20:40

Randandal: Feb 26, 2009

I've realized now that the only reason the United States evacuated all nonessential staff and Peace Corps and missionaries from the Ebola-affected countries before deciding to fly the two infected Americans to Atlanta is because they figured there would be massive loving riots in those countries once the world discovered that there has been the option of using this "secret serum" all along but only an American could get it.

# ? Aug 5, 2014 20:44

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

^^
Is it really doing anything though? It seems like this isn't clear yet:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-28661616

WoodrowSkillson posted:

Also their family members, friends, etc. They were not initially under quarantine. And yes, that means people who were pissed on by a known ebola victim were not placed under immediate quarantine and instead went home.

Wait, what? Was he into watersports or something?

# ? Aug 5, 2014 20:48

ukle: Nov 28, 2005

Randandal posted:

I've realized now that the only reason the United States evacuated all nonessential staff and Peace Corps and missionaries from the Ebola-affected countries before deciding to fly the two infected Americans to Atlanta is because they figured there would be massive loving riots in those countries once the world discovered that there has been the option of using this "secret serum" all along but only an American could get it.

Its not a secret serum, its been in the works for years, and so has another treatment. But it was stopped from going to human trials in march, probably in part due to the other treatment having massive side effects (causing hemorrhaging in the stage 1 human testing i.e. perfectly healthy people) and also the tests on primates for zmapp were very small scale, and also possibly showed issues. Note the primate tests seemed to indicate it only worked within the first day of the host being infected, which is almost useless given the incubation period of this strain.

Its probably that if the 2 US doctors recover its got nothing to do with zmapp, which going by the language of the doctors treating them is what they believe.

ukle fucked around with this message at 20:56 on Aug 5, 2014

# ? Aug 5, 2014 20:54

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# ? Jun 7, 2024 08:19

WoodrowSkillson: Feb 24, 2005; *Gestures at 60 years of Lions history*

mobby_6kl posted:

^^
Is it really doing anything though? It seems like this isn't clear yet:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-28661616

Wait, what? Was he into watersports or something?

FrontPageAfrica has now learned that upon being told he had Ebola, Mr. Sawyer went into a rage, denying and objecting to the opinion of the medical experts. �He was so adamant and difficult that he took the tubes from his body and took off his pants and urinated on the health workers, forcing them to flee."

http://frontpageafricaonline.com/index.php/news/2506-sawyer-s-final-hours-in-lagos-indiscipline-rage-strange

# ? Aug 5, 2014 20:54

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > Sub-saharan Africa: Too depressing to be funny.

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