For any of you that don't know, but care, the district of Bundibugyo that I worked in for two years is the latest site in Africa of an Ebola outbreak. The strain found in the sick is totally new, so no one quite knows what the fatality rate will be, or how contagious it is. This is some really scary stuff.
Already most of the medical personnel in the district have fled, or passed away. My former teammates, Scott and Jennifer Myhre are providing health care for the 300,000 some thousand people in district under extremely demanding circumstances. MSF, WHO, and the Ugandan health department are all pitching in on the epidemic, but in the meantime, Scott and Jennifer have to help with that, along with the daily c-sections, malnourished babies, and run of the mill life-threatening illnesses that are always there. It's pretty much insane.
Both Scott and Jennifer treated people with Ebola before the test results from the CDC let them know what was up, so there is a continued cloud they work under of contracting a very deadly sickness themselves. They need an outpouring of prayers and support. Jennifer has done an excellent job of keeping the world updated through a blog you can read here.
Posted by matt at December 6, 2007 11:18 AM | TrackBack