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MYSTERY DISEASE IN KENYA AND SOMALIA COULD BE FORM OF ANTHRAX
Web posted at: 3:30 p.m. EST (2030 GMT)
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) -- An unexplained disease that has caused scores of Kenyans, Somalis and livestock to bleed to death this month may be a form of anthrax, medical experts said Sunday.
"At the moment, the evidence that we have agrees the most with an outbreak of anthrax," said Dr. Douglas Klaucke, acting World Health Organization representative in Kenya.
The evidence includes symptoms -- high fever, diarrhea, intestinal problems, vomiting blood -- that are similar to those of intestinal anthrax, a rare manifestation of the illness that causes stomach ulcers and inflames the intestines.
Another sign that anthrax may be to blame is that the disease can be contracted by eating undercooked, infected meat -- a common practice in Somalia and Kenya, where recent flooding has marooned thousands of people who are eating carcasses of sick animals, Klaucke said.
With the recent announcement of Anthrax innoculations to be given to all US military personnel because of potential bio-war applications many questions have come up about what this means both militarily as well as for civilian targets. Such outbreaks as the above give real-world examples of the virulence of the pathogen, efficiency of medical & political responces, as well as a base lines to compare to models for disease spread. In short, such instances as above represent the 'best effort' responce that could be expected. ____________________________________________________________________ | | | Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make | | violent revolution inevitable. | | | | John F. Kennedy | | | | | | _____ The Armadillo Group | | ,::////;::-. Austin, Tx. USA | | /:'///// ``::>/|/ http://www.ssz.com/ | | .', |||| `/( e\ | | -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'- Jim Choate | | ravage@ssz.com | | 512-451-7087 | |____________________________________________________________________|