-Caveat Lector- > >Tuesday October 17 12:06 PM ET >Uganda's Gulu Town a Haven for Ebola Outbreak > >Reuters Photo > > > >By Gavin Pattison > >GULU, Uganda (Reuters) - Any mad scientist looking to unleash a deadly virus >on the world could do a lot worse than choose Gulu in northern Uganda. >There is no suggestion that the outbreak of Ebola virus which has struck >Uganda is anything other than a natural calamity, but the effect could be >just as devastating as if contrived by a Hollywood villain. >Gulu, around 180 miles north of the capital Kampala, is the perfect spot for >a fast-acting virus to get a grip on a local population and then spread >across the country and beyond. >It is a major market town at the crossroads of the main northern road from >Kampala to Sudan and the western route to Democratic Republic of the Congo, >where Ebola was first recognized in 1996. >The town is at the heart of one of the most insecure areas of the country, >where the rebel Lords Resistance Army has been waging war for over a decade. >And although officially denied by the government, the area is known also to >harbor fighters from the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) fighting the >Khartoum government. >The town has an official population of around 40,000 people, but this figure >is often swelled by the arrival of peasants displaced by rebel activity or >army counter insurgencies. >There are also dozens of camps for thousands of Sudanese refugees in the >area-many of them with little in the way of sanitation or health facilities. >Ugandan officials say 39 people have been officially confirmed to have died >from Ebola -- 37 in Gulu district and two others in Kitgum, further south. >They have slapped a quarantine on three areas of Gulu where they believe the >virus is concentrated, but given that it took two weeks from when the first >victim died until Ebola was confirmed, there are real fears the disease may >already have slipped through the cordon. >Hiv Also Rampant >It is not just the location that makes Gulu a perfect breeding point for the >virus. Living conditions, traditional customs and Uganda's social fabric >could all contribute to the spread of the disease. >Communal eating and washing is commonplace in Gulu. Polygamy is still >practiced and prostitution is rife. >These conditions all contributed to the spread of another deadly virus, HIV, >which has killed hundreds of thousands of Ugandans and infected millions >more in the last 20 years. >Ebola is passed on through contact with body fluids. Victims suffer from >aches and fevers similar to flu before developing splitting headaches, >stomach pains and diarrhea. >The early symptoms are not unlike those for dozens of other diseases endemic >in the area such as malaria and cholera, making diagnosis difficult. >Only in the last stages-when the virus eats through the victim's veins and >arteries causing massive internal hemorrhaging and causing blood to pour out >of every orifice-is it clear Ebola has struck. >By then it is usually too late. >"It is like watching someone dissolve before your eyes," one doctor said. >Authorities in the capital Kampala have been put on high alert for anyone >showing symptoms of Ebola. Uganda's neighbors Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda >have also stepped up checks at border posts and warned hospitals to watch >out for Ebola. >In the Hollywood version of disease outbreak movies, a hero doctor usually >races against time before discovering a vaccine or cure for whatever virus >the evil tyrant has unleashed. >With Ebola there is no vaccine and no cure. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
