The interval between the onset of symptoms and death has been 48 hours in the majority of cases, and “that’s what’s really worrying,” Serge Ngalebato, medical director of Bikoro Hospital, a regional monitoring center, told The Associated Press.
The latest disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo began on Jan. 21, and 419 cases have been recorded including 53 deaths.
According to the WHO’s Africa office, the first outbreak in the town of Boloko began after three children ate a bat and died within 48 hours following hemorrhagic fever symptoms.
Absolutely!
Another example is HIV: Initial infection is just a minor flu, you’re then infectious and active for 5-10 years before becoming seriously ill with AIDS (of course this is for untreated HIV). This allowed the illness to spread for decades adapting to humans before finally being identified in the 80s, killing millions.
Just gonna tack on here that everyone’s favorite presidential whipping boy, ol’ Ronnie shithead Reagan, was partially responsible for allowing it to continue spreading. Hell, his press secretary or some equivalent laughed at the one reporter that actually asked about it and implied the reporter was a homosexual. He also abandoned his buddy Roy Cohn because of it too.
May he rot in piss.