Tag: africa

Bushmeat is Back

Bushmeat was a popular fare in Nigeria, but with the threat of Ebola people have been less interested in it. Wild animal meat is thought to be the origin of the current Ebola outbreak. Now the the Ebola scare is dying down, hunted animals are once again being seen along roadsides for sale. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) says… The term “bushmeat” refers to meat that comes from wild animals captured in developing regions of the world...

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The next Ebola?

Since the first outbreaks of Ebola virus disease in 1976, there have been numerous other outbreaks in humans across Africa with fatality rates ranging from 50% to 90%. Humans can become infected with the Ebola virus after direct contact with blood or bodily fluids from an infected person or animal. The virus also infects and kills other primates, though fruit bats are suspected to be the most likely carriers of the virus in the wild. In the countries...

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Ebola Virus Appears Tied to Increasing Human Population Density

Researchers at SUNY Downstate Medical Center have found an apparent link between human population density and vegetation cover in Africa and the spread of the Ebola virus from animal hosts to humans. Michael G. Walsh, PhD, MPH, assistant professor of epidemiology and biostatistics in the School of Public Health at SUNY Downstate, notes that there is significant interaction between population density and green vegetation cover in the parts of Africa...

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Cameroon Army Frees 24 Boko Haram Hostages

Cameroon’s army has freed 24 hostages kidnapped during a cross-border attack by suspected Boko Haram fighters based in neighbouring Nigeria, government officials said. In their latest cross-border raid on Sunday, the Nigeria-based Boko Haram fighters seized at least 80 people in northern Cameroon, most of them women and children. Cameroon Information Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakari told Al Jazeera that the Cameroon army was able to free at least...

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Malawi Floods Cut Off Thousands from Aid

The authorities in Malawi say at least 170 people have died in flash floods – a sharp rise on previous figures. Heavy rain over the past month has swept many houses away and caused residents to flee to higher ground, some crossing the border to Mozambique. Vice-President Saulos Chilima said more than 100,000 people had been displaced from their homes, mostly in the south. Earlier this week, the government declared a third of the country to...

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