(NaturalNews) An expert scientist from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) has publicly warned that the Ebola strain currently in circulation appears to be far more virulent and infectious than previous strains.
Dr. Peter Jahrling has been on the ground in the Liberian capital of Monrovia, studying the disease with a team of researchers, which is also helping to care for and treat patients. He says the viral loads that his team is witnessing exceed what has been observed during previous outbreaks, suggesting that, this time, the disease is far more deadly.
Echoing the warnings given by others, Dr. Jahrling believes that this strain of Ebola is not only more deadly than other strains but also mutating at an alarming rate. More of the virus is infecting patients, and it appears to be advancing and spreading more rapidly than usual.
"We are using tests now that weren't [used] in the past, but there seems to be a belief that the virus load is higher in these patients [today] than what we have seen before," stated Dr. Jahrling to Vox. "If true, that's a very different bug."
"I have a field team in Monrovia," he said. "They are running [tests]. They are telling me that viral loads are coming up very quickly and really high, higher than they are used to seeing."
"It may be that the virus burns hotter and quicker," Dr. Jahrling stated.
US provides lame excuses for not imposing West African travel bans
Dr. Jahrling's chilling remarks come as countries throughout Africa close their borders and impose tighter restrictions on air travel. The U.S. government is also reluctantly jumping onboard, recently announcing travel guidelines that will allow West African travelers into the country only if they pass through one of five designated airports.
Initially, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), along with the White House, acted as if Ebola was no big deal, refusing to shutter travel from West Africa. However, now that there have been three confirmed cases of Ebola diagnosed in the U.S., as of this writing, their collective tune has changed somewhat.
But officials still refuse to completely stop travel from West Africa, using the excuse that doing so would be counterproductive to ending the outbreak. The official story contends that West Africans will respond to travel bans by attempting to lie about their travel histories and bypass screenings.
If this same logic was applied to the War on Drugs, for instance, then we would no longer have a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) raiding homes and putting cannabis users in prison -- after all, banning substances only causes people to lie about using them and evade law enforcement, right?
Somehow, protecting the American public by restricting travel from West Africa is counterproductive, but policing people's individual choices is pro-American. This is the deranged logic of the federal government, which seems to be doing everything in its power to spark an Ebola outbreak in the U.S. rather than prevent one.
UK's David Cameron pushing EU to send 2,000 'health workers' to West Africa
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister David Cameron is calling on the European Union to muster up about 1 billion euros to pay for the sending of 2,000 "health workers" to West Africa. Cameron is quoted by the Daily Mail as claiming that his country is "leading the way" in providing assistance to the stricken region.
"I think it is time for other countries to look at their responsibilities and their resources and act in a similar way to what Britain is doing in Sierra Leone, America is doing in Liberia, France is doing in Guinea," stated Cameron.
