World fears ebola .... Spaniards fight to save a dog ...

In the film 7m Arivu,  in modern day  China,  Dong Lee (Johnny Tri Nguyen) is given the task of starting a government planned biological war against India, known as Operation Red. Dong Lee arrives in Chennai starts this operation by injecting a virus into a street dog. This disease was the one which occurred during the time of Bodhidharma in China. ……… the heroine,  a student of genetics researches that Bodhidharma can be brought back to life if his sample of DNA is matched with another sample of DNA  !!!!!!

Thousands are dying of Ebola in Africa... but Spaniards are protesting for a dog ….. and demonstrators clashed with Police authorities too………  sounds strange !  Excalibur  is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Great Britain- that is the name of the dog too.

Globally Ebola is the dreaded thing …. Ebola virus disease (EVD), Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), or simply Ebola is a disease of humans and other primates caused by an ebola virus.  The virus may be acquired upon contact with blood or bodily fluids of an infected human or other animal. Fruit bats are believed to be a carrier and may spread the virus without being affected. Once human infection occurs, the disease may spread between people, as well.  Ebola is extremely infectious but not extremely contagious. As the Ebola virus continues to spread in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, health officials are concerned that myths and misinformation may continue to spread too. The virus has claimed more than 2,800 lives so far, as there are alarming reports of rise incidence.

Away in Spain, a dog named Excalibur is in thick of news …. It caused Police clash with demonstrators angry over threat to infected nurse's pet when it was  carted away by authorities.   The dog belongs to Spanish nurse Teresa Romeros, who's contracted Ebola. Officials say there's a possibility that the dog could spread the virus  but social media and on roads there is campaign called  'SalvemosAExcalibur' – Spanish for 'Let's save Excalibur'. A report in Daily Mail states that dozens of animal rights activists scuffled with police and tried to prevent an ambulance and workers in hazmat suits from entering the apartment of Spanish Ebola victim Teresa Romeros. The workers had arrived to disinfect the property and - more crucially to a rapidly growing army of protesters - take away the nurse's pet dog, Excalibur. Madrid regional's government obtained a court order to euthanize the dog, saying 'available scientific information' cannot rule out the possibility that Excalibur could spread the virus.

the nurse with her dog.

The move has provoked anger - both on the streets of Spain and on social media around the world - prompting a campaign to save the dog's life.   Despite campaigns, the dog was eventually carted off by authorities this morning, but its fate remains unclear.  There were unconfirmed reports that officials were considering putting the pet into quarantine rather than putting it to sleep, amid growing public unrest over its plight.

The United States got its first scare from Ebola last week when Thomas Eric Duncan, a man sick with the virus, travelled from Liberia to Dallas. This man was feared to have been in contact with up to 100 people after he became contagious, all of whom had to be individually evaluated by public health professionals for their exposure risk. Half of these individuals are currently under observation. Nine of them considered to be at highest risk are being checked twice daily for symptoms.  The man had presented himself to a Dallas hospital only to be misdiagnosed and sent home. It took days before a properly trained Hazmat crew was sent to the apartment to clean it.  Some state that human errors in this single case highlight why it is urgent that all commercial flights from the impacted countries to all non-affected countries be banned  until the outbreak is contained.

Amidst news that 100-strong army of British military medics will set up Ebola hospital in Sierra Leone to treat victims, the dog Excalibur has become the focus of animal lovers around the world with hundreds flooding social media with adorable pictures of their pets as part of an international campaign to save the dog. Twitter is awash with photographs of dogs, cats and birds which have been posted alongside the hashtag 'SalvemosAExcalibur' – which is Spanish for 'Let's save Excalibur'.  A  petition for the dog to be saved - on the change.org website - has so far received over 300,000 signatures. The petition for Excalibur said: 'It would be much easier to isolate or quarantine the dog just as they have the victim’s husband. If this woman were to die, the dog which has accompanied them for so many years would be an important emotional support for her husband. This is not "just" a dog, for this couple he is one of the family.'

Ms Romero Ramos, 44, from Galicia in northwest Spain, who is one of the medical team that treated two repatriated Spanish priests who died from Ebola, has been in quarantine since it was confirmed she was carrying the virus. Her husband Javier Limon Romero has also been quarantined over fears he may too have contracted the disease.

Lab experiments on other animals suggest their urine, saliva or stool might contain the virus. That means that in theory, people might catch it through an infected dog licking or biting them, or from grooming. When  over 3,400 people have died from Ebola, with almost 8,000 infected, the best-supported petition concerning human sufferers of the crisis, calling for drugs and vaccines to be fast-tracked, has just half that number, calling in to question whether the West has its priorities right. At the time of posting this, newspaper reports confirm that Health authorities put down mixed-breed, Excalibur.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

9^th Oct 2014