Can't wait for the doomsday excitement we'll have when we get a democrat back in the White House whose "open borders" CDC chief will again recommend that borders in the vicinity of Ebola outbreaks not be closed because this would "lose some people some money". A 'feel your pain' Cosmopolitan administration that will also allow those infected with Ebola into the USA despite the fact that the last time that was done a few US nurses caught it and almost died, and this could have caused a pandemic here that killed 10's of millions. Right! Can't wait to 'share' the miseries of the 3rd world even more via increased importation of drug resistant TB, Zika, exotic flu strains, new polio strains in open borders flows of many millions of "refugees" per year that the democrats will engineer for more votes. So they can feel all righteous and holier than thou by forcing a kind of penance (for what someone who might have looked like me 100 years ago may have done) on me, because of my being an evil, white, Anglo ish, middle class - who both the Marxists and Robber Barons hate, served in the military, not Jewish, heterosexual male.
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I am deeply impressed by the mission these healthcare workers have undertaken. Not sure I would be able to do the same. Seems all odds are against them. If Ebola does break out across the region, I really hope the NYTimes doesn't publish a US blame article where we should all blame Trump or Congress or our healthcare system for the illnesses and deaths in this area of utter loss and corruption. I feel for the citizens in these remote villages, not for their lifestyle, but because there is no one for them to trust given the bloodshed and propaganda.
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I would encourage journalists to look into the story of why CDC, a key player in the West African Ebola response, is not present in DRC in any meaningful way.
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He didn’t chose medicine over the priesthood. He incorporated the tenets of it into his profession as a doctor. God Bless him and his teams
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What an inspiring story of courage.
Ebola is mostly a political and cultural challenge.
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They're doing it for the humanity. True courage ! And heroes all, including the journalists...
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"Dr. Kasereka Bernardin, a vaccinologist, looked over his shoulder, made the sign of the cross, and acknowledged that the lethal virus was not his most immediate fear. . . We’re scared of the Mai-Mai,” he said, using a local term for militias, his forehead lightly beaded with sweat. “We’re afraid they might kill us.”
The fact that this hideous virus has taken 11,310 lives in West Africa alone between 2014 to 2016 and yet these four brave and selfless health workers are willing to risk their own lives against this virus AND the local militias, the "Mai-Mai", I have complete and deep respect and admiration for them.
Talk about heroes and role models for the world. These four souls embody those notions simply by their inner strength and actions to help those who are facing extreme and dire circumstances.
I've been following various Ebola outbreaks for decades. That virus, more than any other, scares me to my core. It is encouraging to read that "there have been many hopeful advances recently in the battle against the deadly Ebola virus."
I wish these health workers the safe passage they need and success in treating those infected by the Ebola virus.
Thank you Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura and the NYT for reporting and running this article. Please continue to keep us readers apprised of this terrifying situation.
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I don’t think that they should be risking their lives just to save these people who, if get better and live, will only suffer even more at the hands of the government and the government multitude of militias that are all vying for power in the Congo, or go on to join one or the other and inflict the torture they have endured upon others. The people who are risking their lives and the good who care for others but there is a price to pay for their good will. All throughout Africa and the Middle East it is the same, a ruling government that is corrupt as the day is long and “freedom fighters” or “rebels” or “militias” who fight the government to gain control and continue the corruption. And meanwhile the people suffer just to live.
“I said to my soul, be still, and wait without hope / For hope would be hope for the wrong thing.” -T.S. Eliot
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@David Parchert
I think you pose an extremely compelling argument Mr. Parchert. However, I believe those folks who enter the field of medicine and health care do so because of their belief system and compassion to help those in need of medical care and treatment. I could not do what they do, nor could I be a vet who cares for abused and neglected animals. I just can't handle that kind of pain and suffering. That is why I believe folks like these four health workers are incredible human beings who possess a special gift of compassion and love towards their follow human being. It's not an easy calling nor one for everyone.
Thank you for sharing your counter point of view for it is very much appreciated.
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That's what courage looks like. My pulse increased just reading the story.
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Dr. Shako and his colleagues working to help not only the people of Congo but all of us. We owe them a debt of gratitute.
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A Hero if there ever was one. No words to express the contradicting emotions because of the human impact of this outbreak. The good and the evil clearly dwell together.
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Humbling to read - the very best of humanity in full display. Good luck to all in the Congo and thanks also to Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura and CreditDiana Zeyneb Alhindawi for their own courage in bringing this story to the world.
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The courage and commitment of the health care workers is beyond commendable.
The photograph of the healthcare worker holding the baby speaks truth to power.....no matter the danger, the baby is given the nurturing needed.
Godspeed to everyone engaged in helping the people of Congo and those making sure that this article exists.
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If you ask me why not just shut down the boarder and ground all aircraft and just let the disease drive out the mentally ill and insane people who have ruined the country with their hatred and war, killing and killing without a care just to be the leader and reap the rewards of wealth. All over the entire planet the world leader are all the same. They are all sickening individuals and groups that have no conscious, no caring for their fellow man, they kill the people in thousands of ways all in the name of power and money. Humans have been destroying the planet since the day they started to think and technology has allowed them to destroy it at greater speed. None of them care, the vast majority of the people who inhabit the planet don’t really care, and one day soon we will bring about our own end. And from the beginning it has always been the people with the broken brains that are put in charge or place themselves in charge and the people who have a conscious, the people who do care about their fellow man, are the ones who struggle and die by the hands of the “elite” who control everything.
I don’t mean to sound so dire but I just get so angry at what this world is becoming. War, Power, and Wealth have become the new Gods of man. I just wish that peace and happiness could reign over the world for a change.
1
NEW gods?
Guess you haven’t read The Bible?
Scientific proof or evidence biological?
Amazing, courageous reporting. Hoping against all of the odds explained that the public health experts and specialists triumph.
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If you want to read the best book on zoonotic illnesses (illnesses that jump from animal to human) I highly recommend "Spillover" by David Quaamen. A total page-turner!
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Amazing story. Such heroic work. As I sit here in my comfortable, climate controlled office with a half-eaten bagel on the desk, Mr. Freytas-Tamura's article puts into perspective my own rather pedestrian daily irritations.
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