Texas ebola poses no threat to humans

By PAULINE ARRILLAGA
Associated Press Writer

ALICE, Texas (AP) - Looking to erase dramatic images of a widespread outbreak, health officials Tuesday said the Ebola virus that claimed two monkeys at a primate center posed virtually no threat to humans.

"Nobody's sick. There's not a big outbreak of something," said Dr. Pierre Rollin, chief of the special pathogens branch for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Rollin, a top Ebola expert who has studied the infection's deadly strain in Africa, acknowledged human infection was not impossible but said it has never occurred with the particular strain that was diagnosed at the Texas Primate Center.

The virus killed one monkey and caused another to be euthanized at the South Texas breeding facility, which provides primates to researchers worldwide. An additional 98 monkeys, which were among a shipment that arrived March 21 from the Philippines, remained quarantined and were being tested.

Federal, state and local officials stressed Tuesday that the Texas strain poses no similar threat to the more lethal strain of Ebola, which infected 316 people and killed 245 last year in the central African nation of Zaire. Earlier this year, at least 13 people died from Ebola in Gabon in western Africa.

To make the case, state Health Commissioner David Smith said rabies and tuberculosis were more serious health threats.

"These are issues that are far more concerning to us," he said.

Smith theorized that Ebola, however, has attracted more interest because of its depiction in the best-selling book "Hot Zone" and the movie "Outbreak," both of which were based on a 1989 incident in Reston, Va.
"The reason there's this much excitement is because we've had a movie and a book," Smith said.

The Texas Ebola strain is "99 percent homologous" to the Ebola virus that struck the Reston primate facility seven years ago, Rollin said. At that facility, four people were exposed to the virus but never got sick.

However, federal disease fighters protected by airtight suits had to kill every monkey and destroy the remains.
Eight people were exposed to Ebola at the Texas center: two veterinarians, five monkey handlers and one lab technician, said Kate Hendricks, an epidemiologist with the state health department. However, all were wearing protective gear such as masks and gloves and reported no cuts or scratches.

Those exposed remain under observation and have been asked to report any signs of illness.

Ebola is spread through bodily fluids, commonly through a break in the skin, and has no treatment or cure.

About 5,000 primates are housed at the privately owned center, located 15 miles southeast of Alice amid acres of farm land. Monkeys are kept in hundreds of miniature huts in which they can been seen drinking water and climbing.

The infected monkeys were among a shipment from the Philippines. The animals were flown via a cargo plane to Houston, then transported to the facility by truck, said Stephen Pearson, the center's director.

The remaining 98 monkeys have been separated from the other primates. None has shown Ebola symptoms, including fever and loss of appetite, but officials did not rule out the possibility of having to euthanize additional animals.

The virus usually will appear within 21 days of exposure, officials said. The first monkey died on March 30.

This is the first time since 1990 that Ebola has been diagnosed in the United States, officials said. The last infection also occurred at the Texas Primate Center in a shipment of monkeys from the Philippines. The monkeys in the 1989 Reston outbreak, as well as this latest incident, came from the same Filipino supplier, Ferlite Scientific Research Inc., said health department spokesman Doug McBride.

News of the latest virus hasn't sparked much interest among locals in this town of about 20,000, and city officials said they planned to spread the word that there's nothing to fear.

"There is no danger whatsoever," said City Councilman Larry Martinez. "We will continue to have business as usual."