Hat tip: Instapundit. Edited for brevity.
The New York Times apparently copied an erroneous Wikipedia entry into its news pages today. From the NYT's article on the Marburg Haemorragic Fever outbreak in Angola:
There is no cure or vaccine for the highly contagious virus. Victims suffer a high fever, diarrhea, vomiting and severe bleeding from bodily orifices and usually die within a week.
The Wikipedia entry on the virus:
There is no cure or vaccine for the highly contagious virus. Victims suffer a high fever, diarrhea, vomiting and severe bleeding from bodily orifices and usually die within a week.
Wikipedia mischaracterized how contagious Marburg is, and the NYT apparently copied the mistake. Consulting more authoritative sources would have avoided the problem. From the CDC:
Clinicians should consider the diagnosis of Marburg VHF among febrile patients who, within 10 days before onset of fever, have either 1) traveled in northern Angola; 2) had direct contact with blood, other body fluids, secretions, or excretions of a person or animal suspected of having VHF; or 3) worked in a laboratory or animal facility that handles hemorrhagic fever viruses (3). The likelihood of acquiring VHF is considered extremely low in persons who do not meet any of these criteria. The cause of fever in persons who have traveled to areas where VHF is endemic is more likely to be a different infectious disease.
The article goes on to state that perhaps Wikipedia copied from the NYT instead. In any case, they are both wrong on Marburg. |