The interval between the onset of symptoms and death has been 48 hours in the majority of cases, and “that’s what’s really worrying,” Serge Ngalebato, medical director of Bikoro Hospital, a regional monitoring center, told The Associated Press.
The latest disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo began on Jan. 21, and 419 cases have been recorded including 53 deaths.
According to the WHO’s Africa office, the first outbreak in the town of Boloko began after three children ate a bat and died within 48 hours following hemorrhagic fever symptoms.
“Idiot” was once a medical term for severely mentally disabled people, along with imbecile and moron for less severely mentally disabled. Those terms were used to insult people and eventually became pejorative. The term “Retarded” was introduced to avoid the insult associated with “Idiot”. Now “retarded” is insulting and has been replaced by “developmentally disabled” or “special” or other such nonsense.