Back in the sixties and ‘ 70s , William Taliaferro Close was the personal Dr. of President Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire . He was also the chief doctor of the army . When the President reportedly fled to France when Ebola threatened to spread out across Africa like wildfire in 1976 , Close stay to help curb the ugly disease . He was flying from Geneva to Zaire ’s capital city of Kinshasa when he overhead a conversation between two men posture near him and realize they were from the Center of Disease Control in Atlanta . The trio spend the rest of the flight discussing the outbreak , and by the time they landed , Close had an activity plan .
He used his political influence to get right equipment and effective auspices for medical personnel and get them deport to the affected areas . Though the war machine refused to go in , Close commandeered a Zairian Army plane to pilot a team into Ebola Ground Zero , bringing much - needed supplies and advice . Through their study , the chain of Ebola contagion was get out by being vigilant about sterilizing equipment and isolating patient role in their villages . Even so , 88 % of the 318 case identified during the 1976 outbreak ended up being fatal .
In many cases , the veracious gearing would have preclude many of the Ebola - associate dying , even when it come to the 1995 outbreak in Kikwit . “ The peachy pauperism in Kikwit right now is for rubber apron to protect the doctors and nurse , because the line of descent and emesis is inebriate through their operating gowns , ” he said at the clock time . Since the virus is transmitted through bodily fluid , not having protective wearing apparel was almost a death sentence for aesculapian personnel .
In sheath you ’re wondering , Glenn was n’t there . When Ebola recrudesce out in 1976 , she was 29 and had already asterisk in several Broadway production . nigh leave Africa and Mobutu Sese Seko in 1977 after realize how corrupt the authorities had become . He moved to Big Piney , Wyoming , to practice music until his demise in 2009 .
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