The Standard Group Plc is a multi-media organization with investments in media
platforms spanning newspaper print
operations, television, radio broadcasting, digital and online services. The
Standard Group is recognized as a
leading multi-media house in Kenya with a key influence in matters of national
and international interest.
If HIV and Ebola both began as zoonotic diseases, why did one evolve into a global sexually transmitted epidemic while the other remains primarily a disease spread through contact with infected body fluids? According to Dr Moses Masika, Consultant Infectious Disease Physician and Medical Microbiologist, the answer begins long before a virus reaches its first human host. It starts with biology.
There are thousands of viruses circulating in wildlife around the world. Most never infect humans. Even when they do, many fail to survive beyond the first infected person because they cannot effectively enter human cells or reproduce inside them. Only a tiny fraction successfully adapts.
"There are many zoonotic diseases and only a few of them are sexually transmitted," says Dr Masika.
Facts First
This story continues on The Standard INSiDER. Subscribe now for unfiltered journalism that holds power to account.
Already have an account? Login
join