Afternoon drama : Ebola.

Date:
2014
  • Audio

About this work

Description

This radio drama is the true story of how Professor Peter Piot discovered ebola in 1976 when he was a trainee virologist based in Antwerp and was called out to Zaire (formerly Belgian Congo) to investigate the mysterious deaths of Belgian nuns. The story is narrated by Professor Piot. The first patient was thought to be suffering from malaria; he had massive interal bleeding. The nurse who attended him, Sister Miriam, later died; she was held in an isolation unit because her illness was clearly different. The process of the illness is graphic in its description. Piot and his colleagues took considerable risks when they received the vials delivered by courier in a flask, one was broken but one was intact. They tested the remaining vial for a range of tropical illnesses - they started to become aware that this might be a 'level 4' disease so highly dangerous. In Zaire, the situation at the Belgian mission was worsening. Karl Johnson was the scientific director of the investigation and deployed Piot where he met Joel Breman from the US there. They carry out an epidemological survey; they listen and observe the villagers - surprisingly there were a few survivors. Joseph McCormack arrives in the capital city with the World Heath Organisation. The outbreak abates.

Publication/Creation

UK : BBC Radio 4, 2014.

Physical description

1 CD (28 min).

Copyright note

BBC Radio 4

Notes

Broadcast on 18 December 2014

Creator/production credits

Written by Mike Walker. Directed by Dirk Maggs. Produced by David Morley. A Perfectly Normal production for BBC Radio 4.

Type/Technique

Languages

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