It challenged the dominant narrative of the 2014 Ebola outbreak, disputing the index case and suggesting a potential link to a research lab in Kenema, Sierra Leone.
The problem is that people see these coincidences. One of the new ones is the Ebola lab leak, which also is being blamed on us because we have been studying Ebola in Kenema and Sierra Leone.
— Episode: 3/29/23: Chris Christie Insists He Can B...
Episode: 3/29/23: Chris Christie Insists He Can Beat Trump,...
It challenged the dominant narrative of the 2014 Ebola outbreak, disputing the index case and suggesting a potential link to a research lab in Kenema, Sierra Leone.
The problem is that people see these coincidences. One of the new ones is the Ebola lab leak, which also is being blamed on us because we have been studying Ebola in Kenema and Sierra Leone.
And lo and behold, Ebola emerged just a few miles from there in 2014, right? Obviously across the border in Guinea, but it's maybe 100 miles or so away.
In the first place, it was reported that the index case of the outbreak, Emil Wamono, was a two-year-old child who they alleged was involved in the hunting and grilling and eating of bats that transmitted the virus to the child.
So that did not hold up.
So I traveled from Sierra Leone to Guinea and then met family members of Emil, the father. I spoke to the father who was never at the time mentioned by any of the reports. And that is what I documented in my book, basically part of the book or the main aspect of the book is to challenge that dominant narrative.
Episode: 3/29/23: Chris Christie Insists He Can Beat Trump,...
The book challenged the dominant narrative of the 2014 Ebola outbreak, particularly the claim that a 2-year-old boy was patient zero. It also questioned the role of a lab in Kenema, Sierra Leone, in the outbreak.
The problem is that people see these coincidences. One of the new ones is the Ebola lab leak, which also is being blamed on us because we have been studying Ebola in Kenema and Sierra Leone. And lo and behold, Ebola emerged just a few miles from there in 2014, right? Obviously across the border in Guinea, but it's maybe 100 miles or so away.
So I traveled from Sierra Leone to Guinea and then met family members of Emil, the father. I spoke to the father who was never at the time mentioned by any of the reports.
In the first place, it was reported that the index case of the outbreak, Emil Wamono, was a two-year-old child who they alleged was involved in the hunting and grilling and eating of bats that transmitted the virus to the child.
And that is what I documented in my book, basically part of the book or the main aspect of the book is to challenge that dominant narrative.
So I knew from my work as a journalist in the region that Kenema had been the center of biodefense research way back in 2004, subsequent to the anthrax incident here that increasing increased funding was going on.
