From left to right: Peter Piot, Margaretha Isaacson, Gust Seghers, Danny Courtois and Father Carlos at the mission of the last-named. Bumba, Zaïre, November 1976.
Friend, colleague, Yambuku blood-brother and later boss at the ITM, Peter Piot. Yambuku, Zaïre 1976.
From left to right: Sister Marcella, Stefaan Pattyn, Sister Geno, Sister Mariette. Yambuku, Zaïre 1976.
Sisters Genoveva (left) and Marcella of the Holy Heart of Maria of 's-Gravenwezel keep up people’s courage. Sister Geno is – among many other things - the 'announcer' of Guido's TV station. Sister Marcella is the nun who noted all epidemiological information before the commission members arrived in Yambuku, Zaïre 1976.
ITM staff member Walter Gentjens. Construction and commissioning of the maximum security laboratory. Antwerp, 1977.
Workmen at the ITM. Marcel Debeuckelaer (electrician), Maurice in the background. Construction and commissioning of the maximum security laboratory. Antwerp, 1977.
Hugo De Groof and secretary. Construction and commissioning of the maximum security laboratory. Antwerp, 1977.
Sketch of the air circulation in the MSL, crucial for the safety of laboratory staff, the people in the rest of the building and city, and the scientific value of the samples and the investigation thereof. Maximum security laboratory. Antwerp, 1977.
View of the cathedral from the laboratory. Construction and commissioning of the maximum security laboratory. Antwerp, 1977.
Connection between two isolators. Construction and commissioning of the maximum security laboratory. Antwerp, 1977.
Link with the outside world. Construction and commissioning of the maximum security laboratory. Antwerp, 1977.
Low pressure control for the MSL’s isolators. As time passes the filters through which the exhaust air is sucked become dirtier and extra suction is required to maintain the low pressure . Maximum security laboratory. Antwerp, 1977.
Greet Beelaert. Checking equipment. Construction and commissioning of the maximum security laboratory. Antwerp, 1977.
To place an object in the isolator the mouth of a new plastic bag containing it is stretched over the transfer port, making certain from the outside that the seal is airtight. The sealed end of the previous bag protrudes into the isolator. The new bag is then pushed into the isolator, within which the closed end of the previous bag is opened. The object is now inside the isolator, which has remained airtight throughout the procedure. Maximum security laboratory, Antwerp, 1977.
An object is removed from the isolator by placing it inside a plastic bag that has its mouth secured to the transfer port. As the object is pushed out through the port, the bag reverses to contain it. The end of the bag containing the object can then be melted closed using a bag sealer, and cut off. Maximum security laboratory, Antwerp, 1977.
Greet Beelaert. sealing and melting the transportbag close during the removal of material from the isolator. Construction and commissioning of the maximum security labaratory. Antwerp 1977.
Working in a laminar flow cabinet, a partly open work space in which the air flows such that no dust particles, viruses or bacteria settle on the samples. At the same time the risks to the worker or researcher are limited. Maximum security laboratory, Antwerp, 1977.
Cartoon drawn by Guido: a MSL is the best form of prevention against sexually transmitted diseases. Maximum security laboratory, Antwerp, 1977.
Warning - dissection of a monkey – image could disturb some viewers.
The animal’s intestines are intact. The hunters must hit the animals in the head or ribcage and not in the belly, otherwise the risk of bacterial contamination of the liver or lungs is too great to harvest usable samples. Tandala, Zaïre, 1979.
Due to its hard, horny scales that overlap like roof tiles, an African tree pangolin (Phataginus tricuspis - formerly Manis tricuspis) is not simple to dissect! Tandala, Zaïre, 1979.
The luxury accommodation that the pygmies constructed especially for the expedition members in Mbatika. South-east Cameroon 1980.
Expedition coordinator Dave Heymann of the CDC. Ebola research among pygmies. South-east Cameroon 14-29 February 1980.
Construction of a banda or traditional pygmy hut in the heart of the jungle. South-east Cameroon 1980.