William Close
Encyclopedia
William Taliaferro Close (June 7, 1924 – January 15, 2009) was an American
surgeon
who played a major role in stemming a 1976 outbreak of the Ebola
virus in Zaire
, the first major outbreak of the viral hemorrhagic fever
in Central Africa
, and preventing its further spread. He was also the father of actress Glenn Close
.
on June 7, 1924, minutes after his twin brother, into a well-off background, the son of Elizabeth (née Taliaferro) and Edward Bennett Close, an attorney. His mother was a descendant of the Taliaferro
family. Raised in France
, he attended Summer Fields School
, Harrow School
in England
, and then St. Paul's School
in Concord, New Hampshire
. Close enrolled in Harvard University
in 1941, leaving the school two years later to marry Bettine Moore in a ceremony held February 6, 1943 at the home of her parents in Greenwich, and to become a pilot in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II
. He served as the personal pilot and interpreter for General Joseph Harper
.
Following his military service, he attended the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
and trained in surgery at Roosevelt Hospital
in Manhattan
after receiving his medical degree.
in 1960, where he practiced medicine and ran the 1,500-bed Mama Yemo hospital
in the capital city of Kinshasa
, with the goal of getting health care into rural areas of the country. He served President Mobutu Sese Seko
as his personal doctor and was chief physician of the nation's army.
In the mid-1970s, the Ebola
virus broke out at a missionary hospital in rural Yambuku
, near the Ebola River
. The disease, which was characterized by severe sore throat, rash, abdominal pain and bleeding from multiple sites, had killed 11 of the 17 medical staff at the hospital, forcing it to close. Panic was in the air, with roads blocked, river traffic stopped and commercial air travel restricted. The army would not enter the area and President Mobutu was said to have left the county and fled to France, in the face of fears that the disease could spread to others as those infected with the disease tried to escape the center of the outbreak.
On his way back home to the United States for a home leave, Dr. Close returned to Kinshasa from Geneva
, discussing the issue on the flight with two physicians from the Centers for Disease Control, Joel G. Breman and Peter Piot
, who discovered the Ebola virus. Back in Zaire, Close obtained planes and pilots from the Ministry of Health
to transport medical equipment to the affected area, using his personal connection to President Mobutu to obtain the access he needed. Close coordinated efforts in the area, ensuring that medical supplies were directed to where they were needed most. After providing protective equipment
for hospital workers, sterilizing medical supplies and quarantining patients, the team was able to break the chain of transmission of the virus, with almost 90% of the 318 people infected left dead.
Blood samples that Close had collected in the 1970s were used to investigate the progress of the AIDS pandemic
, showing that the rate of infection had been stable at 0.8% by comparing new samples to the older ones that had been collected in Zaire, one of the few sets of historical specimens available to perform this analysis. This showed that HIV
infection rates could have been stable in rural Africa before it spread throughout the world.
, where he became a country doctor, making his final house call a month before his death. During the 1995 Ebola outbreak he was a liaison between the CDC and the Zairian government.
Close wrote four books, which included chronicles of his experiences as a doctor in Zaire and Wyoming
.
Close died at age 84 on January 15, 2009, in his home in Big Piney due to a heart attack
. He was survived by his wife, three daughters, two sons, nine grandchildren and a twin brother.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
surgeon
Surgeon
In medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...
who played a major role in stemming a 1976 outbreak of the Ebola
Ebola
Ebola virus disease is the name for the human disease which may be caused by any of the four known ebolaviruses. These four viruses are: Bundibugyo virus , Ebola virus , Sudan virus , and Taï Forest virus...
virus in Zaire
Zaire
The Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...
, the first major outbreak of the viral hemorrhagic fever
Viral hemorrhagic fever
The viral hemorrhagic fevers are a diverse group of animal and human illnesses that are caused by four distinct families of RNA viruses: the families Arenaviridae, Filoviridae, Bunyaviridae, and Flaviviridae. All types of VHF are characterized by fever and bleeding disorders and all can progress...
in Central Africa
Central Africa
Central Africa is a core region of the African continent which includes Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda....
, and preventing its further spread. He was also the father of actress Glenn Close
Glenn Close
Glenn Close is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and...
.
Youth, education and military service
Close was born in Greenwich, ConnecticutGreenwich, Connecticut
Greenwich is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 61,171. It is home to many hedge funds and other financial service companies. Greenwich is the southernmost and westernmost municipality in Connecticut and is 38+ minutes ...
on June 7, 1924, minutes after his twin brother, into a well-off background, the son of Elizabeth (née Taliaferro) and Edward Bennett Close, an attorney. His mother was a descendant of the Taliaferro
Taliaferro
Taliaferro, Talifero, Tolliver, or Toliver , is a prominent family in the United States Commonwealth of Virginia. The Taliaferros are one of the early families who settled in Virginia in the 17th century...
family. Raised in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, he attended Summer Fields School
Summer Fields School
Summer Fields is a boys' independent preparatory school based in Summertown, Oxford, England.-History:Originally called Summerfield, it became a Boys' Preparatory School in 1864 with seven pupils. Its owner, Archibald Maclaren, was a fencing teacher who ran a gymnasium in Oxford; he himself was...
, Harrow School
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and then St. Paul's School
St. Paul's School (Concord, New Hampshire)
St. Paul's School is a highly selective college-preparatory, coeducational boarding school in Concord, New Hampshire affiliated with the Episcopal Church. The school is one of only six remaining 100% residential boarding schools in the U.S. The New Hampshire campus currently serves 533 students,...
in Concord, New Hampshire
Concord, New Hampshire
The city of Concord is the capital of the state of New Hampshire in the United States. It is also the county seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2010 census, its population was 42,695....
. Close enrolled in Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1941, leaving the school two years later to marry Bettine Moore in a ceremony held February 6, 1943 at the home of her parents in Greenwich, and to become a pilot in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He served as the personal pilot and interpreter for General Joseph Harper
Joseph H. Harper
Joseph H. "Bud" Harper was a United States Army officer. Harper was the officer who delivered General Anthony McAuliffe's one-word response, "Nuts", to the German request for the surrender of Bastogne....
.
Following his military service, he attended the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, often known as P&S, is a graduate school of Columbia University that is located on the health sciences campus in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan...
and trained in surgery at Roosevelt Hospital
St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center
St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, an academic affiliate of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, is a 1,076-bed, full-service community and tertiary care hospital serving New York City’s Midtown West, Upper West Side and parts of Harlem....
in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
after receiving his medical degree.
In Zaïre
He traveled to ZaireZaire
The Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...
in 1960, where he practiced medicine and ran the 1,500-bed Mama Yemo hospital
Kinshasa General Hospital
Kinshasa General Hospital is a hospital in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. Before the ousting of President Mobutu Sese Seko it was known as Mama Yemo Hospital after the president's mother. The 2000 bed hospital registers over 3,000 consultations daily...
in the capital city of Kinshasa
Kinshasa
Kinshasa is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The city is located on the Congo River....
, with the goal of getting health care into rural areas of the country. He served President Mobutu Sese Seko
Mobutu Sese Seko
Mobutu Sese Seko Nkuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga , commonly known as Mobutu or Mobutu Sese Seko , born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, was the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1965 to 1997...
as his personal doctor and was chief physician of the nation's army.
In the mid-1970s, the Ebola
Ebola
Ebola virus disease is the name for the human disease which may be caused by any of the four known ebolaviruses. These four viruses are: Bundibugyo virus , Ebola virus , Sudan virus , and Taï Forest virus...
virus broke out at a missionary hospital in rural Yambuku
Yambuku
Yambuku is a small village in Mongala District in northern Democratic Republic of the Congo and was the site of the first known outbreak of the Ebola Zaire strain of the Ebola hemorrhagic fever virus...
, near the Ebola River
Ebola River
The Ebola River in northern Democratic Republic of the Congo is the headstream of the Mongala River, a tributary of the Congo River.Ebola virus and the taxonomic ranks associated with it and its relatives are named...
. The disease, which was characterized by severe sore throat, rash, abdominal pain and bleeding from multiple sites, had killed 11 of the 17 medical staff at the hospital, forcing it to close. Panic was in the air, with roads blocked, river traffic stopped and commercial air travel restricted. The army would not enter the area and President Mobutu was said to have left the county and fled to France, in the face of fears that the disease could spread to others as those infected with the disease tried to escape the center of the outbreak.
On his way back home to the United States for a home leave, Dr. Close returned to Kinshasa from Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, discussing the issue on the flight with two physicians from the Centers for Disease Control, Joel G. Breman and Peter Piot
Peter Piot
Baron Peter Piot, MD, PhD FRCP is a former Under Secretary-General of the United Nations, former Executive Director of the UN specialized agency UNAIDS, and a professor at Imperial College London...
, who discovered the Ebola virus. Back in Zaire, Close obtained planes and pilots from the Ministry of Health
Ministry of Health (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
The Ministry of Health of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is a public health system based loosely on the historical Belgian colonial public health system...
to transport medical equipment to the affected area, using his personal connection to President Mobutu to obtain the access he needed. Close coordinated efforts in the area, ensuring that medical supplies were directed to where they were needed most. After providing protective equipment
Personal protective equipment
Personal protective equipment refers to protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garment or equipment designed to protect the wearer's body from injury by blunt impacts, electrical hazards, heat, chemicals, and infection, for job-related occupational safety and health purposes, and in...
for hospital workers, sterilizing medical supplies and quarantining patients, the team was able to break the chain of transmission of the virus, with almost 90% of the 318 people infected left dead.
Blood samples that Close had collected in the 1970s were used to investigate the progress of the AIDS pandemic
AIDS pandemic
The acquired immune deficiency syndrome pandemic is a widespread disease caused by the human immunodeficiency virus .Since AIDS was first recognized in 1981, it has led to the deaths of more than 25 million people, making it one of the most destructive diseases in recorded history.Despite recent...
, showing that the rate of infection had been stable at 0.8% by comparing new samples to the older ones that had been collected in Zaire, one of the few sets of historical specimens available to perform this analysis. This showed that HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
infection rates could have been stable in rural Africa before it spread throughout the world.
Last years
Disillusioned with Mobutu's policies, Dr. Close left Zaire in 1977. He moved to Big Piney, WyomingBig Piney, Wyoming
Big Piney is a town in Sublette County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 408 at the 2000 census.-History:Big Piney is the oldest settlement in Sublette County. It was founded in 1879, when rancher Daniel B...
, where he became a country doctor, making his final house call a month before his death. During the 1995 Ebola outbreak he was a liaison between the CDC and the Zairian government.
Close wrote four books, which included chronicles of his experiences as a doctor in Zaire and Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
.
Close died at age 84 on January 15, 2009, in his home in Big Piney due to a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
. He was survived by his wife, three daughters, two sons, nine grandchildren and a twin brother.
Honors and accolades
- Fellow, American College of SurgeonsAmerican College of SurgeonsThe American College of Surgeons is an educational association of surgeons created in 1913 to improve the quality of care for the surgical patient by setting high standards for surgical education and practice.-Membership:...
- Fellow, American Academy of Family PhysiciansAmerican Academy of Family PhysiciansThe American Academy of Family Physicians was founded in 1947 to promote the science and art of family medicine. It is one of the largest medical organizations in the United States, with over 100,000 members...
- Honorary degree: Doctor of Humane LettersDoctor of Humane LettersThe degree of Doctor of Humane Letters is always conferred as an honorary degree, usually to those who have distinguished themselves in areas other than science, government, literature or religion, which are awarded degrees of Doctor of Science, Doctor of Laws, Doctor of Letters, or Doctor of...
(University of Utah)
Books
- Zuster Veronica, Het drama van Yambuku [ DutchDutch languageDutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
: "Sister Veronica, The Tragedy of Yambuku"] (1991), Uitgeverij De Fontein, Baarn, Holland.- Ebola: A Documentary Novel of Its First Explosion in Zaire by a Doctor who was There [English version] (1995), New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
: Ballantine BooksBallantine BooksBallantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann AG in 1998 and remains part of that company today. Ballantine's logo is a...
. - Ebola: Through the Eyes of the People (2002), Expanded, revised edition, Marbleton, WyomingMarbleton, WyomingMarbleton is a town in Sublette County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 720 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Marbleton is located at ....
: Meadowlarks Springs Productions. Illustrations by Itoko Maeno.
- Ebola: A Documentary Novel of Its First Explosion in Zaire by a Doctor who was There [English version] (1995), New York
- A Doctor's Story: From City Surgeon to Country "Doc" (1996), Ivy Books (and Ballantine Books paperback)
- A Doctor's Life: Unique Stories (2001), Expanded, revised version, Marbleton, Wyoming: Meadowlarks Springs Productions.
- Subversion of Trust (2002), Marbleton, Wyoming: Meadowlarks Springs Productions [a novel].
- Beyond the Storm: Treating the Powerless and the Powerful in Mobutu's Congo/Zaire (2006), with [Malonga Miatudila]http://www.panaforum.com, Marbleton, Wyoming: Meadowlarks Springs Productions.