Ebola virus outbreak

donegaLroad

this is from the Public Health Agency of Canada website:

SURVIVAL OUTSIDE HOST: Filoviruses have been reported capable to survive for weeks in blood and can also survive on contaminated surfaces, particularly at low temperatures (4°C) Footnote 52 Footnote 61. One study could not recover any Ebolavirus from experimentally contaminated surfaces (plastic, metal or glass) at room temperature Footnote 61. In another study, Ebolavirus dried onto glass, polymeric silicone rubber, or painted aluminum alloy is able to survive in the dark for several hours under ambient conditions (between 20 and 250C and 30–40% relative humidity) (amount of virus reduced to 37% after 15.4 hours), but is less stable than some other viral hemorrhagic fevers (Lassa) Footnote 53. When dried in tissue culture media onto glass and stored at 4 °C, Zaire ebolavirus survived for over 50 days Footnote 61. This information is based on experimental findings only and not based on observations in nature. This information is intended to be used to support local risk assessments in a laboratory setting.

here is the source

Canis Lupus

up for anything wrote: »

That is pretty cold even for AH.

As facile/sarcastic as I was intending to be it's also probably true. Such is the world we live in.

Karl Stein

Canis Lupus wrote: »

Relax, if it spreads to India etc it'll probably become worth it for the drugs company to come up with a cure. Everyone benefits.

This is one of the factors that renders the current patent/monopoly/profit driven system inadequate. If there's no profit to be had in finding cures for disease then Big-Pharma isn't really interested. This, as Bill Gates said, is why we have tens-of-millions of €/$ 'invested' in finding a cure for the evils of male baldness while tens-of-thousands of children die of easily curable/preventable conditions in developing countries.

An alternative system where governments would amass a huge prize pool by levying a minuscule tax on drug sales would allow innovation to occur except that world governments would own the drug and allow it to be manufactured, and distributed, at a fraction of the monopoly price.

Capt'n Midnight

Akrasia wrote: »

And if it turns into a computer virus it could infect the entire internet in a matter of hours!!

Hours ??

http://www.caida.org/publications/papers/2003/sapphire/sapphire.html

The Sapphire Worm was the fastest computer worm in history. As it began spreading throughout the Internet, it doubled in size every 8.5 seconds. It infected more than 90 percent of vulnerable hosts within 10 minutes.

old_aussie

Talk about virus spreading quickly, the WHO says the Ebola outbreak could grow to 10,000 new cases a week within two months, the World Health Organisation warned on Tuesday as the death toll from the virus reached 4,447 people, nearly all of them in west Africa.

Dr Bruce Aylward, the WHO assistant director-general, told a news conference in Geneva that the number of new cases was likely to be between 5,000 and 10,000 a week by early December

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/14/who-new-ebola-cases-world-health-organisation

gozunda

realweirdo wrote: »

Indeed..the biggest problem is that individuals or governments in the west won't take this seriously. There's certainly a racist element to that. The majority in the west rarely care when Africans die. When the threat becomes imminent to them only then do they care. Added to the fact no vaccine has been created yet, another element of racism.

A lot of people won't pay this any heed until it comes rolling up on their doorstep. Only then it will be far far too late. And people shouted down now by the usual mindless mob will have been proved right.

I just hate that type of lazy argument. Many countries have concern for their own interests - that is the nature of sovereignty. Their is no f@cking 'racist' intent or 'element' . Countries around the world have been pumping billions in financial aid into Africa for decades. Unfortunately to the inherent corruption and mistreatment of their own citizens by some African governments / wealthy elites means these African countries continue to suffer poverty, starvation and even wide scale genocide. Some of these countries have significant natural wealth - little of which appears to be used to help develop these countries infrastructure, healthcare or education systems. International Aid given for medical care and management is being deliberately not being spent in some cases with their own governments apparently not caring when their own people die in large numbers. Does that make Africans racist against their own people? It does make them negligent and irresponsible. To attempt to pass the racist card to others whilst some African governments continue to ignore the plight of their own citizens however is pathetic.

Streetwalker

old_aussie wrote: »

Talk about virus spreading quickly, the WHO says the Ebola outbreak could grow to 10,000 new cases a week within two months, the World Health Organisation warned on Tuesday as the death toll from the virus reached 4,447 people, nearly all of them in west Africa.

Dr Bruce Aylward, the WHO assistant director-general, told a news conference in Geneva that the number of new cases was likely to be between 5,000 and 10,000 a week by early December



Mind boggling numbers that. This thing is getting worse and the suffering over there must be unbearable. The poor feckers.

Akrasia

Streetwalker wrote: »

old_aussie wrote: »

Talk about virus spreading quickly, the WHO says the Ebola outbreak could grow to 10,000 new cases a week within two months, the World Health Organisation warned on Tuesday as the death toll from the virus reached 4,447 people, nearly all of them in west Africa.

Dr Bruce Aylward, the WHO assistant director-general, told a news conference in Geneva that the number of new cases was likely to be between 5,000 and 10,000 a week by early December



Mind boggling numbers that. This thing is getting worse and the suffering over there must be unbearable. The poor feckers.

It's shocking alright. They can't cope with the number of cases they have now, there's not a chance they'll be able to contain several thousand new cases a week especially when the people most vulnerable to infection are the front line medical staff and those who are responsible for cleaning and burial.

I am amazed that the hospitals are even open over there. The dedication and bravery of the front line workers is astounding especially given the lack of resources they have.

This is why this epidemic is so serious. It sucks up resources, and when the resources are exhausted, it becomes unstoppable.

What do you do if your living in africa and one of your children gets infected but there are no hospitals with space to treat her? The choices are equally stark, either abandon the child to an almost certain agonising death, or try to care for her at home, with the almost certainty that you will infect yourself and other members of your family...

In urban areas, the governments have already quarantined entire towns and large areas of cities, and levelled a large shanty town, but these emergency responses could only work if the virus was contained in these areas, but it's impossible to quarantine thousands of small rural communities, and you can't quarantine entire cities indefinitely, essentially condemning those inhabitants to death, and even when the quarintines were in place, the governments acknowledged that motivated people were still getting accross the border.

Lucy and Harry

When the USA says they cant 100% stop a outbreak in the US by screening people who get off planes from the infected countries I have to ask why let the planes land in the 1st place that would stop a outbreak in the states 100%..Ban flights into Ireland from African places

madcabbage

Lucy and Harry wrote: »

When the USA says they cant 100% stop a outbreak in the US by screening people who get off planes from the infected countries I have to ask why let the planes land in the 1st place that would stop a outbreak in the states 100%..Ban flights into Ireland from African places

Ban flights full stop!

Akrasia

madcabbage wrote: »

Ban flights full stop!

Forever?

Streetwalker

The west seems to be leaving Africa on the whole to deal with this by themselves. The resources and money being spent on fighting it are pathetic compared to the scale of the problem. It is a shame on us all.

Creative Juices

realweirdo wrote: »

What on earth is that supposed to mean?

You said the future of humanity is at risk. Now I know you were being a little bit hysterical but considering there is a survival rate of 30% in Africa, how can humanity be at risk? Actually it's ok, I don't need that answered. I was just trying to clarify for you.

Creative Juices

Streetwalker wrote: »

The west seems to be leaving Africa on the whole to deal with this by themselves. The resources and money being spent on fighting it are pathetic compared to the scale of the problem. It is a shame on us all.

How much have you donated?

gladrags

gozunda wrote: »

I just hate that type of lazy argument. Many countries have concern for their own interests - that is the nature of sovereignty. Their is no f@cking 'racist' intent or 'element' . Countries around the world have been pumping billions in financial aid into Africa for decades. Unfortunately to the inherent corruption and mistreatment of their own citizens by some African governments / wealthy elites means these African countries continue to suffer poverty, starvation and even wide scale genocide. Some of these countries have significant natural wealth - little of which appears to be used to help develop these countries infrastructure, healthcare or education systems. International Aid given for medical care and management is being deliberately not being spent in some cases with their own governments apparently not caring when their own people die in large numbers. Does that make Africans racist against their own people? It does make them negligent and irresponsible. To attempt to pass the racist card to others whilst some African governments continue to ignore the plight of their own citizens however is pathetic.

0.4% of the annual income of developed countries,was spent in 2012 on African aid.

Far less than was spent during the Iraqi war alone.

This is just one statistic.

I agree with some of your sentiments, but the west, and other regions have come up short.

littlemac1980

Some statements from the UN Ebola Mission Chief from an article on the BBC today.

Good to see some serious individuals are finally treating this with the level of urgency it requires.

They're only about a few months or so behind some of the more informed posters here in recognising the seriousness of the situation. :rolleyes:

The UN's Ebola mission chief says the world is falling behind in the race to contain the virus, with thousands of new cases predicted by December.

"It is running faster than us, and it is winning the race," Anthony Banbury told the UN Security Council.

...

Mr Banbury issued a stern warning on Tuesday - telling the UN Security Council by video-link from West Africa that if Ebola was not stopped now, the world would "face an entirely unprecedented situation for which we do not have a plan".

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29625481

Beano

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-29624762

Is it any wonder that this is spreading as fast as it is? what sort of savage just dumps the dead body of a relative in the streets?

Akrasia

Beano wrote: »

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-29624762

Is it any wonder that this is spreading as fast as it is? what sort of savage just dumps the dead body of a relative in the streets?

That kind of language is not helpful at all.

The person who died may have been homeless or may have left his/her home to avoid infecting his/her family. He/she may have been taken out of the house to avoid exposing the rest of the family to the disease. What would you do if someone in your houshold died of ebola and you didn't have the facilities to deal with the corpse?

The body was left in the streets, but in order to safely move this body, you would need to have full biohazard protection and decontamination facilities and training in how to properly use them.

Asking any municipal worker to move the body without protective equipment would be like giving them a death sentence.

There will be more and more instances like this as the death toll mounts and the authorities have more dead bodies to clear up and fewer spaces in hospitals to treat victims.

Beano

Akrasia wrote: »

That kind of language is not helpful at all.

The person who died may have been homeless or may have left his/her home to avoid infecting his/her family. He/she may have been taken out of the house to avoid exposing the rest of the family to the disease. What would you do if someone in your houshold died of ebola and you didn't have the facilities to deal with the corpse?

The body was left in the streets, but in order to safely move this body, you would need to have full biohazard protection and decontamination facilities and training in how to properly use them.

Asking any municipal worker to move the body without protective equipment would be like giving them a death sentence.

There will be more and more instances like this as the death toll mounts and the authorities have more dead bodies to clear up and fewer spaces in hospitals to treat victims.

Perhaps it wasnt the most helpful language. But it does explain why this virus is spreading the way it is. And why it would not be the massive problem in the western world that the scaremongers are making it out to be.

ProfessorPlum

BBC reporting another healthcare worker in Texas tested positive

snubbleste

Another health worker has ebola in Texas
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-29628622

littlemac1980

ProfessorPlum wrote: »

BBC reporting another healthcare worker in Texas tested positive

Oh FFS! Not good!

forzacalcio

Is it possible they could shut down air travel?

snubbleste

forzacalcio wrote: »

Is it possible they could shut down air travel?

Yes. Likely, no.

littlemac1980

Beano wrote: »

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-29624762

Is it any wonder that this is spreading as fast as it is? what sort of savage just dumps the dead body of a relative in the streets?

I think its more an indication of the desperate situation that those people, and that country is now in.

I personally don't believe even First-World Ireland could manage the number of cases Sierra Leone currently has (and the many more they are facing - which are currently incubating). We don't have the required resources.

There are 3000+ people who are currently infected and must be isolated and treated as best as they can. The dying and dead need to be properly dealt with and bodies disposed of. All by people who are at risk of contracting the deadly virus themselves.

It's totally understandable that in such a grave and terrible situation bodies would be left untouched on streets or in homes.

There just aren't the resources available to properly deal with them. If a doctor, soldier, family member or anyone else tries to move that body without somewhere to bring it and all the approriate hazard protection equipment to do so, then there will only be another case or 2 or 5 or 10 to deal with.

Maximus Alexander

Annual HIV deaths: ~1,600,000
Annual Malaria deaths: ~627,000
Annual Influenza deaths: 250,000 - 500,000

Ebola deaths to date: < 5500

It's time to crack open our skulls and feast on the goo inside!

littlemac1980

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

Annual HIV deaths: ~1,600,000
Annual Malaria deaths: ~627,000
Annual Influenza deaths: 250,000 - 500,000

Ebola deaths to date: < 5500

It's time to crack open our skulls and feast on the goo inside!

Apples and Oranges, and unnecessary repetition of a silly point made previously by many who (understandably) don't understand the uniqueness and seriousness of this cirsis.

I suggest you take some time to read this thread.

Beano

littlemac1980 wrote: »

I think its more an indication of the desperate situation that those people, and that country is now in.

I personally don't believe even First-World Ireland could manage the number of cases Sierra Leone currently has (and the many more they are facing - which are currently incubating). We don't have the required resources.

There are 3000+ people who are currently infected and must be isolated and treated as best as they can. The dying and dead need to be properly dealt with and bodies disposed of. All by people who are at risk of contracting the deadly virus themselves.

It's totally understandable that in such a grave and terrible situation bodies would be left untouched on streets or in homes.

There just aren't the resources available to properly deal with them. If a doctor, soldier, family member or anyone else tries to move that body without somewhere to bring it and all the approriate hazard protection equipment to do so, then there will only be another case or 2 or 5 or 10 to deal with.

But given that we dont dump dead bodies in the streets in this country i dont think we would ever face a situation where we had 3000 infected.

littlemac1980

Beano wrote: »

But given that we dont dump dead bodies in the streets in this country i dont think we would ever face a situation where we had 3000 infected.

I think you've missed my point. Nevermind.

Akrasia

Beano wrote: »

Perhaps it wasnt the most helpful language. But it does explain why this virus is spreading the way it is. And why it would not be the massive problem in the western world that the scaremongers are making it out to be.

I don't think it will be the same kind of utterly overwhelming crisis as it is in west africa, but a global ebola pandemic would have massive consequences on the world economy. If we don't control it in west africa, it could take hold the rest of africa and asia and unless a reliable vaccine is developed and distributed, we will be facing a constant trickle of new ebola cases in western countries.

If I was a front line health worker or anyone who works in and around hospitals, I would be very nervous right now. if panic sets in, who knows what will happen.

The point I'm trying to make is that we should absolutely not be complacent and the international community should be spending all available resources on limiting the spread of this virus before it becomes a global pandemic.

Global pandemics of influenza happen every year but the flu is usually treated by the patient just staying at home and avoiding contact with other people and most healthcare workers will be vaccinated against the common strains of the illness.

With Ebola, without treatment, up to 70% of people will die, cleaning up afterwards is one of the most dangerous parts of dealing with the infection.