Ebola virus outbreak

TwoShedsJackson

The Indo realise we're all doomed, and have an article which is up to their usual standards of editing:

“There’s an isolation unit in the matter to deal with it in the Mater.”

Dr O’Flanagan said that SARS and other airborne pathogens have a far greater potential to become pandemics.

“The thing about SARS was that it was transmittable through the air, which meant it had greater pandemic potential.”

Nice repetition, brings back the ol' 'what I did on my holidays' essay vibe. And now if you copy and paste something from their site they automatically tag on the link :rolleyes:

homemadecider

Interesting front-line take on the story in the Indo today, what's frightening is the crazy rumours going around saying that Ebola is being introduced to the population by medical staff. It means people are avoiding the hospitals out of fear - yikes!

Source: http://www.independent.ie/opinion/comment/ebola-no-cure-no-vaccine-and-the-real-danger-of-panic-30472878.html

ceadaoin.

The two american citizens who have contracted the virus are being flown back to Atlanta to be looked after in a hospital equipped for such outbreaks. As someone living in the US, this makes me uneasy even though I know they will be extremely well isolated and all proper precautions taken :eek:


http://online.wsj.com/articles/atlanta-responds-to-hearing-ebola-patient-to-be-treated-in-local-hospital-1406910226

snubbleste

American news network helicopter following the ambulance containing one of the patients from airport to hospital in Atlanta

PucaMama

why would they want to move such risky patients??

Im surprised the guy walked into the unit. I would have thought he would have been stretchered in, due to weakness.

Privileged White Male

ceadaoin. wrote: »

The two american citizens who have contracted the virus are being flown back to Atlanta to be looked after in a hospital equipped for such outbreaks. As someone living in the US, this makes me uneasy even though I know they will be extremely well isolated and all proper precautions taken :eek:


Its not the Back Death or the Spanish Flu they have. There isn't going to be a terrible outbreak. Stop listening to the fear mongering on the news.

PucaMama

Privileged White Male wrote: »

ceadaoin. wrote: »

The two american citizens who have contracted the virus are being flown back to Atlanta to be looked after in a hospital equipped for such outbreaks. As someone living in the US, this makes me uneasy even though I know they will be extremely well isolated and all proper precautions taken :eek:


Its not the Back Death or the Spanish Flu they have. There isn't going to be a terrible outbreak. Stop listening to the fear mongering on the news.

black death or spanish flu are nothing compared to ebola. ebola may not be as infectious because of the need for contact, but far more dangerous. have you read the book The Hot Zone? i think everyone should be made to read the first chapter. you will get a description of what ebola virus does to its victims.

Privileged White Male

PucaMama wrote: »

Privileged White Male wrote: »

black death or spanish flu are nothing compared to ebola. ebola may not be as infectious because of the need for contact, but far more dangerous. have you read the book The Hot Zone? i think everyone should be made to read the first chapter. you will get a description of what ebola virus does to its victims.

Yes its a very nasty disease but so are the the two I mentioned. The media has hyped this up so much its ridiculous. If it gets to the west it will be quickly isolated and cotained. It doesn't spread through the air. And unlike in Africa we have far better sanitation, we don't attack health care workers and we don't break our relatives out of quarantine.

You're far more likely to die of the flu this winter than Ebola.

From August 4th to 6th Mr Obama is finally holding his first US-Africa summit, bringing nearly 50 heads of state and government to Washington, DC.
Three leaders have cancelled due to the Ebola outbreak.


I wonder is it a safe time for such a meeting.



http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jul/31/african-leader-cancels-trip-us-over-ebola-outbreak/

Privileged White Male

Privileged White Male wrote: »

PucaMama wrote: »

Yes its a very nasty disease but so are the the two I mentioned. The media has hyped this up so much its ridiculous. If it gets to the west it will be quickly isolated and cotained. It doesn't spread through the air. And unlike in Africa we have far better sanitation, we don't attack health care workers and we don't break our relatives out of quarantine.

You're far more likely to die of the flu this winter than Ebola.

Ive read that the boldily wastes from these patients at Emory will be disposed of in the usual sewer management system.
I dont know the answer to this, so Im genuinely asking, can rats spread ebola? Could that lead to a problem

PucaMama

Jake1 wrote: »

Privileged White Male wrote: »

Ive read that the boldily wastes from these patients at Emory will be disposed of in the usual sewer management system.
I dont know the answer to this, so Im genuinely asking, can rats spread ebola? Could that lead to a problem

im not sure if it can, but if they do then it will be dangerous. also the sewers are hardly a secure thing that noone can reach. it really should be disposed like other dangerous biological waste

PucaMama

Privileged White Male wrote: »

Yes its a very nasty disease but so are the the two I mentioned. The media has hyped this up so much its ridiculous. If it gets to the west it will be quickly isolated and cotained. It doesn't spread through the air. And unlike in Africa we have far better sanitation, we don't attack health care workers and we don't break our relatives out of quarantine.

You're far more likely to die of the flu this winter than Ebola.

and yet if people are worried about things like swine flu they are overreacting too?? this lack of fear around ebola will make it even more dangerous. we are too complacent with these diseases.

Privileged White Male

PucaMama wrote: »

and yet if people are worried about things like swine flu they are overreacting too?? this lack of fear around ebola will make it even more dangerous. we are too complacent with these diseases.

I'm not honestly worried about Ebola. If it was airborne then maybe. The media have just hyped this bs up.

Ineedaname

The virus can be easily killed by soap and hot water. It also doesn't survive long if exposed to sunlight.

It simply wouldn't thrive anywhere with decent sanitation standards.

Joe Doe

No sure if correct but doesn't this particular strain have a 90% drop rate, rather than the 60% sometimes quoted.

The 21 day carry rate is a concern, you can bump into a lot of people over 21 days rather than say, if it was 3 days.

They're still trying to contact 30,000 whom may have been in close contact with 'one person' that flew to Nigeria. Initially it was a few hundred, but was since expanded.

Ineedaname

Joe Doe wrote: »

No sure if correct but doesn't this particular strain have a 90% drop rate, rather than the 60% sometimes quoted.

The 21 day carry rate is a concern, you can bump into a lot of people over 21 days rather than say, if it was 3 days.

They're still trying to contact 30,000 whom may have been in close contact with 'one person' that flew to Nigeria. Initially it was a few hundred, but was since expanded.

Casual contact with others won't spread the virus. Only direct contact with bodily fluids.

The One Who Knocks

PucaMama wrote: »

and yet if people are worried about things like swine flu they are overreacting too?? this lack of fear around ebola will make it even more dangerous. we are too complacent with these diseases.

No, fear is making it more dangerous.

The Ebola virus has been infecting and killing people in Central Africa since at least 1976, and the current “worst Ebola epidemic in history” has been going on in West Africa since March. But it is only in the past few weeks that a second deadly “virus” has emerged, as the news media has caught on to this story and has broadcast it around the world, infecting everyone with another contagious virus: fear.

Don’t get me wrong; Ebola is a bad bug, and well worth being concerned about. This particular Zaire strain kills up to 90 percent of its human victims. It often fools the immune system of a host into not recognizing it, and many victims end up in kidney and liver failure without even a fight. On top of this, Ebola is difficult to recognize, appearing first like any other flu with fatigue, fever, headache, muscle aches. Then you can start to have vomiting and diarrhea, and caretakers and close contacts of afflicted patients can catch Ebola even as they try to help contain it.

But fear and ignorance are spreading in West Africa along with Ebola, as natives mistrust the very humanitarian aid that is being brought in to help them. Physicians in the Ebola trenches are heroes, not sources of contagion, but not everyone sees them that way. Dr. Sheik Humarr Khan, whose work in Sierra Leone against several viruses -- including Ebola -- is legendary, died this week of the dreaded virus. His work should be celebrated.

But with this Ebola outbreak already killing close to 700 in West Africa, the best way to combat it is with solid science, and the biggest threat to this proven strategy is fear. Ebola isn’t spread by coughing and sneezing. Isolating sick patients and their contacts has worked in stopping previous Ebola outbreaks. The same kind of infection-control precautions are used that have also worked successfully with HIV/AIDS (gloves, gowns, masks).

Unfortunately, when people are afraid, they take fewer infectious precautions, and spread more virus. This is why regional quarantines haven’t always worked historically. It is probably prudent for Liberia to close most of its borders and to have Ebola testing centers at the ones that remain open, as long as this doesn’t spread panic. While it is also reasonable to issue travel advisories and screen patients for viral symptoms coming in and out of West Africa, and the CDC is wise to issue Level 2 travel precautions (avoid direct contact with Ebola patients), anything beyond this at this point would be counterproductive.

It is very unlikely that someone will contract Ebola from casual contact on a plane. It is even more unlikely that if Ebola does appear in the U.S., that it will lead to a sustained outbreak here, because of our public health system. The challenge to provide supportive care while properly isolating patients is much greater in Liberia, Sierra Leone, or Guinea than it would be here.

Living close together, being unaware of how viruses spread, and even burial rituals have helped to spread Ebola in West Africa. This epidemic will still likely be contained and not spread to other countries. If it does spread, it will likely not be sustained, in part because Ebola is so deadly it usually kills the host before he/she has a chance to spread it.

Several vaccines and anti-viral drugs have showed promising results in animals, and human testing is under way, though no treatment or vaccine will be ready for market soon. In the meantime, the best treatment for both Ebola and the spreading fear of Ebola is to offer the world information and perspective, and for those afflicted in Africa -- careful isolation.

When it comes to a health scare, the news media has never been great at providing this kind of calm, rational perspective. The time to start is now.


- Dr. Marc Siegel, a practicing internist, joined FOX News Channel (FNC) as a contributor in 2008.

Joe Doe

Ineedaname wrote: »

Casual contact with others won't spread the virus. Only direct contact with bodily fluids.

Agree it's slim chance, but wonder if sweaty hand shake then hand near mouth/eyes, or water droplets from sneeze in a confined space be inside that classification...

Calibos

After 16 pages the same posters are posting the same paranoid ill-informed nonsense. There's just no explaining to some people :rolleyes:

MadYaker

People are getting far too worried about this. The virus doesn't stand a chance in a country with half decent hygiene standards and that has a populace which doesn't believe in witchcraft and listens to what their government tells them.

People in Sierra Leone are still hand washing the dead ffs. There have been cases of hostility towards western medical staff as some communities believe that they are in fact spreading the virus themselves.

ceadaoin.

Privileged White Male wrote: »

ceadaoin. wrote: »

The two american citizens who have contracted the virus are being flown back to Atlanta to be looked after in a hospital equipped for such outbreaks. As someone living in the US, this makes me uneasy even though I know they will be extremely well isolated and all proper precautions taken :eek:


Its not the Back Death or the Spanish Flu they have. There isn't going to be a terrible outbreak. Stop listening to the fear mongering on the news.

I'm not. I know logically that it has little chance of it spreading in a country with decent sanitary standards, as well as the fact that they will be in a special containment unit. It just doesn't sit right with me that people with this disease have been brought into the country. I can't help that there is a 'what if' scenario in the back of my mind. I'm not in full on doomsday prepping panic mode or anything. Not yet anyway

The One Who Knocks

Calibos wrote: »

After 16 pages the same posters are posting the same paranoid ill-informed nonsense. There's just no explaining to some people :rolleyes:

I give up!

Privileged White Male

ceadaoin. wrote: »

Privileged White Male wrote: »

I'm not. I know logically that it has little chance of it spreading in a country with decent sanitary standards, as well as the fact that they will be in a special containment unit. It just doesn't sit right with me that people with this disease have been brought into the country. I can't help that there is a 'what if' scenario in the back of my mind. I'm not in full on doomsday prepping panic mode or anything. Not yet anyway

That's because the media have hyped up Ebola so much. The plague is still around. Saw a program the other night about an American who caught it, in the US. He had to get both legs amputated. That's a horrible disease but chances are you're not too worried about it.

Capt'n Midnight

ardinn wrote: »

Because we arent bothered enough yet - Cue a false alarm about a case in europe, let the fear set in and politicians make some knee jerk decisions, and then "poof" A vaccine!

Remind us again how the AIDS vaccine research is getting on

The One Who Knocks

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Remind us again how the AIDS vaccine research is getting on

I think the multi-billion dollar treatment industry is more profitable. With Ebola a vaccine would be pretty much the only option for "big pharma."

iguana

ceadaoin. wrote: »

It just doesn't sit right with me that people with this disease have been brought into the country. I can't help that there is a 'what if' scenario in the back of my mind.

But would it sit right with you if two people who stand a decent chance of survival in an American hospital were left to die because of irrational fear? That two mothers would be left to mourn their children? That a small girl and boy would be left without their father and two grown boys left without their mother? That a man and a woman be left without their wife and husband? Two groups of friends and relatives left without a loved one? That two people who's vocation in life was to give up their own comforts and safety to selflessly help others, two people who are worth so bloody much to this world would be just left to die, for no actual reason at all?

I know which scenario sits better with me.

inocybe

MadYaker wrote: »

People are getting far too worried about this. The virus doesn't stand a chance in a country with half decent hygiene standards and that has a populace which doesn't believe in witchcraft and listens to what their government tells them.

People in Sierra Leone are still hand washing the dead ffs. There have been cases of hostility towards western medical staff as some communities believe that they are in fact spreading the virus themselves.

Half decent hygiene huh? Have a look at this

http://www.afro.who.int/en/clusters-a-programmes/dpc/epidemic-a-pandemic-alert-and-response/epr-highlights/3648-frequently-asked-questions-on-ebola-hemorrhagic-fever.html

Sweat and saliva are included in bodily fluids. Can be caught from clothing and bedsheets of the infected. And I'm pretty sure the large number of medical staff infected would have been practising a lot more than half decent hygiene.

ceadaoin.

iguana wrote: »

But would it sit right with you if two people who stand a decent chance of survival in an American hospital were left to die because of irrational fear? That two mothers would be left to mourn their children? Two groups of friends and relatives left without a loved one. That two people who's vocation in life was to give up their own comforts and safety to selflessly help others, two people who are worth so bloody much to this world would be just left to die, for no actual reason at all?

I know which scenario sits better with me.

Where exactly did I say that they should be left there to die? Did I say that it is the wrong thing to do? No, I didn't say that so please don't put words into my mouth. I clearly said that I know it is highly unlikely that anyone will become infected because of the 2 patients. Just because it makes me slightly uneasy doesn't mean I don't know it is the right thing to do. They are american citizens so the US government should do everything possible to help them.

LuckyLloyd

ceadaoin. wrote: »

I'm not. I know logically that it has little chance of it spreading in a country with decent sanitary standards, as well as the fact that they will be in a special containment unit. It just doesn't sit right with me that people with this disease have been brought into the country. I can't help that there is a 'what if' scenario in the back of my mind. I'm not in full on doomsday prepping panic mode or anything. Not yet anyway

These people brought their expertise into a hellish situation trying to save huge numbers of people. Essentially representing the best of their nation. Not bringing them home would be something that shouldn't sit right with people.