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Although Ebola is very scary. It's not very contagious, meaning you have to come in contact with an infected person's body fluids. It's not airborne. What really scares me much more than Ebola is a mutant strain of Swine Flu that is immune to antibodies. We've have had a few really nasty flu outbreaks in our world history and Flu still stands as the biggest threat to the end of the world as we know it.
Yes, a virus can mutate...but sometimes it mutates to become less deadly, not more so. A virus 'wants' to replicate and to find new hosts ('wants' because it doesn't have any wants or needs or desires...it's a virus). Ebola is not good at finding new hosts because it kills the host so quickly. It could mix with something more transmissible but become vastly less lethal.
I have to say the misinformation on both sides of this in this thread is astounding.
I am a little afraid of Ebola myself, but not overly concerned. But I am monitoring the news for an outbreak and if it happens I am keeping to myself and laying low for a while. Thank goodness it is a contact disease. However, so are many other diseases.
People keep saying that ALL viruses die very easily when outside the body. This is simply not true. Hepatitis B, for instance, lives for WEEKS outside the body, very dangerous. Thankfully most of our population is vaccinated, and the virus is similar to Ebolavirus in that it has to get into your body via blood or microscopic cuts, so unlikely to catch except in health care settings or via sex or needle sharing. Norovirus lives for weeks as well. That is another contact virus that spreads quite easily through the American public simply from people not taking adequate precautions (i.e., PLEASE wash your hands afteryou take a tump, K?).
People like to think that Americans are so much "cleaner" and "easier to contain" viruses and other diseases because of our society. I work in health care and I have to say, that is not true. I have seen patients wait to go to the hospital for a week past when they should've because of their overall fear of the health system in this country. Usually lower SES people, but Americans nonetheless. Undocumented immigrants - also a concern d/t lack of education.
I, for one, am not sure if Ebolavirus is closer to Norovirus or Hepatitis B. I frankly don't want to find out. I have read studies that it lives for a few days on surfaces. But does this mean it is more similar to norovirus in that you can put a single viral particle in your mouth and get it? Or is more similar to Hep B in that you need it to somehow get to the blood stream?
These are all risks that I don't want to take and I'm pretty upset with those Americans who took this risk by bringing the virus into this country. Especially working in the hospital so long and seeing things spread despite multiple precautions taken.
I continue to pray for those infected and pray for our country that we don't end up with a full outbreak. Although I don't think it would wipe out 50-70% of the population like one poster said, but as an employee in a health care setting that works very closely with blood, I know I would be a greater risk...
I have to say the misinformation on both sides of this in this thread is astounding.
I am a little afraid of Ebola myself, but not overly concerned. But I am monitoring the news for an outbreak and if it happens I am keeping to myself and laying low for a while. Thank goodness it is a contact disease. However, so are many other diseases.
I continue to pray for those infected and pray for our country that we don't end up with a full outbreak. Although I don't think it would wipe out 50-70% of the population like one poster said, but as an employee in a health care setting that works very closely with blood, I know I would be a greater risk...
I wouldn't be worried about just myself - I'm a SAHM and could lock myself and DS down at home with supplies for a while if it came down to it. I've actually considered it, in case it gets out around here, g-d forbid. However, I'm concerned about the rest of my family who have to go out and work around people - my husband of course, my parents - my mom works in daycare exposed to kiddie germs all day; my sister who transits to university daily. They can't afford to just stay home and lay low. Being afraid for my family terrifies me so much.
I have to say the misinformation on both sides of this in this thread is astounding.
I am a little afraid of Ebola myself, but not overly concerned. But I am monitoring the news for an outbreak and if it happens I am keeping to myself and laying low for a while. Thank goodness it is a contact disease. However, so are many other diseases.
People keep saying that ALL viruses die very easily when outside the body. This is simply not true. Hepatitis B, for instance, lives for WEEKS outside the body, very dangerous. Thankfully most of our population is vaccinated, and the virus is similar to Ebolavirus in that it has to get into your body via blood or microscopic cuts, so unlikely to catch except in health care settings or via sex or needle sharing. Norovirus lives for weeks as well. That is another contact virus that spreads quite easily through the American public simply from people not taking adequate precautions (i.e., PLEASE wash your hands afteryou take a tump, K?).
People like to think that Americans are so much "cleaner" and "easier to contain" viruses and other diseases because of our society. I work in health care and I have to say, that is not true. I have seen patients wait to go to the hospital for a week past when they should've because of their overall fear of the health system in this country. Usually lower SES people, but Americans nonetheless. Undocumented immigrants - also a concern d/t lack of education.
I, for one, am not sure if Ebolavirus is closer to Norovirus or Hepatitis B. I frankly don't want to find out. I have read studies that it lives for a few days on surfaces. But does this mean it is more similar to norovirus in that you can put a single viral particle in your mouth and get it? Or is more similar to Hep B in that you need it to somehow get to the blood stream?
These are all risks that I don't want to take and I'm pretty upset with those Americans who took this risk by bringing the virus into this country. Especially working in the hospital so long and seeing things spread despite multiple precautions taken.
I continue to pray for those infected and pray for our country that we don't end up with a full outbreak. Although I don't think it would wipe out 50-70% of the population like one poster said, but as an employee in a health care setting that works very closely with blood, I know I would be a greater risk...
Hepatitis B may live up to 7 days outside a human body:
INFECTIOUS DOSE: 1 - 10 aerosolized organisms are sufficient to cause infection in humans (21).
MODE OF TRANSMISSION: In an outbreak, it is hypothesized that the first patient becomes infected as a result of contact with an infected animal (15). Person-to-person transmission occurs via close personal contact with an infected individual or their body fluids during the late stages of infection or after death (1, 2, 15, 27). Nosocomial infections can occur through contact with infected body fluids due to the reuse of unsterilized syringes, needles, or other medical equipment contaminated with these fluids (1, 2). Humans may be infected by handling sick or dead non-human primates and are also at risk when handling the bodies of deceased humans in preparation for funerals, suggesting possible transmission through aerosol droplets (2, 6, 28). In the laboratory, infection through small-particle aerosols has been demonstrated in primates, and airborne spread among humans is strongly suspected, although it has not yet been conclusively demonstrated (1, 6, 13). The importance of this route of transmission is not clear. Poor hygienic conditions can aid the spread of the virus (6)."
Your experience working in the usual hospital setting cannot be translated to that of the facility at Emory.
By the way, folks, since there is already ongoing research in the US on ebola vaccines, someone has to have samples of the virus to work with in order to develop those vaccines. The current patients are the first infected humans here, but I assure you the virus was already in one or more labs here.
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This particular strain of ZEBOLA seems to be more contagious than previous clades, judging by the numbers. Even if the difference in genome is only 3%, well that can be quite a bit - the difference between human and chimp genomes are only about 3%. Other non-human ebola strains have gone a bit airborne, so it's not impossible ..... however we don't have evidence of that at this time.
I wouldn't be worried about it spreading in the US, not unless it got a good start in a densely populated city with a huggy culture, like SF. Even then people would learn quickly to avoid close contact.
Quote:
Originally Posted by HappyTexan
Both the doctor and nurse are being transported to the US.
Groups like the Peace Corps and others are evacuating their people as well.
And the Peace Corps has over 700 people with 2 under 21 day fever watch because they were with an ebola victim.
The President signed an EO yesterday amending the list of quarantinable diseases.
The CDC has put hospitals and airlines on alert.
This is the worst outbreak of ebola ever. And the body count is from those that died in hospitals. They aren't counting those living in the bush that are dying at home. And many villages there are not letting the medical staff in because they think the medical staff are bringing the diseases to their village.
Well, they're right. The medical workers are probably the main vectors of transmission. The villagers would be better served by giving them information on how to avoid contamination and cleanly dispose of the bodies.
I won't say anyone is 'foolish' to be worried about Ebola...but your fear is out of proportion to the likelihood of this particular disease causing devastation in the US. If you find yourself obsessing about it, lying awake worrying about your family members or yourself coming into contact with it, or taking excessive precautions, then you might want to talk to a therapist about it. Don't let the fear damage your life.
We often turn something into a symbol for what else is going on in one's life. There are so many things we can't control that making a disease or an issue into a focus is a common response to stress. There are many diseases and accidents that are far more likely to happen than an Ebola outbreak. So ask yourself if you are overreacting to a very remote possibility.
I agree with Donald Trump - I do not believe they should be bringing back those two people to america while they still have Ebola.
OK so someone above said not to worry, but what if there is an "oops" something happens they were not expecting. and now Ebola has been released into the USA where it was not before.
I think it is stupid to bring these two Ebola victims to Amerca before they've been cured. Why did they bring them here? Could they have treated them where they were? Why did they do it? I see no sense in it. Unless its the stupid egotistical need for scientists to say Yay we were the 1st scientists to combat ebola in the usa.
What's to keep terrorists from getting infected on purpose and bringing it to the US?
They wouldn't be very effective. The disease is only contagious when the infected person starts showing symptoms. By then I doubt they'd be in much condition to make jihad.
Nonsense. It is NOT highly contagious as it is NOT an airborne virus (at least not yet). You must come into contact with bodily fluids. The only reason it is considered "fairly" contagious is how long the virus remains virulent after the hosts death or outside of the hosts body.
That fatality rate is highly flawed and lot likely to be similar in a country with good access to health care like the US btw.
I don't care. I don't want ebola in my country.
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