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The Ebola that's in Africa now is a completely new strain of the disease. Transmission of this new strain is still being researched by the CDC.
All information on the transmission of Ebola is based on the older strain of Ebola.
Also, per the old strain of Ebola, transmission was by direct contact with bodily fluids and contact with objects with bodily fluid on them, such as; door knobs, bed sheets, toilet seats, etc. The Ebola virus can survive for days on objects. They have even found that the Ebola virus was still active in semen for 6 weeks.
Considering the way the airlines cram people into airplanes these days (soon we'll all need a giant shoehorn!), it wouldn't be difficult to get Ebola if you're sitting next to someone on a long flight who starts showing symptoms after the flight has begun. I'm not trying to be an alarmist, but sweat is a bodily fluid and it's not easy to avoid skin to skin contact in such close conditions. Also, most flights are full, so even if you do notice a person deteriorating next to you it's not like you can simply move and sit somewhere else.
I read an an article in which one of the first discoverers of Ebola claimed that he'd be fine sitting next to an Ebola sufferer on an airplane. I'd love to see him do that; if he wasn't all suited up and didn't get infected then I'd feel much better.
Considering the way the airlines cram people into airplanes these days (soon we'll all need a giant shoehorn!), it wouldn't be difficult to get Ebola if you're sitting next to someone on a long flight who starts showing symptoms after the flight has begun. I'm not trying to be an alarmist, but sweat is a bodily fluid and it's not easy to avoid skin to skin contact in such close conditions. Also, most flights are full, so even if you do notice a person deteriorating next to you it's not like you can simply move and sit somewhere else.
I read an an article in which one of the first discoverers of Ebola claimed that he'd be fine sitting next to an Ebola sufferer on an airplane. I'd love to see him do that; if he wasn't all suited up and didn't get infected then I'd feel much better.
I agree with this wholeheartedly. And without getting graphic, Ebola is a, errrr, great "producer of body fluids" - various types. Even if the guy managed to get to the airplane bathroom every time he needed it (which would be often), think about that tiny space, and his walk back and forth every time. You nearly HAVE TO cling to the backs of row seats if there's a bit of turbulence or if you're feeling woozy. Then think about all the people using that bathroom on an international flight...and all those people walking up and down the same aisle, touching the back of each seat right behind that poor guy.
The Ebola that's in Africa now is a completely new strain of the disease. Transmission of this new strain is still being researched by the CDC.
This information is erroneous per current data. The Pasteur Institute has already identified the strain of Ebola as being Ebola Zaire, nearly identical to previous appearances of the Ebola Zaire strain.
While initial phylogenetic analyses concluded to Guinea 2014 EBOV falling outside the Zaïre lineage (ZEBOV), a recent re-analysis of the same dataset by Dudas and Rambaut (2014) suggested that Guinea 2014 EBOV actually is ZEBOV
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. Under the same hypothesis as used by these authors (the molecular clock hypothesis), we reinforce their conclusion by providing a statistical assessment of the location of the root of the Zaïre lineage. Our analysis unambiguously supports Guinea 2014 EBOV as a member of the Zaïre lineage.
All information on the transmission of Ebola is based on the older strain of Ebola.
Also, per the old strain of Ebola, transmission was by direct contact with bodily fluids and contact with objects with bodily fluid on them, such as; door knobs, bed sheets, toilet seats, etc.
There is no "per the old strain of Ebola", we've known of multiple strains of the disease for decades, yet all are virtually the same in terms of how they are contracted. The main difference between Ebola Zaire and Ebola Sudan for example is overall lethality.
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The Ebola virus can survive for days on objects. .
Ebola, just like HIV, is thought to be extremely fragile outside the body, we're talking about a matter of hours, not days. You would also have a hard time contracting it from a typical fomite. Viruses in general tend to be fragile outside of a host, they're not really living the way bacteria is and they don't have the ability to form spores such as bacillus anthracis(Anthrax) does.
So it now looks like Ebola did spread from this incident on the plane. Nigeria has confirmed it has a case of Ebola. All passengers should have been immediately quarantined after deplaning.
When someone has severe symptoms on a plane, I wonder how they can sanitize and disinfect properly before putting that plane in service again? I would think the planes would harbor pathogens and spread the disease during future flights.
Except a virus like Ebola don't survive long outside the body and is not transmitted by casual contact. Same reason why you won't contract HIV from a toilet seat.
Bacteria can self propagate and survive outside of a host, it can form spores and adapt in many ways, viruses require a host to reproduce, without one, they cannot survive long.
The bacteria that causes strep can survive for months living on inanimate objects. Anthrax can survive for decades in spore form. Viruses like Ebola and HIV, hours. Even influenza, which is an avid traveler that spreads throughout the air and is hardier than most, will survive a max of about 6-8 hours outside the human body.
I agree with this wholeheartedly. And without getting graphic, Ebola is a, errrr, great "producer of body fluids" - various types. Even if the guy managed to get to the airplane bathroom every time he needed it (which would be often), think about that tiny space, and his walk back and forth every time. You nearly HAVE TO cling to the backs of row seats if there's a bit of turbulence or if you're feeling woozy. Then think about all the people using that bathroom on an international flight...and all those people walking up and down the same aisle, touching the back of each seat right behind that poor guy.
Not to mention the handle for the restroom door, the flushing handle on the toilet, the restroom sink knobs/buttons to turn water on and off, even the seat belts at every seat- just imagine someone with Ebola sat in that seat a few hours before you did on a previous flight- those seat belts buckles are not sanitized before the next group of passengers boards. So many surfaces can be contaminated, so this is a real threat.
Not to mention the handle for the restroom door, the flushing handle on the toilet, the restroom sink knobs/buttons to turn water on and off, even the seat belts at every seat- just imagine someone with Ebola sat in that seat a few hours before you did on a previous flight- those seat belts buckles are not sanitized before the next group of passengers boards. So many surfaces can be contaminated, so this is a real threat.
Ebola.does.not.transmit.that.way.
Even if it did, it survives a few hours outside the body at best. The odds that you would be infected through such a scenario are absolutely minimal. IN every outbreak of Ebola thus far, the absolute vast majority who have been infected are healthcare workers or family members of the infected who make contact with bodily fluids such as blood, either pre or post mortem. If you don't go on an airplane scared to death of catching HIV, then you needn't be scared of catching Ebola either.
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Make no mistake, Ebola is a terrible disease to get. It’s also extremely deadly. Apparently as many as 90 percent of its victims die, although to a great extent that number reflects the poor medical care available in the afflicted areas.
But the good news is that Ebola is extremely hard to catch.
You don’t get it from doorknobs, toilet seats, or being coughed upon. As the World Health Organization notes, "transmission occurs by direct contact with infected blood, secretions, organs, or semen." That’s why almost all the victims have been hospital patients, care givers, or persons who handled the dead bodies. Standard precautions would prevent such spread in American hospitals, but in dirt-poor Zaire, even masks and gowns can be hard to come by. The other factor that works to contain Ebola is that the victims don’t carry it long before becoming symptomatic themselves.
According to Dr. Carl Johnson, retired head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Special Pathogens branch, "Incubation is on average seven to 10 days." Further, he told me, "Probably during most of that incubation period there’s not enough virus in that person to" allow transmission to someone else.
Still, what’s the worst case scenario for the U.S.? What if a Zairian teeming with Ebola stepped off a jet tomorrow at JFK? Sorry thrill-seekers, it’s not complete envelopment of the U.S. in 48 hours, as was the case in Outbreak. Dr. C.J. Peters, current director of the Special Pathogens branch, told me, "It’s possible that someone with Ebola might leave a remote area where the disease is occurring and might even get sick here." But, he added, "Because our socioeconomic level allows high standards in hospitals . . . there would be a few cases but they would be controllable under our circumstances."
The good news is that Ebola cannot be spread through casual contact, like a common cold. Direct contact with bodily fluids like saliva, sweat and blood, through broken skin or mucuous membranes, is required. The NCID’s Head of Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases, Professor Janusz Paweska, told the Daily Maverick that it is possible that the virus may be transmissible through unprotected sex, but only two instances of this mode of transmission are thought to have been recorded thus far.
Because of the nature of the virus, the two types of people most likely to become infected with Ebola are family members caring for a sick patient, and healthcare workers. Preiser says that due to fear of infection, some healthcare workers have reportedly fled West African hospitals. Others are being barred from doing their job because locals believe it is the healthcare workers themselves who are the harbingers of disease.
If I could be dictator for a day, I would make microbiology a mandatory subject for all U.S. high-school students.
Lol, me too even though I've never taken a microbiology course. Facts go over people's heads sometimes, no matter how many times you try to hammer it in.
News conference by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention @ 1300 hours EST.
Block all flights to and from Africa until they have this highly contagious diseases under control.
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