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It is the most serious outbreak ever. But let's get some perspective on it.
Liberia has a population of 4.294 MILLION people. 3,024 people have been infected (infected, they didn't all die). The majority of the people there are healthy and uninfected.
Sierra Leone has a population of 6.092 MILLION people. 2,789 people have been infected (infected, not died). The majority of the people there are healthy and uninfected.
Guinea has a population of 11.75 MILLION people. 1,298 people have been infected (infected, not died). The majority of the people there are healthy and uninfected.
Nigeria has a population of 173.6 MILLION people. 20 people have been infected (infected, not died).
It's a scary disease. Even scarier in countries without the resources to deal with it. But we're talking about almost 200 MILLION people in the region, and only 8,033 cases.
It's more than just "numbers" though.
Both the CDC and the WHO have voiced concerns over this with regards to mutation.
The longer a virus stays in a foreign host the greater the chance of it mutating to adapt to that foreign host.
And humans are foreign hosts to the Ebola virus.
Now they didn't give any numbers regarding the chance but they have voiced their concerns about this possibility.
Does the Federal Government have the right to limit awards for damages, under extreme or other circumstances?
I don't know what the USG can and cannot do. But Ebola has a less than 50% survival rate.
Let one family sue and win over a virus where the odds are against you living and think what any future deaths will produce.
Duncan was Black, poor and had no insurance.
That's what caused his death, not Ebola. Because we had a track record of 100% recovery for the "White" patients.
That is what I'm reading today and that is the meme that is playing out.
It's not so simple. If we sever connections with Africa today, what happens tomorrow? We are already losing trade advantages to the Chinese and to Russia....
First case that pops up in these countries will cause them to shut down the people who travel to these infected countries.
We are also not talking all of Africa but only the 2-3 most infected countries.
It's more than just "numbers" though.
Both the CDC and the WHO have voiced concerns over this with regards to mutation.
The longer a virus stays in a foreign host the greater the chance of it mutating to adapt to that foreign host.
And humans are foreign hosts to the Ebola virus.
Now they didn't give any numbers regarding the chance but they have voiced their concerns about this possibility.
Mutation is always a possibility. But that doesn't mean that mutations will necessarily make the virus more deadly, or more communicable. Mutations can go either way. And in terms of adapting to a host, a virus that is less deadly, or that kills more slowly, is a mutation with the advantage, because it gives the virus a longer life expectancy.
So mutation is a concern. But the simple fact is that Ebola is not the flu. The flu infects so many more people, it has a much greater chance of mutating. 8,033 cases, as opposed to millions of cases, means mutations are less likely, and the mortality rate of Ebola versus the flu, makes the mutations even less likely than the flu.
Will Ebola mutate? Very possibly.
Will Ebola mutate into a more deadly strain? Possible, but if so, it becomes even easier to contain.
Will Ebola mutate into a less deadly strain? Also possible.
And in the meantime, 200 MILLION people in the affected countries. 8033 cases of Ebola, and less than half of those cases resulted in death.
The "err on the side of caution" fix you are advocating causes harm. Restricting international air travel has implications that go beyond Ebola. There are diplomatic and economic impacts that you are blithely dismissing.
Governments are erring on the side of caution in all areas except travel if you haven't noticed.
First case that pops up in these countries will cause them to shut down the people who travel to these infected countries.
We are also not talking all of Africa but only the 2-3 most infected countries.
I'm not the one who used the phrase "sever connections with Africa". So evidently some of you are talking about all of Africa. And even so, the VAST majority of people living in the 2-3 most infected countries are healthy and not infected with EBOLA. MILLIONS of people live in these countries. 8,000 people infected, less than half have died.
Governments are erring on the side of caution in all areas except travel if you haven't noticed.
I can go along with different "errs of caution" which don't impact have a diplomatic and economic impact.
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