EBOLA discussion thread

[JerseyGirl415]

Originally Posted by suzy_q2010

I suspect we will get to see the effectiveness of the new Ebola vaccine in action.

One of the problems with ebola is its possibly long incubation period of up to 3 weeks. Do we know whether people will be able to be vaccinated if they were exposed and are yet to show symptoms? Would it be effective at that stage - so close to possibly showing symptoms after known exposure? Would it at least help weaken the virus/increase chances of survival at that point?

There is no need to vaccinate a bunch of people who were NOT exposed but MAY be in the future simply because the virus is present in the area, IM(unprofessional)O at least, unless we were to see the same type of epidemic we saw from 2013-2016 again, when it was so widespread - it seems the experts agree and are willing to deploy the vaccines if it becomes epidemic. Most ebola outbreaks are rather small and contained with direct exposure to the sick person's bodily fluids as the means of spreading the virus, and once someone is very sick with the disease they seem to be pretty weak and immobile so are only a risk to those who know them and are willing to take care of them, so would anyone be vaccinated assuming this doesn't turn into another serious epidemic? When the last epidemic happened, it seemed to me like they were willing to start mass vaccinations if they had the means, but that makes sense in such a situation. With any more contained situation, like they hope this will be, that doesn't spread to infecting 28,000 or anything close to it, I'm curious what their methods will be and how effective the vaccine will be. Would they just try to trace contacts and keep the disease as contained as possible and if it gets out of hand, then start vaccinating people?

Then the question becomes, who do you vaccinate? Everyone in a city or village or neighboring villages to infected ones? Because the risk of actually getting it is pretty low though the numbers last time were scary. Basically, once a family member has it, these people are screwed, but otherwise, it seems rather avoidable if people are smart about how they go about their lives.

I assume any medical personnel who will be and are working with the ebola patients will be vaccinated, and those who bury the bodies as well. At the least I think that in every ebola outbreak big or small, those who will be coming in to treat the patients and handle their dead bodies, and those who already were doing so prior to MSF and the CDC and other similar groups moving in, should be vaccinated if possible.

As a side note, I'm curious to see where they eventually trace this outbreak to. I'm always interested in seeing where epidemics and smaller outbreaks of such serious diseases originated - patient zero and the original source.

[suzy_q2010]

Originally Posted by JerseyGirl415

One of the problems with ebola is its possibly long incubation period of up to 3 weeks. Do we know whether people will be able to be vaccinated if they were exposed and are yet to show symptoms? Would it be effective at that stage - so close to possibly showing symptoms after known exposure? Would it at least help weaken the virus/increase chances of survival at that point?

There is no need to vaccinate a bunch of people who were NOT exposed but MAY be in the future simply because the virus is present in the area, IM(unprofessional)O at least, unless we were to see the same type of epidemic we saw from 2013-2016 again, when it was so widespread - it seems the experts agree and are willing to deploy the vaccines if it becomes epidemic. Most ebola outbreaks are rather small and contained with direct exposure to the sick person's bodily fluids as the means of spreading the virus, and once someone is very sick with the disease they seem to be pretty weak and immobile so are only a risk to those who know them and are willing to take care of them, so would anyone be vaccinated assuming this doesn't turn into another serious epidemic? When the last epidemic happened, it seemed to me like they were willing to start mass vaccinations if they had the means, but that makes sense in such a situation. With any more contained situation, like they hope this will be, that doesn't spread to infecting 28,000 or anything close to it, I'm curious what their methods will be and how effective the vaccine will be. Would they just try to trace contacts and keep the disease as contained as possible and if it gets out of hand, then start vaccinating people?

Then the question becomes, who do you vaccinate? Everyone in a city or village or neighboring villages to infected ones? Because the risk of actually getting it is pretty low though the numbers last time were scary. Basically, once a family member has it, these people are screwed, but otherwise, it seems rather avoidable if people are smart about how they go about their lives.

I assume any medical personnel who will be and are working with the ebola patients will be vaccinated, and those who bury the bodies as well. At the least I think that in every ebola outbreak big or small, those who will be coming in to treat the patients and handle their dead bodies, and those who already were doing so prior to MSF and the CDC and other similar groups moving in, should be vaccinated if possible.

As a side note, I'm curious to see where they eventually trace this outbreak to. I'm always interested in seeing where epidemics and smaller outbreaks of such serious diseases originated - patient zero and the original source.

The technique used is called ring vaccination. It is not necessary to vaccinate everyone, only possible contacts. That would indeed include all heath care workers. The vaccine appears to be highly effective, especially if contacts are vaccinated quickly.

WHO | Final trial results confirm Ebola vaccine provides high protection against disease

[JerseyGirl415]

Originally Posted by suzy_q2010

The technique used is called ring vaccination. It is not necessary to vaccinate everyone, only possible contacts. That would indeed include all heath care workers. The vaccine appears to be highly effective, especially if contacts are vaccinated quickly.

WHO | Final trial results confirm Ebola vaccine provides high protection against disease

So it can work if someone is vaccinated after exposure and may get symptoms within that 3 week period? That's good news.