sean6 Posted November 16, 2012 #1 Share Posted November 16, 2012 (edited) Could Ebola now be airborne? New research shows lethal virus can be spread from pigs to monkeys without contact Fears are growing that the most lethal form of the Ebola virus can mutate into an airborne pathogen, making the spread of the terrifying disease more difficult to check. It was previously thought the untreatable virus, which causes massive internal bleeding and multiple organ failure, could only be transmitted through contact with infected blood. But now Canadian researchers have carried out experiments showing how monkeys can catch the deadly disease from infected pigs without coming into direct contact. http://www.dailymail...ys-contact.html http://www.bbc.co.uk...onment-20341423 Edited November 16, 2012 by sean6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bavarian Raven Posted November 16, 2012 #2 Share Posted November 16, 2012 well thats not good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+and-then Posted November 16, 2012 #3 Share Posted November 16, 2012 A shift that causes such a deadly scourge to be easily transmissible is the type of scenario that keeps the pros up at night. When it happens the herd will be greatly thinned. Imagine if millions in Western democracies died in a few months. The disruption to the economy, food chains and the general social upheaval. Bad news but totally predictable at some point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashotep Posted November 16, 2012 #4 Share Posted November 16, 2012 Its airborne but not for long. You have to be in pretty close proximity to an infected animal or person to catch it. Still this is alarming news but I wonder if its just now becoming airborne or has it always been and just now being discovered. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
libstaK Posted November 17, 2012 #5 Share Posted November 17, 2012 (edited) Its airborne but not for long. You have to be in pretty close proximity to an infected animal or person to catch it. Still this is alarming news but I wonder if its just now becoming airborne or has it always been and just now being discovered. Well that it's airborne at all is not good. Fact is, those that can sustain being airborne the longest within the virus population will now be the "evolved" survivors and the next generation will be borne from them, so it will eventually become airborne for longer periods and greater distances if enough of the virus survives the evolutionary leaps to "repopulate" new hosts each time. Edited November 17, 2012 by libstaK 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Likely Guy Posted November 17, 2012 #6 Share Posted November 17, 2012 Its airborne but not for long. You have to be in pretty close proximity to an infected animal or person to catch it. Still this is alarming news but I wonder if its just now becoming airborne or has it always been and just now being discovered. I just heard a radio interview with the discoverer. Yes, it's probably always been airborne (just over short distances). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cybele Posted November 17, 2012 #7 Share Posted November 17, 2012 A shift that causes such a deadly scourge to be easily transmissible is the type of scenario that keeps the pros up at night. When it happens the herd will be greatly thinned. Imagine if millions in Western democracies died in a few months. The disruption to the economy, food chains and the general social upheaval. Bad news but totally predictable at some point. If something like this were to happen (which it wouldn't), I don't think ebola would be the cause. Even in catastrophic epidemics before the advent of modern medicine, like the Black Death, a sizable proportion of the population will resist disease due to genetic factors that render them less susceptible, or even not susceptible at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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