Ebola virus outbreak 'out of control'

[libstaK]

VERY WRONG. As mentioned earlier there is an incubation period up to three weeks. London, Paris etc etc are a plane ride away and BOOM! Ebola is in Europe. Oh the poor Africans are too poor to fly ..... they get on a refugee boat and hit Italy or sapin and BOOM! Ebola is in Europe!! It can go anywhere. Oh and guess what the bodies of the dead are infectious for a few days after death. So moving bodies around for burial etc is just going to spread it.

I mentioned in a later post that this virus has a 2 to 21 day incubation period and that it was now found to be in 60 locations including 3 major cities and the vicinity of an international airport .... did you miss that?

However, having said that. It is also held by the WHO that this virus does no become "communicable" until the symptoms have well and truly set in aka: it is easily contained if the symptoms are recognized in their early stages, therefore it is possible to contain it.

You are right though, and I have the very same fear, refugees could be travelling with this virus as we speak and we will not know for sure that it has not jumped into other continents for up to 3 weeks or even longer from now depending on how good other world health services are at recognizing the symptoms when they do show up.

Edited June 29, 2014 by libstaK

[Sundew]

As a potential global pandemic Ebola doesn't worry me much unless it changes. The various varieties of bird flu still worry me much more. I'm hoping a general vaccine for all types of flu will be developed soon.

I read something over a year ago that they were near to creating a universal flu vaccine but then never heard anything else about it.

[Imaginarynumber1]

Reminds me of the game Plague Inc.

[Frank Merton]

There is little point in painting dire scenarios unless we act on them. I see some bug somewhere developing the ability to spread rapidly and inevitably (like measles) with a high if not complete mortality. Then we have had it. I suppose there would be a few survivors if they shut down travel completely and isolated people who were uninfected.

Oh well, there already have been plenty of movies depicting all this. The thing to remember is nature is not "out to get us." Nature doesn't care, so mutations are more likely to go in the direction of less mortality (the parasite that kills its host gains little from doing so, compared to the parasite that learns to live there).

[Doug1029]

There is little point in painting dire scenarios unless we act on them. I see some bug somewhere developing the ability to spread rapidly and inevitably (like measles) with a high if not complete mortality. Then we have had it. I suppose there would be a few survivors if they shut down travel completely and isolated people who were uninfected.

The Spanish flu of 1918 only reached about half of the population. More-recent strains are expected to have the same result. So a strain that killed 75% of those it came in contact with, but only contacted half the population would kill about 38% overall. That's still bad, but not as bad as it might sound.

Most likely, as the disease wiped out large numbers of people, we would have a societal collapse with the last survivors too isolated to contact the disease. So even the worst-case scenario is not likely to result in our extinction. But the living might well envy the dead.

There might even be some benefits. There would many empty houses - affordable housing wouldn't be a problem any longer. The shortage of labor would mean the wealthy would have to do their own housework or start paying more. We'd have fewer problems with global warming and natural resource shortages. This is what happened after the black death hit Europe.

By wiping out less-resistant people, the disease would make the population more-resistant next time. And perhaps more-resistant to related diseases.

Doug

Edited June 29, 2014 by Doug1029

[Doug1029]

I read something over a year ago that they were near to creating a universal flu vaccine but then never heard anything else about it.

I heard that just this last week. Don't think they're there yet. But in a few more years?

Doug

[spartan max2]

I may have to agree with Libsta on this.

The U.S and Nato nations managed to work along side the U.S.S.R during the cold war to eradicate smallpox.

So im sure if the world wanted to we could fix this. Just imagine if this outbreak was in France or somewhere in Europe. Im pretty sure the U.N and everyone would be flipping #$%#

Im more of a non-interventionist myself. We get involved in too much places waste too much money and use countries as chess pieces.

But I think this is something that we should get behind. Hell all we got to do is not build planes for other countries and then we would easily have the money to fight Ebola.

[Frank Merton]

Ebola requires close contact and infectious people are obviously sick. As such it should not be the problem it is except for primitive conditions and corrupt governments. However it could change, a worry, and even if not we need to do what we can to lift health standards there or the societies will never progress.

A lot of bugs are much easier to catch. The experience of the Spanish Influenza may not apply nowadays with much more and rapid travel.

[sean6]

from today

http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/ebola-deaths-surge-africa-who-calls-urgent-meeting-n145676

[Lumpino]

What do you think about vitamins?

http://www.naturalnews.com/040770_vitamin_c_virus_dr_thomas_levy.html

"Vitamin C can kill every virus known to mankind............"

[Eldorado]

Another Update, this one from SkyNews...

http://news.sky.com/story/1293312/africa-battles-to-stop-deadly-spread-of-ebola

[George Ford]

And another update, the number of confirmed deaths is 467.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/02/-sp-ebola-out-of-control-west-africa

“This is different from other cases just by the fact it’s a cross-border epidemic. Previous outbreaks have been very localised, which makes them easier to isolate and contain. Now for the first time, it’s also affecting urban areas,” said Dr Nestor Ndayimirije, Liberia’s WHO representative who has handled epidemics in several other countries." ~ Quote from above article.

Apparently it could have infected a massive amount of Fruit Bats, and as Fruit bats are food for humans in the area then that is how it is getting about so fast. Maybe this is Mother Nature fighting back.

[George Ford]

http://www.aljazeera...1553906939.html

"This brought the total in West Africa's first outbreak of the deadly disease to 888 cases, including 539 deaths since February. It is the largest and deadliest so far, the UN agency said." ~ from above article.

539 deaths! That is scary, as well as the fact they are absolutely no closer to finding a cure or vaccine.

Also, it appears to be spreading across more borders:-

http://www.voanews.c...ne/1955415.html

Also, think that it does not effect you, think you are safe where you are? Think again, look at this map, this has the potential to spread like wildfire:-

http://www.who.int/csr/disease/ebola/geographic-ebola.jpg

Edited July 11, 2014 by George Ford__AKA Bulveye__

[libstaK]

That can't be right? That's an increase of 72 deaths since what was reported last week. Are they discovering more misdiagnosed deaths to have been from Ebola from February till now? They haven't clarified how these new figures stack up.

Regardless, I really think this is far from being under control.

[libstaK]

An Ebola survivor's story

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/07/10/world/africa/ebola-survivor-red-cross/index.html?hpt=hp_c1

So 844 cases and 518 deaths now ... the figures seem a little "fluid", I guess we will hear more accurate figures as time progresses.

[coolguy]

Yeah this Ebola is bad I feel bad for the people who get it and die from it.

I know this case is not Ebola. Did any of u guys and girls see this a girl in Georgia was swimming in a stream and she got something and it ate her body they doc had to cut her legs off.

[White Crane Feather]

How is it harsh? We have the capacity through various organisations to deal with this. If we don't do anything, it will spread. It is only a matter of time before a refugee, or even a dozen refugees carry this over into Europe or Asia if it's left to rum amock amongst the African populace - will you wish we did something then?

That would be a huge leap, it is far more likely to mutate in increments that allow it to spread by not killing the host so quickly or remain dormant for longer before it starts its cycle in a host but the virulence won't jump down to Common Cold levels any time soon - has AIDS come down to common cold levels since it made it's way around the world?

The call of nature will have its day. It always has and I t always will. No running l. No hidding .... Only understandinging.

[dryrain]

We constantly fight one virus or another it is only a matter of time before a big one strikes. Would this be such a bad thing a thinning of the worlds population? We either need to control it by politcal means or let nature take its course. And governemnts seem ignorant to the fact that the world can not support the human population at its current growth rate.

[George Ford]

http://allafrica.com/stories/201407210728.html

"the new figures expand what is by far the largest and deadliest Ebola outbreak in history to 982 cases and 613 deaths. Both numbers are more than twice the size of any previous EVD outbreak." ~ from the above article.

[libstaK]

Well this is really bad news: Chief Ebola Doctor in Sierra Leone has now contracted the virus.

Spare a prayer for this brave soul who has put himself in harms way to save the lives of others, my thoughts are with him and his loved ones.

In fact, it is far too common for the caregivers to contract this virus, most unfair and upsetting.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/07/23/health/ebola-outbreak-west-africa/index.html?hpt=hp_t4

[George Ford]

Well this is really bad news: Chief Ebola Doctor in Sierra Leone has now contracted the virus.

Spare a prayer for this brave soul who has put himself in harms way to save the lives of others, my thoughts are with him and his loved ones.

In fact, it is far too common for the caregivers to contract this virus, most unfair and upsetting.

http://edition.cnn.c....html?hpt=hp_t4

Damn! The Chief Ebola Doctor get infected and now only has a small chance of living and a few days ago all the AIDS researchers died when that plane was shot down!! I bet the conspiracy theorists are getting their keyboards warmed up!

[Eldorado]

'Nigeria says it has put all entries into the country on red alert after confirming the death of a Liberian man who was carrying the Ebola virus.

The man died after arriving at Lagos airport on Tuesday, in the first Ebola case in Africa's most populous country.'

Source:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-28498665

[libstaK]

'Nigeria says it has put all entries into the country on red alert after confirming the death of a Liberian man who was carrying the Ebola virus.

The man died after arriving at Lagos airport on Tuesday, in the first Ebola case in Africa's most populous country.'

Source:

http://www.bbc.co.uk...africa-28498665

Well if he came of a crowded plane - then there is a real problem. High fever means sweat and if he used the onboard facilities and sat, that sweat went onto the seat. Bodily fluid contact would then have been rampant from him to other passengers.

[sean6]

Second American infected with Ebola

http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/27/world/africa/ebola-american-doctor-infected/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

info video

if this hits the u.s. its over

[jesspy]

Maybe this is the long awaited pandemic we desperately need.