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Ebola Virus Discussion


Simon

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As other said, Ebola isn't the most easily transmitted virus. It would do some damage, but it would be rapidly contained.

 

As far as viruses are concerned, Influenza strikes me as one of the main candidate for the next pandemia (again...). Those littles things are easily transmissible when adapted to humans. H7 strains in particular could be devastating if it evolves into a more easily transmissible virus while keeping it's mortality rate, since almost no one ever faced a H7 strains, so the herd immunity wouldn't work like in H1N1 or H3N2.

 

H7N9 has a 30% mortality rate in humans. Influenza usually has a 0.1% mortality rate (mostly infants and old people), with the spanish flu of 1918 (worst flu pandemia) being somewhere between 10% and 20%, depending on estimate.

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Unsure if anyone knows about this but theres a book out called 'The Hot Zone' by Richard Preston

its about ebola and it goes into a hell of alot of detail about the outbreaks and the different strains that exist so far and just how likely it is to cause damage if the worst possibel outcome happened.

 

it might be a little outdated cause it is nearly 20 years old, but it gives a good baseline for everyone to understand a little more

not to mention still being incredibly bucking creepy and a damn good read

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Ha! My tin foil hat will protect me. You see, I knew this was going to happen. Ebola will spread everywhere, and the US will shove us all into fema camps. Then after the world is depopulated, the New World Order will take over! 
 

On a more serious note, I hope an Ebola outbreak doesn't occur. It's quite the nasty disease, and it'd be really unfortunate if it did indeed spread. Dying from Ebola is definitely not a fun way to go. 

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Someone had the idea to bring the American Ebola patients back to the US, to undergo treatment in Atlanta at Emory University. Great care is being taken in transporting and isolating the patients.

 

http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/31/health/ebola-outbreak/index.html

 

I find this to be a very bad idea. Yes, the personnel working with Ebola patients had a higher risk of contracting Ebola, even with the stringent sterilization procedures they go through and the use of protective equipment. But bringing the patients here creates a greater risk of infecting others in the US, even if it's extremely minimal.

 

Maybe containment protocols will be the most stringent they can be, and there will be no cause for concern. Let's hope that'll be the case. Looking at the last link Det. Butler posted, a sample of Ebola arrived at the CDC in 1976, the glass tubes were broken in transit. That was when Ebola was first photographed, as what the article said. There was no outbreak, and they had not even known it was Ebola at that time.

 

Still, the situation makes me uneasy, I'm not running around and rioting in the streets with my pants off, but just uneasy.

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Crap it's the Croatoan virus.

 

Anywho, I highly doubt we're all going to die. I mean, there is no cure for cancer but we aren't getting it left and right / dying left and right.

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I wouldn't worry about. Airports are looking for people with Ebola, and if/when they do enter the country they'll be quarantined. Also, Ebola isn't an air-born sickness, so you can't catch it if someone coughs or sneezes.

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EVD is believed to occur after an ebola virus is transmitted to a human index case via contact with an infected animal's bodily fluids. Human-to-human transmission occurs via direct contact with blood or bodily fluids from an infected person (including embalming of an infected dead person) or by contact with contaminated medical equipment, particularly needles and syringes.

 

Source: Wikipedia

 

So it isn't necessarily something you can catch that easily if you live in the U.S., unlike the flu and other airborne diseases. I figure the reason it spread so much in Africa is because, well... that place isn't exactly the cleanest (it's not their fault, however).

Edited by ReGen
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Source: Wikipedia

 

So it isn't necessarily something you can catch that easily if you live in the U.S., unlike the flu and other airborne diseases. I figure the reason it spread so much in Africa is because, well... that place isn't exactly the cleanest (it's not their fault, however).

It could transfer easily in hot areas because even a person's sweat is way if transferring. If it is an area of close contact then it can cause problems.

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I dont think we have to worry one of the main reasons it hasnt spread alreayd is because of the speed in which it incapacitates. Usually someone who has it wouldnt be making an international trip. Also it is unlikly to spread human to human as itbis spread threw misquotes.

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I heard that it was 2 patients coming into America for treatment. I hope this doesn't affect a lot of people. :o


I wouldn't worry about. Airports are looking for people with Ebola, and if/when they do enter the country they'll be quarantined. Also, Ebola isn't an air-born sickness, so you can't catch it if someone coughs or sneezes.

 

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Edited by PrincessWubsy~
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Don't panic, it's not even here yet. Contrary to popular belief, we are a very smart and tenacious species. Airports are being watched for the spread of the disease and I'm certain that there is a backup plan in the works if the first level defense is thwarted.

 

Just please don't obsess over this, we don't need the vicious fear cycle the media pushed during the swine flu panic again.

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Everyone calm down :lol:

 

There are different variants of the Ebola Virus. The mortality rate ranges from 25 to 9o %. Not too bad, right ?

It's not a 100 at least so, you can still go through it, right ?

 

Next, I hear some people say that the incubation period is 21 days. That is not entirely correct. Like I said, there are different variants. The incubation period could be anywhere between 2 and 21 days.

 

Also, there may be no known cure at the moment, but, they would still do anything they can to help you make it should you catch the virus. You need to trust the doctors.

 

Finally, the virus has very little chance of ever reaching France or the UK. Let alone the US. As long as it says in West Africa, you'll be fine.

 

We are not looking at  a "Walking Dead" or "Planet of the Apes" scenario here.

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Everyone you need to stop overreacting to something so simple. This isn't the Black Plague or anything like that, yes it has a high mortality rate, but SO WHAT. We are already quarantining and cleansing. Airports are checking to see if anyone has the virus. Honestly, we don't need to do the media's job for them. JUST LET IT GO.

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Atlantan here. Just thought I'd let you all know that the initial patient, Dr. Kent Brantly, arrived at Emory University Hospital just after 12:20 this afternoon. The good news: the patient walked into Emory University Hospital, no need for stretchers. We'll see how this plays out, but I am confident things will go well. Of course, I live about ten minutes from Emory, so on the off chance something does go wrong, well....

 

Otherwise, it's business as usual here. The only danger I've witnessed today came from crazy shoppers who are trying to take advantage of the last day of tax-free weekend.

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The thing that worries me is the incubation time, which is about 21 days. Three weeks! If there's any small blunder, we're in big-time trouble! In fact, there already has been a man infected with the virus who had boarded an airplane with up to 200 others. They were warned, but then allowed to go on their way. If  any of them caught it, who knows where it could spread! On the plus side, it is believed to be spread only by contact with bodily fluids. Just imagine if it was airborne! :-o

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It's weird how the Swine Flu thing did not scare me one bit yet this thing, despite it not being anywhere near as easy to catch, terrifies my mind. Of course my worry doesn't mean much, I am usually overly paranoid about these things. Diseases in general scare me. Strangely enough this is the first I have heard of this at all. Then again I don't watch TV.

 

Just another thing for me to pointlessly worry about I suppose.

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Guys, we're all gonna die to the Hinamizawa Syndrome!

 

Alright, jokes aside. If it's the Ebola I know about, then it's been around in Africa for decades now. Now let's think about it for a second: Most people in Africa have very bad chances of getting a decent medical treatment and their environment is not really healthy or clean most of the time.

 

Let's face it, if it were to really have an Outbreak, it probably would kill a few people but nothing compared to Africa. The death rate would probably "only" be around 5% or even less as even a flu can be able to kill people. Just because people kill it a killer virus it doesn't mean it's a certain death. Any virus can kill you, some are more dangerous, some are less dangerous, the issue is: If there was a dangerous threatening virus everyone warns about, it probably would've killed you off before you realized it.

 

As far as I know, Ebola is a painful death and that's the reason people go crazy about it. But why is it so painful? Because those killed people did not get treated correctly/doctors couldn't find a cure, let's face it, if an outbreak were to happen in America, a cure would be at hand after days, however in Africa it might not happen unless a "superpower" is hit by it.

Edited by Wingnut-samaaa <3
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From what I've learned about it from my parents (both doctors :P ) the Ebola virus is contagious, but only through contact with bodily fluids. The reason it's mostly situated in Africa is due to the fact that a combination of poor quality of living, combined with poor medical treatment, means that blood and other body fluids contaminated with the virus easily infects others.

 

In fact, a lot of the doctors in Africa are the ones getting the virus, purely because they are taking blood and coming Ito contact with these contaminated body fluids with very little protection due to poor medical care.

 

I know it sounds a bit "Planet of the Apes" with this deadly virus now having it's first case in the US yesterday, but developed countries like the Us and and the UK have good, sterile medical treatment. In fact, a lot of countries do! In short...

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Keep-calm-and-carry-on-scan.jpg

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