Ebola Megathread

[Scomagia]

Then I wouldn't be concerned. As I and others have noted, Ebola has a poor route of transmission.

YAY ME!

Still the wikipedia article alone scared me enough to sweat...

There are much more frightening viruses than Ebola.

[Lindenholt]

YAY ME!

Still the wikipedia article alone scared me enough to sweat...

There are much more frightening viruses than Ebola.

That does not make it any better, lol

Wikipedia links? I'll read them tomorrow morning, so I can still sleep tonight

[Chestaan]

Do you live in Africa?

No, I live in the Netherlands

The country with one of the largest ports in the world....

This isn't a game of Pandemic/Plague Inc you know

[Chestaan]

There are much more frightening viruses than Ebola.

That does not make it any better, lol

Wikipedia links? I'll read them tomorrow morning, so I can still sleep tonight

Smallpox. Just google it and look at some images...

[Arcturus Novus]

Quarantine infected areas within the nations. Treat those who can still be saved. Appeal to WHO for additional assistance, if feasible.

[Scomagia]

There are much more frightening viruses than Ebola.

That does not make it any better, lol

Wikipedia links? I'll read them tomorrow morning, so I can still sleep tonight

Here's two.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_fever
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabies

[Other Thafoo]

As I say every time I enter any brand-new Ebola threads, Ebola will never thrive anywhere but Africa considering it's abject virulence- far too strong for its own good, its 90% fatality rate means that, while it's a remarkably transmissible disease, transmission is inefficient meaning it'll remain endemic to certain regions of Africa. If it somehow manages to spread to any Developed countries, containment and treatment by local health organizations will be swift and efficient. Trust me. There's absolutely no threat posed to the US, UK, etc. It wouldn't even reach epidemic proportions in the areas in which it's endemic. It's too inefficient for that. Real life does not work like Plague Inc.

[Chestaan]

As I say every time I enter any brand-new Ebola threads, Ebola will never thrive anywhere but Africa considering it's abject virulence- far too strong for its own good, its 90% fatality rate means that, while it's a remarkably transmissible disease, transmission is inefficient meaning it'll remain endemic to certain regions of Africa. If it somehow manages to spread to any Developed countries, containment and treatment by local health organizations will be swift and efficient. Trust me. There's absolutely no threat posed to the US, UK, etc. It wouldn't even reach epidemic proportions in the areas in which it's endemic. It's too inefficient for that. Real life does not work like Plague Inc.

Even in Plague Inc it would kill too fast to cause any problems.

[Other Thafoo]

As I say every time I enter any brand-new Ebola threads, Ebola will never thrive anywhere but Africa considering it's abject virulence- far too strong for its own good, its 90% fatality rate means that, while it's a remarkably transmissible disease, transmission is inefficient meaning it'll remain endemic to certain regions of Africa. If it somehow manages to spread to any Developed countries, containment and treatment by local health organizations will be swift and efficient. Trust me. There's absolutely no threat posed to the US, UK, etc. It wouldn't even reach epidemic proportions in the areas in which it's endemic. It's too inefficient for that. Real life does not work like Plague Inc.

Even in Plague Inc it would kill too fast to cause any problems.

Indeed. My point was also that diseases don't have fixed values such as "infectiousness, severity, and lethality." Also, diseases don't suddenly mutate. Mutation is a constant background process of adaptation, not a sudden burst of "whoops now the disease causes insanity." But you most likely already knew that.

[Chestaan]

Even in Plague Inc it would kill too fast to cause any problems.

Indeed. My point was also that diseases don't have fixed values such as "infectiousness, severity, and lethality." Also, diseases don't suddenly mutate. Mutation is a constant background process of adaptation, not a sudden burst of "whoops now the disease causes insanity." But you most likely already knew that.

Of course but the clarification is appreciated nonetheless. And is it wrong that I found your post about vicious diseases funny?

[Other Thafoo]

Indeed. My point was also that diseases don't have fixed values such as "infectiousness, severity, and lethality." Also, diseases don't suddenly mutate. Mutation is a constant background process of adaptation, not a sudden burst of "whoops now the disease causes insanity." But you most likely already knew that.

Of course but the clarification is appreciated nonetheless. And is it wrong that I found your post about vicious diseases funny?

Which one?

[Napkiraly]

YAY ME!

Still the wikipedia article alone scared me enough to sweat...

There are much more frightening viruses than Ebola.

Spanish flu comes to mind. Especially since it had a knack of killing young, relatively healthy, persons.

[Napkiraly]

As I say every time I enter any brand-new Ebola threads, Ebola will never thrive anywhere but Africa considering it's abject virulence- far too strong for its own good, its 90% fatality rate means that, while it's a remarkably transmissible disease, transmission is inefficient meaning it'll remain endemic to certain regions of Africa. If it somehow manages to spread to any Developed countries, containment and treatment by local health organizations will be swift and efficient. Trust me. There's absolutely no threat posed to the US, UK, etc. It wouldn't even reach epidemic proportions in the areas in which it's endemic. It's too inefficient for that. Real life does not work like Plague Inc.

Nonsense, Ebola is currently racking up its points to gain transmission via water level 1.

[Alcase]

The U.N. should get involved, as they always should when there is a serious epidemic.

[Other Thafoo]

As I say every time I enter any brand-new Ebola threads, Ebola will never thrive anywhere but Africa considering it's abject virulence- far too strong for its own good, its 90% fatality rate means that, while it's a remarkably transmissible disease, transmission is inefficient meaning it'll remain endemic to certain regions of Africa. If it somehow manages to spread to any Developed countries, containment and treatment by local health organizations will be swift and efficient. Trust me. There's absolutely no threat posed to the US, UK, etc. It wouldn't even reach epidemic proportions in the areas in which it's endemic. It's too inefficient for that. Real life does not work like Plague Inc.

Nonsense, Ebola is currently racking up its points to gain transmission via water level 1.

That'll put an end to those pesky ship water filtering systems.

[Chestaan]

Of course but the clarification is appreciated nonetheless. And is it wrong that I found your post about vicious diseases funny?

Which one?

'The one I quoted, the part about mutation

[Imperium Sidhicum]

Doesn't change the fact that it is.

If this Ebola virus reached some overcrowded Western metropolis, THAT would mean serious trouble, but as long as it stays confined to a region in West Africa, I really don't see a reason to be concerned.

Doesn't mean, of course, that WHO and other such organizations should do anything less than their best to keep this outbreak contained. Even though it doesn't spread by air, it's still a very nasty bug that best be kept within the African jungles where it belongs.

It belongs in laboratories
In a test tube
Behind a real thick wall
Deep deep underground

Saying it belongs in African jungles can be understood differently in the way you [hopefully] meant it.

Ebola is hardly a priority disease for eradication. It's a rather exotic tropical disease, outbreaks like this one being a rare occurence - unlike malaria, yellow fever and a whole load of other nasty but rather ordinary bugs that kill more people every year than Ebola ever has.

Since the host animals of the Ebola virus all reside in the African jungles, and humans aren't the natural hosts of it, that makes this virus even less of a threat, since it cannot spread with much success outside the range of it's natural reservoirs. At worst, it could cause a nasty outbreak somewhere in the developed world, but die out on it's own eventually.

A real pestilence must be highly contagious and deadly, yet just survivable enough to spread effectively, it must be directly transmissible from human to human, and preferably must spread by air. It must have a reasonably long incubation period during which the infected are contagious yet asymptomatic, and must have a decent survivability in all climates. Although not necessary, it should have humans as primary hosts, animal vectors being optional. Smallpox met all of these criteria, which made it such a prime hazard and the target of concerted global eradication efforts.

Another reason why I don't see Ebola being placed on eradication list anytime soon is because it's poorly understood, and one of the reasons it's poorly understood is because outbreaks in human populations are so rare. Back in it's day, smallpox was a very common disease, with an abundance of human victims to study, the virus being easy to cultivate. It was also the first disease against which a vaccine was developed (the first vaccine of any kind, in fact), meaning the medical community had ample knowledge and means to eradicate it. Smallpox caused considerable detriment to economy and population growth worldwide, making it a priority for eradication, where Ebola is just an occasional nuisance in the Third World, an exotic and rather unremarkable disease asides from it's unusual deadliness.

Frankly I think the whole fuss about this Ebola epidemic is largely thanks to Hollywood films that portray this disease as an unbelievably horrifying plague with the potential to destroy the world.

[Other Thafoo]

That does not make it any better, lol

Wikipedia links? I'll read them tomorrow morning, so I can still sleep tonight

Here's two.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_fever
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabies

The first one caused quite a worrying little stir in Philadelphia a few centuries ago. And by "a little stir" I mean "mass graves." That's all over now, though. No reported cases in the United States for a little while (other than, maybe, people who caught it abroad and came back here) and a lovely little vaccine's available. It hasn't been developed in the United States for almost a decade now, though. Some big Pharma company in Europe still produces it, though, that's where we'sa gets it.

[Greed and Death]

Ebola has broken out in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia. The head doctor leading the fight to contain and treat the disease (there is no cure) in Sierra Leone has himself contracted the disease and is hospitalized; several of his nurses have already died. The other nurses who worked with them have gone on strike, protesting mismanagement and government inertia, and asking the MSF to take over.

The WHO "monitors" the situation but does nothing. Critics say the governments there are inert.

http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/guinea/

The death estimates in this CDC document are low; the interfaith coalition in Sierra Leone say the deaths in that country are much higher.

In my opinion, MSF is the one bright light, the only group (other than those who have already sacrificed their lives and health) to act both bravely and competently.

What would you do? Quarantine the victims? Kill them (as some families believe is being done)? Go on a mass strike until the government declares an emergency and makes a formal appeal for aid?

I agree with the nurses; they should just let the MSF take over.

It does not help the people there think the doctors are killing them and fleeing rather than accepting treatment and containment. Someone fleeing to Europe or the US while they are mildly systematic is a real threat this outbreak.

[Rio Cana]

Update - Two US missionaries who got Ebola have or are being sent to the US to be treated in the US. They are said to be stable. A private airplane company is bring them. Even the UN WHO says Ebola is spreading to quickly for them to control. Problem is many of those nations have never had to cope with Ebola. Sixty million English pounds are being pumped into the Ebola nations.

[Britannic Realms]

Apparently, the Americans might start testing a vaccine on humans in September.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/ ... T320140731

[California Prime]

I don't know if it can be stopped with anything short of doctors in biohazard suits.

Even though you have to come in direct contact with contaminated bodily fluids, it is difficult for heatlh/aid workers to completely avoid such contact so yeah, biohazard suits would be great.

One thing that is hampering them right now is the fact that many of these people don't trust western medicine and put their faith in "spiritual healers" who actually help spread the disease further.

[The Serbian Empire]

I don't know if it can be stopped with anything short of doctors in biohazard suits.

Even though you have to come in direct contact with contaminated bodily fluids, it is difficult for heatlh/aid workers to completely avoid such contact so yeah, biohazard suits would be great.

One thing that is hampering them right now is the fact that many of these people don't trust western medicine and put their faith in "spiritual healers" who actually help spread the disease further.

I fear something has changed about ebola.

[Pope Joan]

I hear that the two infected workers coming back to the US were with the Peace Corps. They will go to Emory Hospital in Georgia, while remaining completely physically isolated.

That must be a terrifying experience, awaiting probable death while completely cut off from everything.

[The Serbian Empire]

I hear that the two infected workers coming back to the US were with the Peace Corps. They will go to Emory Hospital in Georgia, while remaining completely physically isolated.

That must be a terrifying experience, awaiting probable death while completely cut off from everything.

Even if both survive, it will only prove that poor sanitation is what makes Ebola so deadly in Africa.