Ebola Megathread

[Vamtrl]

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.

With a healthy dose of ignorance.

[Benuty]

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.

Not to mention superstitious belief about the infected, and the spread of contaminated bush meat.

[The Serbian Empire]

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

Not to mention superstitious belief about the infected, and the spread of contaminated bush meat.

The bush meat is deadly.

[California Prime]

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.

It has been long theorized that if treated in a modern western setting, the fatality rate should be much lower, maybe 30-50% instead of 90%. I also wonder if the choice of a Georgia hospital is so that they are in close proximity to the Atlanta CDC BSL-4 labratory, I wouldn't be surprised if quite a few personnel from that facility end up observing and obtaining samples for study.

Since Fever related organ failure is what actually kills Ebola victims (not bleeding to death, the blood plasma loss is actually quite minor, though it can impede the function of certain organs to an extent if built up in certain areas of the body), the ability of modern western hospitals to control fever conditions better may make a difference.

[The Serbian Empire]

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

It has been long theorized that if treated in a modern western setting, the fatality rate should be much lower, maybe 30-50% instead of 90%. I also wonder if the choice of a Georgia hospital is so that they are in close proximity to the Atlanta CDC BSL-4 labratory, I wouldn't be surprised if quite a few personnel from that facility end up observing and obtaining samples for study.

Given the information about the related Marburgvirus, the mortality rate will be around 20 to 25% in a developed country like the US or Germany. In Angola, it was comparable to Ebola in mortality.

[Korouse]

Inspect all people traveling to the U.S. from Africa.

[Quintium]

It's the one exception to my general rule that foreign aid is always destructive. This disease threatens all mankind, so it should be dealt with quickly and thoroughly, and considering the unstable nature of the countries this outbreak is taking place in and the very low rate of doctors per hundred thousand inhabitants in those countries, an international effort might be the right choice if it gets worse.

[Ximea]

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

It has been long theorized that if treated in a modern western setting, the fatality rate should be much lower, maybe 30-50% instead of 90%. I also wonder if the choice of a Georgia hospital is so that they are in close proximity to the Atlanta CDC BSL-4 labratory, I wouldn't be surprised if quite a few personnel from that facility end up observing and obtaining samples for study.

Since Fever related organ failure is what actually kills Ebola victims (not bleeding to death, the blood plasma loss is actually quite minor, though it can impede the function of certain organs to an extent if built up in certain areas of the body), the ability of modern western hospitals to control fever conditions better may make a difference.

Fever is only one aspect of EVD pathology. The virus is highly immunogenic, and this results in vascular permeability throughout the body. That ultimately leads to organ failure, and it is essentially not treatable in an acute timeframe. I fully believe that you can combat an infection if you catch it very early - but that's only going to be possible for people who realize that they've just infected themselves (like a researcher who's had an accidental needle stick) or that they are currently putting themselves at extreme risk of infection (a medical examiner who realized the hallmarks of EVD in a cadaver a little too late). Western medicine would help in those cases, but otherwise it may not make terribly much of a difference.

[Arkaenov]

Well, I don't usually write(or type, in this case) discussion topics, but this is worth typing about. According to a study conducted in 2012, the Ebola virus can travel through the air. This study didn't make clear exactly how the virus travels, just that it can travel through the air. This is obviously disconcerting, especially since it seems the various outlets of the corporate media and public health officials are participating in some massive display of synchronized incompetence about this. Most articles state that Ebola can only be transmitted through direct contact with infected individuals' bodily fluids; however, this is obviously not the case. This misinformation is likely going to cost lives, and probably already has. For example, the rapid infection of Nigeria: An infected individual took a plane to Lagos(Pop. ~21,000,000). However, since nobody on the plane touched the individual's bodily fluids, they didn't quarantine any of the other passengers, although they may be infected with the the disease.Now, Lagos probably would have been infected either way, but a virus can spread much faster with a plane full of infected people than with just one infected. This is even more alarming when you think about how traveling through the air would make it easy for Ebola to spread beyond the four current infected counties, and even out of Africa entirely; it has a three week incubation period, has already taken an international flight, and can travel through air, so the possibility of infection of countries such as the USA or France is real.

{Sorry for the disorganization of ^that^, I was in a hurry when writing it}

So what are your thoughts? And hypothetically, if Ebola were 100% certain to infect your country in the next few days, how would you prepare?

[Cu Math]

Yeah, unnecessary fear mongering
That study is on Ebola Reston, a non human form of the virus first found in 1989.
The current outbreak is Ebola Zaire which IS only transmissable through fluid contact.

[The Serbian Empire]

It has been long theorized that if treated in a modern western setting, the fatality rate should be much lower, maybe 30-50% instead of 90%. I also wonder if the choice of a Georgia hospital is so that they are in close proximity to the Atlanta CDC BSL-4 labratory, I wouldn't be surprised if quite a few personnel from that facility end up observing and obtaining samples for study.

Since Fever related organ failure is what actually kills Ebola victims (not bleeding to death, the blood plasma loss is actually quite minor, though it can impede the function of certain organs to an extent if built up in certain areas of the body), the ability of modern western hospitals to control fever conditions better may make a difference.

Fever is only one aspect of EVD pathology. The virus is highly immunogenic, and this results in vascular permeability throughout the body. That ultimately leads to organ failure, and it is essentially not treatable in an acute timeframe. I fully believe that you can combat an infection if you catch it very early - but that's only going to be possible for people who realize that they've just infected themselves (like a researcher who's had an accidental needle stick) or that they are currently putting themselves at extreme risk of infection (a medical examiner who realized the hallmarks of EVD in a cadaver a little too late). Western medicine would help in those cases, but otherwise it may not make terribly much of a difference.

I believe the nature of the virus is also more dependent on the sanitation. There are drugs in the US that aren't readily available in Africa that may benefit the patients, but it might not make much of a difference nonetheless for most of the infected who don't seek treatment or don't realize they've been in contact with either a cadaver or a patient with EVD.

[California Prime]

Fever is only one aspect of EVD pathology. The virus is highly immunogenic, and this results in vascular permeability throughout the body. That ultimately leads to organ failure, and it is essentially not treatable in an acute timeframe. I fully believe that you can combat an infection if you catch it very early - but that's only going to be possible for people who realize that they've just infected themselves (like a researcher who's had an accidental needle stick) or that they are currently putting themselves at extreme risk of infection (a medical examiner who realized the hallmarks of EVD in a cadaver a little too late). Western medicine would help in those cases, but otherwise it may not make terribly much of a difference.

I believe the nature of the virus is also more dependent on the sanitation. There are drugs in the US that aren't readily available in Africa that may benefit the patients, but it might not make much of a difference nonetheless for most of the infected who don't seek treatment or don't realize they've been in contact with either a cadaver or a patient with EVD.

The US hospital has told the media that they will use "supportive" treatment, which consists of giving drugs that boost the immune system, blood / platelet transfusions, intravenous hydration, oxygen therapy, and conventional fever management......and then hoping the body can survive long enough to fight the virus off, which takes 2 to 3 weeks. It is mostly treatments that are designed to reduce the damage that the virus is doing to the body as much as possible in order to keep the body alive long enough for it's immune system to adapt to and defeat the virus.

[The Scientific States]

The WHO and the UN really need to work hard to get this disease dealt with. Ebola is a threat to Africa, and if it's not dealt with, the rest of the world. Developed countries should also he sending foreign aid to West Africa to help those afflicted with the disease.

[Voegen]

Inspect all people traveling to the U.S. from Africa.

That's all well and good but what about people from the hundreds of daily connecting flights from Africa to the US? And hypothetically, if an infected person were to pass it on to people in airports, how would border control deal with the amount of potential carriers of the disease at their borders, keeping in mind that the incubation period can last up to 21 days? It simply isn't going to work. It's hard to do, but it is the bitter truth that if not all commercial travel from infected countries is suspended, it is entirely possible that it will spread.

[Greed and Death]

Half a dozen cases confirmed in France.
Person was fleeing treatment and containment flew to France on a Algerian Visa.
He is still on the loose. There are warrants for his arrest and interpol has his picture everywhere.

Name: Abd al Alim

[Photana]

Half a dozen cases confirmed in France.
Person was fleeing treatment and containment flew to France on a Algerian Visa.
He is still on the loose. There are warrants for his arrest and interpol has his picture everywhere.

Name: Abd al Alim

That is very concerning. As long as he is still on the loose, he could spread the disease, and who knows how many people will get infected.

[Mirchusko]

Half a dozen cases confirmed in France.
Person was fleeing treatment and containment flew to France on a Algerian Visa.
He is still on the loose. There are warrants for his arrest and interpol has his picture everywhere.

Name: Abd al Alim

Er, where did you hear this? A brief internet search reveals nothing, surprising for what would be a HUGE story. Are you maybe looking for an RP thread?

[Castille de Italia]

We should have kept the infected American doctors in Africa, and instead bring adequate medical supplies to treat them, instead of taking the risk of an outbreak in the US. As for containing the disease in Africa, round up all the infected, and keep them under quarantine in Africa.

[Guadalupador]

We should have kept the infected American doctors in Africa, and instead bring adequate medical supplies to treat them, instead of taking the risk of an outbreak in the US. As for containing the disease in Africa, round up all the infected, and keep them under quarantine in Africa.

That's a lot easier said than done.

[Castille de Italia]

We should have kept the infected American doctors in Africa, and instead bring adequate medical supplies to treat them, instead of taking the risk of an outbreak in the US. As for containing the disease in Africa, round up all the infected, and keep them under quarantine in Africa.

That's a lot easier said than done.

Care to elaborate, then?

[Scomagia]

We should have kept the infected American doctors in Africa, and instead bring adequate medical supplies to treat them, instead of taking the risk of an outbreak in the US. As for containing the disease in Africa, round up all the infected, and keep them under quarantine in Africa.

There's no risk of an outbreak in the U.S.

[Scomagia]

Half a dozen cases confirmed in France.
Person was fleeing treatment and containment flew to France on a Algerian Visa.
He is still on the loose. There are warrants for his arrest and interpol has his picture everywhere.

Name: Abd al Alim

Er, where did you hear this? A brief internet search reveals nothing, surprising for what would be a HUGE story. Are you maybe looking for an RP thread?

Greedsy likes to lie.

[United Marxist Nations]

Because I have been playing through all of the Halo games in the past week, I will suggest glassing Africa (and Atlanta) from orbit, as the only way to be sure.

[Guadalupador]

That's a lot easier said than done.

Care to elaborate, then?

To my knowledge, they simply don't have the equipment and people to fully quarantine every infected person in Africa, also factoring in how culture can relate to things, people don't really see doctors with modern medicine as helpful people, and will tend to infected family members themselves.

[Guadalupador]

Because I have been playing through all of the Halo games in the past week, I will suggest glassing Africa (and Atlanta) from orbit, as the only way to be sure.

But I go to school in Atlanta.