Discussion for article #229008
looking forward to governor perry’s shifting of responsibility to obama…
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I suspect that when the memory of the few cases of Ebola here in the US fades (as in 2-3 days) that coverage in the media will stop. Yet the virus will continue to ravage West Africa. And our media will move onto the next “big story” that the republicans will blame Obama for. And those dying will be forgotten. I’m already seeing the media hysteria fading
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While it is extremely deadly (70% of the West Africans contracting ebola have died) what folks need to be concerned about is viruses like ebola mutate. One million six hundred thousand cases before January 20, 2015, mean there will be a lot of chances for the ebola virus to mutate into something far more dangerous. The world can’t forget about West Africa. We have to do all we can to stop the virus now.
I am afraid you are right. Our media cheerleaders will move on to the next big thing and forget about ebola. It is still out there killing. If it mutates to something easier to catch the entire world (first, second and third) could be in for the worst pandemic since the black death.
The figure you quoted I think came from the WHO and it was a figure that “could” happen if nothing is done to combat the virus. I doubt that the number will be that high. Having said that there is the possibility of mutation. Now that does not mean any particular mutation is gonna be worse. It could be that a mutation will reduce lethality, and/or potential transmission ease. Or it could be that the virus becomes air borne and we all die horribly blaming Obama.
I’m thinking we will see few if any more cases here. But the virus will continue to ravage West Africa until there is a massive effort to contain it. And that will require many nations working in concert with the local governments and people. The likelyhood of that happening is not that good. Basically because the local people (not the governments who desperately want assistance) will not be cooperative. We have already seen a group of aid workers murdered in a village because the residents thought they’d come to infect them.
Ron, the response is ramping up. It’s past time for an “all hands on deck” response.
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Funny that no conservatives want to let the free market economy handle this one.
+“Skin exposed” that’s scary.
Initially the various organizations that should know said Ebola was transmitted only by contact with body fluids. That was said of HIV/AIDS also. It looks to me as if transmission is way easier for this virus that it is for the one that causes HIV.
[quote] they had signed agreements with the state’s public health commissioner to stay off public transportation. [/quote] So this is the deadliest new thing to ever happen in the USA and the good folks in Texas are happy with a “signed agreement” to not ride on a bus as their method of preventing the spreading of this extremely deadly, scary virus?
Are they “prohibited” from going, say, on a walk-through visit at the state house , senate buildings and governors mansion as long as they take their own cars (or a cab) to/from?
Either all health care folks and politicians in Texas are total f’ing idiots (and there is LOTS of evidence to support this) or no one really thinks (or cares) that ebola is a serious issue. Except “Fox News”.
Which is it?
They still do say that, and it’s still true. The differences are that 1) HIV is an extremely fragile virus that dies almost immediately on contact with air, so it basically requires direct injection of blood or semen from an infected person into another; and 2) the way Ebola spreads is by causing an infected person to spray as many infected body fluids around as possible. Like MRSA, all it takes is a tiny break in the skin for it to get in, and it can survive on surfaces for a couple of days.
That’s why I’m a little troubled when they say it’s “very difficult” to transmit. Yes, it’s much harder to transmit than influenza or norovirus, and you pretty much have to be in direct contact with someone who’s sick. But if you are, it’s not that hard when they’re bleeding and vomiting all over the place.
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How to explain the fact that only two persons have been infected by the index case, and about 75 others exposed to the index case have not?
If you are infected with this virus, you are in for a very rough ride. However, the virus itself is easily inactivated using 5% hypochlorite (household bleach), 3% acetic acid (vinegar), alcohols, or one of several detergents. It doesn’t persist on dry surfaces for very long, and apparently isn’t transmitted by any route other than bodily secretions, fluids, and excretions. The risk for healthcare workers is that there are a LOT of those infectious fluids.
As to the issue of mutating into something more insidious, such as airborne transmission? That is generally considered very unlikely by the majority of virologists. In fact, there is no known historical precedent for a virus to suddenly acquire a mutation that completely changes its mode of transmission. Since the current mode of transmission is highly efficient, there is no evolutionary pressure on the virus to push it towards a different mode of transmission. The Ebola virus spreads through the circulatory system. To spread through the respiratory system, the virus would need to evolve a set of surface proteins that would attach to receptor sites in the respiratory tract or system. That would be more likely to happen if large numbers of the virus were replicating in some part of the respiratory system now. However, that is not the case; the virus is far and away most active in the circulatory system, liver, and spleen. In fact, the effect of the virus on the circulatory system is why the disease of having contracted an Ebola virus infection is referred to as Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever.
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By the way, as my name might suggest, although from Texas (5th generation, and all that) I am not an effing idiot, and know plenty of others who are not, either.
If you are in need of specialized medical care, there are several medical facilities in this state that are first tier, including a couple of medical research campuses. Texas Presby really messed up, and I have spent a lot of time puzzling over how it could have happened so many times. But I’m willing to bet that won’t happen again, and I’m not a betting man.
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