Re: Deadly Ebola Virus

[Stirky]

I think they are trying Kaere, more military has been sent out to Sierra Leone today to help. Let's hope they can.

[Rockhopper]

Funny how this kind of stuff always starts in Africa?

Not always, the case of SARS started in Asia. Bubonic Plague came from China, common cold jumped from horses (snuffles) to humans in London. The Spanish Flu started in Europe.

Problem with Africa in general has is it's often dubious Health Systems that can't cope with a serious outbreak.

Big problem with Ebola is the way that the local people are frightened of the people that are trying to help.

Tim.

[Stargate]

I hear that the fellow in Dallas has died!

Tim.

Funny how this kind of stuff always starts in Africa?

Funny how there is no way to prove that all bad things originates in Africa.

[Stargate]

Funny how this kind of stuff always starts in Africa?

Not always, the case of SARS started in Asia. Bubonic Plague came from China, common cold jumped from horses (snuffles) to humans in London. The Spanish Flu started in Europe.

Problem with Africa in general has is it's often dubious Health Systems that can't cope with a serious outbreak.

Big problem with Ebola is the way that the local people are frightened of the people that are trying to help.

Tim.

Tim, I do not know if you read about the women who was infected with Ebola in Spain. They wanted to kill her dog because they were afraid it might have caught the disease. I
I think this is the danger you spoke about earlier when you mentioned we should not be paranoid. This could very well get out of had if not handled properly and we end up with
Dead animals dying without being tested.

I still believe because of the way they handle d the HIV crisis, people are are more frightened and more willing to protect themselves against any threat to their lives, especially when it happens so fast.

[Stirky]

Some US airports are starting to screen passengers arriving from west Africa for symptoms of Ebola. The UK so far has said they will not do the same, although some people think it should. The World Health Organisation says the screening should be done in the country of origin before passengers get on a plane (which does make sense).

So should passengers be screened at all? Do you think it will make a difference?

[Rogue]

Another person is being tested for Ebola in Australia. Results should be in tomorrow.

[Agartha]

The UK hospitals are not in panic over Ebola, probably because it really isn't terribly contagious: it is not airborne which means it doesn't jump from person to person easily. Also, newly infected are contagious about a week later when they start showing symptoms, which means that in developed countries there are enough doctors and enough time to test, detect and stop any possible outbreak.

I have faith in the UK's hospitals and health professionals.

[Stirky]

Reports are coming out that a British man was taken ill in Macedonia and has died, suspected Ebola. One other person has been taken ill.

This man flew directly to Macedonia from the UK, so is it Ebola or not??

[Stirky]

Oh and the UK parliament has decided this afternoon to bring in screening to airports and the Eurostar terminal.

[Rockhopper]

The problem with Ebola is it's long incubation period. So some-one could have it and no know until much later. And, as others have said, it not particularly contagious, certainly not until full symptoms show.

Yes, I heard about the dog Star. I suspect that it wasn't Ebola that the dog had though. There are many other virii that affect dogs.

Tim.

[Agartha]

The media is taking it a bit out of control too.

But, like I said, I have every faith in the UK's health services.

[Stirky]

The media is always out of control Ags, they love to hype everything up into a mass panic! I always worry more about the news items that the main media are not reporting or reporting very little on!

[Stargate]

Some US airports are starting to screen passengers arriving from west Africa for symptoms of Ebola. The UK so far has said they will not do the same, although some people think it should. The World Health Organisation says the screening should be done in the country of origin before passengers get on a plane (which does make sense).

So should passengers be screened at all? Do you think it will make a difference?

Stirks, I personally think that is otter nonsense, my reason being there is an incubation period of 21 days, how will they pluck out people who have just been infected? We are a global village the most effective way to tackle this outbreak is at the sourse, I am sorry they have in the name of racism botched that up.

[Stirky]

I agree Star, I don't think it will actually do much good. Just cost the taxpayers money. If somebody has only just been infected they will not be showing symptoms, taking their temperature is not going to help. But alas that is what they are doing, to be honest I think they are doing it so they are seen to be doing 'something'!

[Rockhopper]

Yeah taking their temps is not going to do much good because of the long incubation period of Ebola. The only way would be to quarantine everyone coming in for three weeks -- can't see that happening!

Tim.

[Agartha]

Ebola is not airborne, like the Avian flu, you have to come in direct contact with an infected person's blood, sweat or vomit... thus a lot easier to control. It has become such a vast outbreak because it was left unchecked for a few months when it first started spreading. There is no need to panic.

The way to stop the disease now is to help West Africa control it: we should send the army there to help, and not to bomb other countries.

[Stirky]

They already have sent military out to West Africa Ags x

[IceWendigo]

we should send the army there to help, and not to bomb other countries.

Agreed that its better not to bomb other countries. Ideally, we should imo, gradually phase out most of the military and replace a portion of it with civil assistance groups composed of medical, engineering and logistics technicians to help in disaster situations.

I think Cuba is sending a lot of civilian doctors (for a country its size).

[Stargate]

we should send the army there to help, and not to bomb other countries.

Agreed that its better not to bomb other countries. Ideally, we should imo, gradually phase out most of the military and replace a portion of it with civil assistance groups composed of medical, engineering and logistics technicians to help in disaster situations.

I think Cuba is sending a lot of civilian doctors (for a country its size).

Ice, I tell you man, our collective thinking has gone bezerk. So much that could be done in the name of humanity, so sad

[Mordae]

Interesting article...

Ebola - What your not being told

...IMPORTANT UPDATE: August 13th: The CDC has admitted that the Ebola virus can travel through air, but they made that admission in a very sneaky and hard to find manner. The following statement is added as a footnote at the very bottom of the page:
Casual contact is defined as a) being within approximately 3 feet or within the room or care area for a prolonged period of time while not wearing recommended personal protective equipment or having direct brief contact (e.g., shaking hands) with an EVD case while not wearing recommended personal protective equipment.

The implication of this statement is very, very clear: Ebola DOES in fact travel through the air. This is critical information and it should be highlighted in large letters on every page, but instead it is tucked away in fine print where many won’t look. Given the fact that the CDC previously was running infographic campaigns claiming that Ebola does not travel through the air (see image below) this is highly irresponsible on their part.

Hat tip to the Pontiac Tribune for making us aware of this information in their article on the topic.

Note we saved a cached version of the CDC page just in case they decide to alter the text in the future.

Furthermore, if the official vectors of transmission are accurate, please have them explain how 170 of their aid workers have been infected in spite of being covered from head to foot with protective gear?

This particular strain of Ebola is not Ebola Zaire. This is a new strain, and it may in fact be more dangerous than the Zaire variety. Not because of any difference in the symptoms (the symptoms are identical), but because this new virus seems to be harder to contain. Whether this is due to some characteristic of the virus itself or merely dumb luck is uncertain at this time, but the rate at which this outbreak has extended its range is unprecedented.

According to the CDC this virus is genetically 97% similar to the Zaire strain. However if you are interested in this virus’ phylogenetic relationship (genetic lineage) to the Zaire strain you should look read “Phylogenetic Analysis of Guinea 2014 EBOV Ebolavirus Outbreak” on plos.org.

Another study by the New England Journal of medicine (this was the one referenced by the CDC) specifically names the parts of the genetic code which differ:

The three sequences, each 18,959 nucleotides in length, were identical with the exception of a few polymorphisms at positions 2124 (G→A, synonymous), 2185 (A→G, NP552 glycine→glutamic acid), 2931 (A→G, synonymous), 4340 (C→T, synonymous), 6909 (A→T, sGP291 arginine→tryptophan), and 9923 (T→C, synonymous).

Note that there doesn’t yet seem to be a consensus as to what this new strain is called. One study referred to it as “Guinean EBOV”, another as “Guinea 2014 EBOV Ebolavirus” and others are still referring to it as Zaire. Given that we can specifically name the points where the virus has mutated, using the old name is misleading.

Right now the question on everyone’s minds is whether this virus will spread outside of Africa.Considering the fact that Ebola has a three week incubation period, can travel through the air, and has already hitchhiked onto an international flight, this is a very real possibility. There are some that are downplaying the probability of this outcome, and to be honest, I hope that they are right, but the simple fact of the matter is that these people are basing their assessment on the faulty premise that Ebola is not an airborne virus.

Now the first thing you might be feeling when looking at this situation is a sense of fear and helplessness, and while that’s a perfectly normal reaction it’s really not helpful. Instead we should be thinking in terms of practical steps we can take to influence the outcome...

[Sponsored content]