Ebola: Facts, Opinions, and Speculations.

originally posted by: Zebra501



Since you are so all-knowing, why did the emt's wear respirators if there's no chance of transmission that way? During the live broadcast of Nancy's arrival, it was specifically said multiple times that they would be wearing respirators just in case. Dr. Gupta even said it.

Airborne or not, it is standard operating procedure to take all and any precautions when dealing with a level 4 infectious agent. That includes using a regulated airflow if possible to minimise any risk of airborne contamination. Bear in mind airflow works both ways, if one of the EMTs for example was carrying and airborne agent that had not yet become symptomatic, its possible that they could infect the patient making them worse and increasing the opportunity of the infection to mutate.

Another reason to equip the EMTs with respirators would be to give some peace of mind that their own safety was not at risk. Otherwise, you may find it difficult to find people willing to work with the patient and do the necessary tasks to care for them and prevent further transmission.

a reply to: redshoes

Yes, thank you, I know that. However, that was not the point I was trying to make at all.

a reply to: crazyewok

Ebola is not the deadliest virus known to mankind in terms of number of overall deaths caused, but if it ends up causing more deaths than the deadliest virus known to mankind, then Ebola would be the deadliest virus known to mankind!

ignorant_ape hasn't murdered anyone yet - but if he ends up murders 10 thousand bables - he will be the most prolific serial killer known to mankind

scaremongering munkies - don't just throw poo - hmm - ebola contaminated poo - theres a though

originally posted by: kruphix
Fact: Ebola is spread through bodily fluids

Yep.

Fact: Ebola is not a respiratory disease in humans

Causes pneumonia.

Fact: Ebola is not airborne

Large water droplet transmission is scientifically plausible & lab-proven.

Fact: The current outbreak is the Zaire strain of Ebola

No.

www.cidrap.umn.edu...

Fact: Mortality rate for this outbreak is around 55%

86%

www.nejm.org...

Fact: This outbreak is larger due to it being spread early to three different locations, so there are really three different outbreaks going on

That is just something you made up lmao.

Opinion: People are over reacting to this situation and hyping it up. The media is doing it's best to scare people and they have succeeded. There is undue fear and panic running rampant in a lot of discussions/conversations about Ebola because people tend to speculate towards doom and gloom. People enjoy talking about doom and gloom, but it does little to help a real serious situation.

There is in fact the most underwhelming reaction to this across mainstream media. They deny science, lie about dates. [snip]

Speculation: These outbreaks will start to be contained now due to the attention they are getting. Even if other cases pop up in other countries, those will be handled much differently than the current situation in Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone. We won't see a worldwide pandemic.

hahahahaHAHAHAHAHahahahaha!

originally posted by: jadedANDcynical
a reply to: AutumnWitch657

The current outbreak is caused by a variant of Zaire Ebolavirus with 97% sequence identity to strains isolated from the DRC and Gabon, suggesting a parallel evolution of this virus in the affected area as opposed to introduction from these endemic areas.[4]

3% difference is significant on a genetic level, this is a new strain we are dealing with.

Ebola virus disease in West Africa – an unprecedented outbreak

But being different doesn't mean worst.

The difference could make it easier to kill, or more vulnerable to die off naturally.

I think people need to put the brakes on assuming that any new piece of information regarding Ebola is automatically bad. The sense panic is getting too out of hand, and could easily cause what everyone wants to avoid.

If panic makes people stay indoors, that's good.

If panic makes people go out and gather together in closed spaces to buy bottled water, and one of the persons is actually the patient with Ebola nobody knows about, then it's really bad.

Keeping calm and responsible is still the best known cure for stupid mistakes.

I find it interesting that the local newspaper here had not one article about Ebola. Yesterday's edition had an article about how the patients in ATL were doing better.

Downplaying the scenario? Not reporting at all? It seems to me there should be a front page article until this is resolved, but then again, no news is good news, eh?

Keeping info out of print to prevent panic, it would seem.

FACT:

Hellas has a damned good post over here.

I'll post it for him in this thread.

originally posted by: Hellas
The first Ebola patient arriving in Spain

That's how Europe handles this

Source (German)

FACT: BIG FREAKIN' DIFFERENCE!

Compare with:










Writebol:

From ~Lucidity:


from MrLimpet

Speculation or fact:
The U.S. government patented the Ebola virus in 2009.

Big difference alright. We didn't let journalists and videographers or people without even a pair of latex gloves anywhere near the Americans. Our video was caught from a helicopter flown above the ambulance. The people near them wore biohazard suites and so did the victims.. I didn't play the vids but the third one shows a woman in scrubs without so much as a mask to protect her.
FYI a police escort doesn't protect anyone from a virus. Impressive for tv yes but effective against Ebola.? No sorry. It's not. a reply to: loam

Pure imagination. a reply to: Fylgje

a reply to: VashKonnor

You're right, different does not necessarily mean worse but does mean that it will more likely have different characteristics and behavior.

I keep seeing people talk about how much worse hygiene practices are over there, well having worked in restaurants for nearly 20 years have taught me that less than half of males in the general public wash their hands after using the restroom.

It is scientific fact that viruses mutate and the more replications that occur, the more mutations; there is no denying this.

The trade-off hypothesis suggests that there is a trade off between how long the virus or other pathogen is able to persist in its host and the rate at which the virus or other pathogen can be transmitted. The trade off hypothesis suggests that virulence will evolve to a level at which virulence and transmission is balanced so as to maximize the spread of the virus.

Virulence Evolution

There is evidence that the hypothesis is correct:

Viral lines with the higher enforced rate of infectious transmission evolved higher virulence and higher rates of virus production. These results support the trade-off model for the evolution of virulence.

Virulence evolution in a virus obeys a trade-off.

If this virus behaves like ever other virus in history, the longer the outbreak continues, the more evolved the virus will become. It will seek any way possible to extend its ability to exist, including trading some of it's ability to kill it's host with ease of transmission.

Fact:

Airborne, aerosol, or direct contact are irrelevant when you consider a disease's R0 factor and unless that can be brought to less than 1, the spread will not halt until there are no more hosts left to infect.

originally posted by: AutumnWitch657
I didn't play the vids but the third one shows a woman in scrubs without so much as a mask to protect her. a reply to: loam

I was under the impression that she was prepping the area prior to the priest being placed on board, not working with him or cleaning the area after transport. If you look in the background you can see someone else also not in any kind of protective gear and there is no one in the isolation 'tent' either.

a reply to: MyMindIsMyOwn

Yup likely there were just setting things up and let someone in to take a photo shot before the action started.

originally posted by: AutumnWitch657

originally posted by: Snarl
Fact: a host is still contagious, for as long as two months after the virus has run its course, providing s/he survived the infection.

I'm sorry but that doesn't sound like a fact and I have not seen any information that states that in any of the dozen or so sites I've looked at that are supplying information on Ebola. Granted there are not a lot of sites dedicated to Ebola. I disregard blogs and even some news outlets and have concentrated my research efforts on health agencies and medical study sites. I hate having this phrase thrown at me so I'm a bit reluctant to say it myself so instead of shouting "GOT A SOURCE FOR THAT?" I'm going to ask you to just point me in the right direction. Thanks.

Fair.

The isolation of EBOV from semen 40 days after the onset of illness underscores the risk of sexual transmission of the filoviruses during convalescence. Zaire EBOV has been detected in the semen of convalescent patients by virus isolation (82 days) and RT-PCR (91 days) after disease onset [5, 14]. Marburg virus has also been isolated from the semen and linked conclusively to sexual transmission 13 weeks into convalescence [15].Source

I would have preferred to find you a different source, but this is the best I can do on the Internet. To tell you the truth (speculation now) ... nobody really knows what the exceptions are. Different parts of the body can hide a virus for prolonged periods of time, which makes positive testing overly invasive, or inaccurate. I wouldn't go around eating anyone's eyes ... that's for sure.

originally posted by: crazyewok
a reply to: MyMindIsMyOwn

Yup likely there were just setting things up and let someone in to take a photo shot before the action started.

Translating the video, she is actually pointing out how it isn't necessary to take special precautions (although they still do it anyway), that that specific isolation chamber is very good because it makes it easy to access and treat the patient without much effort during transport.

a reply to: AutumnWitch657

originally posted by: AutumnWitch657
Big difference alright. We didn't let journalists and videographers or people without even a pair of latex gloves anywhere near the Americans.

Except these guys, right?

I'm laughing too. Your third link from the New England journal of medicine says Zaire Ebola but the second link you post is supposed to prove its not Zaire. Do you even read the links you provide or do you just repost links others have provided to support their views.? a reply to: JG1993

Guards yards away?a reply to: loam

a reply to: AutumnWitch657

originally posted by: AutumnWitch657
Pure imagination.

FACT: As in your unfounded denial?

Human Ebola Virus Species and Compositions and Methods Thereof US 20120251502 A1

Original Assignee: The Government of the US as Represented by the Secretary of the Dept. of health

All true but in field studies it's been shown that as viruses go Ebola is slow to mutate. Probably because it kills its host so rapidly. a reply to: jadedANDcynical