Spain Warns "Something Went Wrong" As Suspected Ebola Cases Rise In Madrid

a reply to: PurpleDog UK

Bingo, and in an environment that is dark and moist, the virus will survive on surfaces longer.

It's not like the cold or flu which have hard protein shells to protect them and keep them around for long-term, but if the conditions are right ... it can last for a decent amount of time on a surface.

a reply to: Petros312

The problem is that you won't know if someone is sick or not. Not at first. It's not like this is cold or flu season where you should just assume that you've been sharing space with at least one person who's been sick, so you should always employ those techniques.

The other problem is that while Ebola still needs to find a way into your system. It only takes a very tiny amount of virus to establish a viable infection, so one tiny mistake is all it takes to get you sick.

You're absolutely correct that just getting some infected fluid on the back of your hand won't infect you ... unless you happen to have a tiny, pinprick open nick - say a paper cut. Then, you are probably in trouble. Or if you forget and swipe a mucus membrane before you can wash your hand or you don't get your hands as clean as you thought ...

There is very little margin for error and that is likely what got this nurse in trouble.

a reply to: Snarl

Heck, a little research and comparison with historical pandemics will tell you it's not airborne. Spanish Flu was airborne and it was all over the world in less time than this thing has been burning and stuck in three countries in Africa.

originally posted by: SpaDe_
a reply to: intrptr & Glassbender777

I would like to know why this nurse had to insist on being tested, and why they would not test her for Ebola when she first had symptoms. They couldn't have been trying to cover their collective backsides.

Usually medical personnel get priority treatment so I was surprised that she had to demand it after initially being rejected and turned away. Also, she wasn't intimate with her husband because she suspected she might have contracted Ebola and wouldn't even let him use the same utensils as she had. So how did he get it?