CDC Now Claims Ebola is "Transmittable" by Coughing - Sneezing ??

a reply to: Bicent76

Way to many negative people on this forum, waiting for the apocalypse man, thinking it will be exciting, yet having no clue, that in the end they will more then likely not survive..

Go figure man.

And all the freaking media focuses on is blood and feces, as if those are the only bodily fluids.

But of course this is only when they're in their "calm the public" phase of the news cycle.

This is bordering on insanity. No it is insanity.

But, like the CDC's quarantine stance, which apparently some at the CDC have not even freaking bothered to read, this has probably been there all along. They just didn't bother to read that either.

If you stand outside on a cold winter day and watch your breath, it travels more than three feet. I have never really watched the cloud when I cough though, I am usually preoccupied coughing.

a reply to: xuenchen

It's aerosol transmission - well known, old news - in science, different from airborne transmission.

a reply to: xuenchen

"CDC Now Claims..."??? Ha! It is a fact that spittle is a bodily fluid. We have always known that Ebola (and the flu, cold, etc) can be spread by bodily fluids... Why do you think there's a HUGE campaign to cover your mouth when coughing or sneezing?

We needed another ebola thread???

originally posted by: stirling
The researchers suggest that architects and engineers may want to reexamine the design of workplaces and hospitals — and air circulation on airplanes — to reduce the chance that airborne pathogens will transmitted among people.

I can't stress just how big this is. Seriously .... everything with an air vent should be reexamined. Schools. Hospitals. Airplanes. Office buildings. You name it. But didn't we already know that air in these places was awful? 'Sick building's". And airplane air is notoriously nasty. Recirculated garbage air full of crap germs.

a reply to: ~Lucidity

Scientists have always distinguished between 'aerosol' and 'airborne' transmission. imho, the real danger here is that Ebola's aerosol transmission ability is much more likely/able to mutate to airborne than anyone is admitting (partly because so many do not know the difference and think it's already there). ....Just this one threat makes it urgent to stop the epidemic in West Africa - and the only way to do that is with thousands of medical volunteers.

If we don't stop the current epidemic, Ebola will become endemic to West Africa, spread to and in India and other undeveloped nations, and on from there. Each new infection represents trillions of throws of the genetic dice - and increases the likelihood that Ebola really will go airborne.

As far as quarantines go - you might be interested in the following essays and Lancet article - and might also wish to start planning how to live your life without grocery stores, hospitals, medicines, electricity, water and other essential services.

Whether we "fortress" in reaction to Ebola, flu or something else, the effects will be the same - from closed borders and curbs on international movement to disruption in global trade, cuts in productivity, civil unrest and the opportunities that unrest offers to extremist movements. Good luck.

How the world will look if Ebola goes global

….Americans are having a failure of imagination – failing to imagine that the most serious Ebola threat to our country is not in Dallas, not in our country, not even on our borders. It is on the borders of other countries that lack our ability to extinguish sparks.

….It isn't a big leap to the suspicion, disruption and expense that will then be triggered in response to any travellers from the region. From there, it isn't much of a further leap to closed borders, curbs on international movement, disruption in global trade, cuts in productivity, even civil unrest and the opportunities that unrest offers to extremist movements. None of that is far-fetched, if Ebola is not controlled.

Dynamics and control of Ebola virus transmission in Montserrado, Liberia: a mathematical modelling analysis

Interpretation
The number of beds at EVD treatment centres needed to effectively control EVD in Montserrado substantially exceeds the 1700 pledged by the USA to west Africa. Accelerated case ascertainment is needed to maximise effectiveness of expanding the capacity of EVD treatment centres. Distributing protective kits can further augment prevention of EVD, but it is not an adequate stand-alone measure for controlling the outbreak. Our findings highlight the rapidly closing window of opportunity for controlling the outbreak and averting a catastrophic toll of EVD cases and deaths.

….Findings of our analysis suggest that the capacity of EVD treatment centres needed to reduce the severity of the current outbreak greatly exceeds current international commitments. Therefore, many more EVD treatment centres than have been pledged will be needed to avert substantial numbers of EVD cases and deaths. ... Further delays in the provision of effective interventions will continue to undermine the likelihood of averting EVD cases and deaths, suggesting we must scale interventions to the continuously escalating need expeditiously, despite potential costs (panel).

….Continued spread of Ebola virus threatens affected west African nations and the rest of the world, making outbreak containment a global health priority. ...

….But what if, because of this weekend's events, volunteers are discouraged from going to West Africa, for fear of how they will be received on return?

….Ebola will become endemic: a permanent health risk, waxing and waning unpredictably, in an area without the health care personnel to control it or the surveillance to track it. They envision:

* dozens of sparks landing in the U.S. and other developed countries, not just from West Africa but from all over the world
* healthcare workers won't come to work
* cancer patients and HIV-infected persons and children with asthma can't get their medicines because 40 percent of generic drugs in the U.S. come from India, where production and shipping have halted
* refugees, under pressure from civil unrest, insurrection, famine, and economic collapse, [pour] across every border -- some sick, some healthy, some incubating?

It is not guaranteed, they say, that a successful vaccine against Ebola can be "developed, produced, and distributed" in time, and in large enough amounts, to throw a fence of containment around the disease.

….We barely try to imagine what a developing-world pandemic would be like for people who live there. We try and fail to imagine what it would be like for us and our loved ones.

What would it be like:

* if there are dozens of sparks landing in the U.S. and other developed countries, not just from West Africa but from all over the world?
* if healthcare workers won’t come to work?
* if cancer patients and HIV-infected persons and children with asthma can’t get their medicines because 40 percent of generic drugs in the U.S. come from India, where production and shipping have halted?
* if refugees, under pressure from civil unrest, insurrection, famine, and economic collapse, are pouring across every border – some sick, some healthy, some incubating?
* if Ebola in the developing world launches the next Global Financial Crisis?
* if the Holy Grail, the deus-ex-machina – a successful Ebola vaccine – cannot be developed, produced, and distributed before all this happens?

a reply to: soficrow

I know.

a reply to: xuenchen

A person might also get infected by touching a surface or object that has
germs on it and then touching their mouth or nose.

Guess I won't be picking my nose waiting in line at the grocers anymore, it used to speed things up.

Probably get ocd trying to disinfect my dollars.

Why'd we stop utilizing ellis island?

Maybe this has been covered already I didn't read all the replies... but I was under the impression that sneeze droplets could carry 6 feet?

I'm not sure where I got that from but ...

a reply to: CJCrawley

be alarmed as Ebola is only transmissible through bodily fluids

It is. When you sneeze you are ejecting bodily fluids.

From the flier (something the OP left out for some reason):

Is Ebola airborne?
No. Ebola is not spread through the airborne route nor through water or food.

Is Ebola spread through droplets?
Yes. To get Ebola, you have to directly get body fluids (like pee, poop, spit, sweat, vomit, semen, breast milk) from
someone who has Ebola in your mouth, nose, eyes or through a break in your skin or through sexual contact.

www.cdc.gov...

Yes, If you get sneezed on by an ebola patient you are at risk of contracting the disease. Is that a surprise to anyone? Really?

a reply to: FlyersFan

I can't stress just how big this is. Seriously .... everything with an air vent should be reexamined.

Why? It is not an airborne disease.

a reply to: xuenchen

The pdf is apparently dated 10/27/2014 - 07:54am at the bottom.

What's your point?
Here's one from 2009, the "Ebola Fact Booklet".

This type of transmission is, at base, immediate. The transfer of the infectious agent is, as the name implies, directly into the body. Different infectious agents may enter the body using different routes. Some routes by which infectious diseases are spread directly include personal contact, such as touching, biting, kissing or sexual intercourse. In these cases the agent enters the body through the skin, mouth, an open cut or sore, or sexual organs. Infectious agents may spread by tiny droplets of spray directly into the conjunctiva (the mucus membranes of the eye), or the nose or mouth during sneezing, coughing, spitting, singing or talking (although usually this type of spread is limited to about within one meter's distance.) This is called droplet spread.

www.cdc.gov...

But lets ignore that it's sort of a "duh." Lets ignore that it hasn't been claimed that ebola cannot be transmitted by sneezing. Let's ignore that sneezing can a transfer of body fluids.

Let's ignore all that and claim that the CDC has "changed their story" even if they haven't.

a reply to: Phage

No but it is capable of being transmitted by aerosolized droplets or are you going to dispute that?

"According to the previous physical picture, no drops would travel more than a couple of meters," Bush told weather.com. "According to our revised physical picture, small drops can be resuspended by the gas cloud, and so easily span the entirety of a room."

The droplets can even travel through ceiling ventilation units.

“You can have ventilation contamination in a much more direct way than we would have expected originally,” said Lydia Bourouiba, an assistant professor in MIT’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, in the press release.

Sneezed Germs Travel HOW Far?

I don't think it's as much a Black Swan as most seem to think.

Following standard hand washing procedures before eating, rubbing your eyes etc. and keeping open cuts covered in public prevents most non-airborne illnesses.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta expressed some concern with men who shave, especially around their neck. Most men might avoid touching their face etc. with unwashed hands but touching/scratching their neck might not raise the same alarm bells.

Coughing/sneezing on the back of a man's head could easily hit the sides of his neck. Women/children sporting short haircuts often get the back of their necks shaved. Acne/skin conditions that break the skin would also be vulnerable.

Not really something I considered. Wearing a hoodie might help but that could open a whole other can of worms.

Broken/shaved skin has always been a point of entry for germs. Most likely there's not enough to infect or whatever you catch won't kill you unless you have a weakened immune system. Ebola is a bit more unique/aggressive, doesn't take much to infect and a strong immune system doesn't mean squat without antibodies to fight it.

a reply to: Phage

If you get sneezed on by an ebola patient you are at risk of contracting the disease. Is that a surprise to anyone?

Well, yes it IS a surprise if one is led to believe - as I have been from TV 'experts' - that Ebola is the same as HIV/AIDS in its mode of transmission.

You CAN'T catch HIV/AIDS from being sneezed on.

You can FRENCH KISS someone with HIV/AIDS and not get infected.

You can handle faeces, vomit, urine, sputum, nasal secretions from a person infected with HIV/AIDS and not get infected (unless they have contaminated blood in them).

Neither Ebola nor HIV/AIDS are airborne, but they are VERY DIFFERENT in their respective modes of transmission.

That has not been clarified by anyone I have heard on TV; and when you have the POTUS and the UK PM publicly assuring people that it is safe to sit next to an Ebola-infected person on public transport, it's little wonder that joe public is a little confused by the contradictory messages.

And concerned.

a reply to: ValentineWiggin

Ask Well: Can You Get Ebola From a Toilet Seat?

In general, the disease risk of toilet seats is overrated, but you probably can get Ebola from a toilet seat.

The risk is not so much the seat itself as the whole bathroom. But not just any bathroom. The risk would come from a bathroom that an Ebola victim in an infectious phase has recently used.

The field hospitals run by Doctors Without Borders in Africa are laid out so that patients who definitely have Ebola never share toilet facilities with staff members or with patients who are only “possible” cases.

Ebola victims often lose control of their bowels and excrete copious amounts of diarrhea. They also vomit heavily. Those liquids are highly infectious. Touching them and then touching one’s eye or mouth or inside the nose could transmit the disease. Urine also carries some risk, but viral loads in urine are not nearly as high as those in vomit and feces.

For workers in Ebola field hospitals, one of the riskiest acts is touching their boots or shoe covers. The Doctors Without Borders calls from them to slosh their feet in a bath of chlorinated water and then remove their boots with a bootjack, so as to never touch them with their hands.

In modern buildings, toilets that flush loudly and powerfully are a risk in themselves. The flushing create a mist of droplets that splash onto the face and hands or may contaminate stall surfaces.

Doctors in West Africa have been saying all along that Ebola can be transmitted just by being in the same room as an Ebola patient without a Hazmat suit Western doctors say Ebola is a low risk, low transmission rate disease, which is NOT what African doctors are saying.

The actions of those at the White House (sending 160,000 hazmat suits, cancelling foreign trips to attend crisis meetings) do NOT match up with their assertion that Ebola is a low transmission risk disease, which is what Americans are being told.

Someone is lying, and I'm more inclined to listen to the doctors in West Africa who have nothing to gain by telling lies, than listen to Western Governments who have everything to gain.

a reply to: babybunnies

Exactly. When it's in Africa, it's baaaaaad. When it's here don't worrrrrrrrrrry.

And add quarantining the military people who don't even have contact with patients to that list?

This is interesting...Quarantined general: We even burn our forks

Video of military people in quarantine at link above.

Washington (CNN) -- They're just back from the Ebola hot zone, they can't have any physical contact with family or loved ones and their plastic forks are being burned after each use.
But American troops quarantined in Italy have good morale and are proud of their work against the "silent enemy" of Ebola, according to Major General Darryl Williams, who is being isolated alongside his men at the Army base in Vicenza.
U.S. Army personnel will continue to be placed in 21-day quarantine as they return home to their base in Italy, according to Williams, commander of US Army forces in Africa, who spoke to CNN from within the isolation area by military video conference.