Ebola scaremongering?

lowrider007 said:
wow reading this thread you guys certainly don't paint a pretty picture, think I'm going on a news black out in this tbh until it either passes or people are screaming in the streets.
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There are a couple of things that is scary

1 - long incubation period
2 - high mortality rate (no cure)
3 - ease of transmission

Not many disease has all 3 combined, the ones that do in history, becomes out of control and fast.
 
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Im becoming more agitated as each week passes, every time I read the news it seems like someones made a mistake or cocked up something.

Look at Liberia, according to the BBC they have 620 beds available, but they need 2930, this was on 12th October. They are 2310 beds behind. That was days ago, it will be more now. Instead they are sending people home, where they are dying with their families, infecting more people.

There have already been signs of unrest with protests. If things continue the way they are its just a matter of weeks before the efforts in Liberia brake down.The situation is similar in Sierra Leone.

My concern is even in the west, even though we were told in America it was fully under control, two people have now caught it, when they should have been following strict protocol. Now one of them has been travelling about, potentially infecting tens of people, who could infect tens of people.

We are not immune, for all our stupidity, we are at the mercy of nature, as much as we think we run the world. Just think of the plague which has historically killed millions. Well we now live in a world where this kind of thing can be sent round the world in matter of hours, not weeks or months.

Anyone who isn't taking this seriously, is being shortsighted.
 
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Lol. It's nearly impossible to spread in Western countries with reasonable sanitation. If it does genuinely start spreading it will be dealt with.

Blackjack Davy said:
You're not getting it. Its increasing exponentially. For every person infected they're infecting two others on average. Look up "exponential" in the dictionary. It's already killed more people than all the previous outbreaks put together.
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Yeah in countries where its tradtional to touch the dead bodies and rub them at the funeral
 
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rare said:
Im becoming more agitated as each week passes, every time I read the news it seems like someones made a mistake or cocked up something.

Look at Liberia, according to the BBC they have 620 beds available, but they need 2930, this was on 12th October. They are 2310 beds behind. That was days ago, it will be more now. Instead they are sending people home, where they are dying with their families, infecting more people.

There have already been signs of unrest with protests. If things continue the way they are its just a matter of weeks before the efforts in Liberia brake down.The situation is similar in Sierra Leone.

My concern is even in the west, even though we were told in America it was fully under control, two people have now caught it, when they should have been following strict protocol. Now one of them has been travelling about, potentially infecting tens of people, who could infect tens of people.
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That's the thing, when the beds in hospitals are full, they will ask people to stay at home. Since there is no cure, the only treatment is to keep them hydrated and care for them. Now, if that is your family members, I would say there is a VERY strong chance they will catch it from you. Then the likelihood is the entire family gets sick and half of you die (statistically).

Question, does anyone know if you survive, can you catch it again? Or does your body create an antibodies and you are immune.
 
From what I've read it's like flu once you've caught/survived it you're immune to catching it again. However due to there being so many variations there's a fair chance you could catch it again but it would be a slightly different strain.

To be fair think how easily you get ill just after having the flu (is that due to an overworked immune system) multiple that by 50 for surviving ebola surely you'd have a very compromised immune system.
 
Lol. It's nearly impossible to spread in Western countries with reasonable sanitation. If it does genuinely start spreading it will be dealt with.
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Thats the rational thinking pattern and I would normally agree, but the problem here is mess ups. Already in America two people have caught it attending one man. Now the woman has been travelling on a plane when she shouldn't of been. It doesn't take a genius to work out under these circumstances you have very little control.
 
Strife212 said:
Lol. It's nearly impossible to spread in Western countries with reasonable sanitation. If it does genuinely start spreading it will be dealt with.



Yeah in countries where its tradtional to touch the dead bodies and rub them at the funeral
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The problem is the virus can survive outside the body, on surfaces for hours.

All it takes is someone who is sick, sneeze while using a cash machine. You are next and press the buttons.

Now you got it on your fingers (and the next x number of users).

The virus is now also on the money, now when you are off to the pub to spend the money....

see where this is going?

The potential for this to blow up out of proportions seem very easy, hence they are trying to quarantine every infected or even potential people who could be exposed for symptoms.
 
Strife212 said:
Lol. It's nearly impossible to spread in Western countries with reasonable sanitation. If it does genuinely start spreading it will be dealt with.
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Sorry to quote this again, as I had just read this on the BBC.

this is a crude, and damning, statistic but so far Medecins sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders) has treated thousands of people in West Africa with Ebola, and has seen 16 medical workers contract the disease. This hospital in Dallas has treated just one patient, and has two sick healthcare staff.


In the country with the most advanced healthcare of anywhere in the world (USA), with the best trained health workers, with resources that any third world medical centre would kill for, the question that - not surprisingly - is being asked is how in the name of God is this possible.
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Western world means nothing it seems.
 
GeneralD said:
Saw this on my fb (I know, I know) feed:



We are at about 4000 now aren't we?

My concern isn't so much the Ebola, it is the fear. There was an instance in Paris I believe last week where an office building was locked down because of fears over someone who exhibited ''Ebola like symptoms'' which as I understand it are pretty common to other illnesses. I like many of you work in a large office. I shudder to think how I would react to being locked down somewhere with a suspected Ebola victim amongst us :/
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Those numbers are pretty much meaningless outside of a specific scenario - if even 20% of the people on that plane were infected with it and went on to move about the US spreading it to other people by the end of the year >75% of the US population would have been exposed to it (assuming perfect conditions).
 
just read this quote on the bbc news website, on the latest article.

Health experts say people who are not showing symptoms are not contagious.
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i didn't know this. so basically avoid people who are sneezing, coughing etc?

edit: also, i was thinking, do people show up a high temperature of above 37c before they start getting "sick" or does it all come at once?
 
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It's ironic how these countries have been moaning for years about Western intervention and how they should be allowed to remain their traditional practices. When said practices cause all manner of problems though who do they expect to come and save them once again. Already we have the it's a result of colonialism arguments.
 
Tauren said:
just read this quote on the bbc news website, on the latest article.



i didn't know this. so basically avoid people who are sneezing, coughing etc?

edit: also, i was thinking, do people show up a high temperature of above 37c before they start getting "sick" or does it all come at once?
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That's the understanding but because the virus can live outside the body in surfaces for hours and hours, if this blows up and not contained, it may be wise to wear gloves in public and remember not to touch your mouth or rub your eyes.
 
With ease of travel in this country I'm not sure how easy containment would be and with the amount of people we come into contact with during a week it's easy to see how it could spread quickly. Do drug users still share needles and stuff?
 
darreny said:
With ease of travel in this country I'm not sure how easy containment would be and with the amount of people we come into contact with during a week it's easy to see how it could spread quickly. Do drug users still share needles and stuff?
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This is the difference that crops up in my thoughts. The health system in say Liberia is struggling to cope with numbers which are fairly localised, a developed country would have enough resources to cope with this.

But in more developed countries, as you say the amount of people you can come into contact with and over such a wide area really would be an issue. I work in a shopping centre in the centre of a city. I know for a fact I have had close proximity in the last week with people from about 5 different countries all of which were in the process of travelling.

I'm not worried or panicked about the situation, I realise most of what the media says is either hyperbole or designed to promote views to their media. If worse comes to worse it means at least I won't have to go to work any more :D
 
My office is "twinned" with an office in India so we have lots of travel between sites. Every time there's a new round of travel there are many sick days taken by the locals of both offices because someone always brings a cold or tummy bug with them. Ebola would wipe us out. :p
 
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