Ebola scaremongering?

CaptainRAVE said:
It becomes more likely with each person it infects though. It is unlikely to do this in its reservoir.
Click to expand...

More likely yes, but it's still a tiny change if at all in each host. It would take mutations of an order of magnitude greater to suddenly start transmitting by air or water or whatever. They've been infecting other living creatures by basically the same methods as today for longer than humans have existed.
 
Last edited:
Luckily viruses can't undergo horizontal gene transfer like it's common in bacteria

Really shouldn't be a problem for the Western world more I understand about it
 
You can only laugh - they all deserve what they will inevitably get tbh.

al4x said:
Luckily viruses can't undergo horizontal gene transfer like it's common in bacteria

Really shouldn't be a problem for the Western world more I understand about it
Click to expand...

That doesn't mean that new genes from other viral genomes can't integrate into its own, it is just a slightly different mechanism (albeit less efficient).
 
The problem though is that people clearly haven't got a control of this over there and by not letting it burn out we are enabling the virus and the fear to propagate. Now all you need next time is some extremists to nab a load of people and then stick them all on a plane and you do actually have a problem - just need the jab before the flight you don't all have to worry about it etc etc. Personally that's what would worry me more than anything. It would be quite easily to overload specific smaller areas with patients if one really wanted to.
 
Xordium said:
The problem though is that people clearly haven't got a control of this over there and by not letting it burn out we are enabling the virus and the fear to propagate. Now all you need next time is some extremists to nab a load of people and then stick them all on a plane and you do actually have a problem - just need the jab before the flight you don't all have to worry about it etc etc. Personally that's what would worry me more than anything. It would be quite easily to overload specific smaller areas with patients if one really wanted to.
Click to expand...

given various islamic groups constant attacks on aid workers providing vaccines etc. i do wonder just how hard it would be for them to take all the equipment, then "vaccinate" large groups of people somewhere else with infected body fluids or cultures.
 
Not very hard. And given it was in a Tom Clancy book and they've already ripped him off once then it wouldn't be shocking if they tried again.
 
Ayahuasca said:
So that guarantees this will be negative?
Click to expand...

No, but the early symptoms of Ebola are so generalised and non-specific that this could be anything, and even if she does have it, the hospitals in Berlin (like most hospitals in most major cities) have been conducting drills and boosting their protocols for dealing specifically with this scenario. They don't even know if she's been to West Africa recently.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom