Is it scary? Yes. But the thing about Ebola is that it burns too fast. It kills too many hosts too quickly to really be effective.
A lot of the current problem with the spread of Ebola is that in many of the places where it's spreading (usually more backwater areas, where it goes from village to village like dominoes), they don't take appropriate public health measures and the affected countries rarely have any kind of serious public health infrastructure in place. Add to that how difficult it is to get the necessary resources in place and you've got the reason why diseases tend to spread like wildfire in that area.
As the Public
Is it scary? Yes. But the thing about Ebola is that it burns too fast. It kills too many hosts too quickly to really be effective.
My understanding of the incubation time based off what I read in The Hot Zone (my first introduction to the monster that is hemorrhagic fevers and particularly Ebola) was that it's a week or two.
But news reports are saying it's as long as 22 days now, which is 3 weeks
Note that virtually everything I know about Ebola comes from that book and what I've read on wiki and such. So obviously my knowledge on medicine pales in comparison to yours Jay13x.
But if the incubation period is as long as 3 weeks and the current strain is apparently airborne, wouldn't it just take a couple people traveling around a bit undetected to make this a serious health concern the likes of which we've never seen?
As the Public
Is it scary? Yes. But the thing about Ebola is that it burns too fast. It kills too many hosts too quickly to really be effective.
My understanding of the incubation time based off what I read in The Hot Zone (my first introduction to the monster that is hemorrhagic fevers and particularly Ebola) was that it's a week or two.
But news reports are saying it's as long as 22 days now, which is 3 weeks
Note that virtually everything I know about Ebola comes from that book and what I've read on wiki and such. So obviously my knowledge on medicine pales in comparison to yours Jay13x.
I should be clear, my knowledge in medicine is limited to that of an EMT-B. My skills are relating to public health, which is more of how diseases operate and spread, and specifically emergency management from a healthcare perspective. That said, there are a few reasons why this new Ebola strain isn't the end of the world:
1) Ebola is infectious if you touch the body fluids or secretions of an individual infected. That means direct contact, or contact with those fluids which are left behind. In Africa, many burial ceremonies require the touching of the dead person, and many other cultural traditions that make contamination a problem. Because dead bodies are still infectious, this complicates the problem.
2) The rest of the world has public health infrastructure in place to deal with diseases like this. It's a reportable illness, so the moment someone shows symptoms to a doctor, the health department is notified and an epidemiological investigation takes place to track down everyone who may have been exposed.
3)The infrastructure in the rest of the world is just plain better. An infected person would rather quickly (as in within hours instead of days or weeks) have access to a hospital bed and could be put into isolation.
4)People here are simply healthier, and because of the infrastructure the disease would be caught earlier, which would lead to a lower mortality rate. Remember, the mortality rate is based on the people who are actually infected. Moving the same disease to a different population would result in a different mortality rate.
Simply put, a large part of the reason Africa has such problems with disease outbreaks is because they've largely got poor infrastructure in place to prevent it.
But if the incubation period is as long as 3 weeks and the current strain is apparently airborne, wouldn't it just take a couple people traveling around a bit undetected to make this a serious health concern the likes of which we've never seen?
But if the incubation period is as long as 3 weeks and the current strain is apparently airborne, wouldn't it just take a couple people traveling around a bit undetected to make this a serious health concern the likes of which we've never seen?
At the very least in Africa.
What makes you say that the current strain is airborne? Bodily fluid contact is required, I haven't heard of aerosol transmission.
The 'airborne' thing was a cheap, misleading headline. 'Airborne' means the incubation is long enough for someone to board a plane and fly somewhere before showing symptoms. It does not mean the disease can be transmitted through the air.
I was under the impression that airborne meant that the organism can survive for some time in water droplets in the air?
Which I believe Ebola can do.
Technically, yes, but that has only been observed in pig-to-monkey transmissions, from what I've read. It is a cause of concern, but it's a long way from an infected human coughing in a crowded subway and infecting everyone.
Vaccinating the pig population would largely neutralize this problem.
Technically, yes, but that has only been observed in pig-to-monkey transmissions, from what I've read. It is a cause of concern, but it's a long way from an infected human coughing in a crowded subway and infecting everyone.
Vaccinating the pig population would largely neutralize this problem.
Ahhh.
That makes a lot more sense, and certainly explains why Ebola isn't the freaking Grim Reaper that I thought it was.
So, as horrible as the situation in Africa currently is, it is more a result of cultural and socio-economical issues as you noted more than the actual danger of the disease itself.
part of the issue with Ebola is that there is no known cure. if you get it, you will most likely die. it has a mortality rate of between 50% to 90%, depending on the social group.
It is also spread by contact with bodily fluids (either human or animal, Fruit Bats are known to spread the disease without being affected), and has an incubation period of between 2 days and 3 weeks, and you remain contagious for about 3 weeks after symptoms show.
So, you are infected, its during your incubation period, and you kiss your SO, and they share a drink with someone else, then you just potentially infected 2 people who don't know it and will most likely infect others, leading to a larger outbreak.
That is part of the reason I don't want those two doctors brought back. Yes, all necessary precautions will be taken, but mistakes happen, and things slip through the cracks.
Well, the current outbreak is the widest yet, and the mortality rate from this strain is about 55%.
Honestly though, Ebola isn't any more infectious than a ton of other diseases out there. Basic public health measures are very effective against Ebola.
Well, the current outbreak is the widest yet, and the mortality rate from this strain is about 55%.
Honestly though, Ebola isn't any more infectious than a ton of other diseases out there. Basic public health measures are very effective against Ebola.
It just kills you in a rather horrific manner.
I mean, bleeding out of every orifice you got? Ugh.
Is it scary? Yes. But the thing about Ebola is that it burns too fast. It kills too many hosts too quickly to really be effective.
I second Jay's thoughts here. A "world ending" disease would most likely have to be airborne, highly virulent, and silently infect most of the human population before people began showing symptoms. The fact that ebola is rather obvious and fast acting means it has a limited amount of time to infect other hosts and that pretty much everyone is aware of the epidemic doesn't make it really a contender for a disease that could shatter civilization. A candle that burns twice as bright burns half as long, as they say.
Oh boy. I was in Dallas Love Field the day the ebola patient came to Dallas.
Well, to console you, I should mentioned that Ebola is pretty slow to transmit compared to other disease. Whereas a single person infected with the Flu can infect dozens of people, the average Ebola carrier only infects about two people. It's really easy to control if caught early and if proper precautions are taken.
The real key is to see if the patient's family is infected, too.
When ebola starts to threaten white people, a cure will be found quickly.
This isn't really true. Multiple treatments were already well into development before the current Ebola outbreak sprung up.
The reality is that it might seem that way, but you're confusing race for socioeconomic status. Treatments are usually developed when there is money in it, true. If a disease only affects a small, poor nation, it's unlikely to get a lot of attention from larger pharmaceutical companies.
A "world ending" disease would most likely have to be airborne, highly virulent, and silently infect most of the human population before people began showing symptoms. The fact that ebola is rather obvious and fast acting means it has a limited amount of time to infect other hosts and that pretty much everyone is aware of the epidemic doesn't make it really a contender for a disease that could shatter civilization. A candle that burns twice as bright burns half as long, as they say.
There is a respiratory virus going around called Enterovirus D68 with the hosts mainly being children with paralysis and polio like symptoms however it hasn't had as much widespread attention as Ebola currently. People used to fear that an Ebola outbreak could've mutated into something that would've triggered a zombie apocalypse but thank God that didn't happen, as Mat Pat from Game Theorists on YouTube warned it's Toxoplasma gondii that we should be more worried about for triggering such an event.
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"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
A "world ending" disease would most likely have to be airborne, highly virulent, and silently infect most of the human population before people began showing symptoms. The fact that ebola is rather obvious and fast acting means it has a limited amount of time to infect other hosts and that pretty much everyone is aware of the epidemic doesn't make it really a contender for a disease that could shatter civilization. A candle that burns twice as bright burns half as long, as they say.
There is a respiratory virus going around called Enterovirus D68 with the hosts mainly being children with paralysis and polio like symptoms however it hasn't had as much widespread attention as Ebola currently. People used to fear that an Ebola outbreak could've mutated into something that would've triggered a zombie apocalypse but thank God that didn't happen, as Mat Pat from Game Theorists on YouTube warned it's Toxoplasma gondii that we should be more worried about for triggering such an event.
EV-D68 is actually one of many different Enterovirus strains that circulate every year. It's a non-Polio Enterovirus, and it's important to understand that it isn't like Polio in terms of full-body paralysis. It largely prevents some of the infected from being able to breathe, but isn't crippling long-term like Polio was. What is concerning this year is that the number of infections are much, much greater.
Well, the current outbreak is the widest yet, and the mortality rate from this strain is about 55%.
Honestly though, Ebola isn't any more infectious than a ton of other diseases out there. Basic public health measures are very effective against Ebola.
Just to expand on this...
Regarding mortality:
via New England Journal of Medicine
"...we estimate that the case fatality rate is 70.8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 69 to 73) among persons with known clinical outcome of infection."
Compared to mumps...
INFECTIOUS DOSE: Thirty viral units subcutaneously, >10 viral units by pharyngeal spray, and 60 units by nasal drops are sufficient for infection(6).
Whoops, I was using infectious when I meant contagious. Good catch. Thanks for the updated stats. The disease has progressed very rapidly in Africa, but it's still mainly due to the poor public health infrastructure. Of the handful of cases that have returned to the US, the Texas man is the only one to have died so far.
Interesting (and slightly scary) fact: Men continue to be contagious about 30 days after recovering because the diseases continues to be infectious through their semen.
Whoops, I was using infectious when I meant contagious. Good catch. Thanks for the updated stats. The disease has progressed very rapidly in Africa, but it's still mainly due to the poor public health infrastructure. Of the handful of cases that have returned to the US, the Texas man is the only one to have died so far.
Interesting (and slightly scary) fact: Men continue to be contagious about 30 days after recovering because the diseases continues to be infectious through their semen.
That makes the gross out scene in the Hong Kong horror movie Yi Bo La Beng Duk (Ebola Syndrome) a little more convincing.
Whoops, I was using infectious when I meant contagious. Good catch. Thanks for the updated stats. The disease has progressed very rapidly in Africa, but it's still mainly due to the poor public health infrastructure. Of the handful of cases that have returned to the US, the Texas man is the only one to have died so far.
Interesting (and slightly scary) fact: Men continue to be contagious about 30 days after recovering because the diseases continues to be infectious through their semen.
That makes the gross out scene in the Hong Kong horror movie Yi Bo La Beng Duk (Ebola Syndrome) a little more convincing.
Hint: Don't watch it. Don't even google it.
You had to do that? Now I am resisting the urge to google it.
Summary-
Ebola is spreading throughout countries in Africa and proving to be very difficult to contain.
End of the world?
Is it scary? Yes. But the thing about Ebola is that it burns too fast. It kills too many hosts too quickly to really be effective.
A lot of the current problem with the spread of Ebola is that in many of the places where it's spreading (usually more backwater areas, where it goes from village to village like dominoes), they don't take appropriate public health measures and the affected countries rarely have any kind of serious public health infrastructure in place. Add to that how difficult it is to get the necessary resources in place and you've got the reason why diseases tend to spread like wildfire in that area.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
My understanding of the incubation time based off what I read in The Hot Zone (my first introduction to the monster that is hemorrhagic fevers and particularly Ebola) was that it's a week or two.
But news reports are saying it's as long as 22 days now, which is 3 weeks
Note that virtually everything I know about Ebola comes from that book and what I've read on wiki and such. So obviously my knowledge on medicine pales in comparison to yours Jay13x.
But if the incubation period is as long as 3 weeks and the current strain is apparently airborne, wouldn't it just take a couple people traveling around a bit undetected to make this a serious health concern the likes of which we've never seen?
At the very least in Africa.
I should be clear, my knowledge in medicine is limited to that of an EMT-B. My skills are relating to public health, which is more of how diseases operate and spread, and specifically emergency management from a healthcare perspective. That said, there are a few reasons why this new Ebola strain isn't the end of the world:
1) Ebola is infectious if you touch the body fluids or secretions of an individual infected. That means direct contact, or contact with those fluids which are left behind. In Africa, many burial ceremonies require the touching of the dead person, and many other cultural traditions that make contamination a problem. Because dead bodies are still infectious, this complicates the problem.
2) The rest of the world has public health infrastructure in place to deal with diseases like this. It's a reportable illness, so the moment someone shows symptoms to a doctor, the health department is notified and an epidemiological investigation takes place to track down everyone who may have been exposed.
3)The infrastructure in the rest of the world is just plain better. An infected person would rather quickly (as in within hours instead of days or weeks) have access to a hospital bed and could be put into isolation.
4)People here are simply healthier, and because of the infrastructure the disease would be caught earlier, which would lead to a lower mortality rate. Remember, the mortality rate is based on the people who are actually infected. Moving the same disease to a different population would result in a different mortality rate.
Simply put, a large part of the reason Africa has such problems with disease outbreaks is because they've largely got poor infrastructure in place to prevent it.
The 'airborne' thing was a cheap, misleading headline. 'Airborne' means the incubation is long enough for someone to board a plane and fly somewhere before showing symptoms. It does not mean the disease can be transmitted through the air.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
Which I believe Ebola can do.
Technically, yes, but that has only been observed in pig-to-monkey transmissions, from what I've read. It is a cause of concern, but it's a long way from an infected human coughing in a crowded subway and infecting everyone.
Vaccinating the pig population would largely neutralize this problem.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
Ahhh.
That makes a lot more sense, and certainly explains why Ebola isn't the freaking Grim Reaper that I thought it was.
So, as horrible as the situation in Africa currently is, it is more a result of cultural and socio-economical issues as you noted more than the actual danger of the disease itself.
Good to know. Thanks.
It is also spread by contact with bodily fluids (either human or animal, Fruit Bats are known to spread the disease without being affected), and has an incubation period of between 2 days and 3 weeks, and you remain contagious for about 3 weeks after symptoms show.
So, you are infected, its during your incubation period, and you kiss your SO, and they share a drink with someone else, then you just potentially infected 2 people who don't know it and will most likely infect others, leading to a larger outbreak.
That is part of the reason I don't want those two doctors brought back. Yes, all necessary precautions will be taken, but mistakes happen, and things slip through the cracks.
"normality is a paved road: it is comfortable to walk, but no flowers grow there."
-Vincent Van Gogh
things I hate:
1. lists.
b. inconsistencies.
V. incorrect math.
2. quotes in signatures
III: irony.
there are two kinds of people in the world: those who can make reasonable conclusions based on conjecture.
Honestly though, Ebola isn't any more infectious than a ton of other diseases out there. Basic public health measures are very effective against Ebola.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
It just kills you in a rather horrific manner.
I mean, bleeding out of every orifice you got? Ugh.
One word replies are considered spam per the forum rules. - Jay13x
http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2014/09/30/cdc-confirms-patient-in-dallas-has-the-ebola-virus/
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
I second Jay's thoughts here. A "world ending" disease would most likely have to be airborne, highly virulent, and silently infect most of the human population before people began showing symptoms. The fact that ebola is rather obvious and fast acting means it has a limited amount of time to infect other hosts and that pretty much everyone is aware of the epidemic doesn't make it really a contender for a disease that could shatter civilization. A candle that burns twice as bright burns half as long, as they say.
UAzami, Locus of All KnowledgeU
BMarrow-Gnawer, Crime Lord of ComboB
WBRTariel, Hellraiser StaxWBR
Annul is really good in EDH
Well, to console you, I should mentioned that Ebola is pretty slow to transmit compared to other disease. Whereas a single person infected with the Flu can infect dozens of people, the average Ebola carrier only infects about two people. It's really easy to control if caught early and if proper precautions are taken.
The real key is to see if the patient's family is infected, too.
This isn't really true. Multiple treatments were already well into development before the current Ebola outbreak sprung up.
The reality is that it might seem that way, but you're confusing race for socioeconomic status. Treatments are usually developed when there is money in it, true. If a disease only affects a small, poor nation, it's unlikely to get a lot of attention from larger pharmaceutical companies.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
There is a respiratory virus going around called Enterovirus D68 with the hosts mainly being children with paralysis and polio like symptoms however it hasn't had as much widespread attention as Ebola currently. People used to fear that an Ebola outbreak could've mutated into something that would've triggered a zombie apocalypse but thank God that didn't happen, as Mat Pat from Game Theorists on YouTube warned it's Toxoplasma gondii that we should be more worried about for triggering such an event.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
EV-D68 is actually one of many different Enterovirus strains that circulate every year. It's a non-Polio Enterovirus, and it's important to understand that it isn't like Polio in terms of full-body paralysis. It largely prevents some of the infected from being able to breathe, but isn't crippling long-term like Polio was. What is concerning this year is that the number of infections are much, much greater.
http://www.cdc.gov/non-polio-enterovirus/about/ev-d68.html
It's mainly a concern for children (or adults) with Asthma or other respiratory issues.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
Just to expand on this...
Regarding mortality:
Regarding infectiousness:
Regarding contagiousness:
Interesting (and slightly scary) fact: Men continue to be contagious about 30 days after recovering because the diseases continues to be infectious through their semen.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
That makes the gross out scene in the Hong Kong horror movie Yi Bo La Beng Duk (Ebola Syndrome) a little more convincing.
Hint: Don't watch it. Don't even google it.
You had to do that? Now I am resisting the urge to google it.
Storm Crow is strictly worse than Seacoast Drake.
Haha, seriously. It's like putting up a big sign that says 'don't press this button'.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
Summary-
First known case of Ebola contracted on U.S. soil.
Erm.