Ebola in the USA... Anyone Concerned?

[MJ DeMarco]

As the title says, it's here in the states now. Anyone concerned?

Concerned or not, wash your damn hands!

 

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[Bananas]

As the title says, it's here in the states now. Anyone concerned?

Concerned or not, wash your damn hands!

Very concerned as I live near the outbreak. We have enough food to do a shelter in place and my small fast lane will pay all our bills just fine with no work on my behalf or my husbands, so I feel semi-prepared - there is still the fear though, if it gets out of control.

I don't really know what to think.

There are plenty of good prepper websites out there with checklists of supplies for anyone concerned who wants to stock up. Of course, it's about too late to buy now, since all the folks selling these types of goods will be jacking up their prices - and good for them, I'd do it too!

Stay safe out there.

 

[smarty]

I'm in Europe, so nope but..

 

[CreateLiving]

We have the resources and minds to keep this thing under control. I'm not worried for my own personal health, but I do feel compassion for those people and their families affected by Ebola...

 

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[Ninjakid]

True story: A few years back I watched the movie Contagion. Afterwards my uncle and I were talking about the movie. We were like, "if they wanted to make a very intense movie, the pathogen should've been something like the Ebola virus. If we had an outbreak of that, we'd really have problems."

Well, F*ck...

 

[Jakeeck]

I kind of feel bad saying this, but since it's in the US I assume more effort will be put into (1) preventing it, and (2) coming up with a cure or better treatment for those who get it.

 

[DeletedUser394]

Not even slightly worried. And I worry about everything.

The medical infrastructure in place in North America is heads and shoulders above anything in West Africa.

SARS, MERS, norovirus, H5N1, H1N1... whatever.

I feel bad for the poverty, ignorance, lack of education and fear that caused the outbreak in the first place.. but life goes on.

As long as you aren't bathing dead people and eating bushmeat/fruit bats it's all good.

 

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[Guest3722A]

Well, its only been a day and we're up to what, 5 or 6 now?

http://www.wfaa.com/story/news/heal...n-dallas-county-ebola-patient-cases/16524303/

 

[AubreyJ]

I live in Dallas and I am not concerned- With the right precautions Ebola can easily be contained and with the Western medicine and medical practices I don't think it will be a severe problem here. Just like with anything, I think it is important to be aware of the problem, wash your hands, keep an eye out for symptoms but other than that I am just going to go about my day to day life like normal.

Well, its only been a day and we're up to what, 5 or 6 now?

http://www.wfaa.com/story/news/heal...n-dallas-county-ebola-patient-cases/16524303/

Possibly being exposed to Ebola and actually being diagnosed with Ebola are not the same thing. There is only 1 confirmed case of it, not 5 or 6.

 

[Guest3722A]

Day 1...

 

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[Ninjakid]

Ebola can only be contracted through physical contact.

It's not airbourne like SARS or h5n1. The reason entire villages got extinguished in Africa is because many tribes have a custom where at the funeral, the attendees would all touch the corpse. So if the corpse in infected with Ebola, and everyone touches, at least most of them will get Ebola.

Even though it's still extremely contagious, it's difficult to get it unless you're around someone constantly who has it.

 

[brandonrush]

I think the media is dramatizing the situation, but I also feel the CDC is downplaying the seriousness as to not spread panic. We will see in the following weeks and months how this will effect us all. It's entirely too early to speculate how our medical infrastructure will handle this. We are much more densely populated than West Africa. It will be interesting to keep an eye on.

On the other hand, if shit DOES hit the fan, I know I'm ready!

 

[DeletedUser394]

It's funny how the media goes crazy for this sort of shit, and yet on the forum people claim that they don't watch the news because it's nothing but crap like this.

I remember being in a waiting room a while back and CNN was on or whatever. The reporter kept goading the infectious disease expert being interviewed regarding the risk of transmission because the 'reporter' wasn't satisfied with the truth. It was pathetic to watch.

The fact is, it's EXTREMELY difficult to transmit from person to person. You can be on the same plane or even a few seats over.. or EVEN NEXT TO the guy/gall with ebola and even so your risk is VERY low unless you start making out with said guy/girl among other things...

The socioeconomic reasons for why it has spread in Africa are not at all present in developed nations. The lack of education on the other hand.. lol

Time to sell certain products to the fearing masses

F*cking y2k, global warming, pandemic X, Y, and Z every couple of years. Bunch of nutters.

 

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[Guest3722A]

Kids aren't exactly the sharpest tools in the shed. Spreading bodily fluids is common amongst that bunch. Just being a realist.

 

[Emanuel]

This guy might know a thing or two about Ebola: http://www.bangkokpost.com/learning...but-not-a-cause-for-panic-says-its-discoverer

 

[Solrac]

No, not really. Malaria kills around (or over) 3000 people a day, if I had to be worried about dying from a disease, it would be Malaria.
Now it's not in the states, but I wouldn't worry too much about ebola just my opinion though

 

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[MarkNNelson]

You know, I was a serious prepper back when we were still called survivalists. Y2K and all that.

It caused a lot of stress, both financial and interpersonal. Some of my relationships still bear the scars.

Unlike some other posters, I don't have a lot of faith in the US medical infrastructure to make easy work out of it. But I'm not gonna worry either. Been there, done that, got the camo t-shirt.

15 years down the road, I'm a much more lassiez-faire guy. We're all gonna die someday!

 

[Gale4rc]

No need to worry... It spread in third world country's because of their lack of infrastructure to stop it and just all around modern tools. They would literally have dead people sitting around for days before moving them (not to mention people thinking doctors were bad people who want to spread it ---Saw this on Vice, lost the link ), I don't think that's an issue in the US.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

http://heavy.com/health/2014/10/thomas-eric-duncan-ebola-patient-texas-mai-wureh/

I don't have a lot of faith in the US medical infrastructure to make easy work out of it.

IMO, this is the threat beneath the threat. If the virus was truly becoming an issue of concern, do you trust the government or any politician to provide accurate and truthful intel? Sure they will, about 24 hours after they retreat to their underground bunkers.

 

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[RHL]

In this country, we won't have civilians beheading doctors, stalling medical supply shipments, and burning down quarantine centers, so that should help. *Edit,* I misunderstood some of the information put out by the CDC about this.

 

[Guest3722A]

do you trust the government or any politician to provide accurate and truthful intel

Not a chance. Awesome stance MJ. Something else I wanted to add to this is for anybody reading this, avoid public restrooms if at all possible if this thing does end up in your area. If you do need to use a public restroom, double up on the paper towel to operate faucets, soap dispensers, hand dryers and especially doors.

 

[DeletedUser394]

Ebola is serious s***t, it's classified as one of the world's most contagious diseases, and kills about 3/5 people who contract it.

According to whom? That is 100% factually incorrect. In fact, ebola is extremely noncontagious from a medical perspective.

Measles, Airborne diseases... MERS, flus... even the common cold, are significantly more contagious (by a wide margin).

The one and only way to contract ebola is from direct contact with blood, mucous, semen, etc. The fact that it is not airborne is massive and it is thus not 'one of the world's most contagious diseases' lol.

As for the mortality rate, it's probably only that high due to the poor standards of care where the disease first began. Proper hydration for example is a huge aid in fighting the disease.. and it's relatively easy to set up IVs in the US... not so much in rural Liberia where patients are just crammed into a large room with poorly equipped medical staff... but that is speculation on my part. Fact is though, ebola is not some super contagious disease... it's freaking hard to contract.

Lack of proper information is the root of fear-mongering.

Unlike colds/the flu, ebola is 100% non contagious during incubation period. With the colds/flu you are contagious before you yourself even know you have it.

But whatever, be scared my friends. I survived the apocalyptic bird flu and swine flu (both of which were XXX times more contagious). I think I'll make it through this nonsense as well.

 

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[RHL]

According to whom? That is 100% factually incorrect. In fact, ebola is extremely noncontagious from a medical perspective.

It's classed as a level 4 Biosafety hazard, the highest risk level, by the CDC. I assumed this was because of its transmission rate, since it is resilient in fluids outside the body (vs, say, HIV), but I see now that it's likely just because it's pretty contagious if you're in close contact with it. Of course it's not as contagious as the flu, 80% of the world gets that every single year.

To be clear, I'm not that concerned. I wish they'd quarantine those who came in contact with this guy and nip it in the bud, but I'm not concerned about a large outbreak.

 

[throttleforward]

The problem with letting the outbreak fester in 3rd world countries is that the opportunity for mutation/adaptation to a more transmissible form of the virus is heightened each time a new person is infected. Ebola Reston as one example in the primate world.

Without getting into details, rest assured that the federal government is taking this seriously. How many resources will be dedicated against the problem as it exists in Africa is another matter all together.

 

[Guest3722A]

Ok, so let me get this strait.... patent #: ca2741523a1 - human ebola virus species is owned by the US Center for Disease Control??? ...filed in '08 I think.

 

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[throttleforward]

Ok, so let me get this strait.... patent #: ca2741523a1 - human ebola virus species is owned by the US Center for Disease Control??? ...filed in '08 I think.

Likely an attempt to control the production/distribution of any vaccine. Probably along the lines of preventing a private company from "hogging" the genome so that only they could produce a vaccine. There were some SCOTUS actions about genomic patents that will probably render this application invalid.

 

[eqttrdr]

so Ebola is only spread through exchange of body fluids??? Well so is AIDS and I dont see any doctors/nurses wearing Hazmat suits dealing with AIDS patients

 

[Bananas]

so Ebola is only spread through exchange of body fluids??? Well so is AIDS and I dont see any doctors/nurses wearing Hazmat suits dealing with AIDS patients

Ebola is different than AIDS. You can sneeze, snot, or sweat to spread Ebola. Thus the suits.

 

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[throttleforward]

so Ebola is only spread through exchange of body fluids??? Well so is AIDS and I dont see any doctors/nurses wearing Hazmat suits dealing with AIDS patients

One reason is that there is almost no specific effective treatment after exposure to Ebola. AIDS biosafetly level went from 3 to 2 for this reason - the treatments got a lot better.

 

[twdavis]

The only thing that worries me slightly is that, even though it isn't airborne at the moment, maybe that's because it hasn't spread through enough people yet.

This is the biggest outbreak ever, so what if it keeps moving through a large society of people like ours and mutates into an airborne strain because of the constant movement?

Only guessing this from what I know about biology/genetics etc