Quizzes & Puzzles2 mins ago
Should We Be Concerned?
73 Answers
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/// Liberia closed most of its border crossings on Sunday and Nigeria’s airports and borders have been on full alert since Friday. ///
Should we also consider closing our borders, or at least put a halt to the passage of persons from this part of Africa?
We seem more concerned about the spread of rabies in this country, than this disease which kills 90 per cent of victims.
/// Liberia closed most of its border crossings on Sunday and Nigeria’s airports and borders have been on full alert since Friday. ///
Should we also consider closing our borders, or at least put a halt to the passage of persons from this part of Africa?
We seem more concerned about the spread of rabies in this country, than this disease which kills 90 per cent of victims.
Answers
Rabies, HIV, bird flu, Bubonic plague.....
10:39 Wed 30th Jul 2014
I think in the 19th Century there was a woman in the USA, 'Typhoid Mary' who was held in isolation because she represented a danger to the general public.
If a carrier of Ebola reached our shores is there any legislation that would allow them to be held in isolation to protect the public?
That's assuming that they somehow managed to survive their illness.
If a carrier of Ebola reached our shores is there any legislation that would allow them to be held in isolation to protect the public?
That's assuming that they somehow managed to survive their illness.
"s far as i am aware the period of infectivity is from 2 days to 21 days and the symptoms initially may be confusing leading to late diagnosis. "
Not according to the WHO:
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"The incubation period, or the time interval from infection to onset of symptoms, is from 2 to 21 days. The patients become contagious once they begin to show symptoms. They are not contagious during the incubation period."
There's no vaccine for it, but I think your survival odds can be boosted.
Not according to the WHO:
http://
"The incubation period, or the time interval from infection to onset of symptoms, is from 2 to 21 days. The patients become contagious once they begin to show symptoms. They are not contagious during the incubation period."
There's no vaccine for it, but I think your survival odds can be boosted.
While I expect AOG may want to give more weight to Sqad's opinion than mine -- and I wouldn't blame him for that! -- it's worth noting that we finish with essentially the same conclusion, that at this point we should monitor the situation. How much concern or fear we have is variable, but at this stage that's all we should do regardless of how concerned you might be. Even in the worse-case scenario of Ebola reaching our shores I expect the death total to be rather less than for the most recent outbreak of, say, seasonal flu. Perhaps this isn't a fair comparison but the point is that there is little reason to expect much more than a handful of cases. Simply put, we have far, far better healthcare and medical practice here than in West Africa -- and it should be noted that there are problems in treating and containing the disease over there that we don't have, such as the local people blaming witchcraft and in "freeing" ebola patients in a way that spreads the disease still further. Here that just won't happen, so that it's likely to spread no further than the people who originally brought the disease here.
There are sensible precautions we should take, to be sure -- but talk of closing the border isn't one of them.
There are sensible precautions we should take, to be sure -- but talk of closing the border isn't one of them.
Further to jum360's well-considered post, another thing we really have to acknowledge is how ebola is spread.
This is what the World Health Organisation is saying:
"The risk of a tourist or businessman/woman becoming infected with Ebola virus during a visit to the affected areas and developing disease after returning is extremely low, even if the visit included travel to the local areas from which primary cases have been reported. Transmission requires direct contact with blood, secretions, organs or other body fluids of infected living or dead persons or animal, all unlikely exposures for the average traveller. Tourists are in any event advised to avoid all such contacts."
So unless you are waiting at Heathrow to have unprotected sex with someone who has just flown in from one of the regions in Nigeria - I would say that your cause for concern should be fairly low.
Can anyone remember the name of that very excellent book that was out a couple of years ago which traced the origins of newspaper scare stories?
This is what the World Health Organisation is saying:
"The risk of a tourist or businessman/woman becoming infected with Ebola virus during a visit to the affected areas and developing disease after returning is extremely low, even if the visit included travel to the local areas from which primary cases have been reported. Transmission requires direct contact with blood, secretions, organs or other body fluids of infected living or dead persons or animal, all unlikely exposures for the average traveller. Tourists are in any event advised to avoid all such contacts."
So unless you are waiting at Heathrow to have unprotected sex with someone who has just flown in from one of the regions in Nigeria - I would say that your cause for concern should be fairly low.
Can anyone remember the name of that very excellent book that was out a couple of years ago which traced the origins of newspaper scare stories?
But even then we are talking about infection through contact with bodily fluids, excreta, etc. That means that in conditions of good hygiene the risk of infection is less pronounced than it might be. Again, guarded caution is the right approach.
This is probably the main reason that Ebola in itself remains a fairly minimal threat. If it evolved into a more highly contagious form (in particular, transmission via coughing etc.) then there would be a serious cause for alarm. As it is, the disease is deadly but not all that good at spreading.
This is probably the main reason that Ebola in itself remains a fairly minimal threat. If it evolved into a more highly contagious form (in particular, transmission via coughing etc.) then there would be a serious cause for alarm. As it is, the disease is deadly but not all that good at spreading.
-- answer removed --
No treatment or vaccine.
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Normally I would be wary of stories like this, discounting them as pure scaremongering.
However, ebola is another kettle of fish. I would suggest that hygine in the current areas of infection are not high thus increasing the possibility of spreading. It will only take a couple of cases to spread to a highly populated city and there will be a big problem given current day global travel.
Close the borders, no not yet. But we should certainly be ready to do so at a seconds notice and also have provision to safely detain people (without lining lawyers pockets)
However, ebola is another kettle of fish. I would suggest that hygine in the current areas of infection are not high thus increasing the possibility of spreading. It will only take a couple of cases to spread to a highly populated city and there will be a big problem given current day global travel.
Close the borders, no not yet. But we should certainly be ready to do so at a seconds notice and also have provision to safely detain people (without lining lawyers pockets)
Kromo.
\\\ Men who have recovered from the illness can still spread the virus to their partner through their semen for up to 7 weeks after recovery.\\
Now, I have read all "jim" posts and i agree with them 100% and they are scientifically correct as is Jim.
Would you allow me to put this in a "human setting?"
Jeremy is a business man and much of his business is in Nigeria necessitating frequent visits. He has had a long arduous day gets back to the hotel, goes into the bar for a drink before dinner. he sits close to a very attractive Nigerian girl (and believe me they are attractive) and gets chatting. The effect of the alcohol, dinner for two (by this time he knows that she is a prostitute) and back to his room where they have intercourse. if she is in the prodromal phase of Ebola and this could last up to 3-4 weeks, he could well become infected.
Our businessman comes home, doesn't feel well, but not keen on telling his wife about his "business trip" and develops full blown Ebola symptoms over the next week.
Now I do appreciate that AB's morals are of the highest standing and this couldn't possibly happen to a male ABer..........BUT.......all males are not ABer's and may not share the high moral standards.
No.....my hypothesis is stupid.............
\\\ Men who have recovered from the illness can still spread the virus to their partner through their semen for up to 7 weeks after recovery.\\
Now, I have read all "jim" posts and i agree with them 100% and they are scientifically correct as is Jim.
Would you allow me to put this in a "human setting?"
Jeremy is a business man and much of his business is in Nigeria necessitating frequent visits. He has had a long arduous day gets back to the hotel, goes into the bar for a drink before dinner. he sits close to a very attractive Nigerian girl (and believe me they are attractive) and gets chatting. The effect of the alcohol, dinner for two (by this time he knows that she is a prostitute) and back to his room where they have intercourse. if she is in the prodromal phase of Ebola and this could last up to 3-4 weeks, he could well become infected.
Our businessman comes home, doesn't feel well, but not keen on telling his wife about his "business trip" and develops full blown Ebola symptoms over the next week.
Now I do appreciate that AB's morals are of the highest standing and this couldn't possibly happen to a male ABer..........BUT.......all males are not ABer's and may not share the high moral standards.
No.....my hypothesis is stupid.............
//dinner for two// I like that. They don`t have to buy them anything Sqad - it doesn`t work like that! Nigerian hotel bars are always swarming with hookers though. There is a guard stationed by the lift on every floor in the large hotels to stop them coming up to rooms. I expect he can be paid off though.
Sqad, according to the WHO link above, unlike other viruses Ebola is not infectious during the incubation period however long it lasts - yes?
So Jeremy could only get infected if his Nigerian friend were showing symptoms of the disease...
As has been pointed out unlike SARS or Avian influenza viruses there is no aerosol spread.
And indeed there is no specific treatment, only supportive such as giving IV fluids etc. which does save lives. For example in The Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2012 there were 57 cases with a case fatality of 51%.
It's not high on my list of things to worry about at the moment.
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Sp - was it Flat Earth News? I have it half read - found it too depressing to continue.
So Jeremy could only get infected if his Nigerian friend were showing symptoms of the disease...
As has been pointed out unlike SARS or Avian influenza viruses there is no aerosol spread.
And indeed there is no specific treatment, only supportive such as giving IV fluids etc. which does save lives. For example in The Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2012 there were 57 cases with a case fatality of 51%.
It's not high on my list of things to worry about at the moment.
http://
Sp - was it Flat Earth News? I have it half read - found it too depressing to continue.
