Fun facts about the Ebola virus

DavidBrown

DavidBrown

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
The worst known outbreak of Ebola virus is burning through West Africa in summer 2014. More than 700 people have died and it is creating social havoc as hysteria rides along with the disease.

The main advice from health authorities about how to best protect yourself from Ebola is to not catch it. There is no cure and it has a 90% fatality rate.

I'm posting this here because there is a direct link between bush meat consumption, deforestation, and spread of Ebola into human populations.

This is the worst Ebola outbreak in history. Here’s why you should be worried. - The Washington Post
 
Chimps and Gorillas get it to. If someone kills an effected chimp for bushmeat they will likely get Ebola from bodily fluids.
 
IanRRobinson said:
The article talks about there being a link between Ebola and eating bush meat. Can anybody expand on this?
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the reservoir for the Ebola virus is thought to be bats -- several species of fruit bats have been shown to be able to carry the virus without effect. However if the virus infects other mammal species it has a high mortality rate. It has been reported in a wide range of species including pigs, antelope, rodents such as porcupines and squirrels, and also in primates (especially gorillas and chimps). Apparently very large numbers of both these species of apes have been killed by outbreaks in west Africa because they have just as little immunity as humans to the virus. Before human outbreaks such as the current one there are often large numbers of dead duikers and primates in the area.

It is scarily-easy to contract the virus in pretty much any way imaginable: by touch, blood, etc. Some human outbreaks seem to have come from bats directly (e.g. in one case, mine workers), others from hunting or eating infected mammals such as duikers or chimps.

The most scary thing about Ebola, I think, is that it is as easily-transmitted as a simple handshake, is up to 90% fatal, and yet has an incubation time which can allow an infected person to travel by plane to, say, England before becoming sick.
 
I also heard the claim on TV tonight that even if someone recovers they can still be contagious for 2 months. Thought that sounded a bit sus, but if it is true one person spreading it for 2 months could cover a large area.
 
Monty said:
I also heard the claim on TV tonight that even if someone recovers they can still be contagious for 2 months. Thought that sounded a bit sus, but if it is true one person spreading it for 2 months could cover a large area.
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If that's true I can guarantee that no hospital or health authority would release them from isolation until they were certain they were not contagious.

:p

Hix
 
Hix said:
If that's true I can guarantee that no hospital or health authority would release them from isolation until they were certain they were not contagious.

:p

Hix
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We are talking the Third World here and where hospitals are in short supply and also information travels fast and people get scared witless. Instead of any quarantaine being imposed and cordoning off of patients most under Ebola simply still will travel ... exposing a far larger portion of the populace to the 95% deadly virus.

For all of you: it has now entered the UK via a civilian airline plane!
 
Kifaru Bwana said:
We are talking the Third World here and where hospitals are in short supply and also information travels fast and people get scared witless. Instead of any quarantaine being imposed and cordoning off of patients most under Ebola simply still will travel ... exposing a far larger portion of the populace to the 95% deadly virus.

For all of you: it has now entered the UK via a civilian airline plane!
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I was talking about patients that had recovered from the disease. Even in the three Third World countries that are part of this outbreak, the health authorities would prevent anyone contagious from leaving the hosdpital to spread the disease.

My original statement was based upon the premise that recovered patients are still capable of spreading the disease for up to two months after recovery. I haven't heard that this is actually correct.

:p

Hix
 
DavidBrown said:
The Center for Disease Control has issued a warning against non-essential travel to Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia. This is a serious step for them and underscores how bad this Ebola outbreak is.

Ebola crisis prompts CDC to warn against nonessential travel to West Africa - The Washington Post
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What remains puzzling that no NEW travel restrictions have been enforced. The current outbreak is somewhat out-of-control of the medical health authorities due to strict measures vis a vis travel and quarantine were not fully observed. The virus has been allowed to jump cross borders and its span of extent has widened making it even harder for WTO. It is a somewhat new phenomenon as previous outbreaks were always far away from any airfields or human habitations.

My source was re the airline and Ebola entering the UK was the example of the man traveling to Brum. It has since transpired his fever was not related to Ebola now.
 
DavidBrown said:
Here is a comprehensive update on what is going on with the Ebola outbreak as of August 1, 2014: An Ebola patient is leaving Africa for treatment at an Atlanta hospital - The Washington Post

This whole ordeal is eerily reminiscent of the opening montage of "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" chronicling the end of human civilization due to a virus. I know that this will not happen in the real world, but it's still creepy.
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The fact that the US health authorities seem to opt for this method of evacuation for a highly contagious and infectious disease is tantamount to playing around with the code orange / purple mark for this highly contagious / infectious disease and playing danger with the real facts ... and issues on the ground. It is like opening the sluice gates ..., and do not down play this ever.

People with Ebola should be treated in quarantaine on site and not moved prior to them being considered completely free from contagious agents and fully recovered (which in the case of Ebola is very slim 5% chance ... at the best of times). So, transporting (an) individual(s) who have contracted the disease inadvertently is not THE way to contain it. International Health Authority WHO (yes, I misspelt ..) should have stopped US health officials from going forward with this ...

Aside from the principle in question and - to me - worst of all it establishes / creates a two-tier or even three-tier system (once again) where there is One Law for most nationalities, one for those in the countries where Ebola is now prevalent (Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea) and a further one for those from the US. I do find that a very worrying trend .... indeed!!!
 
DavidBrown said:
This whole ordeal is eerily reminiscent of the opening montage of "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" chronicling the end of human civilization due to a virus. I know that this will not happen in the real world, but it's still creepy.
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Lucky for us it effects apes as well, or we would be stuffed ;)

Dont most zombie movies also start like this. :eek:
 
Things seem to be getting out of control.I wonder how this will effect conservation in West Africa.Two of my favorite species call this region of the world home (Hippos and Mandrills)

Team Tapir223
 
TeamTapir223 said:
Things seem to be getting out of control.I wonder how this will effect conservation in West Africa.Two of my favorite species call this region of the world home (Hippos and Mandrills)

Team Tapir223
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It has been out of control for some time now and the oversight on air travel and airlifting patients abroad away from the danger zone were some of the ill-advised ideas that put paid to any isolation/quarantaine required policies to control and end the spread of the virus. Be prepared to have it on your doorstep for a long while!!! And do not think for a moment that we Westerners are exempt ....
 
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