The Anti Media, makes bogus claim that "CDC admits Ebola could be airborne"

[Critical Thinker]

The fear-mongering conspiracy website called 'The Anti Media' that is run by the same person that is the organizer and founder of March Against Monsanto, Nick Bernbabe has this headline and story, fortunately based on the comments, not everyone is fooled.:

Link

CDC Admits Ebola Could Be Airborne

Aaron Nelson
October 8, 2014

(TheAntiMedia) According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Tom Frieden, the Ebola virus might be airborne.

“It’s the single greatest concern I’ve ever had in my 40-year public health career,” said Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. “I can’t imagine anything in my career- and this includes HIV- that would be more devastating to the world than a respiratory transmissible Ebola virus.”

Experts are increasingly expressing fears that the Ebola virus can spread through droplets suspended in the air. This would explain the unprecedented increase in the number of Ebola cases in 2014. You probably didn’t hear about it on the corporate news, but a little less than 2 months ago the CDC updated their criteria for Ebola transmission to include “being within 3 feet” or “in the same room” as someone infected with the virus.

From the CDC’s website:

“A low risk exposure includes any of the following:

Household member or other casual contact with an EVD patient.
Providing patient care or casual contact without high-risk exposure with EVD patients in health care facilities in EVD outbreak affected countries.“


How does CDC define “casual contact“?

“Casual contact is defined as a) being within approximately 3 feet or within the room or care area for a prolonged period of time while not wearing recommended personal protective equipment or having direct brief contact (e.g., shaking hands) with an EVD case while not wearing recommended personal protective equipment.”

A study conducted in 2012 showed the Ebola virus was able to travel between pigs and monkeys that were in separate cages and never placed in direct contact.

Dr. Gary Kobinger, from the National Microbiology Laboratory at the Public Health Agency of Canada, told BBC News nearly two years ago that he believed Ebola was spread by droplets suspended in the air.

“What we suspect is happening is large droplets; they can stay in the air, but not long; they don’t go far,” he explained. “But they can be absorbed in the airway, and this is how the infection starts, and this is what we think, because we saw a lot of evidence in the lungs of the non-human primates that the virus got in that way.”

This strain of Ebola is not Ebola Zaire. This is a new strain. According to the CDC, this virus is genetically 97% similar to the Zaire strain. I don’t know about you, but my DNA is 97% similar to orangutans.

Related: Preventative Measures for Ebola in Case of an Outbreak

Is this why Dr. Gil Mobley showed up at the Atlanta airport in a Hazmat suit protesting that the ‘CDC is lying‘, because he thinks the CDC is ‘sugar-coating‘ how serious a threat Ebola is to the United States? This document reveals that the CDC is concerned about airborne transmission of Ebola. Airline staff are being urged to provide surgical masks to anyone suspected of being infected in order “to reduce the number of droplets expelled into the air by talking, sneezing, or coughing”.

How did the Spanish nurse became the first person in the world to catch Ebola outside of Africa? The European Commission actually asked Spain to explain how she could have become infected, you know, if the virus is not airborne.


How else do you explain how an NBC News cameraman, wearing full body protective gear, was able to catch Ebola? The CDC predicts 1.4 million people will be infected with Ebola by January. How many of these people will be Americans? If you think the U.S. should ban air travel to and from the infected countries of West Africa, do you think the rest of the world should ban air travel to and from the United States if an Ebola outbreak starts in say, Dallas? The solution to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa was 4,000 U.S. troops, and the virus is now outside of Africa. So, what will the solution look like in the United States?

It’s not a good sign when basic questions such as these are being ignored during a potential Ebola virus outbreak in America.

This is how Ebola can be spread, according to the CDC. Is Ebola airborne? The definition of ‘airborne‘ is ‘moving or being carried through the air‘. You be the judge.

“Unlike respiratory illnesses like measles or chickenpox, which can be transmitted by virus particles that remain suspended in the air after an infected person coughs or sneezes, Ebola is transmitted by direct contact with body fluids of a person who has symptoms of Ebola disease. Although coughing and sneezing are not common symptoms of Ebola, if a symptomatic patient with Ebola coughs or sneezes on someone, and saliva or mucus come into contact with that person’s eyes, nose or mouth, these fluids may transmit the disease.”​

Content from external source

 

[Mick West]

It's a confusion between the popular usage of the term "airborne" (like a car getting airborne if it goes off a ramp), and the magical term (actually carried by air without falling).

The following is a response I posted in the other Ebola thread.

The terminology varies, so there's some public confusion. But to travel long distances ("airborne"), the droplets need to be very small, which means they dry out almost instantly, and the ebola virus dies. Some pathogens (flu, common colds) can survive this drying out, but not Ebola.

This is a good overview of the distinction:
http://virologydownunder.blogspot.com/2014/08/ebola-virus-may-be-spread-by-droplets.html

Whether propelled by sneezing, coughing, talking, splashing, flushing or some other process, aerosols (an over-arching term) include a range of particle sizes. Those droplets larger than 5-10 millionths of a meter (a micron [µm]; about 1/10 the width of a human hair), fall to the ground within seconds or impact on another surface, without evaporating (see Figure). The smaller droplets that remain suspended in the air evaporate very quickly (< 1/10 sec in dry air), leaving behind particles consisting of proteins, salts and other things left after the water is removed, including suspended viruses and bacteria. These leftovers, which may be more like a gel, depending on the humidity, are called droplet nuclei. They can remain airborne for hours and, if unimpeded, travel wherever the wind blows them. Coughs, sneezes and toilet flushes generate both droplets and droplet nuclei. Droplets smaller than 5-10µm almost always dry fast enough to form droplet nuclei without falling to the ground, and it is usual for scientists to refer to these as being in the airborne size range. It is only the droplet nuclei that are capable of riding the air currents through a hospital, shopping centre or office building.

For [Ebola] at least, airborne droplet nuclei are apparently not infectious to primates under natural or near-natural circumstances

Content from external source

 

[Mick West]

So basically, if you are within three feet of someone, they could infect you "over the air" by spitting, sneezing, coughing, or anything else that projects drops a short distance.

 

[Jason]

So basically, if you are within three feet of someone, they could infect you "over the air" by spitting, sneezing, coughing, or anything else that projects drops a short distance.

I agree but honestly Mick, this is a virus that is still not well understood. And if monkeys and pigs can transmit the virus to one another without ever coming into contact with each other that maybe we're missing something here. It would be a shame to say "We know everything there is too know about Ebola", when the truth is this outbreak is unprecedented.

How did these animals transmit the disease to one another without ever coming into contact with one another? Maybe those who study the virus are missing something. It's possible, even if it's remotely unlikely.

From Above
A study conducted in 2012 showed the Ebola virus was able to travel between pigs and monkeys that were in separate cages and never placed in direct contact.

Content from external source

 

[Mick West]

I agree but honestly Mick, this is a virus that is still not well understood. And if monkeys and pigs can transmit the virus to one another without ever coming into contact with each other that maybe we're missing something here. It would be a shame to say "We know everything there is too know about Ebola", when the truth is this outbreak is unprecedented.

How did these animals transmit the disease to one another without ever coming into contact with one another? Maybe those who study the virus are missing something. It's possible, even if it's remotely unlikely.

From Above
A study conducted in 2012 showed the Ebola virus was able to travel between pigs and monkeys that were in separate cages and never placed in direct contact.

Content from external source

Through the air, as explained above. Small drops, short distance.

 

[Jason]

Through the air, as explained above. Small drops, short distance.

I'd be interested to know how far apart these animals were separated from each other in this experiment. Also, has there been any "recent" testing to confirm that the ebola strain in this latest outbreak hasn't become airborne. It seems like most of the data used when discussing this virus are dated well before the outbreak.

 

[deirdre]

I'd be interested to know how far apart these animals were separated from each other in this experiment. Also, has there been any "recent" testing to confirm that the ebola strain in this latest outbreak hasn't become airborne. It seems like most of the data used when discussing this virus are dated well before the outbreak.

The macaques were housed in two levels of individual cages inside the pig pen, and separated from the piglets by wire barrier placed about 20 cm in front of the bottom cages to prevent direct contact between the two species www.nature.com/srep/2012/121115/srep00811/full/srep00811.html

Content from external source

Author Dr. Gary Kobinger suspects that the virus is transmitted through droplets, not fomites, because evidence of infection in the lungs of the monkeys indicated that the virus was inhaled. http://healthmap.org/site/diseasedaily/article/pigs-monkeys-ebola-goes-airborne-112112

Content from external source

 

[Pete Tar]

http://scienceblogs.com/aetiology/2014/08/03/are-we-sure-ebola-isnt-airborne/

*However*, the kicker was not that Ebola is transmitted by air in human outbreaks, but rather that there may be something unique about pig physiology that allows them to generate more infectious aerosols as a general rule–so though aerosols aren’t a transmission route between primates (including humans, as well as non-human primates used experimentally), pigs may be a bigger threat as far as aerosols. Thus, this may be important for transmission of swine influenza and other viruses as well as Ebola.

So unless you’re sitting next to an Ebola-infected pig, seriously, airborne transmission of Ebola viruses isn’t a big concern.

Content from external source

 

[deirdre]

 

[Jason]

I always thought "airborne" had more to do with genetic mutations and variants of the virus rather than the droplet size and its survival in a droplet as it dries out. I would also like to mention the person who wrote up the blog admits;

I'm not an expert on ebolaviruses nor on Ebola virus disease (EVD) - but in my time learning about the viruses and the disease, its clear that this is (yet another) area that is lacking in all sorts of information. http://virologydownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/08/ebola-pigs-primates-and-people.html

Content from external source

 

[Jason]

The macaques were housed in two levels of individual cages inside the pig pen, and separated from the piglets by wire barrier placed about 20 cm in front of the bottom cages to prevent direct contact between the two species www.nature.com/srep/2012/121115/srep00811/full/srep00811.html

Content from external source

Author Dr. Gary Kobinger suspects that the virus is transmitted through droplets, not fomites, because evidence of infection in the lungs of the monkeys indicated that the virus was inhaled. http://healthmap.org/site/diseasedaily/article/pigs-monkeys-ebola-goes-airborne-112112

Content from external source

The blog Mick posted says this about pigs;

Pigs are not primates.
In ebolaville - the virtual world created by social and mainstream media stories and discussion about ebolaviruses - a lot of people have been throwing the 2012 pig to macaque study (8) around as an argument for why we should admit that ebolaviruses spread by an airborne route and run for the hills. This is why that is not a good comparison:

• Pigs have a different disease and replication process to humans.
  • Pigs tend to have much more virus growing in their lungs.(12)
  • Pigs tend to cough and sneeze and generally propel more of said pathogen from their lungs.(11)
• Pigs may eject more infectious viruses in their droplets than do primates

http://virologydownunder.blogspot.com.au/2014/08/ebola-pigs-primates-and-people.html

Content from external source

 

[Mick West]

I always thought "airborne" had more to do with genetic mutations and variants of the virus rather than the droplet size and its survival in a droplet as it dries out.

It's both, directly intertwined.

• It's "airborne" if it can survive in a small dry droplet nuclei that can be carried by the air like dust.
• Ebola can't currently do this, so it would need to mutate into a new variant in order to do it.

ANY virus can be spread by sneezing sufficiently large droplets of body fluid a few feet. This is not what is meant by an "airborne" virus.

 

[Jason]

It's both, directly intertwined.

• It's "airborne" if it can survive in a small dry droplet nuclei that can be carried by the air like dust.
• Ebola can't currently do this, so it would need to mutate into a new variant in order to do it.

ANY virus can be spread by sneezing sufficiently large droplets of body fluid a few feet. This is not what is meant by an "airborne" virus.

So how does a virus that survives in a host mutate so it can survive outside of a host. In such a way that it can become smaller and more susceptible to surviving in small "dry" droplet nuclei. I know mutations often, if not always, happen by accident, but these little "buggers" are the best survivors the world over. Some theorize based on genetic evidence that viruses could have been the "first" forms of life on our planet. Their existence bestows us, and we shouldn't take our perception of them for granted. The current outbreak demands that we re-examine Ebola. Media outlets are all discussing the fact that we might be missing something and whether or not Ebola can be transmitted by some other means.

The nurse in Dallas wore protective gear and there is currently an investigation underway to determine how she caught the virus. We've been told that the only way you can catch the virus is if someone is symptomatic and through their bodily fluids. But, their bodily fluids wouldn't be enough if it were to touch our skin. It would have to enter our bodies via a cut or scrape on our body. Or it could possibly enter our body via a tear duct or genitalia during intercourse. So you shouldn't rub your eyes after coming in contact with bodily fluids.

I'm hoping they are still studying this strain, and verifying the fact that it hasn't mutated or that it can be transmitted through some other means, ie; "airborne". The flu mutates every season which is a quick mutation by evolutionary standards. Who's to say Ebola, another virus, can't mutate just as easily. I often hear of people dismissing this as a possibility because they note it takes time for these things to happen, but with the flu viruses it isn't the case. And yes, of course, the mutation could lead to a less lethal virus so it can survive longer, but that is also a guess.

How do they study the current Ebola virus in this outbreak to determine it hasn't mutated. What methods do they use to determine this?

 

[deirdre]

How do they study the current Ebola virus in this outbreak to determine it hasn't mutated. What methods do they use to determine this?

how about you look it up and you tell us.

 

[Jason]

how about you look it up and you tell us.

I wouldn't have proposed the question if I didn't try looking for it myself. Search results come up empty with respect to Ebola. Searches are comprised of the outbreak, spanish, and US incidents.

 

[Jason]

how about you look it up and you tell us.

In fact, you're met with search results like below. Most results discuss the potential of Ebola becoming airborne, and some scaremongering sites also make the list of search results.

 

[Jason]

Actually, in laboratory settings they were able to infect "non-human" primates via aerosol. So it seems the virus is capable of being "airborne", Right? http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/lab-bio/res/psds-ftss/ebola-eng.php

Content from external source

 

[Mick West]

It it became airborne then thousands of people would become infected. Realistically that's going to be the first indication.

A mutation is not something that happens globally. All the ebola viruses don't suddenly decided to mutate at the same time. If it were to became airborne, it would happen in one spot. So there's really no way of testing for this.

But as seen in your search results, only fearmongering conspiracy theorist sites like Zerohedge are seriously taking about this as a possibility. The CIDRAP thing was just about the size of the droplets.

 

[Mick West]

Actually, in laboratory settings they were able to infect "non-human" primates via aerosol. So it seems the virus is capable of being "airborne", Right? http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/lab-bio/res/psds-ftss/ebola-eng.php

View attachment 9580

View attachment 9579

Content from external source

No. Short distance aerosol is not the same as airborne. As your image quote says "airborne transmission has not been demonstrated".

 

[solrey]

In fact, you're met with search results like below. Most results discuss the potential of Ebola becoming airborne, and some scaremongering sites also make the list of search results.

View attachment 9576

Try narrowing your search terms a bit like "ebola outbreak 2014 scientific studies"...

For the current study, researchers sequenced 99 Ebola virus genomes collected from 78 patients diagnosed with Ebola in Sierra Leone during the first 24 days of the outbreak (a portion of the patients contributed samples more than once, allowing researchers a clearer view into how the virus can change in a single individual over the course of infection). The team found more than 300 genetic changes that make the 2014 Ebola virus genomes distinct from the viral genomes tied to previous Ebola outbreaks. They also found sequence variations indicating that, from the samples sequenced, the EVD outbreak started from a single introduction into humans, subsequently spreading from person to person over many months.

The variations they identified were frequently in regions of the genome encoding proteins. Some of the genetic variation detected in these studies may affect the primers (starting points for DNA synthesis) used in PCR-based diagnostic tests, emphasizing the importance of genomic surveillance and the need for vigilance.

Content from external source

http://www.broadinstitute.org/news/6017

http://www.nih.gov/researchmatters/september2014/09152014ebola.htm

http://www.vox.com/2014/10/13/6959087/ebola-outbreak-virus-mutated-airborne

JB: Yet everyone is worried about Ebola going airborne...

PJ: You're seeing all these patients getting infected, so people think there must be aerosol spread. Certainly, it's very clear that people who are in close contact with patients are getting a very high incidence of disease and not all of that can be explained by preparation of bodies for burial and all the standard stuff. But if you are to assume that the differences in virus load detected in the blood are reflected by differences in virus load spread by body secretions, then maybe it's a simple quantitative difference. There's just more virus.

Content from external source

 

[deirdre]

I wouldn't have proposed the question if I didn't try looking for it myself. Search results come up empty with respect to Ebola. Searches are comprised of the outbreak, spanish, and US incidents.

don't forget to clear your cache from time to time.

Methods for Sampling of Airborne Viruses http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2546863/

Content from external source

virologists studying ebola in 2014: one example
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/140828142738.htm

oct 6, 2014 The WHO adds: "Speculation that Ebola virus disease might mutate into a form that could easily spread among humans through the air is just that: speculation, unsubstantiated by any evidence.This kind of speculation is unfounded but understandable as health officials race to catch up with this fast-moving and rapidly evolving outbreak." http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/10/06/how-ebola-spreads/16802063/

Content from external source

oct 6, 2014 Epidemiological data emerging from the outbreak are not consistent with the pattern of spread seen with airborne viruses, like those that cause measles and chickenpox, or the airborne bacterium that causes tuberculosis.http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/ebola/06-october-2014/en/

Content from external source

 

[Mick West]

oct 6, 2014 Epidemiological data emerging from the outbreak are not consistent with the pattern of spread seen with airborne viruses, like those that cause measles and chickenpox, or the airborne bacterium that causes tuberculosis.http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/ebola/06-october-2014/en/

Content from external source

Translation: it's not airborne, because it's not spreading like an airborne pathogen would.

 

[Jason]

don't forget to clear your cache from time to time.

OT and you can PM me, how do you do that

 

[Jason]

No. Short distance aerosol is not the same as airborne. As your image quote says "airborne transmission has not been demonstrated".

Ok, but how do you know it was "short" distance aerosol. Also, when they discuss aerosol how are they introducing the virus to the animal. Obviously, they aren't holding up a spray can and blowing it into their face. How do they make a virus an aerosol if it isn't capable of being airborne. Do they place a few petri dishes on the floor in the vicinity of the animals, or do they use fans. I don't understand what aerosol means in this instance.

 

[Mick West]

Ok, but how do you know it was "short" distance aerosol. Also, when they discuss aerosol how are they introducing the virus to the animal. Obviously, they aren't holding up a spray can and blowing it into their face. How do they make a virus an aerosol if it isn't capable of being airborne. Do they place a few petri dishes on the floor in the vicinity of the animals, or do they use fans. I don't understand what aerosol means in this instance.

Aerosol means a small drop that can be carried by the air. The smaller the drop the more it can be carried. But also the smaller the drop the quicker it dries, and the quicker the virus dies.

A droplet that might be carried a few feet would evaporate in seconds.

A droplet that might make it out of the room would evaporate in less than a second.

 

[Jason]

don't forget to clear your cache from time to time.

Methods for Sampling of Airborne Viruses http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2546863/

Content from external source

virologists studying ebola in 2014: one example
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/140828142738.htm

oct 6, 2014 The WHO adds: "Speculation that Ebola virus disease might mutate into a form that could easily spread among humans through the air is just that: speculation, unsubstantiated by any evidence.This kind of speculation is unfounded but understandable as health officials race to catch up with this fast-moving and rapidly evolving outbreak." http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/10/06/how-ebola-spreads/16802063/

Content from external source

oct 6, 2014 Epidemiological data emerging from the outbreak are not consistent with the pattern of spread seen with airborne viruses, like those that cause measles and chickenpox, or the airborne bacterium that causes tuberculosis.http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/ebola/06-october-2014/en/

Content from external source

This came from the introduction of your first link. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2546863/. It clearly states that any microorganism can become airborne. The last sentences discusses that in order for a pathogen or microorganism to become airborne it first needs to develop the ability to resist the stresses of aerosolization, which is was demonstrated in the above experiment I attached where pigs contracted the virus via aerosol.

 

[deirdre]

above experiment I attached where pigs contracted the virus via aerosol

I must be looking at the wrong one then. my pigs were injected. thought I got the link from you. which link shows pigs aerosoled? can you repost?

 

[Jason]

I must be looking at the wrong one then. my pigs were injected. thought I got the link from you. which link shows pigs aerosoled? can you repost?

post 17 https://www.metabunk.org/threads/th...its-ebola-could-be-airborne.4699/#post-129823

Edit: I made a mistake, Non human primates were infected from aerosolized ebola, not pigs. They aerosolized the ebola from pigs to see if it would infect non human primates

 

[deirdre]

post 17 https://www.metabunk.org/threads/th...its-ebola-could-be-airborne.4699/#post-129823

Edit: I made a mistake, Non human primates were infected from aerosolized ebola, not pigs. They aerosolized the ebola from pigs to see if it would infect non human primates

ah. ok. they use aerosol chambers I believe.
i'll let the guys explain aerosol, as im late.

 

[Mick West]

With respect Jason, you appear to be trying really hard to convince yourself that ebola is airborne.

It's not. If it was, then we'd know. It would be spreading like wildfire everywhere in the world. All the doctors and hospital staff would be dead by now.

Aerosols dry out very rapidly. This limits the distance they can travel. There's still a small danger when you are very close to someone who is symptomatic , which is why the doctors wear masks.

 

[Jason]

With respect Jason, you appear to be trying really hard to convince yourself that ebola is airborne.

It's not. If it was, then we'd know. It would be spreading like wildfire everywhere in the world. All the doctors and hospital staff would be dead by now.

Aerosols dry out very rapidly. This limits the distance they can travel. There's still a small danger when you are very close to someone who is symptomatic , which is why the doctors wear masks.

I'm not trying to convince myself it's airborne. Honestly @Mick West, I have 4 kids and all I'm doing is trying to be proactive and educate myself on the possibility of Ebola "becoming" airborne. The paranoid side of me worries about my kids. I know it isn't "airborne" but my concern is if it will "become" airborne. I'm just trying to understand it better which in the end relaxes my nerves a bit. I was the same way 2 weeks ago with the D68 EV, and after much discussion with you and others I found peace. That's all. I've learned a lot today, and I'm glad I raised the concerns I had.

 

[Mick West]

All the doctors and hospital staff would be dead by now.

And by "all" here, I should have said "about half"

 

[Pete Tar]

Fomites are more relevant here than aerosols.

A fomes (pronounced /ˈfoʊmiːz/) or fomite (/ˈfoʊmaɪt/) is any object or substance capable of carrying infectious organisms, such as germs or parasites, and hence transferring them from one individual to another. Skin cells, hair, clothing, and bedding are common hospital sources of contamination.

Fomites are associated particularly with hospital-acquired infections (HAI), as they are possible routes to pass pathogens between patients. Stethoscopes and neckties are two such fomites associated with health care providers. Basic hospital equipment, such as IV drip tubes, catheters, and life support equipment can also be carriers, when the pathogens formbiofilms on the surfaces. Careful sterilization of such objects prevents cross-infection.

Researchers have discovered that smooth (non-porous) surfaces like door knobs transmit bacteria and viruses better than porous materials like paper money because porous, especially fibrous, materials absorb and trap the contagion, making it harder to contract through simple touch.[1][2]

Content from external source

 

[Jason]

Fomites are more relevant here than aerosols.

A fomes (pronounced /ˈfoʊmiːz/) or fomite (/ˈfoʊmaɪt/) is any object or substance capable of carrying infectious organisms, such as germs or parasites, and hence transferring them from one individual to another. Skin cells, hair, clothing, and bedding are common hospital sources of contamination.

Fomites are associated particularly with hospital-acquired infections (HAI), as they are possible routes to pass pathogens between patients. Stethoscopes and neckties are two such fomites associated with health care providers. Basic hospital equipment, such as IV drip tubes, catheters, and life support equipment can also be carriers, when the pathogens formbiofilms on the surfaces. Careful sterilization of such objects prevents cross-infection.

Researchers have discovered that smooth (non-porous) surfaces like door knobs transmit bacteria and viruses better than porous materials like paper money because porous, especially fibrous, materials absorb and trap the contagion, making it harder to contract through simple touch.[1][2]

Content from external source

Great, now I have something else to worry about, J/K.

 

[Rafterman]

Isn't it a bit unfair to say that this disease hasn't been studied?

Ebola has been around for decades and a great deal of effort has been put into understanding how it works, how it's spread, treatment protocols, etc.

 

[Mick West]

There's lots of papers on Ebola from the 1990s. Even studies from back then on aerosol transmission.

 

[Unicess]

I am currently a nursing student about to graduate and I was a nurse aide in the hospital for two years prior. I would like to say that I am following all of the posts and news about the Ebola "outbreak" in Texas and I am happy to read all of the statements made on this blog. I know this is a scary time but we have discussed this in my class and we all believe it is containable. I don't believe there is any need for mass panic. It is very unfortunate that some health care workers contracted this virus but unfortunately that is part of the risk we take when we go into the health care field. By the way I live in Oklahoma and I can tell you from experience that everyone is learning from the situation in Texas and standards are in place within the hospitals here to keep their employees safe at work. I would assume that is standard in all hospitals. I don't believe at this time there is any need to worry about an epidemic.

 

[Rafterman]

I am currently a nursing student about to graduate and I was a nurse aide in the hospital for two years prior. I would like to say that I am following all of the posts and news about the Ebola "outbreak" in Texas and I am happy to read all of the statements made on this blog. I know this is a scary time but we have discussed this in my class and we all believe it is containable. I don't believe there is any need for mass panic. It is very unfortunate that some health care workers contracted this virus but unfortunately that is part of the risk we take when we go into the health care field. By the way I live in Oklahoma and I can tell you from experience that everyone is learning from the situation in Texas and standards are in place within the hospitals here to keep their employees safe at work. I would assume that is standard in all hospitals. I don't believe at this time there is any need to worry about an epidemic.

Excellent points - unfortunately we have a few groups in this country who are trying to 1) use the outbreak for political benefit and 2) use the outbreak for financial gain and both are feeding the panic frenzy.

Oddly enough, one of these groups has spent the better part of the last 6 years telling us that we have the best healthcare system in the world and yet now want us to believe that its not better than a dirt floored clinic in rural Liberia.

 

[Unicess]

I agree with you 100% and it is very sad to me that this is the case. I really hope that people will look at the facts and not the hype.

 

[David Coulter]

I agree with the previous posts - "airborne Ebola" in densely populated regions of west Africa would have already resulted in millions of cases. This is not HIV that can hide for years, people get really sick within weeks at the most.

It seems that Ebola has evolved to have rather nasty methods of perpetuating itself: it infects every tissue at about the point it kills the host, and can survive for some time after the host is dead. Eating dead bush meat is not a good idea.

Unlike the premise of the movie "Outbreak" there is little, if any, evolutionary pressure for Ebola to become airborne. I am not sure there is even a precedent for a direct contact contagion making the leap to being airborne other than through weaponization by humans (e.g., Anthrax).