I put the BS in bold.
The initial symptom period is not when the infected is the "most" contagious. The most contagious period is the end stage of the disease.
Ebola is a blood borne disease. It stays in the blood until you bleed for whatever reason or the virus blows though capillaries, usually in the bowel and/or mouth or mucous membranes. Small amounts of blood are then shed in the sputum or excretions..
The CDC and other experts are not talking out their posteriors when they tell you this, over and over and over again..
I post this, not because I think that anything I say would make a difference in the least....It won't..
We can post most anything, but the facts will remain the facts, long after the experts have had their say. Those on the ground will have to do what works, will learn as the Africans have what does not work, and the lessons will be paid for in lives.
Viral load is highest right around the time of death, but mobility isn't much. There is a trade off, a balance point between viral load and ability to function which is likely the most dangerous, but having someone who feels well enough to go out and expose others, even with a lower viral load has more potential, imho, to spread the disease. With such a low ID50, the amount probably doesn't make much difference as long as they are shedding the virus. Remember, in this case, the virus is in all the bodily fluids, not just blood. Sweat, spit, tears, semen, vaginal secretions, as well as feces, vomit, and blood count, and contaminated surfaces have the ability to harbor the virus long enough for someone else to pick it up--especially in an urban environment.