[Pelham]

As long as there is no ‘reservoir animal’ in the U.S. then Ebola’s ability to flourish is limited to human to human contact.

If we have a sudden explosion in the number of cases we will need about a month of very limited travel and a ban on group meetings in order to let the disease burn itself out.

During the 1918 flu outbreak group meetings were prohibited in LA, whether it be schools or church services or movie theaters or whatever. The idea was a citywide quarantine to prevent the disease from spreading.

[DJlaysitup]

As long as there is no ‘reservoir animal’ in the U.S. then Ebola’s ability to flourish is limited to human to human contact. If we have a sudden explosion in the number of cases we will need about a month of very limited travel and a ban on group meetings in order to let the disease burn itself out.

During the 1918 flu outbreak group meetings were prohibited in LA, whether it be schools or church services or movie theaters or whatever. The idea was a citywide quarantine to prevent the disease from spreading.

I think you are exactly right...great post.

[DJlaysitup]

One other thing though...in 1918 the population was different (both in numbers and in controllability)...add to that the extended “incubation period”...and we might be looking at more like 3 months of limited contact to be sure this thing is shut down. Even then I would expect pockets of risk (like “hot spots” when a forest fire is under control).

[Pollster1]

As long as there is no ‘reservoir animal’ in the U.S. then Ebola’s ability to flourish is limited to human to human contact.

I don't think we can know, yet, whether there is a reservoir animal here.

What we do know is that rats and roaches in slums crawl from apartment to apartment. If one infected individual in the projects vomits on his floor without cleaning it thoroughly, vermin will spread it to the neighbors, and someone will touch a contaminated surface and then his face or a cut. Repeat. What we also know is that some gay men are promiscuous. Once it hits the gay community, we are going to see bad results. It's contagious through sex early in the fever and after recovery for seven weeks after symptoms disappear.

Even without a reservoir animal in which Ebola can hide without human hosts, it will be hard to eradicate here if it gets out of control in the first place.

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

“If we have a sudden explosion in the number of cases we will need about a month of very limited travel and a ban on group meetings in order to let the disease burn itself out.”

But that is assuming that there’s no animal carrier as you pointed out in yourself:

“As long as there is no ‘reservoir animal’ in the U.S.”

Many bats eat flies. And vampire bats suck the blood of animals such as cattle. One fly on vomit, and there’s at least one slight risk of a long term problem.