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To: Olog-hai

I am wondering if Ebola is similar to chickenpox in that the virus never really goes away 100%. If it lingers and the person is still at risk for a reoccurring infection, then Ebola is a lot more dangerous than initially thought. It may require mass vaccinations to provide any long term society resistance.


7 posted on 10/09/2015 6:17:38 AM PDT by taxcontrol ( The GOPe treats the conservative base like slaves by taking their votes and refuses to pay)
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To: taxcontrol
I am wondering if Ebola is similar to chickenpox in that the virus never really goes away 100%.

For biological reasons, Ebola cannot "hide" in the body the way chickenpox does. Chickenpox is a DNA virus, and it can either hide by becoming part of a chromosome or by disguising itself as a chromosome. Ebola cannot do that since it is an RNA virus.

Ebola virus survives in areas of the body that the immune system cannot reach--for instance, in the eye fluid, in breast milk and seminal fluid (where they are stored in glands). Since the immune system cannot reach into those fluid-filled pockets, it cannot kill the virus there. As for the virus, those biological fluids preserve it for prolonged periods since they act as buffers.

17 posted on 10/09/2015 11:43:04 AM PDT by exDemMom (Current visual of the hole the US continues to dig itself into: http://www.usdebtclock.org/)
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