Posted on 10/18/2014 7:27:54 AM PDT by RummyChick
The deadly Ebola virus could be mutating to become even more contagious, a leading U.S scientist has warned.
The disease has killed nearly 4,000 people, infecting in excess of 8,000 - the majority in the West African nations of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
Communities lie in ruins, thousands of children have been orphaned, millions face starvation but the virus continues its unprecedented pace, invading and destroying vast swathes of these countries.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
‘I have a field team in Monrovia. They are running [tests]. They are telling me that viral loads are coming up very quickly and really high, higher than they are used to seeing.
‘It may be that the virus burns hotter and quicker.’
Oh, Joy. Oh, Happiness.
We are obviously selecting for the most contagious bug. In fact, the smartest bugs will be the most likely to make it here, the airborne ones.
What is going on with Typhoid Amber Vinson? Is she bleeding yet?
Constant mutation is the rule, not an exception.
"The Spanish flu pandemic was truly global, spreading even to the Arctic and remote Pacific islands. The unusually severe disease killed between 2 and 20% of those infected, as opposed to the more usual flu epidemic mortality rate of 0.1%.[26][36] Another unusual feature of this pandemic was that it mostly killed young adults, with 99% of pandemic influenza deaths occurring in people under 65, and more than half in young adults 20 to 40 years old.[40]"
"As many as 25 million may have been killed in the first 25 weeks; in contrast, HIV/AIDS has killed 25 million in its first 25 years.[26]"
Don’t worry. Obama appointed a political hack to head the anti-ebola effort. Everything is under control.
Hey, who’s on Dancing With The Stars next week?
Two male strippers smarter than Typhoid Amber Vinson and CDC
‘Not rocket science’: Texas male stripper in Ebola self-quarantine shocked CDC didn’t order isolation after he was on plane with sick nurse Amber Vinson
http://www.nydailynews.com/male-strippers-quarantine-flying-ebola-stricken-nurse-article-1.1977644
Is it airborne?
I thought so. I am not a doctor or a medical professional, but have always heard that viruses mutate, and that’s part of how they spread.
Male strippers....
Wait a minute — what exactly was going on at that nurse’s convention?
Army Manual on a thread I posted indicates it’s airborne but it depends on your definition. Aerosol transmission is airborne to me.
Liberians will make it here while incubating. There is no reason to expect smarter or dumber viruses to be in those incubators. There is a bit of selection in cases of Liberians with a few bucks to travel versus bush meat eating, corpse washing cultists, but not a lot. What I expect is more of the same old deadly, but spreads with difficulty kind of Ebola showing up here.
It’s how they survive.
Of particular concern is the frequent presence of EBOV in saliva early during the course of disease, where it could be transmitted to others through intimate contact and from sharing food, especially given the custom, in many parts of Africa, of eating with the hands from a common plate.
http://jid.oxfordjournals.org/content/196/Supplement_2/S142.full
But in general, the science does not support airborne much less aerosol transmission:
"However, in modern hospitals with disposable needles and knowledge of basic hygiene and barrier nursing techniques, the virus rarely spreads on a large scale. Airborne transmission between monkeys was demonstrated during the outbreak of Reston Ebola virus in Virginia, but there is limited evidence of airborne transmission in any human epidemics "
https://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php/Infection_Mechanism_of_Genus_Ebolavirus
Tell that to the Army. They have it in their 2011 manual.
It was obviously an anatomy continuing-education seminar.
Interestingly right after that they say "Clinical laboratory personnel are at significant risk for exposure and should employ a biosafety cabinet ..." It could be that blood samples from Duncan were not handled properly and infected the victim aboard the cruise ship.
I'll have to give up on the argument about the term "aerosolized" but continue to stress that any virus including Ebola can be airborne in certain conditions.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.