[KoRn]

I don’t mean to rain on the panic party here, but in the 3rd world countries where Ebola has spread, most everyone is STILL alive. Sure, it has killed a few thousand, but I’m sure they lose just as many people to the Flu every year.

Not trying to totally minimize this, as it COULD get very bad, especially if it mutates. Just keep things in perspective before you ‘bug-in’, seal off your home, and hunker down inside it for months.

[Pollster1]

I don’t mean to rain on the panic party here, but in the 3rd world countries where Ebola has spread, most everyone is STILL alive. Sure, it has killed a few thousand, but I’m sure they lose just as many people to the Flu every year.

As a mathematician, I would suggest looking at the villages in which Ebola has spread rather than the countries. The villages have been, until now, the circle of people whom infected individuals interact with. It doesn't spread to every individual in the community, but it's not just a drop in the bucket either, and that's almost universally with more CDC and WHO experts in the village than there are residents. Once Ebola topped 1,000 cases in Africa, it was clear that this would be huge, that the "community" would be quite a few countries. My model has not changed significantly since then.

[PA Engineer]

I don’t mean to rain on the panic party here, but in the 3rd world countries where Ebola has spread, most everyone is STILL alive.

The calculation of death ratio is based on current infections. In an expanding pandemic, the number of deaths will always be inaccurate. The number of infected are rising dramatically, but many are still sick and alive. When the rate of infection or RO is zero, then the true ratio will come out.

According to Doctors Without Boarders (with their treatment) the mortality is 70%. That will change as their role goes from treatment to isolation of the infected to reduce the rate of transmission.