Well 'spit' will transmit the virus. That is acknowledged by the Berkeley Psychology PhD candidate that published a myth and Rush-buster article in Slate Monday afternoon. She also presents a long list of vectors that "do not transmit", yet examples in Africa appear to show transmission on inanimate objects, such as the doctor's assistant mentioned above who was adjusting the doctor's protective gear.
yeah, spit, poop, puke, blood...whatever...
But it’s not airborne and it’s not aerosol spread like the flu can be. Thus it tends to stay in pockets.
There are other reasons as well for the pockets. When a person reaches the end stage where they are spreading the virus, they are past the point where they can travel. This too tends to reduce the volatility of the spread.
It’s a nasty bug, but the danger to the US is minimal. not zero, but minimal, because of numerous reasons most of which Africa does not have. To include medical response capability, speed of diagnoses, quarantine protocols, general hygiene and a lack of social quirks which lead to the spreading of diseases of all kinds.
There is not a resistance to western medical care either. So the sick will not leave hospital care and return to their families for comfort.
There are dozens of reasons Ebola raises havoc in communities in Africa, why the death counts in spite of all this is still quite low, and why it would not likely gain any traction in the US.
” yet examples in Africa appear to show transmission on inanimate objects, such as the doctor’s assistant mentioned above who was adjusting the doctor’s protective gear.”
Ebola has several cousins in the normal spectrum of viruses like measles, and rabies. Viruses as a general rule cannot last long away from nutrients, but that depends on the conditions, like humidity and filth.
Again, Africa is like petri dish. far as I know, as soon as it dries up, it’s dead, but that can take a while in some conditions. Perhaps as long as 3 weeks. Ebola has a capsule so it’s resistant and can live a while in a medium like bat guano.
But you can’t kill all the fruit bats in Africa, so I think we are going to be seeing it pop up from time to time for a very long time to come. Unless it burns it’s self out. But that seems unlikely to me.
All that said, we really should not be all that concerned about it. I can assume at some point it will cross our border, likely on a aircraft. It has not happened yet that I am aware of, but it’s just a matter of time.
I think when that happens, it will not result in a brush fire, more likely just a match that failed to light.