Posted on 05/21/2006 3:13:29 PM PDT by traumer
KILLER BUG AIR SCARE
A WOMAN who arrived in London on a flight from Africa yesterday is reported to have died from the deadly and contagious ebola virus.
Panic has spread among cabin crew and hospital staff after the death of the 38-year-old Briton.
The unnamed woman is understood to work at an embassy in the African kingdom of Lesotho.
Before boarding a Virgin Atlantic flight from Johannesburg to Heathrow she visited a doctor complaining of flu-like symptoms.
She was allowed to fly, but during Flight VS602 to the UK she suffered a violent fit which left her unconscious.
Cabin crew and passengers rushed to her aid but towards the end of the flight she began to vomiting.
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When the Airbus A340-600, carrying 267 passengers and crew, touchdown at Heathrow she was rushed to nearby Hillingdon Hospital, West London.
Her symptoms matched those of the viral haemorraghing fever, ebola. The results of a post mortem are awaited.
Virgin Atlantic cabin crew who came into contact with the woman have been told to monitor their health. One said: "We are now terrified what we may have caught."
Deadly ebola is often characterised by the sudden onset of fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat.
Very contagious and not well understood.
In the case of ebola, the kill rate is sometimes in the 90% range which helps to prevent it's spread because it kills entire villages in Africa before it spreads much.
The progression is very rapid, like less than 48 hours from first symptoms to mopping up 15 liters of blood and other juices. Seems quite plausible to me.
Scary ping.
Belleding out every orifice? Sounds series.
But has the FBI ruled out terrorism yet? BTW this is the second thread this week that sounds like a Tom Clancy novel.
Really bad reporting. There is no clue about whether, medically, anything beyond "monitoring one's own health" is possible, or effective ...
"Virgin Atlantic cabin crew who came into contact with the woman have been told to monitor their health."
Excellent, let them march around in the general population for a while until they develop the proper symptoms.
God have mercy.... Not one of those passengers should be walking in public.
It's fast, but I don't think it's quite THAT fast....
"The incubation period for Ebola HF ranges from 2 to 21 days. The onset of illness is abrupt and is characterized by fever, headache, joint and muscle aches, sore throat, and weakness, followed by diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pain. A rash, red eyes, hiccups and internal and external bleeding may be seen in some patients.
Researchers do not understand why some people are able to recover from Ebola HF and others are not. However, it is known that patients who die usually have not developed a significant immune response to the virus at the time of death."
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/spb/mnpages/dispages/ebola/qa.htm
So she's vomiting on the plane (let's hope she hit the air sick bag), and has a fit that left her unconcious. She was probably burning with fever (read sweating) . . . .plenty of fluid to go around in an enclosed environment.
yes that is a problem.
I don't know about the sweating being catagious or not, but it would be a good guess to NOT mess with it.
That plane should NEVER fly again.
I guess the crew and passengers are on their own.
God help us when something starts that is highly contagious and we are too PC to quarantine first and then ask questions and test to see what is going on.
Ebola is not air borne(so far) but it is deadly contagious if you come in contact with the blood or vomit of the victim.
We need to isolate the British and burn down their villages along with the french and belgiums.
it is known that patients who die usually have not developed a significant immune response to the virus at the time of death."
Now THAT is understatement.
Did you see this thread about the Chinese computers?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1635442/posts
Nope, just spray the inside of it with bleach and the problem will be solved, outside of the body ebola is easy to kill.
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