You have to keep in mind the biology of the virus itself.
Going to a gravesite and trying to recover viable virus might not work. One paper said that bodies of dead animals found in the African forest were not contagious after 3 or 4 days. I have a microbiologist friend who studied the kinetics of viral inactivation in dead bodies; she does not think that any virus would remain viable after about 2 hours, due to pH changes and so forth in the decomposing body.
Then there is the question of whether terrorists would be able to transport a virus even if they managed to collect a viable sample. Typically, researchers who want to transport a viable virus for research purposes take measures to ensure the virus survives shipment. I will not discuss those measures here.
A terrorist’s ability to smuggle in virus-contaminated material through customs is questionable. Their ability to smuggle in such material and maintain virus viability is even more questionable.
As I have told Smokin’ Joe in the past, I do not care to discuss possible terrorism scenarios. But I will discuss virus biology, and say that possible terrorist use is NOT the aspect of Ebola that keeps me up at night.
Dry ice typically. But saline solution works too and terrorists can easily do that. And yes, I will discuss anything here that I need to to point out your biases.
“I do not care to discuss possible terrorism scenarios.”
God bless you for bringing your expertise — very helpeful, but terrorism is something I understand, and that’s what this thread is about.
I hope that by now there’s no need for me to even explain how it’s possible, easy, requires no imagination, etc.
Fair enough, incompetence of our own government is a more immediate threat. It’s demonstrated in cases such as Duncan that some fool or desperate individual could either bring it in desperate for treatment or unknowingly.
I wouldn't stake my life on that. Ebola Tai Forrest (Cote d'Ivorie) was discovered when researchers became infected during a necropsy on a dead chimp discovered there. While I have not been able to find information on how fresh the corpse was--if such information exists, that any virus present had been present more than two hours after death is entirely possible.