Posted on 10/03/2014 4:34:28 AM PDT by markomalley
Today, the Ebola virus spreads only through direct contact with bodily fluids, such as blood and vomit. But some of the nation's top infectious disease experts worry that this deadly virus could mutate and be transmitted just by a cough or a sneeze.
"It's the single greatest concern I've ever had in my 40-year public health career," said Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. "I can't imagine anything in my career -- and this includes HIV -- that would be more devastating to the world than a respiratory transmissible Ebola virus."
Osterholm and other experts couldn't think of another virus that has made the transition from non-airborne to airborne in humans. They say the chances are relatively small that Ebola will make that jump. But as the virus spreads, they warned, the likelihood increases.
Every time a new person gets Ebola, the virus gets another chance to mutate and develop new capabilities. Osterholm calls it "genetic roulette."
As of October 1, there have been more than 7,100 cases of Ebola, with 3,330 deaths, according to the World Health Organization, which has said the virus is spreading at a much faster rate than it was earlier in the outbreak.
Ebola is an RNA virus, which means every time it copies itself, it makes one or two mutations. Many of those mutations mean nothing, but some of them might be able to change the way the virus behaves inside the human body.
(Excerpt) Read more at edition.cnn.com ...
Drops of bodily fluid can be airborne. The news media is playing us for fools.
How do we know that he didn't IMPREGNATE that woman?? We know NOTHING...NOTHING about him, his background, or his "Relatives" here. Have THEY overstayed their visas??
Related story:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3210700/posts
The scientist in that story is getting raked over the coals for saying the same thing.
No Mention that England and France have stopped accepting people from central Africa
WHY EBOLA IS VERY UNLIKELY TO GO AIRBOURNE
http://www.vox.com/2014/9/19/6543157/ebola-is-unlikely-to-go-airborne
I think it is very important for those of us who pride ourselves in being CONSERVATIVE to read carefully about this disease and not be swayed by hysteria that is caused by ignorance and disinformation or yellow journalism (old fashioned term for media hype).
This blog explains very clearly why Ebola is not a disease that is spread through the air - and why is won’t mutate into something like influenza which is spread by sneezing, coughing, etc.
The dead would include some of the reporters taking pictures of the young dying boy on the street along with the crowd that gathereed around him. But with a little caution and distance they have all managed not to get infected.
It is possible for the virus to become airborne, but it is much more likely that random mutations will make it less potent. It can hardly get more potent than it is now. Some small droplet airborne transmission must be possible already, but into the eyes or nose. I just don't see how that is going to change much without aerosolization and that is really a low probability compared to other outcomes.
And yet they used then words “very unlikely” and not “impossible”.
All these brainiacs are not doctors but thier spewing thier idiocy and academic arrrogance to the masses as fact
If the Ebola virus can only be transmitted through bodily fluids (blood and vomit); I have to ask, how did the NBC cameraman contract the disease? The guy is reporting on a dangerous disease and is careless enough to come into contact with someone’s bodily fluids? Did all of the recent patients we hear about contract the disease through blood and vomit?
A photographer working for NBC in Monrovia, Liberia now has Ebola. He surely did not touch sick or dead victims. How did he get the disease?
In science you can never use the word never. However, medical history has not recorded an incident where a virus changes *its mode of transmission.* That is the key point to remember. Also read carefully what would have to happen in order for Ebola to do so.
How about a covered sneeze into one's hand right before they pick up the gasoline hose or hands over a $20 bill to some cashier?
There was some condescending twit from Emory hospital on the radio yesterday saying that you couldn’t get ebola unless you came into contact with vomit, feces, blood etc. from an infected person. The news weasel interviewing him failed to challenge his lie as if sick people don’t ever touch things and leave traces of their fluids behind. And as if diseases aren’t transmitted by things like elevator buttons and door knobs.
From Pigs to Monkeys, Ebola Goes Airborne
http://healthmap.org/site/diseasedaily/article/pigs-monkeys-ebola-goes-airborne-112112
Airborne Transmission of Ebola?
http://pjmedia.com/lifestyle/2014/08/16/airborne-transmission-of-ebola/
Could Ebola now be airborne? New research shows lethal virus can be spread from pigs to monkeys without contact
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2233956/Could-Ebola-airborne-New-research-shows-lethal-virus-spread-pigs-monkeys-contact.html#ixzz3F5Fikapn
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I am not nearly as confident as you are.
So does anyone know what is done with the waste? Meaning, flushing waste down the toilet into Dallas’ sewer...can we trust the CDC to say don’t worry? How long does such viral stuff live in a sewer? Rats in sewer? Thoughts?
A lot of things “could happen”.
It’s best to wear your seatbelt even though you are likely to die of something unrelated to your car.
Since I don’t have TV, the only place I hear about ebola is on FR. The raw information makes it a non-issue in the general scheme of things - until something changes.
If 100,000 human beings die of ebola, that would be .0015% of the population and significantly less than die in auto accidents in a year.
IOW, it’s just another risk life throws at us. Sure, we want to be careful, but so far the news is all about what “could” happen. What HAS happened is, statistically, nothing.
What is being discussed in these articles is research in a tightly controlled LAB ENVIRONMENT. These are not the conditions that exist in the real world.
Also note this virus has been around for decades and still has the same mode of transmission.
Plus we have Obama at the helm. Very intelligent, experienced community agitator will see us through.
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