Posted on 10/17/2014 3:53:10 PM PDT by Red in Blue PA
(Reuters) - A majority of Americans believe the Ebola virus can be spread by sneezing or coughing and more than a third fear that they or someone in their immediate family may contract the deadly disease in the next year, according to a Harvard University poll.
Some 85 percent of people who responded to the Harvard School of Public Health/SSRS poll said they thought the disease spread through sneezing or coughing, despite the fact that the World Health Organization regards that type of transmission as unlikely.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Dr. Nancy Snyderman said it wasn’t airborne so it’s safe to fly.
Most have to stand up to grasp what she said.
The Gubm'nt experts are on top of the situation.
Just remember:
The Titanic was built by experts
The Obamacare website was built by experts.
A virus that is not excreted that way, but is present in saliva or blood, as Ebola is supposed to be, may still be transmitted by spitting, coughing, sneezing, vomiting, etc. It's simply not as contagious because the load of infective material is less that way. It's still dangerous, and that route may explain why supposedly protected medical personnel actually aren't.
There is, as well, the possibility that with a mutation the Ebola virus could be excreted through the lung mucosa. It doesn't appear that it has yet but it could. That would be a whole new ballgame.
That's what my highly dated education in the topic tells me. I'll happily be corrected by anyone with better information and training, in fact, I'd appreciate it.
That’s because Ebola CAN spread through the air, at least as far as the distance an Ebola-infected person can sneeze or cough. Even the CDC admits that:
“Can Ebola spread by coughing? By sneezing?
Unlike respiratory illnesses like measles or chickenpox, which can be transmitted by virus particles that remain suspended in the air after an infected person coughs or sneezes, Ebola is transmitted by direct contact with body fluids of a person who has symptoms of Ebola disease. Although coughing and sneezing are not common symptoms of Ebola, if a symptomatic patient with Ebola coughs or sneezes on someone, and saliva or mucus come into contact with that person’s eyes, nose or mouth, these fluids may transmit the disease.”
http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/transmission/qas.html
There is no evidence that it is airborne, and in fact, all of Africa would now be dead if it were. It’s not even clear that it’s droplet borne (although the latter is possible, at least in theory).
People who have gotten it have been in direct or second-person contact with the stomach or bowel fluids of an infected person. Keep those infected persons out of our country, and make sure that anyone who does have to handle them is heavily, heavily protected.
And drop all the stupid FDA regulations that prevent us from developing either a vaccine or a treatment. The only drug that has worked, ZMapp, is actually from a foreign company (Canadian, I believe) and the hospital had to get a special waiver from the FDA to import a few doses of it to the US because it hadn’t been tested for eight years.
Uh...yeah. They've been on whatever news outlet would have them screaming racism...
If there is anything positive going on here is that more people are learning
to not trust government and the fact that our borders are wide open and its implication may be sinking in a bit into the mush brained LIV.
The bad is.....
All this is destracting from the other plague that has killed many more children than Ebola in this country.
Seems almost on purpose.
I am in the minority.
I think it is vampires.
I also sell garlic.
Doesn't negate the possibility of catching a juicy sneeze just right. Can't balme folks for not wanting to trust their lifes to statements like , "very low probablility" from an organization that makes stupid statements like, "You can't catch it riding next to someone on a bus, but if you have it you should not ride the bus so you don't catch it".I wouldn't put myself or my family anywhere near someone who I thought might have Ebola - feel free to treat yourself and yours as if it is a 100% fact that it can't travel through the air.
Just trying to look at it logically. However, my family has already decided to self-quarantine the instance it shows it ugly head in the area...and since I live in Texas....that may not be too long.
I understand - I also try to be logical, but just the same, even though the odds of me ever needing a firearm to defend me and mine are very slim, I still carry one.
If you tell people it isn't airborne, they will figure you for a liar, because they can breathe it in. Most folks don't care about epidemiological definitions
I realize that may not be scientifically correct, but remember we are dealing with people who would sign petitions to ban dihydrogen monoxide.
Perhaps it would be best for the epidemiological community to do what the Army did to sort out a problem with the definition of "airborne".
Define it as "airmobile".
No, but it can be a start...
A link to this thread has been posted on the Ebola Surveillance Thread
The ebola virus - a droplet from from a sneeze - can live on a hard surface for up to three days. That ‘surface’ might be an elevator button, ATM machine or gas pump handle...
A majority of people learned everything they know about Ebola from The Hot Zone.
If Ebola could transmit by aerosols from patients, Duncan’s entire family would have been infected by know, as well as many of the people who were in the ER the first time he showed up and was sent home.
Also, if Ebola were airborne, it would have been all over Africa by now, and probably most of the rest of the world, too. Even Australia might not be spared (due to plane travel). This outbreak has been going on for 10 months now, which is more than enough time for an aerosol transmitted disease to spread worldwide. Influenza goes pretty quickly...
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