American Missionaries Infected with Ebola to be Brought Home

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http://news.yahoo.com/american-missionaries-infected-with-ebola-to-be-brought-to-home-010614427.html

What does GAF think about this decision? Personally, I think this is a poor decision. I completely understand that they are Americans and that we have an obligation to help them, however since there is no cure and it is highly contagious I really do not believe it is worth the risk. I'm curious to get some other opinions.

http://www.nationaljournal.com/defense/airports-have-no-way-to-screen-for-ebola-20140801

Are flights currently arriving from Africa to the states? This is getting kinda reckless. We're smarter than this. Aren't we?

This is why the big decisions are left up to experts.

"Let's quarantine the whole of Africa because all my knowledge of diseases comes from Dustin Hoffman and Matt Damon"

Paranoia, misinformation and mob mentality all in the space of a few posts.
 
I can't believe what I'm hearing here. What has medical science been doing all this time?

If our immune system kills them, then just come up with a drug that does what our immune system does. That's just simple logic. Or how about blasting them with radiation or something? That's another idea right there.

Honestly, I'm feeling really let down by medicine right now.

I don't know, saving millions upon millions of lives.
 
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-bolah!

dP6x5g2.jpg
 
Pretty fucked up that idiots are assuming this is going to start an Ebola outbreak and would rather people die because of misinformation.
 
Pretty fucked up that idiots are assuming this is going to start an Ebola outbreak and would rather people die because of misinformation.

I would rather not take the risk of exposing the US to ebola, especially when physicians who are willing to take the risk could bring the equipment they need with them to Africa.
 
I think the evidence suggests that this new strain is more virulent than the past. We're seeing some really experienced doctors dying off in alarming numbers, even after taking precautions. These aren't random villagers contracting the disease through ignorance. I'm sure the CDC wants to gather as much information as possible.
 
I think the evidence suggests that this new strain is more virulent than the past. We're seeing some really experienced doctors dying off in alarming numbers, even after taking precautions. These aren't random villagers contracting the disease through ignorance. I'm sure the CDC wants to gather as much information as possible.
I dont think you should be alarmed that much by doctos contracting it.

Theyre in close contact for hours on end in really stressful conditions. There human and overworked. They forget things. And since you only need a small amount it can be deadly.
 
I think the evidence suggests that this new strain is more virulent than the past. We're seeing some really experienced doctors dying off in alarming numbers, even after taking precautions. These aren't random villagers contracting the disease through ignorance. I'm sure the CDC wants to gather as much information as possible.

I'm sorry, what evidence?

List of major (>100 cases) Ebola Zaire outbreaks.
Year - Reported cases (% fatality).

2002/03 - 143 (90%)
1976 - 318 (88%)
1995 - 250 (79%)
2007 - 264 (71%)
2014 -1323 (55%)
 
Pretty fucked up that idiots are assuming this is going to start an Ebola outbreak and would rather people die because of misinformation.

Yes, most people who are bitching at this news are uninformed retards who think they know what they talking about. It took me like 5 minutes of online research to understand that that bringing infected people to the US poses no risk unless they decide to throw the infected's person fluids from the airplane into major cities, of course that's not gonna happen.
 
Yes, most people who are bitching at this news are uninformed retards who think they know what they talking about. It took me like 5 minutes of online research to understand that that bringing infected people to the US poses no risk unless they decide to throw the infected's person fluids from the airplane into major cities, of course that's not gonna happen.

I haven't been paying attention too closely to this. Doing a basic search though, it seems like there is no risk to it being spread. But what about that one article being posted about those people in Hazmat suits that were fully protected, and still got the disease? Was that debunked?

And if not, then how did they get the disease? Sorry if this has been answered already. It's really the only thing I've seen people post that contradicts what the overwhelming evidence suggests. I'm assuming it's not true.
 
They don't carry the suits all the time, and even when they carry them, they might get confronted by people that are violent because they're scared of these guys.
 
I haven't been paying attention too closely to this. Doing a basic search though, it seems like there is no risk to it being spread. But what about that one article being posted about those people in Hazmat suits that were fully protected, and still got the disease? Was that debunked?

And if not, then how did they get the disease? Sorry if this has been answered already. It's really the only thing I've seen people post that contradicts what the overwhelming evidence suggests. I'm assuming it's not true.

What article? i haven't found it after quick google search. It's a probably bullshit scaremongering article anyway or a forum rumor, probably the latter.
 
What article? i haven't found it after quick google search. It's a probably bullshit scaremongering article anyway or a forum rumor, probably the latter.

Was referring to the first link posted by OP:

Here are a couple of links that were posted in another Ebola thread that are worth reading:

Doctors in full hazmat suits seemingly catching ebola: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/08/11/outbreak

An infected man was allowed on two flights:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/ebola-doctors-told-prepare-global-3933249
 
Was referring to the first link posted by OP:

"The floor was splashed with blood, vomitus, feces, and urine. You need a whole team to decontaminate the bed and lift the patient up off the floor and put him safely back in bed."
--> That is the type of environment where the smallest tear in the suit can be lethal.
 
"The floor was splashed with blood, vomitus, feces, and urine. You need a whole team to decontaminate the bed and lift the patient up off the floor and put him safely back in bed."
--> That is the type of environment where the smallest tear in the suit can be lethal.

Makes sense, that was a quick explanation thanks.
 
Just when I thought it couldn't possibly get even more stupid, now people believe that the virus actually somehow goes right through full hazmat suits.
Seriously.
 
Oh that article, i see now. The hazmat suits probably got ripped somehow and they got infected, who knows how old those suits were.
 
Damn, I would scared as hell treating Ebola patients, and the thought that your Hazmat suit could be damaged is also a nightmare. I hope these people somehow make it through, despite the fatality rates. :/

And no, there is not going to be a mass infection, paranoia and hysteria is a dangerous thing.
 
I dont think you should be alarmed that much by doctos contracting it.

Theyre in close contact for hours on end in really stressful conditions. There human and overworked. They forget things. And since you only need a small amount it can be deadly.
Some of the doctors who fell ill have been treating patients with Ebola and similar diseases for 20+ years with no incident. It could just be that their resources are overwhelmed by all the new cases but that is a bad sign in and of itself. This is the first time that Ebola will be treated in the states, so this is far from business as usual. There are more questions than answers here.
 
This is why the big decisions are left up to experts.

"Let's quarantine the whole of Africa because all my knowledge of diseases comes from Dustin Hoffman and Matt Damon"

Paranoia, misinformation and mob mentality all in the space of a few posts.

I know but this thread.
 
Its fatality rate is between 50-90%.

Current outbreak is 1323 cases, and 729 deaths, or 55% fatality rate.

Is this fatality rate only so high because the countries it tends to occur in have poor hygiene standards/lacking medical infrastructure? Has an outbreak ever occurred in a first-world country to study its fatality rate?
 
Is this fatality rate only so high because the countries it tends to occur in have poor hygiene standards/lacking medical infrastructure? Has an outbreak ever occurred in a first-world country to study its fatality rate?

Customs where people touch the dead body at the funeral.

Hospitals actively being attacked, care workers being attacked, because fearmongers are telling people that the docs are using the bodies for cannibalism and other made up shit.
 
Some of the doctors who fell ill have been treating patients with Ebola and similar diseases for 20+ years with no incident. It could just be that their resources are overwhelmed by all the new cases but that is a bad sign in and of itself. This is the first time that Ebola will be treated in the states, so this is far from business as usual. There are more questions than answers here.

This is also the first time the outbreak has grown to this size, and they were chronically understaffed due to the Government not paying the nurses correctly leading to a walkout. The virus has not mutated, we'd have heard about it if it had, the first thing they do in an outbreak like this is isolate the virus and study it genetically. Ebola has a number of variants but the core virus has essentially remained unchanged since it's discovery in 1976.

The transmission vectors of Ebola are well understood (with the possible exception of theoretical short range airborne contraction via aerosol suspension which was mooted in one paper but not definitively proven). Under extreme workloads and pressure barrier protection can fail as the protocols become difficult to follow. The single most dangerous thing you can do with Ebola (with the exception of using needles to administer medicine or draw blood) is clean the patents and their surroundings.
 
Some of the doctors who fell ill have been treating patients with Ebola and similar diseases for 20+ years with no incident. It could just be that their resources are overwhelmed by all the new cases but that is a bad sign in and of itself. This is the first time that Ebola will be treated in the states, so this is far from business as usual. There are more questions than answers here.

I read an article in french that said the hospital where the guy went was one of the most secure quarantine place he can go. Maybe there we will find an answer to the threat.

Is this fatality rate only so high because the countries it tends to occur in have poor hygiene standards/lacking medical infrastructure?

Yes it is. Good hygiene and hand sanitizer is the only good solution against ebola.
 
Is this fatality rate only so high because the countries it tends to occur in have poor hygiene standards/lacking medical infrastructure? Has an outbreak ever occurred in a first-world country to study its fatality rate?


Yes, it is one of the reasons. The illness has also sticked to Middle Africa. There have been in all two people that got it outside of Africa. Two Russian guys managed to catch it in a labatory on two seperate incidents. They both died.
 
Is this fatality rate only so high because the countries it tends to occur in have poor hygiene standards/lacking medical infrastructure? Has an outbreak ever occurred in a first-world country to study its fatality rate?

No, it's never occurred in a first world country.

But to illustrate the potential differences adequate healthcare can make, the Marburg virus, which is closely related to Ebola, had an outbreak in Germany in 1967 fatality was 33% (7 out of 31 patents died), while when it has broken out in Africa in Congo in 1998 the fatality rate was 83% (128 out of 154) and similarly in Angola in 2004 the fatality rate was 90% (227/252) while in Uganda (where medical standards are a bit better than Angola or the Congo) in 2012 fatality was 50% (9/18)

And the 1967 outbreak was when the Marburg virus was first discovered and there was no case history to guide the medical response.
 
I read an article in french that said the hospital where the guy went was one of the most secure quarantine place he can go. Maybe there we will find an answer to the threat.



Yes it is. Good hygiene and hand sanitizer is the only good solution against ebola.

Hand sanitizer doesn't kill Ebola.
 
Hand sanitizer doesn't kill Ebola.

You can't "kill" a virus anyway, unless it's in a cell it isn't alive so technically you're correct. However, both the Mayo Clinic and the CDC recommend hand sanitizers as a preventative measure for Ebola so I highly doubt that they're completely ineffective.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/ebola-virus/basics/prevention/con-20031241

http://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/air/managing-sick-travelers/ebola-guidance-airlines.html

Soap and water is actually superior in this instance because they effectively wash away any virons that you might have gotten on your skin (which, again, can't infect you unless they come in contact with a wound or a mucous membrane such as your eyes or mouth), but if you can't get to soap and water then the sanitizers are a decent alternative.

A final point on hand washing: it's important to do it right. Here's the CDC again:

http://www.cdc.gov/features/handwashing/

TL;DR: wet hands under running water, lather with soap, scrub for 20 seconds, rinse well and dry using a clean towel or air. It's basically the same as washing your hair, it's just that most people don't actually wash their hands this way unless they think about it.
 
You can't "kill" a virus anyway, unless it's in a cell it isn't alive so technically you're correct. However, both the Mayo Clinic and the CDC recommend hand sanitizers as a preventative measure for Ebola so I highly doubt that they're completely ineffective.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/ebola-virus/basics/prevention/con-20031241

http://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/air/managing-sick-travelers/ebola-guidance-airlines.html

Soap and water is actually superior in this instance because they effectively wash away any virons that you might have gotten on your skin (which, again, can't infect you unless they come in contact with a wound or a mucous membrane such as your eyes or mouth), but if you can't get to soap and water then the sanitizers are a decent alternative.

A final point on hand washing: it's important to do it right. Here's the CDC again:

http://www.cdc.gov/features/handwashing/

TL;DR: wet hands under running water, lather with soap, scrub for 20 seconds, rinse well and dry using a clean towel or air. It's basically the same as washing your hair, it's just that most people don't actually wash their hands this way unless they think about it.

The problem is, I trust myself for my hygiene, but I really don't trust anyone hygiene
 
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