Ebola Outbreak

[mammutly]

Ebola is essentially a disease of poverty. There may be sporadic cases arrive in this country, these will be a hazard to the health workers looking after them, but the threat to the country as a whole is not really there.

why is it a disease of poverty?

Because it's not an airborne disease and spread by contact/bodily fluids.

This means that if it were to come to the UK for example, it would be shut down in about a day as we have well funded infection control sections and procedures. Sierra Leone and much of West Africa doesn't have these.

What are "infection control sections" ? The best simulations I am aware of indicate that Ebola would be a nightmare if it reached any densely populated area.

 

[BlueBearBoots]

Confusing answers here. So ok it can be passed if someone sneezes on you or coughs on you, or touches you when they have coughed into their hand?

But you can't become infected unless you have bad health anyway?


So there is no chance of someone coming into this country, showing no symptoms, getting on the tube or a bus and sneezing and coughing on people?

Can someone put me right on the above please? Mammulty? Ta (hi btw)

 

[GornikDaze]

Confusing answers here. So ok it can be passed if someone sneezes on you or coughs on you, or touches you when they have coughed into their hand?

But you can't become infected unless you have bad health anyway?


So there is no chance of someone coming into this country, showing no symptoms, getting on the tube or a bus and sneezing and coughing on people?

Can someone put me right on the above please? Mammulty? Ta (hi btw)

Ebola is introduced into the human population through close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected animals. In Africa, infection has been documented through the handling of infected chimpanzees, gorillas, fruit bats, monkeys, forest antelope and porcupines found ill or dead or in the rainforest.

Ebola then spreads in the community through human-to-human transmission, with infection resulting from direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membranes) with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people, and indirect contact with environments contaminated with such fluids. Burial ceremonies in which mourners have direct contact with the body of the deceased person can also play a role in the transmission of Ebola. Men who have recovered from the disease can still transmit the virus through their semen for up to 7 weeks after recovery from illness.

Health-care workers have frequently been infected while treating patients with suspected or confirmed EVD. This has occurred through close contact with patients when infection control precautions are not strictly practiced.

Among workers in contact with monkeys or pigs infected with Reston ebolavirus, several infections have been documented in people who were clinically asymptomatic. Thus, RESTV appears less capable of causing disease in humans than other Ebola species.

However, the only available evidence available comes from healthy adult males. It would be premature to extrapolate the health effects of the virus to all population groups, such as immuno-compromised persons, persons with underlying medical conditions, pregnant women and children. More studies of RESTV are needed before definitive conclusions can be drawn about the pathogenicity and virulence of this virus in humans.

 

[cucumberman]

Got leptospirosis in the jungles of Borneo in (I think) 94. Almost died due to continuous testing for Malaria and Dengue, and failing to get adequate medication. They finally diagnosed it correctly, and I was OK within a week. That really scared me and I thought I would never go to the tropics again.

2 days ago I was at Reddington hospital in Ikoyi for my malaria prophylaxis replenishment. Only one entrance is open, staff are in space suits, and they took my temperature (36.7 c) - as they did to everyone else entering. They said they had zero cases of ebola so far.

95% of those that contract it eat bush meat (esp. fruit bats, believed to be reservoirs for ebola), considered gourmet food in neighboring Ghana. Grasscutters, antelopes....I have seen it sold on the way to Ibadan about a month ago, but even the locals are refraining from it nowadays.

So, calm down, you have bigger chance of dying from falling down the stairs then from ebola, even here in West Africa, let alone in Europe.

Sounds reassuring. Hope that it is not as contagious as how you described it to be but in any case I hope you stay safe.

The case of the American who caught it while attending his sister's funeral and was found he brought it to Nigeria, it seems the Ebola virus has different strains? Hope it doesnt mutate to something worse too.

Im not a biotechnologist (?) but like I said watching the movie Contagion recently doesnt help much.

 

[BlueBearBoots]

Thanks gornikdaze

 

[GornikDaze]

Thanks gornikdaze

No probs - I'm really not that boring!!! The World Health Org website has never seen the light of day on my iPad before - honest! :)

 

[BlueBearBoots]

Thanks gornikdaze

No probs - I'm really not that boring!!! The World Health Org website has never seen the light of day on my iPad before - honest! :)

Haha oh lol

 

[GornikDaze]

Thanks gornikdaze

No probs - I'm really not that boring!!! The World Health Org website has never seen the light of day on my iPad before - honest! :)

Haha oh lol

I'm glad I did though it would appear that we have less to worry about than the news headlines would have us believe :)

 

[BlueBearBoots]

No probs - I'm really not that boring!!! The World Health Org website has never seen the light of day on my iPad before - honest! :)

Haha oh lol

I'm glad I did though it would appear that we have less to worry about than the news headlines would have us believe :)

Yeah as I thought all media hype on a slow news day. My daughter was panicking about it because we told her bird flu was all hype and nothing to worry about then she ended up in hospital in isolation being nursed for it when she was pregnant. Scary times

 

[GornikDaze]

Haha oh lol

I'm glad I did though it would appear that we have less to worry about than the news headlines would have us believe :)

Yeah as I thought all media hype on a slow news day. My daughter was panicking about it because we told her bird flu was all hype and nothing to worry about then she ended up in hospital in isolation being nursed for it when she was pregnant. Scary times

Scary times indeed - hopefully all turned out okay in the end