Opinions on Current Ebola Outbreak

Marco Polo said:

Allowing ebola on American soil is the dumbest thing I have ever seen.

The MINUTE they found out an airliner was carrying an infected passenger, that airliner should have been ordered OUT of United States airspace and/or shot down if it refused to comply. It should never have been allowed to land here in the first place.

The affected areas in Africa should be nuked and quarantined for an extended period of time.

I'm sick and tired of seeing the US bailing out these garbage nations, wasting our money and now risking civilian lives by bringing their diseases here. They need to keep that shit at home and not spread it around. We are having enough disease issues what with anti-vax imbecile parents and their plague-ridden howler monkeys we do not need EBOLA on top of it.

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Couple things:
1. The first ebola victim was not diagnosed until after he was in the US.
2. "allowed" ebola in the US? Its not like a kid you can ground. Granted, there should be more quaratines and no fly policies in order to contain this thing, but you dont just hang up signs that say no ebola, or something.
3. Nuking innocent people because of a relative few who were unlucky enough to get a virus is insane. This isn't making zombies.
4. I'm sorry you have so little compassion for the people of Africa, however keep in mind that not only do our actions in West Africa help human beings who have contracted ebola and help prevent new cases, but through the latter we work to eradicate it. If ebola were to sweep through the less educated populace of Africa and infect everyone inhabiting it, there would be a lot of people managing to flee. Especially people who havent shown symptoms yet. Then they get to developed countried and infect tons of people.

No, helping those countries and working to eradicate the current outbreak is our best possible course of action. We DO need to shut down travel in the region, but nuking people is extremely unethical and irresponsible.

Marco Polo said:

The MINUTE they found out an airliner was carrying an infected passenger, that airliner should have been ordered OUT of United States airspace and/or shot down if it refused to comply. It should never have been allowed to land here in the first place.

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Just because one person on a plane has an infectious disease means the hundreds of others of innocents on the plane should die? That's a bit extreme.

Also

CDC said:

The patient did not have symptoms when leaving West Africa, but developed symptoms approximately four days after arriving in the United States.

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[Source]
The patient never exhibited any symptoms on the plane.


Under proper procedure Ebola is not hard to contain. The problem is the procedure is not being followed. Check out this post.

The way it works limits its effectiveness. It will not thrive in the first world the way it does in the 3rd world.

This is relevant:

Marco Polo said:

Allowing ebola on American soil is the dumbest thing I have ever seen.

The MINUTE they found out an airliner was carrying an infected passenger, that airliner should have been ordered OUT of United States airspace and/or shot down if it refused to comply. It should never have been allowed to land here in the first place.

The affected areas in Africa should be nuked and quarantined for an extended period of time.

I'm sick and tired of seeing the US bailing out these garbage nations, wasting our money and now risking civilian lives by bringing their diseases here. They need to keep that shit at home and not spread it around. We are having enough disease issues what with anti-vax imbecile parents and their plague-ridden howler monkeys we do not need EBOLA on top of it.

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So you want to nuke Africa which has more than triple our entire U.S. population because you are pissed at 1 guy getting in here. They have every right to live as we do. They don't spread the disease the disease spreads itself. They have no money to quarantine it though.

That was a really mean and offensive statement. Try to put yourself in their shoes for a change

I agree with everyone else. That is a bit messed up to have a whole continent nuked just because one person has a disease from there....

Like every continent(except Antarctica), there are disease and most people don't intentionally go around trying to spread the disease. There are good people & bad people in this world, and a natural disease HAS NOTHING to do with people & how they live their lives.

-Alex

I'm in favor of using any means necessary to get rid of ebola here, and the same to keep it from coming back. Under no circumstances should ANY aid workers be sent there to die for somebody else's country.

And while I'm not a conspiracy theorist, I'm not convinced our government would be honest with us about how serious the problem is. This is the kind of situation where I'd expect them to tell whatever lies they need to in order to keep things in order. Maybe the disease "doesn't work right" to cause an epidemic, do you want to risk it? Clearly it's not so easy to stamp out or else it would have been done already, and if things don't improve then an escalation of measures will eventually be necessary.

If that makes me uncompassionate, too bad. Rather that than be dead of some third-world disease.

I liked this article about how people (media) are overreacting about American overreaction.

"[T]wice as many Americans believe in witches as are afraid of Ebola."

Tha Greenlander said:

I agree with everyone else. That is a bit messed up to have a whole continent nuked just because one person has a disease from there....

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And what about the infected nurses who boarded planes in the US?

Like every continent(except Antarctica), there are disease and most people don't intentionally go around trying to spread the disease. There are good people & bad people in this world, and a natural disease HAS NOTHING to do with people & how they live their lives.

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Most of the people are getting infected for the same reasons that people were infected from the Black Death in the Middle Ages: ignorance of how it spreads in conjunction with caring for loved ones who were dying. Imagine a family member coming down with this disease and having to basically abandon them alone in their last days of life. This in countries that are barely equipped to handle childbirths in hospital settings.

If you can keep away from those infected bodily fluids, Ebola is relatively easy to contain. You can even be in close proximity to an Ebola patient without any gear on, as was the case with the Clipboard Man. The hysteria and confusion surrounding that guy shows that ignorance concerning this disease is everywhere.

Bionic-Badger said:

I liked this article about how people (media) are overreacting about American overreaction.

"[T]wice as many Americans believe in witches as are afraid of Ebola."



And what about the infected nurses who boarded planes in the US?



Most of the people are getting infected for the same reasons that people were infected from the Black Death in the Middle Ages: ignorance of how it spreads in conjunction with caring for loved ones who were dying. Imagine a family member coming down with this disease and having to basically abandon them alone in their last days of life. This in countries that are barely equipped to handle childbirths in hospital settings.

If you can keep away from those infected bodily fluids, Ebola is relatively easy to contain. You can even be in close proximity to an Ebola patient without any gear on, as was the case with the Clipboard Man. The hysteria and confusion surrounding that guy shows that ignorance concerning this disease is everywhere.

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Check this out though:
CDC issues new hospital guidance for Ebola - CNN.com

They mentioned that Ebola after causing 8 deaths in Nigeria is now gone in that country due to an intensive protocol, that is good news!

-Alex

Marco Polo said:

I'm in favor of using any means necessary to get rid of ebola here, and the same to keep it from coming back. Under no circumstances should ANY aid workers be sent there to die for somebody else's country.

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IMO it's not enough just to heavily guard the borders of the countries we live in, better for people if everyone is proactive about this and prevent it from spreading at the source.

If America sends doctors to help contain ebola in poorer nations, then it reduces the likelihood of it spreading back to America.

Food for thought.

We will just have to see how it plays out from this point on. Best thing to do is educate people on this disease, and just get the general public aware & ways to prevent spreading it!

-Alex

Marco Polo said:

The affected areas in Africa should be nuked and quarantined for an extended period of time.

I'm sick and tired of seeing the US bailing out these garbage nations

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Really? Nuke a huge area thats probably home to millions over a few thousand people infected? Kill a bunch of innocent people, including children and babies?

That would be like me burning my house down over getting ants.

Regardless, its not any other nations right. Governments can certainly restrict travel to/from these places, but thinking they have any right to destroy them is beyond stupid.

And "garbage nations"? Yes these countries may be less developed and have a lot of problems, but that in no way invalidates them as people or their right to live.

And you would do well to remember that "garbage nation" is in the eye of the beholder. I'm certain there are plenty of nations out there who think the US is a big shit pile.

Better hope people in other nations don't take your stance if the US ever needs help.

There is really no way to effectively screen borders for Ebola. Even if you take the precaution of preventing anyone from those countries from entering the US, based on their passport, you would have a greater difficulty also preventing anyone from outside of those countries who traveled there also entering.

On top of that preventing anyone who has contact with a person from one of the affected countries would be simply impossible.

Screening is blatantly ineffective, and sadly, the people there have the biggest incentive imaginable for wanting to get out if they suspect they've become infected.

Most ebola deaths result from organ failure, essentially from dehydration. With intensive treatment starting early on, the odds of survival increase significantly. The key being that treatment has to start early. If Duncan had been treated when he initially presented with symptoms there is a fair chance he might still be alive.

Add on top of all this the fact that we're a very highly mobile society.

The final issue is the incubation period. Up to 42 days (number of articles site that according to WHO 3% develop symptoms after 21 days).

What we're going to keep seeing is a rise and dip in cases, I think indefinitely. The best I hope for is that 6 months to a year from now, an effective treatment and a vaccine become available to keep a lid on it.

In the meantime...

It really depends on who you listen to. The incubation period after infection is said to be 21 days, but depending on the strain, it can be 2 weeks to over 21 days. I was reading in Time Magazine that if a person is infected and doesn't show symptoms within 21 days they are clear of the disease. Like all the other hemorrhagic viral diseases like Marburg and the 7 to 9 strains of ebola it all depends on the strain, I guess. The other problem is that viruses evolve. They do it all the time. According to the CDC the most likely vector for this disease is the fruit bat which carries the disease without harm to itself. It can then jump to other species by feces or partly eaten fruit to other animals and to people. I think it was a shame that the Dallas hospital had the information that the man who died there was recently from Liberia, they just dropped the ball, making the symptomatic individual able to spread it for an additional 4 days. Suppotive care is the best guide for outcomes, too. So, if this person had been admitted at the initial visit he might have stood a better chance of survival.

I just saw on the news where a library teacher in Texas has just infected nearly a whole class of students. I feel horrible for these poor children, and hope they can get the BEST medical treatment possible. The children and elders make this virus extremely difficult overlook. As a father of 2 this virus has been heavy on my mind.

Nute said:

I just saw on the news where a library teacher in Texas has just infected nearly a whole class of students. I feel horrible for these poor children, and hope they can get the BEST medical treatment possible. The children and elders make this virus extremely difficult overlook. As a father of 2 this virus has been heavy on my mind.

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Well, in that case I have some great news for you. You fell for a fake news hoax.

I looked up ZMAPP and it turns out that it is a vaccine that supposedly is effective against the virus whether or not a person is exposed, or is even symptomatic.