I don't think Ebola is as serious as I first thought
storyofmylife
Posts: 1,324 Forum Member
✭✭✭
At first glance, upon read the news today, I thought it was a disease only caught by being near a person, not even making contact with them. This is why I thought it was so bad and meant that everyone on earth would be wiped out. However reading more into it, it seems like prevention is in place and if we are careful, we could cut down the risk of infection. Those affected are generally aid workers who are in West Africa (Guinea and Liberia etc) so in direct contact. Under takers and family members of those infected are in the highest risk category. If you have Ebola then drinking plenty of fluids is key, this is the factor in organ failure. Symptoms include colds, coughs, organ failure and internal bleeding. You die from Ebola from the bleeding and organ failure. If we get a vaccine to control organ failure and bleeding, Ebola is then merely the flu. Risk in the UK so far is considered low and the only way we can catch it is if we touch another victim or share fluids. Anyone's thoughts on my view? I am aware there are threads on this.
0
Comments
I learn so much.
If this disease spreads like wildfire then the internet is going too.
I don't think you understand vaccines.
Despite which some politicians are still bleating about it:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-28443558
Deaths in 2012: 0
Deaths in 2013: 1
Deaths so far in 2014: 0
Surely he'll be re-incarnated?
Or on.
Do not touch the dead bodies of suspected or confirmed Ebola patients.
Wash your hands with water and soap regularly.
Yes - Sierra Leone's leading Ebola expert has now died from the disease and many doctors and nurses have caught it too.
http://online.wsj.com/articles/liberian-doctor-dies-of-ebola-virus-1406481862
Given that the so called experts are falling victim to this terrible disease - can we actually believe the supposed experts at all as to how deadly and communicable this strain is.
While it was confined to rural areas it was containable - take it to a big city like Monrovia or Lagos or who knows. It may not be airborne but it is communicable by spit, sweat and potentially saliva - think of a hot bus or tube and all those sweaty palms holding onto rails in mid summer and then you casually put your hand where their's was and later put it to your mouth/face. In a split second you may have transmission.
Hopefully we won't see it outside west Africa - but we need to be very vigilant. Cos seemingly the experts arent safe either - and they understand the risks (or so we thought!).
Yeah, cool, I'll get on that straight away.
...wait, "vaccine"?
It's OK, I've been having a read of the first post in this thread, and I reckon it sounds easy. Should have one knocked up by the weekend.
Yeah, 'cos if it's in Nigeria now, it'll be in Dublin by the weekend...
The victim now dead who was caught with the disease at Lagos airport had passed through three airports during his journey. The hospital he died in in Lagos is now in quarantine. Imagine how many people he could have come into contact with. It can be two weeks from infection to showing symptoms of Ebola which initially those are similar to the flu.
Would you like to speculate how many direct and indirect flights there are daily from Lagos to Europe and the UK? And where are Nigerians most likely to come to in Europe - the UK particularly London.
We have no idea where this is going - and it's no joking matter. At least finally our media is covering it albeit as an afterthought compared to Gaza and UKraine
Who's joking - Ireland has a suprisingly large Nigerian immigrant population!
(That's one of her standing jokes about Irish demographics and immigration - the largest Guiness bottling plant outside Ireland is in Lagos.... and the Black Stuff is marketed there as a LOCAL product! So when Nigerian immigrants get off the plane in Dublin and hit a bar, the first thing they see is "Guiness just like home!")
But it's not as serious as you first thought?
Pfffft! Amateur.
My 7yr old has a science set and I'm gonna use it. See me on the news by Thurs tea time.
Not a strong topic for me but I believe it was documented the existing early version of vaccine for it was synthesized using a "safe" version of the EBV... the likes of the world health organization have several varients of the virus
Dangerous as it might be the media does no favours scaremongering people... its never really fallen off the grid, its just not a story worth reporting unless it travels
The biggest risk is always going to be mutation
But it'll never happen. .. It will spread
I think the phrase 'the main thing we need to do' is normally followed by something that we could actually do.
We can do nothing to contain a disease which, very luckily for us, seems to thrive in very hot climates. We really do have to trust in the knowledge, good sense and courage of those in the area concerned. For such a poor country, Liberia seems to be making sensible and determined efforts to contain it; but the case in Nigeria shows how impossible it is, in an age of constant border crossing, to be certain that it does not spread.
Medical workers in bio-hazard suits have been infected, so seems quite serious to me.
Might be the big one that's going to spread, might not. I do feel this seems more serious then 'bird flu' rubbish we had years ago.
There are also a large group of Nigerians in Glasgow at the moment, mixing with people from all over the world.........WE'RE DOOMED!
Thats great OP. We should club together and buy you a ticket to West Africa to go and help the victims. Dont worry we will provide you with extra bottles of evian to ward off the ebola virus