Ebola in America

I spite of assorted balls being dropped and kicked quite far the US is still kind of a first world country and not likely to suffer any unmanageable epidemic.

Still a nice excuse for preppers to go for a vacation in the hills, and play at the firing range.:p
 
elgarak said:
The other possible vector from bats to humans is humans eating bats. Claimed to be common in current African outbreak areas. However, very rare in Central Europe (unheard of here) or North America (I once was in a barbecue shack in Florida that offered them. The proprietor was quick to point out that they were farm-raised and controlled, and what was on the plate of my friend was indistinguishable from poultry. He might have suckered my friend. I stuck with pork, which was excellent, BTW). Again, different customs.
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There are no farm-raised bats. The place you ate at was Hot Rod's BBQ & Grill in Lutz, Florida. It tasted like poultry because it was actually quail, not bat. That place is now closed.
 
News from Dallas: So far the Deputy appears to not have Ebola. His symptoms are unlike Ebola and he never came in contact with Duncan.
 
Belz... said:
Wear a hazmat suit.
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Apparently doffing the suit is one of the risk points for the medical workers. For those who have never worn a full groogleman suit they're really hot and very fatiguing to work in and you end up drenched in sweat. On NPR this morning they were interviewing someone and talking about the training US workers are getting to go help in Africa, and it sounds like they are teaching the donning/doffing procedures correctly but the risk of contamination from the outside of the suit may be a serious vector for the healthcare workers. Wiping sweat from your eyes during the doffing was mentioned. . .
 
William Parcher said:
News from Dallas: So far the Deputy appears to not have Ebola. His symptoms are unlike Ebola and he never came in contact with Duncan.
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He had no direct contact with Duncan but he was in the apartment before it was decontaminated so the possibility certainly exists. At the moment, it looks like he has some of the symptoms but not all. Far better to check a ton of people and get all negatives than to check only a few and let a few positives slip through your fingers and remain out in the population. If he is infected though, it will be another massive and well deserved black eye on public health officials in Dallas as none of the deputies or health officials who went into the still contaminated apartment to deliver the quarantine order were given protective gear, something which this particular deputy strongly objected to.
 
ApolloGnomon said:
Apparently doffing the suit is one of the risk points for the medical workers. For those who have never worn a full groogleman suit they're really hot and very fatiguing to work in and you end up drenched in sweat. On NPR this morning they were interviewing someone and talking about the training US workers are getting to go help in Africa, and it sounds like they are teaching the donning/doffing procedures correctly but the risk of contamination from the outside of the suit may be a serious vector for the healthcare workers. Wiping sweat from your eyes during the doffing was mentioned. . .
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Ok... air-conditionned hazmat suit.
 
Belz... said:
Ok... air-conditionned hazmat suit.
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I've worn the full rig with a powered respirator (PAPR mask) and it helps a lot just relieving the wearer from the effort of inhaling through the filters. The added cost and logistics of maintaining PAPR batteries can fall into management's "cut what we can to maintain the most critical equipment" logic. I read an article that said ebola wards were washing and drying gloves at the beginning of the outbreak. That's like washing condoms for reuse.
 
ApolloGnomon said:
I've worn the full rig with a powered respirator (PAPR mask) and it helps a lot just relieving the wearer from the effort of inhaling through the filters. The added cost and logistics of maintaining PAPR batteries can fall into management's "cut what we can to maintain the most critical equipment" logic. I read an article that said ebola wards were washing and drying gloves at the beginning of the outbreak. That's like washing condoms for reuse.
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Um... what's wrong with that?
 
Dr. Keith said:
And a condom.


What, more daughters would only exacerbate the problem.
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This is a serious subject! You shouldn't be making me laugh! :D

Those suits are like stepping into your attic on a hot summer day at about four in the afternoon: cramped, and you start pouring sweat with little expended effort.
 
ApolloGnomon said:
I've worn the full rig with a powered respirator (PAPR mask) and it helps a lot just relieving the wearer from the effort of inhaling through the filters. The added cost and logistics of maintaining PAPR batteries can fall into management's "cut what we can to maintain the most critical equipment" logic. I read an article that said ebola wards were washing and drying gloves at the beginning of the outbreak. That's like washing condoms for reuse.
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Ok... air-conditioned armoured personel carrier. I'll find something.
 
Ok, I understand the media is pumping this thing up all to hell.... But if this thing ever came to my city, I think I would go insane.


Tell me this.... could Ebola survive a trip down through the sewage system... because I work at the Wastewater treatment plant.... and I always thought about virus's making their way down the line, but only the fear of Ebola do I feel the need to want to know.
 
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It already seems clear that the problem, when it occurs, is apt to be carelessness and stupidity not so much letting the genie out of the bottle, as advertising the bottle for sale on eBay.

Watching UK news, I see much talk of hospitals with "2 beds" in an enclosed negative pressure room and similar "unique, small scale emergency" preparation. Fine. But if it gets past that level- say a large building in central London where ebola in an aerosol gets into a central aircon system, or a packed underground or airport, it's hard to see what is in place to stop a spread.
The only way to isolate vast numbers of people is by imposition of martial law- similar to what in effect happened when the Boston Marathon bomber was tracked down. In other words, a curfew.
The implications for the economy of such action are huge.And those who "know better" would dodge it anyway, as would those who see an opportunity for a little light fingered work in empty buildings.

I'm not wildly worried about Ebola itself. What does worry me is the effects of a panic:- Fuel, generators and food being stockpiled, essential services shut down because people stay home and so on. The usual, human, dark ages stuff.
 
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