NPR had a person more expert than I on that very thing about two hours ago (Orlando). The explanation is the doctors and related professionals working with Ebola patients are putting in 12-15 hours in 90+ oF conditions and wearing protective suits that make their temp exposure over 100F for a very long time. The implication is things that would be minor occur easier due to heat and lack of sleep. And may not even be noticed.......
As to on planes and in US, massively unlikely. Ebola goes real fast and well in African village/poverty conditions, not so much in the US........
Exactly. The poor buggers at the sharp end are overworked and understaffed (the standard in healthcare generally I'm afraid) and make mistakes. Plus they're in contact with the disease constantly.
All it takes is one mistake.
Yes, because virus evolution is the only possible cause of that drop. Physicians gaining experience, trying new treatments, and new facilities and equipment provided to the endangered areas are to be ruled out as a contributor to this drop.
There are also four Ebola strains in Africa:
Bundibugyo 32% overall fatality rate
Sudan 54%
Taï Forest 0%
Zaire 79%
For Ebola Zaire untreated fatality rate is ~90%, with treatment this can be reduced to 50-60%. Fluids, anti/pro-coagulants, antibiotics/anti
Anybody been watching the Commonwealth games? What if there's some African athlete or associate who's already got Ebola?
So what? Unless s/he's biting people, having sex or otherwise sharing bodily fluids the infection chance is tiny.
The incubation period is said to be 3 weeks.
That's an outlier, >90% of those infected are symptiomatic to the point of seeking medical attention within 8 days. The problem is accurate diagnosis as the symptoms are basically the same as malaria.
I expect lots of paranoia until the current outbreak burns out, and numerous 'just-in-case' quarantines of possible carriers (as happened in the UK this week).
Let me quote Professor Peter Piot (one of the original 1976 team and an expert). He stated this week that the likelihood the epidemic could spread to the UK was "very, very, very low". He also stated that the infection risk from sharing a plane with an infected person was negligible: "By that I mean someone who is already infected but is not yet ill. Even in the early days when they have fever, that's also not risky for others".
And when the victim became contagious (bleeding and diarrhoeal)? "Even then you still need close contact. It's not like tuberculosis or SARS or the flu - that you can catch on a bus, but not Ebola".
"This is not a very contagious infection, you need close contact with someone who is really ill or who died from it".
The Commonwealth games closing ceremony is August 3rd. What if there's then a significant number of people flying home with flu-like symptoms?
And just how would they have been infected with Ebola in your paranoid fantasy?
Yes it's conjecture, yes it's unlikely, yes it's paranoid.
Correct.
So is a major asteroid impact. In fact that's more likely. Worry about it.
And with ever-increasing population and international travel, pandemic isn't getting less likely. It's getting more likely. IMHO the risks are greater than all other concerns put together.
This is rubbish. Ebola is a concern, not some inevitable super-plague that will eliminate humanity.
As I said previously Lassa fever (a related disease) kills more people in three months than have died from Ebola since it was discovered.
Me culpa, I should have been more precise.
