2014 Ebola Virus Outbreak

Speaking of Ebola Protective Covering How The various workers get dressed to protect themselves from Ebola.

edited 3rd Nov '14 8:41:26 PM by TuefelHundenIV

I need confirmation that America is 100% Ebola-free folks. Just because an KUSI (an local newstation that I watch) anchorman claims that this is true, doesn't mean that I believe. I mean, is there an cure for Ebola, or did they move the patients out of the country?

edited 12th Nov '14 11:42:45 PM by RabidTanker

There's no "cure" for Ebola, but with proper treatment and high quality care the mortality lowers significantly.

As far as I know the two nurses (Pham and Amanda Vinson) have both recovered.

edited 12th Nov '14 11:50:34 PM by IraTheSquire

Seriously: it's really not that big of a deal. <_< You become Ebola-free when your isolated outbreak recovers (or dies) and nobody else gets infected.

End of problem (until somebody else keeps trying to tell themselves they've only got 'flu, flies back home and doesn't hit an isolation unit).

It got back in the top 10 news items on Google News. Or maybe I had just imagined it had dropped out.

I think the statement was made because the latest US infectee (Dr Craig Spencer) has been discharged well. Now if you want to tempt fate, you can start putting up the "Mission Accomplished" banners and ignore the rest of the world. I mean, Mali was so close to getting declared Ebola-free, and then they missed this guy.

*beat*

FUUUUUUUUUU- *head explodes*

edited 13th Nov '14 5:09:08 AM by Pyrite

Apparently the infection rate is starting to drop, but we are still seeing more infections to two weeks than the total infections of any single previous outbreak.

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-2984705

Situation is still bad but it looks like we've dodged the worst case scenario (millions of cases).

Single-dose, needle-free ebola vaccine provides long-term protection in macaques: "Scientists have demonstrated for the first time that a single-dose, needleless Ebola vaccine given to primates through their noses and lungs protected them against infection for at least 21 weeks."

Positive news, but they're ultimately not humans, nor are they the first successful anti-body developed within other animals. Heck a lot of potential cures are already out there, but for various reasons many of them are not being used.

There are no cures for a viral infection.

Not with that attitude there isn't

Well, there's always fire.

Cures and treatments for viral infections do exist.

Treatments, yes, but a virus has no processes to interrupt, so you can't kill it. You just have to wait for your immune system to develop antibodies. Even then, you still have it, you're just immune.

edited 16th Nov '14 11:09:43 AM by InverurieJones

Actually no.

For example, Tamiflu works by interfering the replication process of the flu virus.

edited 16th Nov '14 2:23:14 PM by IraTheSquire

Well, going by what was reported during the 'swine flu' debacle, Tamiflu really did very little.

The point is that there are plenty of steps in the replication process where drugs can interfere to stop viral replication.Antiretrovirals for AIDS (that expensive cocktail that only the richest AIDS patients can afford to keep them alive) also works in the same way (the different drugs interferes with different steps of the HIV replication, which is why it's a cocktail).

In fact, when the body first encounters a new virus its response is to kill any infected cell to stop replication: not the best option. And antibodies work via binding to viral particles to stop them from entering cells.

Also, from memory swine flu was not that serious (it was new. It was infectious. But its mortality rate is about the same as other seasonal flus from memory) and so it is doubtful that Tamiflu was used in a wide range. Not to mention Tamiflu is just one example.

edited 16th Nov '14 3:14:15 PM by IraTheSquire

This is a site raising donations:

[1]

Experimental Ebola vaccine appears safe, prompts immune response: "An experimental vaccine to prevent Ebola virus disease was well-tolerated and produced immune system responses in all 20 healthy adults who received it in a Phase 1 clinical trial."

Ebola out of the headlines, even as it continues to expand in Africa.

I'm thinking it's better that Ebola stopped making so much headlines, especially in the states. It's resulted in Australia acting paranoid and banning travel to the region, and already there's a significant amount of people calling for the same thing in the US as well. And since the people that matter the most are already aware, such as researchers, private interest groups, and volunteer doctors, it means they can work in peace without the media stirring another unneeded frenzy.

Possible case in Karachi.

Jesus that would be horrible if it's true.

Oh, hell. >_< <crosses fingers and hopes not... and wonders where she put the prayer beads>

Hoo boy. That is one region of the world where containment is going to be nearly impossible if true. The lack of trust of any major authority, including foreign doctors, the lack of infrastructure, the lack of decent medical care, and the strong influence of the Taliban is going to make things hell over there. And while I doubt any attempts of the radicals to weaponize Ebola and use it against the West will succeed, their actions may result in a whole bunch of other poverty-stricken regions becoming infected instead, either due to poorly thought-out tribal warfare or plain accident.