Ebola

[Drastic]

So a rather nerdy and scientific looking gent with a credential card hanging around his neck was in an alternative medicine store yesterday downtown here. Turns out he is a CDC whip from the Atlanta office (2 hours away.) He does some kind of biohazard audits for CDC centers.

Said the store should probably stock up on antivirals b/c people would soon be coming in droves. Other comments were "the weak and infants aren't going to make it."

Normally the stuff in the news I consider hyped and sensationalized as usual. However, this guy.... and he also said they had idiots in ATL as he found a lethal virus sample in a vial in a sandwich bag in some random locker that they were presently working on containing.

Not sure what to think. Of course this guy could have just been trying to impress cute ladies in the store, but good reason for pause.

[rcjordan]

If it gets to Haiti....

[littleman]

I have no idea.  I was surprised that they let the aid worker in to the US with the virus.  The officials say that it takes direct contact with someone infected or their bodily fluids.  One would imagine the aid workers would know this.

[JasonD]

really???

Ebola is a bitch to catch and antibiotics work really well if you do get it.

[Drastic]

Yesterday I read a couple articles where the problem is getting out of hand in Liberia because health workers are afraid to come in to work, and bodies are being dumped in the streets as a result.

[nffc]

Agree it's hard to catch but a virus doesn't respond to antibiotics.

[JasonD]

> but a virus doesn't respond to antibiotics.

Ermmm yes, It's a bloody virus! . I am hanging my head in shame.

[buckworks]

If you don't already have supplies on hand so your household could be self-sufficient for a few weeks, now would be a good time to start stocking up.

No one knows how bad this might get before it's over, and reducing one's need to go out and about might be A Good Thing.

If nothing happens, you can just eat your supplies.

[rcjordan]

Using a Tactic Unseen in a Century, Countries Cordon Off Ebola-Racked Areas

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/13/science/using-a-tactic-unseen-in-a-century-countries-cordon-off-ebola-racked-areas.html?_r=0

[buckworks]

"It seems like a reflexive movement by the governments to show that they're doing something, and since they have armies more elaborate than their health care systems, they use the army," said Dr. William Schaffner, the head of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University's medical school.

I just hope that the people behind the cordon are provided with adequate food and other supplies. A cordon is a terrible tool for a terrible situation.

[Rumbas]

Seems we have it in Germany - auch!

http://www.bild.de/regional/berlin/ebola/verdachtsfall-in-berliner-jobcenter-37307992.bild.html (in German)

[rcjordan]

I read an article last week by either CDC or WHO that said the big jump will most likely be to a major African city, probably Lagos.

This just popped up on my feeds

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/13/ebola-nigerian-capital

[rcjordan]

shifts amoothly into 2nd gear...

"close to 400 deaths in the past week"

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/03/us-health-ebola-idUSKBN0GY1V320140903

[Rumbas]

This is not like everything we've ever seen before says the people with the former outbreaks. Just on the news.. auch.

[rcjordan]

http://s3.amazonaws.com/policymic-images/aj4ws7zflfl6emkm6bllvs23ac31vkw937abadbnwvtnpye1lzfbsf5rtnwrda3m.gif