2014 Ebola Outbreak

I've been wanting to make this thread for the longest time, I keep forgetting. I'm sure we all know about the whole Ebola outbreak in Africa by now, it's been constantly in the news. And a man from Texas even just died from it recently, so there is the slight possibility of it breaking out in other areas too. (US particularly considering that guy from Texas that had Ebola...) What do you think about that and just the outbreak in general?

I'm under the impression it's pretty unlikely to spread elsewhere, but there is that possibility, and it does worry me a bit. I believe it only spreads through body fluids, so it's probably not that contagious. If it ends up spreading around where I live, I'd likely not leave my house much if at all. I just really don't want to end up catching the disease and dying. :/ It's really sad that so many have died from it in Africa, too. Hopefully it can be prevented from reaching most other areas...

In its current state, it isn't. But I think if it evolves to be more contagious, then we'll all need to take drastic action  .

It's being controlled at best; however, the amount of deaths this outbreak has caused in west Africa is definitely serious. Doctors and scientists still haven't found a proper cure or vaccine for the disease, and it doesn't help that there are up to four or five different viruses that cause the disease. The fatality rate...over 90%? Holy...

I do hope a cure can be found soon. It's likely the disease can be controlled in more developed nations; however, this is still a critical matter. It's a shame Duncan passed away despite being in the US...though then again, he was in a horrible state by the time he was finally admitted to the hospital. A confirmed report of a nurse who treated Duncan now has tested positive for Ebola.

We better hope this all goes well...

Impo I feel like the news media is blowing the ebola crisis out of proportion. I think that all of this media crap going on about ebola is just an easy way for the government to trying & control the sheeple. Trust me the whole ebola issue here isn't as bad as the mass media makes you think that it is; impo: things could be worse then it is.

^I agree with queen on this. The ebola 'outbreak' is only across the ocean. There has only been one confirmed death with ebola while there have been thousands killed across the ocean comparatively. I think that it's all just a way to try & fear control the masses through media. [/end of story]

^ True, I renamed it.

@Kinopio
Really? I hope the nurse is treated well and doesn't pass away...but it's hard to say that they won't, as you say, there's a 90% fatality rate for Ebola, right? I do think we can be treated better in the US though.

@Queen
If you're talking about the fact that they keep talking about how it could spread overseas from Africa, yes I agree too. But when they say there are thousands of deaths in Africa and it's spreading like crazy there, it's true, and I don't think that should be taken lightly.

Queen does have a point about the disease outbreak being blown out of proportions in the media as of late. To many, the outbreak is being seen as the next "bubonic plague" or something; however, Ebola isn't exactly that easy to obtain on its own. The disease cannot be obtained just by standing next to a person with Ebola, instead it's obtained via the following methods:

Who Factsheet wrote:"Ebola then spreads through human-to-human transmission via direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membranes) with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people, and with surfaces and materials (e.g. bedding, clothing) contaminated with these fluids."

source - http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs103/en/

As such, the disease itself is difficult to obtain unless you came into contact with bodily fluids from an infected patient. Not exactly like a common cold or the pox.

The nurse herself is apparently in stable condition at the moment; however, that's because she actually identified some symptoms of the disease and checked herself into the hospital by Sunday night apparently after she felt ill. 

Having identified herself with such symptoms before her condition worsened, she'll probably get a good treatment. I really hope the nurse makes a recovery as well. It's unlikely Ebola would spread into major cities in the way it has caused so many cases in the three countries of western Africa. Additionally, the healthcare systems in North America are highly advanced, and it does seem like the media is scapegoating this disease to frighten the population. 

The disease does have to be dealt with; however, I just hope the nurse will make a recovery. The question of how she was able to obtain the disease is still a question; however.

^ Yes, as stated many times already in this thread, it does only spread through contact with bodily fluids. But that doesn't mean it's nearly impossible to spread around, as seen by Africa already. 'Bodily fluids' is pretty general, and we do have lots of them. There are a lot of people who are very touchy, so I guess they'll just have to be more careful if there's more cases of ebola in their area.

Also, if the nurse was helping the patient, I'd assume there must have been some way she came in contact with his bodily fluids? She was probably covered and had gloves and whatnot, but still, how else would she have gotten Ebola? Kind of weird.

There's no way of saying as to how the nurse would have obtained the one of the Ebolaviruses after treating Duncan other than perhaps a mishandling of her protective equipment. This is the question that truly stumped everyone in regards to how this nurse contracted the disease.

However, it could be the fact that many nurses and doctors just weren't ready for this type of treatment at this point of time. Special preparation for handling this disease is more likely to happen as result of another type of disease that has escalated a lot in the past few weeks - fear. There were likely many nurses/doctors who assisted Duncan during his time of suffering; however, at this point of time - we only know of just one nurse who contracted the disease. It's just a shame that the first patient carrying Ebola was brought into the hospital much too late... This only did wonders for the general public who are fearing this disease as a massive "killer" that could potentially wipe out the country. However, can it do that? I highly doubt that. Being a major threat to the state it was introduced within in the US would be an accomplishment on its own, I would think. 

I personally don't see the chances of the disease spreading in high numbers in the US. With such extensive healthcare systems around the country, it has a much higher chance of dealing with the disease than any of the three countries most highly infected upon in western Africa. Much like the nurse herself, she simply admitted herself in via the first sign of a flu; however, many in various rural and village-based areas within the heavily infected countries of Ebola aren't as fortunate...

It's best to hope that a cure for such an outbreak is discovered soon. There are Ebola survivors as well of course. Though then again...Ebola is just one of our many worries in this world really. With wars and natural disasters going on that kill up to thousands, Ebola could just continue to exist or simply perish to a controllable amount much like other major diseases from the past. 

While the disease itself has existed for quite some time now, the outbreak has at least been active since early Spring of 2014 though made its true marks by the end of July. With a little over 4,000 individuals having passed away from the outbreak in about 3 months, it is extremely deadly; nonetheless.

Some good news, though. Nigeria has been declared free of Ebola  : 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-29685127