The Ebola Virus

[serfty]

What if a terrorist flew to Africa to get infected and flew back to LHR/FRA/CDG?

A Tom Clancy book (Exective Orders) comes to mind ...

 

[Cynicor]

A Tom Clancy book (Exective Orders) comes to mind ...

But in that plot, they found a version that was spread via aerosol. That's the "suspension of disbelief" part of the fiction!

 

[marki]

What if a terrorist flew to Africa to get infected and flew back to LHR/FRA/CDG?

The Ebola Virus has poor person to person Transmission ...... Unless your a relative of a sick symptomatic person who takes part in burial preparation. Your not going to die.

16 people got sick after eating a dead infected Gibbon.

Can't believe all the scare tactics used here it's like the days of swine flu and before that AIDS.

There is a possible small chance of direct inoculation of droplets It's more theoretical than anything else.

But still you don't want to take any chances.
Early signs of Ebola....
Fever, headache and sore throat can be caused by so many other things.....


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[vetrade]

Chance is low, consequence is high.

Yep, that's the "take home" message for me..........

Previous outbreaks of Ebola have primarily occurred in isolated / low population density African communities with transmission occurring primarily from close wild animal contact including eating inadequately cooked monkey meat etc. Subsequent human to human transmission rarely extends beyond the initial victim's immediate family simply because few others have close, much less actual, physical contact with them. These people don’t travel far from their communities and almost certainly not by plane. Containment is relatively easy under such circumstances.

Obviously the potential for more rapid and far more widespread transmission rises exponentially when/if the disease occurs in a town or city. Included in this potential is the fact that tourists / foreigners could become infected and then return to their home country while still asymptomatic, only to subsequently infect other family members. The problem could then easily snowball once the circle of exposed persons includes unsuspecting medical personnel.

While close contact with infected blood or other body fluids is an undisputed mode of transmission the role of other possible modes of transmission such as contact with contaminated surfaces or aerosol (expired air) is still contentious and cannot be dismissed out of hand. In this regard both the WHO and CDC (Centre for Disease Control) only state that they do not have proof that aerosol transmission occurs. The corollary of this is that it is also yet to be disproved definitively.

This is not a straightforward disease to investigate in this regard given its up-to-now sporadic nature, rapid progression, high mortality and the undoubtedly high risks to medical and laboratory personnel. Aerosol transmission is still a likely mode of transmission but probably only in combination with predisposing factors such as compromised immunity or other pre-existing disease.

 

[JohnK]

This is not a straightforward disease to investigate in this regard given its up-to-now sporadic nature, rapid progression, high mortality and the undoubtedly high risks to medical and laboratory personnel. Aerosol transmission is still a likely mode of transmission but probably only in combination with predisposing factors such as compromised immunity or other pre-existing disease.

Hmmm. You're not making me feel very safe. Far from it.

 

[vetrade]

Hmmm. You're not making me feel very safe. Far from it.

Not trying to be alarmist because in the overall scheme of things this is a very uncommon disease and certainly not widespread. I don't feel particularly at risk but the fact is our understanding of it is far from being "settled science". I am sure the people investigating it would be very careful not to extrapolate or assume anything.

 

[casanovawa]

Yep, that's the "take home" message for me..........

Previous outbreaks of Ebola have primarily occurred in isolated / low population density African communities with transmission occurring primarily from close wild animal contact including eating inadequately cooked monkey meat etc. Subsequent human to human transmission rarely extends beyond the initial victim's immediate family simply because few others have close, much less actual, physical contact with them. These people don’t travel far from their communities and almost certainly not by plane. Containment is relatively easy under such circumstances.

Here's another "take home message", everyone - COOK YOUR MONKEY ADEQUATELY PEOPLE!!!

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Would it be rude of me to perhaps suggest making this thread pertinent to all travel health concerns?

We would like to do some activities in the UAE next January which may bring us into close contact with camels, so this Smart Traveller, travel warning about Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) has me a little concerned.

What's the general consensus? Discussion in this thread or a new thread?

 

[whatmeworry]

Here's another "take home message", everyone - COOK YOUR MONKEY ADEQUATELY PEOPLE!!!

So many of our new emerging viruses have about because of coming into contact with wild animals and in some cases eating them, e.g. HIV, MERS, SARS, Ebola ... etc

 

[whatmeworry]

A Tom Clancy book (Exective Orders) comes to mind ...

Interesting part of the plot.

As a result of the Ebola attack, Ryan declares martial law and enforces travel restrictions in an effort to contain the virus. However, the attack becomes only a limited success for the UIR, since the virus is so deadly that it cannot spread effectively.

 

[vetrade]

Would it be rude of me to perhaps suggest making this thread pertinent to all travel health concerns?

We would like to do some activities in the UAE next January which may bring us into close contact with camels, so this Smart Traveller, travel warning about Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) has me a little concerned.

What's the general consensus? Discussion in this thread or a new thread?

Would not be game to offer you specific advice with any real confidence, swanning_it. It's impossible when MERS is obviously a recently identified disease that's still so poorly understood that all the travel advice is phrased in such general terms such as "practise good hygiene". It appears that nobody has worked out all the answers yet.

May I suggest you contact Dr Alex Tinson, a veterinarian, who has been the No. 1 camel specialist for the sheiks in UAE for many years - I'm sure he would be as well informed as anyone about MERS and I'd expect him to be quite approachable (he is an Aussie, after all!) . If you google him you should find a contact - it'll probably be listed under some UAE govt. department.

 

[nick.wall]

Would it be rude of me to perhaps suggest making this thread pertinent to all travel health concerns?

With regard to general travel health concerns, I think the story about 'toxic fumes' over on news.com.au under 'Travel' matter worries me more than Ebola at the second... There's a marketing opportunity for an airline with some dreamliners should public concern of such become more prominent :-|

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Would not be game to offer you specific advice with any real confidence, swanning_it. It's impossible when MERS is obviously a recently identified disease that's still so poorly understood that all the travel advice is phrased in such general terms such as "practise good hygiene". It appears that nobody has worked out all the answers yet.

May I suggest you contact Dr Alex Tinson, a veterinarian, who has been the No. 1 camel specialist for the sheiks in UAE for many years - I'm sure he would be as well informed as anyone about MERS and I'd expect him to be quite approachable (he is an Aussie, after all!) . If you google him you should find a contact - it'll probably be listed under some UAE govt. department.

Thanks. We're seriously considering ruling out the camel activities (we can ride camels here in Oz). We are taking a wait and see approach just now, as we're still some months away for travel.

 

[vetrade]

Article today on Reuters:

Taxis, planes and viruses: How deadly Ebola can spread | Reuters

A couple of excerpts:
"She took a communal taxi via Liberia's capital Monrovia, exposing five other people to the virus who later contracted and died of the Ebola.

Derek Gatherer of Britain's Lancaster University noted that while Ebola does not spread through the air and is not considered "super infectious"........."

One could argue that the expert's "does not spread through the air" comment would have been little consolation for the 5 who died after sharing a communal taxi.

 

[marki]

SANDRA SMILEY, MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES: There are still people in villages who don't know what Ebola is. They don't necessarily know what it looks like and they don't know how to get treatment. And there's lot of fear and suspicion still in the population that means that health workers can't do their jobs, they can't bring people in for treatment and they can't treat those people.

The full transcript is here along with the video: Lateline - 31/07/2014: Ebola spreading across West Africa

A lot of Common-sense: http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2014/s4058408.htm

Second video is Professor Anne Rimoin from UCLA Fielding School of Public Health

 

[QF WP]

I'd be more worried about those things that can crawl up your willy 7 Terrifying Small Organisms That Can Mess you up

Great, I watched the video in the story about the botfly and now have to eat lunch. Bad choice of timing

 

[QF WP]

Another story on the growing Ebola virus: https://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/24604356/ebola-stricken-doctors-gracious-gesture/?cmp=ydn

He's a brave doctor. Would the use of the blood from the boy who survived really make any difference?

 

[equus]

If you want to look closer to home for things to be wary of, look at Hendra virus. Mortality rate currently 4 out of 7 people known to have been infected. This one is in Qld and northern NSW.

 

[marki]

Great, I watched the video in the story about the botfly and now have to eat lunch. Bad choice of timing

I am immune


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[marki]

If you want to look closer to home for things to be wary of, look at Hendra virus. Mortality rate currently 4 out of 7 people known to have been infected. This one is in Qld and northern NSW.

And if your job is in veterinarian sciences it can add to the dilemma.


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