As just pointed out by TX in the WDT, 1st Ebola case diagnosed in U.S. confirmed by CDC Now, even though the very next line is: "'There is no doubt in my mind that we will stop it here,' CDC doctor says of U.S. case", I can't help but imagine the hysteria machine will get spun up to full speed in short order. So... FOCUS: What do you think will unfold over the next few days or weeks?
Re: Keep moving, nothing to see here. The media will do what is always does. Make as much noise as possible, get some ad dollars and ratings, and move onto something else. In the mean time, they'll interview experts who know nothing specific, and we'll all hear over and over and over again how not to get ebola. The one thing I've learned from all the epidemic coverage is don't go to Sub Saharan Africa. Too bad really, I was planning on going to Nigeria next week.
Re: Keep moving, nothing to see here. Of course this news come out the day I get a really bad cough. Time to enter into hypochondriac paranoia mode.
Re: Keep moving, nothing to see here. That's probably just cancer. I'm surprised they aren't quarantining people coming from Africa for a bit when they get to the U.S. What surprises me is that he went to the hospital and they sent him home. I'm assuming he told them where he was. You think they'd err on the side of caution, just in case. "Flu-like symptoms and you were in Liberia? Eh, go home and sleep it off, I'm sure you're fine."
In a few days some asshole will crash his car into the gas pumps at a service station in a small Texas town; the CDC and the DOD will descend on the town in order to enforce a quarantine. This of course will fail and the virus will spread like wildfire throughout the land killing people by the millions. However there will be a few scattered survivors, whose numbers will dwindle due to causes of death secondary to the virus; accidents, violence among the survivors, illnesses spread by the rotting corpses and the like... One poor fellow may die in a field during a poor attempt at an appendectomy. Maybe this dude I kinda know will detonate some oil tanks outside of Gary, Indiana, setting the entire town afire before making his way west. Another group of survivors, including a Texan, two Yankee's, and a one-hit wonder guitar player, will also head west; something about an old woman in Nebraska. I kinda figure I'll head to Vegas for a bit of gambling and perhaps setting up some sort of confederacy with myself as the titular figurehead after I bail a buddy of mine out of jail. Just tell me one thing baby... Can you dig your man?
So far, I have been surprised that Ebola hasn't been more of a story. People will say (probably because it is likely true) that the media doesn't care because it has been in Africa and isn't "here". I have been following it because I am on an Infectious Disease listserv so get daily updates and what has been happening in Africa is so much worse then what I've seen being reported. Of course now that it is "here" and can be spun as a threat to you and me, I imagine it will become a bit more sensationalized. But I imagine the coverage will focus on how it could possibly affect us. Then the guy will either get better or die and we'll lose interest again. BUT the conspiracy theorist in me is wondering how he contracted it. Was he exposed, knew how taxed the health care system is in West Africa, had the means and family members to "visit" in america, and hightailed it over here before his symptoms developed so he would get better care and have a chance of survival?
I really didn't know anything about ebola before this, and now I've educated myself up to "very uninformed." Still, I don't see how ebola can spread like wildfire in a first world country. From wikipedia, "The potential for widespread EVD infections is considered low as the disease is only spread by direct contact with the secretions from someone who is showing signs of infection." Would that not make it pretty easy to contain? When was the last time you came into direct contact with secretions from some random person showing flu-like symptoms on the street? Wait... I don't want about 70% of you to answer that.
This. You would think a disease with a 70% plus mortality rate would warrant a little bit tougher restrictions on air travel to and from the country(s) of origin. I read an article that said his temperature was taken before he left and he was asymptomatic so he was fine. Cut to a week later and now he is symptomatic. Conspiracy theorists are going to lose their minds.
Yea, it may sound harsh, but there should be something like a week quarantine of people flying back to the US from countries where ebola is uncontrolled.
I don't think society is under serious threar, not should people panic. That being said, the media will now surely go that extra mile to scare the living piss it f every single viewer until they DO panic. Fearmongering is more important than the truth, so get some "experts" on camera to tell us what deep shit we're in. There's always going to be some dreaded virus going around that the media will claim has the potential to doom us all. A decade ago there was SARS. Five years ago it was H1N1, which my daughter contracted and beat as a toddler.
I guess I'm the excitable sort. I see the potential threat of Ebola as far more dangerous than ISIL or terrorism in general. This thing isn't the flu, at least from a mortality standpoint. When you're talking numbers of 50% and greater - that's a cause for great concern. While I agree the media will hype anything, I think this is one of those situations where it should be paid close attention to. Frankly, why we spend upwards of $1 trillion a year on defense, but refuse to quarantine Africa until the outbreak is over boggles my mind. This is a genie in the bottle scenario - once it's out (and there's a significant outbreak) it's real nice to say 'oh, maybe we should have taken more steps earlier.' Do I think we will necessarily get an outbreak? Not necessarily, but here's the thing - in this 'global village' we live in, this shit spreads and quickly. Then again, I lived in the 80's and saw what the AIDS epidemic was like, and let me tell you, it wasn't pretty and it was scary. While right now Ebola doesn't compare to AIDS from a mortality standpoint (in the 80's) - but this disease is not something to fuck around with. That's my take on it.
While obviously you don't take something as serious as Ebola lightly, the reason it's an epidemic in Africa right now is because of the conditions, not because it is terrifyingly contagious. Ebola is not airborne, so in countries who understand how it works, have good sanitation practices and established disease quarantine protocols, it's pretty difficult for any non-airborne disease to get a foothold. Also, it's not contagious unless the person is already symptomatic. For those worrying about this, please read that again. To contract Ebola, you must come into contact with bodily secretions from an already-symptomatic infected person. So while more caution was certainly warranted from the current case, it was less crazy than it might seem to dismiss him as asymptomatic and send him home. HIV, of course, is not airborne either. However, HIV can also allow an asymptomatic infected person to spread the disease for years without knowing it. On a different note, I've seen my Facebook news feed littered with comments about the doctors and aid workers they brought back to treat and how dangerous that was, many of them correlating it with this latest case. It reflects a complete and total misunderstanding of the disease and the treatment process, ignorance about this case, and frankly a lack of compassion for the people who are putting themselves on the front lines fighting the disease in Africa.
In a region where some people think you have to fuck a virgin to cure AIDS, I'm shocked they're not on the cutting edge of disease management.
Ebola as a disease is scary as hell....as a health threat in the US, it's down there with "uncooked chicken" and "vigorous fisting". Pleasant? No. Avoidable? Absolutely. The media shit-storm will spend more time and money on this than the CDC. You've got more to worry about from finger-banging a Denny's waitress than getting coughed on by every person in Dallas right now.
I can't wait for all of the kids to flock to our clinic thinking that they have Ebola now. I have gay patients who refuse to wear condoms during sex to protect them against very real threats, but somehow everybody is going to be paranoid about ebola.
Which is why throwing a bunch of money at it is practically worthless. To me, its on par with "fighting" AIDS over there. Its a nice cause to say that you are a part of, but the population out there isn't savable.
Good to see you again, Randall. My friend Christopher wrote up a pretty good essay on Ebola over on his website; http://www.border-wars.com/2014/08/ebola-coming-to-america-no-thanks.html