|
Post by miominmio on Aug 1, 2014 12:19:36 GMT
It's a terrifying disease, but from what I understand, not very contagious. I just hope it never mutates to become more easily transmitted, THAT would be scary!
|
|
|
Post by pierkiss on Aug 1, 2014 12:26:26 GMT
I'm more concerned that it will mutate and become airborne.
|
|
|
Post by cannes on Aug 1, 2014 12:27:43 GMT
Very scary disease! I'm more afraid that it will become airborne, too. That would be horrific.
|
|
|
Post by alibama on Aug 1, 2014 12:29:41 GMT
Scary stuff.
|
|
|
Post by straggler on Aug 1, 2014 12:33:57 GMT
I can understand being ill and wanting to go home and be treated in this Country, but can't actually say it doesn't concern me. The two Americans that are sick were medical professionals practicing, what I would think would be, strict precautions and they still contracted Ebola. Can be spread through body fluids, even perspiration. You're right "alibama", "scary stuff"!
|
|
|
Post by Fidget on Aug 1, 2014 12:36:41 GMT
I just read "The Stand" - I'm a little skeeved about this....
|
|
|
Post by melanell on Aug 1, 2014 12:52:09 GMT
I am not worried, but I feel terrible for those who have contracted the disease. My heart goes out to them.
|
|
Sarah*H
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,015
Jun 25, 2014 20:07:06 GMT
|
Post by Sarah*H on Aug 1, 2014 12:58:59 GMT
I'm not worried it's going to spread here. I'm glad the CDC has the capabilities to bring these patients here - hopefully being treated in a state of the art facility will give them a better chance of survival AND give the professionals some better insight into how this current outbreak can be better managed and treatment administered in the field.
|
|
|
Post by MommyofTriplets on Aug 1, 2014 13:01:26 GMT
In 1996, my first internship in grad school was with the National Council for International Health (now the Global Health Council.) The project I worked on was raising awareness of the spread of infectious diseases through air travel. The global reach of people who are knowingly or unknowingly ill through air travel is a very real concern.
|
|
|
Post by auntkelly on Aug 1, 2014 13:30:06 GMT
I've been trying to read everything I can about this disease over the past few days just because I find it so interesting. It's a terrible disease, but it seems, from what I've read, when it's treated early, the patient's chances of survival are much higher. I read one article that stated the survival rate in remote areas of Africa was as low as 10%, while in one facility set up by Doctors Without Borders the survival rate was 75%.
I'm not too worried the disease will spread to the US because we are so aware of it now. I also think the survival rates would be much higher in the US because of our excellent medical facilities.
|
|
purplebee
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,792
Jun 27, 2014 20:37:34 GMT
|
Post by purplebee on Aug 1, 2014 13:37:28 GMT
I just read "The Stand" - I'm a little skeeved about this.... Whoo boy, that would make you anxious about anything! One of my favorite books of all time. I am in no way an alarmist, but I am actually more worried about people who have been exposed but have not yet developed symptoms, and who are traveling and unaware of the contagion factor. The more the present Ebola outbreak spreads in Africa, the greater the possibility of this happening.
|
|
MaryC
Full Member
Posts: 213
Jun 25, 2014 21:52:55 GMT
|
Post by MaryC on Aug 1, 2014 13:45:59 GMT
I think there's a huge difference in practicing strict precautions in a state of the art facility, in isolation rooms with separate ventilation systems, airlocks, and full hazmat suits, and trying to practice those same precautions in countries whose medical resources have already been depleted by years of brutal civil war and poverty. The fear and distrust of western doctors and government health care workers adds another layer of difficulty to an already horrific situation. The doctors working on the front line in those countries simply don't have access to the vast network of resources, supplies and technology we take for granted. In many of those areas, basic needs like clean water and electricity to run equipment are in short supply.
|
|
|
Post by SockMonkey on Aug 1, 2014 13:59:29 GMT
|
|
SweetieBsMom
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,741
Jun 25, 2014 19:55:12 GMT
|
Post by SweetieBsMom on Aug 1, 2014 14:02:33 GMT
I just read "The Stand" - I'm a little skeeved about this.... Whoo boy, that would make you anxious about anything! One of my favorite books of all time. I am in no way an alarmist, but I am actually more worried about people who have been exposed but have not yet developed symptoms, and who are traveling and unaware of the contagion factor. The more the present Ebola outbreak spreads in Africa, the greater the possibility of this happening. This is what would worry me more than bringing these patients home.
|
|
|
Post by MommyofTriplets on Aug 1, 2014 14:07:11 GMT
FTR, I wasn't referring to contracting something while on an airplane. I'm talking about the ease with which an ill person can travel long distances. Also, I wasn't referring strictly to Ebola, but all infectious diseases, some of which spread far more easily from person to person than Ebola.
|
|
|
Post by sunshine36616 on Aug 1, 2014 14:22:02 GMT
It's a little disconcerting, but I'm not terribly worried. I live in Atlanta and the CDC is here, they just transported an Ebola patient to Emory. It was definitely a blip on my radar.
|
|
|
Post by lovetodigi on Aug 1, 2014 14:25:42 GMT
I am a little bit worried but not frantic. They are bringing one of the patients here, to Metro Atlanta. When you look at how CDC handled the anthrax, yeah, it is a little scary and I have lost a little bit of trust in them. I think that CDC wants to get them over here so they can use them to study and research for possible cures. We do need a cure, I just hope that they are more careful with this stuff than they were with the anthrax. Both of these people were medical workers and despite the precautions taken when treating patients they were still exposed and became ill. If medical workers here became exposed and then are out among the public when they first show symptoms, could we also be hit with new cases of Ebola in this country? There is also the concern that another refupea brought up. It takes three weeks for the symptoms to appear and we still have a lot of people traveling to and from the affected sites. They are saying that just one is being brought here. Does anyone know where the other one is being taken? Here is a link for the CDC Anthrax scare from last month for the ones that have not heard about it. They have had some other safety issues in addition to the anthrax.
|
|
oldcrow
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,828
Location: Ontario,Canada
Jun 26, 2014 12:25:29 GMT
|
Post by oldcrow on Aug 1, 2014 14:33:57 GMT
Interesting article. It leads one to believe they are safe and they are if the disease is air borne which is the rarest category. The majority of diseases fall into the categories of "droplet" and "contact", which means it does not matter how clean the air is you are still at risk. With non air borne everything you touch is a potential source of illness. Next time you fly watch to see how many people touch the back of the seats as they make their way to their seat. And pay attention to how many times you do the same thing. Doorknobs, armrests, faucets and trays just to mention a few. How often do you see the attendants sanitize their hands, they are touching multiple surfaces and even people at times. My advice is keep YOUR hands clean.
|
|
|
Post by SockMonkey on Aug 1, 2014 14:34:19 GMT
I'd be more worried about the infectious disease sample handling in our own country (anthrax, smallpox, flu).
|
|
|
Post by icedcoffee14 on Aug 1, 2014 14:38:52 GMT
It's a little disconcerting, but I'm not terribly worried. I live in Atlanta and the CDC is here, they just transported an Ebola patient to Emory. It was definitely a blip on my radar. I second this. I too am in the metro Atlanta area and while I am not that concerned it is a little close to home so will be keeping an eye and ear open.
|
|
The Great Carpezio
Pearl Clutcher
Something profound goes here.
Posts: 2,983
Jun 25, 2014 21:50:33 GMT
|
Post by The Great Carpezio on Aug 1, 2014 14:41:18 GMT
Ebola worries me. This particular situation does not.
|
|
Sarah*H
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,015
Jun 25, 2014 20:07:06 GMT
|
Post by Sarah*H on Aug 1, 2014 14:45:35 GMT
|
|
|
Post by moveablefeast on Aug 1, 2014 14:48:45 GMT
Worried? No. I'm not going to lose sleep over Ebola.
I did decide against a November trip to west Africa and absolutely Ebola was a factor in that decision.
Glad there are people monitoring it in the US? Yeah. I think there is a real risk to countries outside the outbreak zone and being aware on a global scale is probably important. This stuff is a plane flight away. A man was on his way from Africa to Minnesota and became ill on a flight and died - it was only a matter of timing that it happened over Africa and not in the Minneapolis airport.
|
|
Peamac
Pearl Clutcher
Refupea # 418
Posts: 4,229
Jun 26, 2014 0:09:18 GMT
|
Post by Peamac on Aug 1, 2014 14:56:27 GMT
I know several people who are in those areas of Africa, some are medical missionaries. I worry for them all being so close to it, especially with the great possibility of being unknowingly exposed to it. I also have concerns about people who don't know they are exposed and travelling around the world, possibly spreading it more.
|
|
raindancer
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,095
Jun 26, 2014 20:10:29 GMT
|
Post by raindancer on Aug 1, 2014 15:09:03 GMT
I admit the odds of a raging epidemic are not great and that it's probably a wasted fear. Even so, I don't really like the notion of people with a disease like Ebola coming here. I do understand the patients will be in isolation and I know great precautions are in place. However, it's still something that would be horrific if it got out. www.cnn.com/2014/07/31/health/ebola-outbreak/index.htmlConsidering that it's not airborne and is transmitted through direct contact, I am not worried. It's just not a huge health threat in the US.
|
|
raindancer
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,095
Jun 26, 2014 20:10:29 GMT
|
Post by raindancer on Aug 1, 2014 15:12:07 GMT
I just read "The Stand" - I'm a little skeeved about this.... Whoo boy, that would make you anxious about anything! One of my favorite books of all time. I am in no way an alarmist, but I am actually more worried about people who have been exposed but have not yet developed symptoms, and who are traveling and unaware of the contagion factor. The more the present Ebola outbreak spreads in Africa, the greater the possibility of this happening. Ebola is not contagious until you have symptoms. So that's not really a huge issue either with this specific disease.
|
|
|
Post by hennybutton on Aug 1, 2014 15:24:09 GMT
I just read "The Stand" - I'm a little skeeved about this.... I read The Hot Zone, a non-fiction book about Ebola and similar contagions, when it came out. That's scarier than anything any fiction writer could come up with. Ebola is a seriously nasty disease. It's highly contagious, has a high mortality rate, and there is no treatment. With the ease of air travel, it could spread to anywhere in the world. WHO should quarantine the affected areas and allow no travel out of affected countries until the epidemic passes. This isn't bird flu, it's more like smallpox.
|
|
|
Post by birukitty on Aug 1, 2014 20:39:37 GMT
No, I'm not worried about Ebola since I'm living in the USA and not in the African countries where it's a problem right now. I'm not worried about it being transmitted via the two Americans that were transported to the US for treatment-I believe the CDC has things well under control.
What does worry me is our massive misuse of antibiotics in this country (USA) particularly in feeding it to livestock. More antibiotics are fed to livestock than is used to treat humans! What is happening is the viruses are becoming more and more resistant to the antibiotics. One day my worry is that we will have a horrible virus that an antibiotic can't treat because of what we are doing now.
Debbie in MD.
|
|
|
Post by formerpea on Aug 1, 2014 20:59:49 GMT
Sensationalized? What makes you think that? (insert sarcasm smilie here) - just look at the link - CNN's page, in addition to Anderson's interview with Gupta, that page alone has at least TWENTY THREE different articles/videos, etc. It's just like everything else - whipping people into a frenzy.
I bet you right now that there is coverage of it on CNN and others - with the plane taking off, landing, interviews with health officials, mock patients with symptoms (kidding - but probably not far from the truth).
While scary, I believe the average American is safe.
|
|
|
Post by padresfan619 on Aug 1, 2014 21:15:07 GMT
The CDC is already chock full of samples of horrible diseases. Ebola is one of them. I am not worried about these two particular people coming back to the states.
|
|