5 reasons to not panic over Ebola virus

[Logical]

By Bill Briggs and Maggie Fox, NBC News

(NBC News) - Ebola has dominated headlines and nightmares in America since the arrival of missionaries infected with the virus. But the first case diagnosed in the U.S. threatened to turn that whiff of fear into full-blown Ebola hysteria.

Virus-driven worries sent airline stocks downward — causing the market to plunge 200-plus points. And in Texas, where the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the first case of Ebola diagnosed in this country, some Dallas parents on Wednesday pulled their kids out of a school attended by one child who was potentially exposed to the sick man.

Overreactions? According to infectious disease doctors and CDC experts: Yes, those behaviors are not at all in line with scientific knowledge of how Ebola spreads — gleaned from numerous past outbreaks of the virus in distant lands.

Ebola may be here, living inside the body of a patient now being treated in isolation at a Dallas hospital. But here are five reasons why Americans need to calm down, take a breath, take a flight, if need be — and, if it makes them feel any better, by all means, they can also wash their hands.

1 - Could his flight put travelers at risk and trigger a U.S. outbreak?
No. That firm answer is rooted in the timing of both his illness and his travel itinerary.

The patient left Monrovia, Liberia on Sept. 19 and arrived in the U.S. on Sept. 20. He first developed symptoms on Sept. 24. On Sept. 26, he went to a Dallas hospital but was sent home. He got sicker and called an ambulance on Sept. 28 and, on that day, he was admitted to the hospital and placed in isolation.

If a person with Ebola does not yet show symptoms — which may include fever, fatigue, achiness, vomiting, bleeding and diarrhea — he cannot transmit the virus. In someone who contracts Ebola, the virus can incubate inside the body for as long 21 days before making him feel ill.

“The people on the plane are not a problem because he was not symptomatic while he was on the plane,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases told MSNBC. CDC does not recommend that people who were on the same flights with the patient undergo monitoring.

2 - Could people who came in contact with him after he got sick cause an outbreak?
That is very, very unlikely, Fauci said.

“We feel confident that there won't be an outbreak,” Fauci said.

The people who were around the patient are now being identified and traced by the CDC and by the state health authorities.

“When you say contact tracing, you mean you get people, you identify them, and you observe and monitor them daily to determine if they develop symptoms,” Fauci said. “If they do, then you put them under isolation to determine if, in fact, they are infected.

“And if you do that properly, you can shut down any outbreak,” he added. “And that's the reason why … we feel that this is able to be done because the professionals, the CDC people who are very good at this and have done it very well and successfully, are going to be able to do that contact tracing and get that, in essence, put the lid on this.”

3 - If you are simply near a person with Ebola, can you get the virus?
No. Ebola virus doesn't drift through the air like germs that cause measles or tuberculosis. That's how doctors and nurses are able to safely treat people with the virus.

To become infected with Ebola, you would need to get some of the ill person's bodily fluids — blood, semen, vomit, or sputum — into your mouth, nose, or eyes, or into your body via a cut or a needle stick. Doctors say that, as yet, there is no evidence anyone has ever been infected via sweat.

“Avoid contact with blood and body fluids of any person, particularly someone who is sick,” the CDC instructs.

4 - Can a cleanser kill the virus on surfaces?
Yes. Killing the virus outside the body is easy. Unlike anthrax, Ebola also doesn't form spores that can survive a good, alcohol-based cleaning, experts say.

Even if you get the virus on your hands, you won't necessarily get sick. (As always, don't put hands in your mouth, nose or eyes — and don't eat with your hands — unless you've washed them first.)

“If you must travel to an area affected by the 2014 Ebola outbreak, protect yourself by doing the following: Wash hands frequently or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer,” the CDC says.

5 - OK, if it's so easy to control, why is there an outbreak in West Africa?
Tragically simple: because most people in those countries are not able to follow these simple precautions. Some may not have access to soap and water. Some may be touching the bodies of the Ebola dead in preparation for burial.

But another Ebola hot zone, Nigeria, provides a hopeful roadmap to overall containment.

In Nigeria, doctors have limited infections caused by a Liberian-American man who traveled to Nigeria from Liberia after he got sick. There were 19 cases confirmed, but there have been no new cases since Aug. 31.

“That experience shows us that even in the case in Nigeria, when we found out later in the timeline that this patient had Ebola, that Nigeria was able to identify contacts, institute strict infection control procedures and basically bring their outbreak to a close,” said Dr. Tom Inglesby, Chief Executive Officer and Director of the UPMC Center for Health Security in Pittsburgh.

“They did a good job in and of themselves. They worked closely with the U.S. CDC. If we can succeed in Nigeria… I do believe we will stop it here.”

More at: http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/26687313/5-reasons-to-not-panic-over-ebola-virus

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. This is an excellent article, and the points well stated.

We must keep them in mind.

Let's make this information go viral!

K&R

[Logical]

4. + 1000 nt

[scarletwoman]

6. Agreed. Here's a kick. (nt)

[Texasgal]

2. Thanks for the post Logical.

It is indeed Logical!

[Logical]

5. Thanks!! nt

[MineralMan]

3. Good stuff!

[Fred Sanders]

7. One reason to flee in fear is the TV told me to, and I am too ill informed and lazy to look it up

for myself on the Googly-thingy.

Nigeria contained it and no cases for over a month....also on the Googly-thingy for the past month.
Senegal contained it, Uganda contained it a couple of years back.

America, you have been officially punked by a virus, time to get back to some good old fashioned Muslim fear mongering.

Bill Maher, you're up, just after Pam Gellar has her airtime.

So What Are you So Afraid Of?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2014/10/05/nothing-to-fear-but-ebola-itself/

The media should be held responsible, is my take.

[Logical]

8. LOL! nt

[uppityperson]

9. k&r for a good article, easy to understand information.

[dhol82]

10. Excellent article. However.....

go into the comments section. The hysteria is mind bending.

[kestrel91316]

11. Lack of proper sanitation plays a HUGE role in its spread. So we would do well to remember that

Americans as a whole have a terrible track record on proper handwashing and basic sanitation. We're kind of pigs.

[Logical]

12. Good point. I myself are guilty of that at times. Shaking hands is bad also I hear. nt

[kestrel91316]

14. Shaking hands where Ebola is common is not bad, it turns out, because of virus in sweat

(that's apparently only an issue in advanced illness near death). It turns out it is just the fomite thing. Hands are great objects to get contaminated by virus and then spread it around to other hands and from there to mucous membranes.

Touching sweaty people ill with Ebola is still a bad idea, but they aren't walking around greeting people normally as a general rule.

[uppityperson]

16. Shaking hands with someone who just cleaned up vomit without gloves and didn't wash their hands

well, that is bad. When you don't have gloves? Clean water? It is bad.

[NightWatcher]

13. 4 more reasons to not freak out. SARS, Bird Flu, Swine Flu, Anthrax

Those didn't get us (yet) and those were actually dangerous

[LynneSin]

20. Seriously, do you know anything about Viruses?

You're talking Biosafety Level 3 and 2 biological agents which by definition have some form of treatment. This is documented information that you can read about on a Wiki page or at the CDC website. By definition BSL2 and BSL3 agents are treatable but sometimes the biggest issue to treatment of these is getting enough vaccines (or in the case of Anthrax enough antibiotics) out to the population so they can be treated and safe from infection. Don't get me wrong - when left untreated these are dangerous agents that can kill and in populated areas where sanitation is poor they can spread quickly.

Ebola is a BSL 4 agent. BSL 4 agents are mainly supervirus that have no known treatment or vaccine. Sure they have tried a few things that have have worked with this recent release but that was because they were able to get to the patient early and even then it wasn't always successful. The treatment for these viruses are usually found on the host species since these viruses tend to live on other species for years like bats or monkeys and the somehow find their way into the human population. Past cases of Ebola have had death rates as high as 90%. There was even a case of Ebola here in the United States that had 0% (turns out it was strain of Ebola that only killed Monkeys - that is now referred to as the Ebola Reston strain since it was in Reston Virginia where it killed a warehouse of Monkeys.). But when researches look as BSL 4 agents they wear spacesuits and they go into laboratories that are under severe lockdown because these things are serious motherfuckers that you do NOT want to mess with.

The reason this thing has spread like it has in Africa is because how easy it does get from one person to another because of the lack of sanitation in some parts of the country over there. When Ebola hits hard, the patient is going to have stuff coming out from all openings of their body - the diarrhea, the vomit, the bleeding of the eyes and other openings on the body. All of that stuff is teaming to the brim with live Ebola waiting to find a new body. The best way to contain this stuff is to contain the population that has it to ensure that they do not get into the uninfected population. That's not easy to do in a 3rd country like Liberia or Sierra Leone and it's why this thing is going bonkers.

But what happened in Dallas is bad. First, hospital works have no clue what to expect when they see someone walk in with Ebola. They let that patient go and if that guy started spewing goo from every pore of his body someone is going to accidentally touch that stuff and then the cycle grows.

I blame the Media. Someone should have kept in mind the real threat of BSL2 and BSL3 agents and not have made such media shitstorms over nothing. Sure report about them but don't turn them into a 3-ring circus.

As for Ebola, probably nothing if we're smart about this. Hospitals need to be aware this could be happening and hopefully the next time someone walks in they take it a bit more serious.

[Live and Learn]

15. K&R nt

[Mister Nightowl]

17. http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014911239

K&R to you.

[Kablooie]

18. One reason TO panic...

Fox News tells you to.

(Not the best reason, but hey, whaddya gonna do?)

[Logical]

19. They need panic to blame Obama. nt

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

21. Thankfully, we've only got about another two weeks until

people can quit freaking out about people having caught it from the guy in Dallas, since that'll be our 21 days since he went into isolation.

[Logical]

22. Good Point! nt

[morningfog]

23. And really we'll know early this week.

Although it can incubate up to 21 days, with this strain incubation averages 8-10 days. Today is 10 days since the 25th. He wasn't severely ill on the 25th, so there won't likely be infections from then, but by Wed or Thur, if the family and the ambulance crew aren't showing symptoms, we can take it as a positive sign. This time next week, we should all be moving on to the next freak out (which could very well be another Ebola case).

[pnwmom]

29. Except the family continued to be exposed to his secretions during the time they were in

the contaminated apartment, well after he left.

[morningfog]

30. The virus doesn't survive forever without a host.

Survival at room temp is on the order of hours. Duncan was removed the 29th. The incubation clock started soon thereafter, at the absolute latest.

Mid to late this week, we'll know whether there are second generation infections in Dallas, and to what extent.

[pnwmom]

31. It can survive in certain conditions for days. Why do you think the Clean Up Guys

were outfitted from head to toe? How come they needed that and not the woman when she was bagging things herself, days after he left?

I think your estimate is way too optimistic. Even if the majority happen by 10 days, the only realistic date is the full 21.

[morningfog]

33. Link to the virus surviving for days without a host?

Regardless, it is much more likely that an infection would occur from the person than bedding.

[pnwmom]

34. Dr. Brantley got infected while fully outfitted. "Much more likely"

wasn't much comfort to him or his family.

http://www.msdsonline.com/resources/msds-resources/free-safety-data-sheet-index/ebola-virus.aspx

SURVIVAL OUTSIDE HOST: The virus can survive in liquid or dried material for a number of days (23). Infectivity is found to be stable at room temperature or at 4°C for several days, and indefinitely stable at -70°C (6, 20). Infectivity can be preserved by lyophilisation. 


[wercal]

24. Item 2 is predicated on the ability to identify and monitor people

Imagine if this Dallas patient's timing were changed by a few days, and he was infecting people on that airplane. The task of monitoring people becomes exponentially more difficult.

This thing has the potential to be a huge PITA, if nothing else.

[Logical]

25. Good point nt

[grahamhgreen]

26. And we got the best health care system in the world!!!! Yuk, yuk, yuk!!!

[No Vested Interest]

27. I'm getting a little sick of hearing so much talk

of Ebola.
We've been told the basic facts many times.
Then the media starts with the speculation.
Just filling air time, I guess.

[Logical]

32. Good point, 24/7 news causes a lot of this crap! nt

[pnwmom]

28. It would be nice if we could count on hospitals to not send Ebola patients back home

without testing them.

And if we could count on the states not to allow their exposed relatives to continue to go to work and school for days.

And then to not trap their relatives in a contaminated apartment.

And to decontaminate the ambulance that transported Ebola patients so no other patients would then be exposed.

And when a homeless patient was exposed, to not send him back to the streets, only to lose him for a while.

The assurances in the article ring hollow in light of the comedy of errors we have all been watching.