5000 years of history, useless.

[Savannahmann]

The bible talks of isolating people who may have the dread disease of Leprosy. I think the Bible called everything Leprosy, so that's not the point. The point is that the plan of action in the old text is to isolate those who may have it, to make sure it is the disease, and then make sure that those with the disease do not interact with those who do not have it, so the disease does not spread.

In other words, isolate those who may have the disease, and quarantine those who do have it. This is from a time when people rarely bathed, hygiene was non existent. Yet our plan for today is to let people monitor themselves, try not to travel too much, and oh yeah, just chill out and relax, because this is all wasted effort, you can't have it.

The technique mentioned in the Bible is the second most successful technique known to man. The first is of course a Vaccine. Absent that wonderful thing, the second is isolation, and then quarantine.

Now, the people in the Old Testament had no idea how disease spread, they were ignorant of bacteria, ignorant of microscopic particulate matter like Virus strand, but they managed to come up with a technique that is very successful in preventing additional infections.

Somehow in ignorance, the Old Testament is wiser than we are in our enlightenment.

Isolation, and quarantine. Not newfangled ideals, not ancient medicine performed by an exorcist. Just good public health policy.

I guess the idea that this time tested technique might work today is inconceivable.

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

[LostOne4Ever]

1. Ill take the advice of modern science based medicine over a book

which condones slavery, misogyny, child abuse, homophobia, and which gets basic elementary science wrong numerous times not to mention which contradicts itself over 1000 times.

But if you want to use it as a guide to making decisions, that is your right. Good luck to you with that.

[Warren DeMontague]

7. Interesting, then, that not only have countries in Africa closed their borders, but the affected

countries themselves- Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone- have their OWN quarantined areas.

Measures which have had no small amount of effectiveness.


Perhaps you should go over there and lecture them to stop.

[LostOne4Ever]

9. If modern science advised against such actions

Then sure. If it does not advise against, or even supports such action, then I am all for them.

Regardless, I am sure science will have better advise on how to handle the situation than an ancient book which thinks that bats are birds, pi is 3, that unicorns and dragons exist, that women came from a man's rib, and that the earth is a flat immovable circular disk with foundations and pillars that the sun and moon revolve around.

But if you feel that book is a reliable source of medical knowledge, feel free to follow it. Its advise on snakehandling and eating cakes cooked over burning feces, in particular, is superb I hear...

[Warren DeMontague]

10. I'm not suggesting that the Bible is anything except a rambling, incomprehensible paperweight

provided by the Gideons.

But that doesn't change the logic of quarantining lethal infectious pathogens, a topic which seems to cause some rambling, incomprehensible temper tantrums of its own.

[LostOne4Ever]

11. My comments were not meant to be either in favor or against quarantining infectious people

But rather, saying that the bible would be the last place I would get medical advise from.

If you took interpreted my words any other way, I apologize.

[Warren DeMontague]

12. Sure, you probably eat shellfish, too.

SINNER!

[LostOne4Ever]

13. Wrapped in delicious bacon!

[Warren DeMontague]

14. My wife is Jewish, and she loves bacon.

Oddly enough, I'm a flamin' Atheist, and I don't touch pork at all.

[LostOne4Ever]

15. I'm also an atheist (obviously), and I don't drink alcohol

Partly because alcoholism runs in my family, mostly because I don't really care for the taste of it.

Atheists who just so happen to avoid certain foods and drinks prohibited by religion. That would make an interesting topic in the A&A forum.

[arcane1]

2. Should we isolate everyone who has beenin contact, and leave them all to die?

The bible was written by credulous idiots.

[jwirr]

3. The suggestion in the OT is for those who already have it. We are doing that. All of them have

been hospitalized. In no way does the OT require a quarantine of people who have been exposed or may get it later. The lepers would have all had their families isolated with them if that had been the case. In fact Jesus would been quarantined because he associated with lepers.

Having said that I think we are actually going a step beyond what they did in the OT. We do have some family members quarantined and the state of Texas has finally required those exposed to stop traveling. We also monitor those who are exposed now. All new ways of handling the situation.

[KoKo]

4. Get your point....but don't think we want "Leper Colonies"

where Lepers were segregated their whole lives as the disease progressed and dependent on a few kind souls who could try to get food to them but feared for their lives. Many starved or suffered other illnesses because they could only get "scrap food" because the fear of them was so great. The descriptions in the Bible are horrific.

The standards/procedures for "isolation" in hospitals need to be upgraded and better training and access to supplies supported. The ability to diagnose faster would help. And, some way worked out that alternative sites could be located more quickly if there were too many patients for the hospital to handle. Plus, those who came into contact with the identified person who have to "watch and wait" need to have a place that they can go where they have access to food and other needs while isolated.

One of the good things to come out of this is that hopefully some inventive person will come up with easier to use and more comfortable protective equipment. The videos I've seen of how difficult it is to get properly "suited up" and descriptions of how uncomfortable they are to be in for more than a half hour seem to say there's lots of room for improvement there. Better disposal methods, too.

Terrible as it is there is much good that can come out of this "Wake Up" call if there is the will and money to do it. That's the question our privatized hospitals need to deal with.

[mr blur]

5. "Somehow in ignorance, the Old Testament is wiser than we are in our enlightenment."?

No, no it isn't.

[procon]

6. the bible is not a history textbook and

neither is it a medical or science textbook.

Lets leave religious books to preach their faiths, and leave "good public health policy" to the 21st century experts in that field.

[HereSince1628]

8. IMO, isolating ourselves from our feces was maybe the best health step ever

Sanitation is the foundational necessity of living in permanent large settings.

Sewage treatment and availability of water are way more important and effective than fear and shunning, when you include any measure of unintended harm to others.

[EvolveOrConvolve]

16. "Somehow in ignorance, the Old Testament is wiser than we are in our enlightenment. "

You forgot the sarcasm icon.