Ebola patient coming to Atlanta hospital
- Thread starter NUance
- Start date
Landlord
Banned
There is literally less than .1% chance of this ever being an issue at all. It's honestly not even news.
EbylHusker
Banned
The virus isn't going to suddenly mutate and become airborne. First of all, it's not even a respiratory virus. It's not at home in your respiratory system. Not only does it require direct contact with bodily fluids, but sweat and saliva carry such a low concentration that, as far as I know, transmission is only theoretically possible through those fluids. And even then, not through sneezing and coughing. So we're not talking some minor mutation here, but essentially a reorganizing of the entire virus - yeah, not going to happen, please stop watching movies.
As for bringing it onto American soil, it's not even an issue anyone should be concerned about. First because all of the above, but also because ebola really has no chance to spread in civilized nations. I could go into details, but there are a lot of differences between the United States and countries in Africa, and those differences would make it essentially impossible for any kind of ebola "outbreak" to happen here.
As for bringing it onto American soil, it's not even an issue anyone should be concerned about. First because all of the above, but also because ebola really has no chance to spread in civilized nations. I could go into details, but there are a lot of differences between the United States and countries in Africa, and those differences would make it essentially impossible for any kind of ebola "outbreak" to happen here.
tschu
Banned
It's a very real concern, RNA viruses mutate at a very high rate. But you're right in that it would require a change to the capsule itself. Not necessarily a wholesale reorganization, but a pretty large-scale change. I'm not a viral expert but I'll defer to the fact that scientists are at least keeping an eye on things with respect to this
WRT the virus coming to the US, this article is pretty good http://www.vox.com/2014/8/2/5962555/ebola-outbreak-virus-symptoms-american-hospital-emory-brantly-atlanta
EbylHusker
Banned
No, it's not a real concern at all. They're keeping an eye on it because in the world of science you can't ever be certain. Great, so scientists will keep an eye on it. There's no reason for anyone else to be worried about it. It shouldn't even be a second thought. The fact that scientists are keeping an eye on it doesn't mean there's any real chance ebola will mutate to something airborne on our soil.
Btw, does anyone here honestly believe ebola is not kept in the U.S. at some location? I hope not, lol... You'd be better off worrying about smallpox, which actually would be a threat if it got out.
Oh I forgot. Donald Trump is worried about this...that's what great company you people are in. Serious lulz there. Congrats.
Btw, does anyone here honestly believe ebola is not kept in the U.S. at some location? I hope not, lol... You'd be better off worrying about smallpox, which actually would be a threat if it got out.
Oh I forgot. Donald Trump is worried about this...that's what great company you people are in. Serious lulz there. Congrats.
Last edited by a moderator:
EbylHusker
Banned
Let me be a bit clearer, sorry.
So yes, ebola's capsid would have to change in order for it to become an airborne threat. But it would have to change in multiple ways, including being able to survive in a drier environment, being compatible with entry to respiratory cells, etc. Those are not minor changes, and they're probalby not the only ones that would need to happen just to the capsid. Beyond that, it's very likely the method of infection would need to be altered as well. And even further, the virus would need to start concentrating more in fluids like saliva, which would up the chances of infection, etc. At least all of that would have to happen just to make ebola any kind of an airborne threat, and I wouldn't be surprised if even more would have to change. And even if it became an airborne threat, it wouldn't jump right to wildly infectious through the air - more than likely it would be extremely limited in terms of airborne transmission.
Regardless of the rate of mutation (which actually varies quite a bit), the chances of all this happening in any short amount of time are essentially zero. In fact, the chances of it ever happening are very slim. A respiratory virus jumping species amongst mammals is not nearly the same as ebola suddenly mutating to become airborne. Yes, it is in the movies, but that's about the only place - not reality.
It's not a threat that anyone needs to worry about.
So yes, ebola's capsid would have to change in order for it to become an airborne threat. But it would have to change in multiple ways, including being able to survive in a drier environment, being compatible with entry to respiratory cells, etc. Those are not minor changes, and they're probalby not the only ones that would need to happen just to the capsid. Beyond that, it's very likely the method of infection would need to be altered as well. And even further, the virus would need to start concentrating more in fluids like saliva, which would up the chances of infection, etc. At least all of that would have to happen just to make ebola any kind of an airborne threat, and I wouldn't be surprised if even more would have to change. And even if it became an airborne threat, it wouldn't jump right to wildly infectious through the air - more than likely it would be extremely limited in terms of airborne transmission.
Regardless of the rate of mutation (which actually varies quite a bit), the chances of all this happening in any short amount of time are essentially zero. In fact, the chances of it ever happening are very slim. A respiratory virus jumping species amongst mammals is not nearly the same as ebola suddenly mutating to become airborne. Yes, it is in the movies, but that's about the only place - not reality.
It's not a threat that anyone needs to worry about.
tschu
Banned
I'm not worried about it at all. It's a very low chance. But RNA viruses are really unstable and mutate quickly, and it's worth keeping an eye on. Sort of like how the NEO program catalogs asteroids that might pose a threat. That is all.
HUSKER 37
All-American
Just in case You want to know what we think we know so far...(I was curious about what vectors were most likely used and thereby how fast or far it has potentially been spread so far)... I feel a little safer now...maybe..
http://www.tarakharper.com/v_ebola.htm#vec
http://www.tarakharper.com/v_ebola.htm#vec
Last edited by a moderator:
HUSKER 37
All-American
While I agree with the notion of taking care of your own 1st, the mad scientist in me would be excited to have a chance to combat Ebola in person...From what little I remember from Microbiology classes, this little critter has the potential to wipe out large portions of the cancer we call the human race..sorry..a little extremist thoughts seeping through...But if we are to ever have a chance to beat Ebola...Wouldn't you want the world's best playing with this thing? As opposed to trusting the locals to "just handle it" and hope it doesn't make it's way here?
Spreading it is inevitable...At least this way is more controlled (hopefully) but with the government involved, you just never know if that's a wise choice...It sounds like the beginning of one of those goofy Outbreak movies that takes poetic license just to scare the masses.
I guess I feel like it's much better to attack unknowns (diseases in this case). Head on rather than to try to hide from it and somehow use "those other people" as a buffer.
I'd really hate to be one of these two patient/Doctors..To be responsible for the very slight possibility of spreading it back home... If it were just me or my Son...I would probably take one for the team...Although losing my Son would probably make me lose all compassion for others...And I'd really hate to become the poster child for an outbreak on this side of imaginary lines..Uh..Border..I mean Border...But this is more than about two lives...It's hopefully about finding a cure for the latest evolution of nasty viruses...I've heard they're now using past (conquered) viruses to fight Cancer ..Something similar to a Trojan Horse to enter the Cancer Cells and allow modified DNA or RNA strands to kill only those bad cells...Much harder to make these sort of medical advances with a mobile lab...
Spreading it is inevitable...At least this way is more controlled (hopefully) but with the government involved, you just never know if that's a wise choice...It sounds like the beginning of one of those goofy Outbreak movies that takes poetic license just to scare the masses.
I guess I feel like it's much better to attack unknowns (diseases in this case). Head on rather than to try to hide from it and somehow use "those other people" as a buffer.
I'd really hate to be one of these two patient/Doctors..To be responsible for the very slight possibility of spreading it back home... If it were just me or my Son...I would probably take one for the team...Although losing my Son would probably make me lose all compassion for others...And I'd really hate to become the poster child for an outbreak on this side of imaginary lines..Uh..Border..I mean Border...But this is more than about two lives...It's hopefully about finding a cure for the latest evolution of nasty viruses...I've heard they're now using past (conquered) viruses to fight Cancer ..Something similar to a Trojan Horse to enter the Cancer Cells and allow modified DNA or RNA strands to kill only those bad cells...Much harder to make these sort of medical advances with a mobile lab...
Last edited by a moderator:
Omaha-Husker
All-Conference
Really interesting that the Nebraska Medical Center has been visited by the State Department about the virus. Apparently our biocontainment facility is the largest in the nation. Officials have said there are no plans to send ebola patients to Omaha at this time, but they are just being prepared if something else arises.
EbylHusker
Banned
Ok, so the conclusion we've come to is ebola is no real threat to us, has no real shot at being a threat to us with this event, and nobody outside of the people actually involved in treating the victims coming to the US should be worrying about it. Got it.
