Anyone else worried about Ebola?

[Scott Shepherd]

There's also plenty of documentation online that Ebola does turn all your organs to liquid. Just to be clear, this wasn't a "paid to be on radio" talking head, this guy was a caller, who was upset because the radio host repeatedly used the wrong phrases and terms. He didn't give his name or company, publicly, but said he did so to their screener so they could verify his credentials, so he didn't get any "credit" for his position, as no one knows who it was except the call screeners.

[David Weaver]

That's where he disagrees with you. He said that's exactly what they have. The quick searches I saw, showed Ebola having as high as a 90% fatality rate, so that's not too far off what he was saying. I've heard about 4-5 people now saying that true Ebola is the wickedest disease on the planet and ever known to man.

Unless every physician who ever read wikipedia and didn't edit it is wrong, ebola is not aerosolized in general. It also doesn't have a 100% fatality rate. The EBOV (the actual ebola virus) is summarized as having an 83% fatality rate on wiki, the other 4 viruses that cause Ebola (the disease) are listed with lower fatality rates. It is not aerosolized and Wiki lists it as the virus in general that's being seen in west africa. Not just EVD, but this particular virus. It also says that transmission is by lack of precautions or needle pricks, etc.

For the guy on the radio to say something like that and assume that nobody has looked at the virus in question under a microscope given the current outbreak is pretty ridiculous. (marburg, by the way, has a similar range of fatality rates - wiki lists it at 23-90%, depending on the outbreak). I am not a doctor, of course. These are pretty simple facts, though.

(there is always someone on the radio claiming to know something nobody else knows, from chiropractors claiming that all diseases are a function of food/nutrient deficiencies and subluxations to people peddling stock tips. It's not a whole lot unlike faith healing scams, ghost stories and professional wrestling promos - it's a matter of whatever it takes to get some publicity and draw in listeners to sell ads).

Ebola virus (EBOV) Formerly known as Zaire virus, or Zaire ebolavirus, has the highest case-fatality rate, up to 90% in some epidemics, with an average case fatality rate of approximately 83% over 27 years. There have been more outbreaks ofEbola virus than of any other species. The first outbreak took place on 26 August 1976 in Yambuku.^[7] Mabalo Lokela, a 44‑year-old schoolteacher, became the first recorded case. The symptoms resembled malaria, and subsequent patients received quinine. Transmission has been attributed to reuse of unsterilized needles and close personal contact. The virus is responsible for the 2014 West Africa Ebola virus outbreak, with the largest number of deaths to date.

[Scott Shepherd]

Unless every physician who ever read wikipedia and didn't edit it is wrong, ebola is not aerosolized in general.

Well, we don't know, do we? Since we have no idea what strains people are talking about, we have no idea. He might be talking about a strain that is different than the one that's listed on "wikipedia" (not exactly the best place to find accurate information, but assuming it's correct). All I'm saying is that guy said more things that sounded credible than anyone else I've heard. He talked in detail about the weapons programs of Russia and the USA and how he was around when all that was being developed. He named villages where they lost the entire town, he named places and the techniques they used to shut off the village and how they just let everyone die because there is no cure. He talked about a lot of things in great detail, hardly seemed like he was winging it and just making stuff up to make himself look smart. He was also an epidemiologist, and spoke in great detail about the differences in what's being seen and Ebola.

In my opinion, they could both be right. There could be a strain that's less deadly and it's what's commonly referred to as "Ebola" and there could be the strain he's talking about (which he said is 100% airborne) and it does fit the things he's said. Neither one has exclusivity on the truth, it's quite possible both things are true. For him to say it was the most horrific thing known to mankind doesn't exactly sound like we're talking about the same thing, so maybe both are true, and they are different strains. I think everything he said, about the villages, the deaths, the techniques can all be proven (had I known I was going to have to recall them, I would have paid more attention). I suspect their is plenty of proof that the US and Russia tried to weaponize it as well.

[Jerome Stanek]

There's also plenty of documentation online that Ebola does turn all your organs to liquid. Just to be clear, this wasn't a "paid to be on radio" talking head, this guy was a caller, who was upset because the radio host repeatedly used the wrong phrases and terms. He didn't give his name or company, publicly, but said he did so to their screener so they could verify his credentials, so he didn't get any "credit" for his position, as no one knows who it was except the call screeners.

He gave his credentials to the screener just like predators give theirs to twelve year old girls. I can look up a name and give it to someone on the phone and they could call and verify that yes this person ha all the credentials that I claim.

[David Weaver]

Wikipedia is well read and edited on factual information like this. It's not quite so great when it comes to corporate summaries (because they seem to be edited by people who have interest in trying to turn business summaries into an advertisement) or anything divisive.

This is a pretty simple issue. The current outbreak is not just EVD, it is the actual ebola virus. You can bet someone has confirmed that in a multitude of different ways. This guy you're referring to was on the radio, and i didn't hear anything about him confirming that he has viewed samples of the virus from patients. But you mention he said the "real" ebola is aerosolized, and it is not. A strain of it from south asia was, but nobody (people) exposed actually got it.

You mentioned that he said 100% of patients from the real ebola virus die from it. They do not. They haven't historically (83%) and in this case where it's confirmed that it's the ebola virus and not marburg, it's less than that.

It'd be interesting to know what his name was. This is a good case of checking this you hear on radio/tv/internet before you put too much stake in a single person's accounting or opinions of something.

(I'll bet the US and russia, and china, and you name it have tried to weaponize just about everything you can think of, from anthrax to alligator pee. It would surprise me if they didn't try to weaponize ebola).

Just as a second source, I went to the mayo clinic's site, and their message is "stop worrying about ebola". Transmission is direct contact with bodily fluids (caretakers and people preparing bodies), with no evidence of any insect transmission, etc and no mention of aerosolizing.

[Scott Shepherd]

He gave his credentials to the screener just like predators give theirs to twelve year old girls. I can look up a name and give it to someone on the phone and they could call and verify that yes this person ha all the credentials that I claim.

Wow, just wow. So you paint someone on the radio as the same as a sexual predator of 12 year olds? That's a stunning statement.

A convicted felon is capable of telling the truth. Just because they are a felon doesn't mean everything that say for the rest of their life is incorrect.

All I did was say what I heard on the radio. I don't know who he was or if it was credible, I do know that he gave some very specific information that lead me to believe he knew what he was talking about. More so than people posting about it on a forum like their are doctors. Who's right? I have no idea. As previously stated, I'm not a doctor. I did watch M*A*S*H a lot when I was a kid. What I do know is that I have watched the story change repeatedly enough in this case to know that we aren't being told the truth. When the story changes every 2 days, then someone's not being honest.

[David Weaver]

I don't know who he was or if it was credible, I do know that he gave some very specific information that lead me to believe he knew what he was talking about.

That's more a matter of speaking style about something we know little about than it is necessarily about substance. It is the mark of a con man to be able to stay one step ahead of their mark. that's not necessarily the situation here (a con), but nevertheless, con men make a living convincing people that they are authentic. So do people selling books that contain a lot of opinion and quasi-information or subjectivity. Whether it's medicine or musical instruments or life insurance.

[Pat Barry]

More news - 3 more Spanish hospital workers quarantined due to concerns over Ebola exposure. Yesterday it was the one nurse, first ever diagnosed as having contacted the disease out of west Africa.
and
"The American journalist with Ebola who arrived at a Nebraska hospital today believes that he may have gotten infected when he got splashed while spray-washing a vehicle where someone had died from the disease"
also
"“Most times, when people get it, there’s some kind of defining moment when they have been in close contact with the body fluids of somebody who had it,” Geisbert said" Note - Geisbert "tests Ebola drugs and vaccines at the University of Texas Medical Branch"

What bother me is the idea of most of the time there is something to point to as the cause (but not all the time).

[ray hampton]

will this disease spread from the drinking water ? what nation was the villages that was target for a wipe-out In ?

[David Weaver]

will this disease spread from the drinking water ? what nation was the villages that was target for a wipe-out In ?

No. contact with bodily fluids of someone, and the virus survival outside of the body is not particularly long in most cases. You can google it. It's a few minutes on a room temperature surface, but much longer on a surface if the temperature is close to zero.

[David Weaver]

some

It's all at this point. They're all addicted to putting stories up with sensationalized information and misleading titles to get clicks and listeners. Until people start writing them and saying "i'm not going to start listening or watching until you base yourself in a reasonable reality and don't use misleading titles", they're going to do it.

I guess they're going to do it as long as they get more clicks.

[Brett Luna]

I had another reply half composed when it occurred to me that the presumption will be that I'm lying...with me being in the Government 'n all. Another one bites the (non-saw) dust, I guess.

[Larry Browning]

I try not to worry about things, especially the things I have no control over. Worrying is a complete waste of time, there has never been a single problem in the history of man that has ever been solved by worrying about it. So how does worrying about it make things better?
The authorities are not asking me, (or anyone of us on this forum for that matter) which is as it should be.
In this case it does not matter at all what I think about it. Are they going to take a vote? What ever is going to happen will happen, and I can't do a single thing to control it. Why are you even having this discussion?

[Pat Barry]

I try not to worry about things, especially the things I have no control over. Worrying is a complete waste of time, there has never been a single problem in the history of man that has ever been solved by worrying about it. So how does worrying about it make things better?
The authorities are not asking me, (or anyone of us on this forum for that matter) which is as it should be.
In this case it does not matter at all what I think about it. Are they going to take a vote? What ever is going to happen will happen, and I can't do a single thing to control it. Why are you even having this discussion?

Sure larry, I understand no one is asking you. No one is asking any of us. That doesn't mean we can't have a discussion and try to educate ourselves. I see it as information exchange and discussion - pardon the title but you know what I mean.

Anyway - more recent news:
"The spread of Ebola in Europe is "unavoidable", the World Health Organization said shortly after the contraction of four new cases was announced in Spain.
“Such imported cases and similar events as have happened in Spain will happen also in the future, most likely,” the WHO European director Zsuzsanna Jakab told Reuters.
On Monday scientists predicted that there was a 75 percent chance that Ebola would reach France by the end October and a 50 percent chance for the UK.

I guess that's why I care. Its not just a west Africa problem anymore if you believe the WHO

"

[Jim Koepke]

It's all at this point. They're all addicted to putting stories up with sensationalized information and misleading titles to get clicks and listeners. Until people start writing them and saying "i'm not going to start listening or watching until you base yourself in a reasonable reality and don't use misleading titles", they're going to do it.

I guess they're going to do it as long as they get more clicks.

I am not sure it is even all who are doing it.

The news tease to keep listeners or viewers to 'stay tuned' is an old tradition.

Some broadcasters or bloggers go out of their way to make up incredible linkings between imagined conspiracies and actual events. The sad part is at anytime at least 25% of our population take what these lords and ladies of artistic bull shoveling as the gospel truth. "If xxxx said it, it has to be true." Now if I could just convince them that xxxx wants them to buy my bridge...

jtk