I'm surprised there's been no thread about this...

[liberty]

Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan dies at Dallas hospital.

Would the family have grounds for a law suit?

I have decided to rescind the offer of a PM, probably the less said about it the better. Fortunately no one PMed so there is no problem with honor to consider.

[Crackpot]

It was no doubt racist.

[liberty]

Has it occurred to anyone here what the most dangerous thing about Ebola could be? I won’t say here but PM if your curious and I will tell you .

I have decided to rescind the offer of a PM, probably the less said about it the better. Fortunately no one PMed so there is no problem with honor to consider.

Sorry about the double post but I was in a hurry.

[liberty]

It was no doubt racist.

No!

[BoSoxGal]

I read a comment on an Ebola article on NPR's Facebook feed last night in which some smart-sounding guy (yeah, could have been a dope, I know) posted showing how Ebola could spread to the entire world population by September 2016, based on the current exponential rate of spread in West Africa.

Obviously Mr. Duncan is evidence that even in our very advanced US hospitals, death is more common than not.

Additionally, the case of the infected nurse in Spain raises another issue - could Ebola infect dogs, causing them to become a vector for the disease? Another piece I read - again, NPR - was an interview with a scientist (virologist?) who talked about why euthanizing her dog was probably the best option, because we have no real information about the role dogs play in carrying the disease.

Meanwhile, apparently dogs in Sierra Leone, Liberia, etc. are (sorry this is gross) scavenging on corpses of Ebola victims left in the street because there aren't enough people willing to engage in the proper disposal of Ebola-infected remains.

I don't watch TV or any of that hype, but I have to admit, it's kind of unsettling to consider the worst case scenario. At the same time, as I said before, maybe this is going to be nature's way of shaking off the plague of humans - because we are, indeed, a plague on this planet.

[Guinevere]

Guin, you'll just have to send him your date of birth, social security number and Visa or MasterCard account so he can wire the information to you directly.

I'll try to resist.

[Lord Jim]

I have decided to rescind the offer of a PM, probably the less said about it the better.

Congratulations Lib, you have now guaranteed that more will be said about it...

That male patients who have been treated and survive can carry the virus in their semen for weeks to months?

Is that true? If it is, then shame on the press; they are doing an horrendous job of publicizing it. With all the coverage I've seen and read on this that is the first time I've seen that mentioned. If that's accurate, it's a very important thing for the public to be made aware of.

I'm going to have to do some digging on this...

[Guinevere]

Dude, do you really think I'd publish incorrect information, like the right-wing wackos have been doing, on this issue?

Here is the CDC page with the information:

http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/transmission/index.html

Ebola virus has been found in semen for up to 3 months. People who recover from Ebola are advised to abstain from sex or use condoms for 3 months.

[Guinevere]

Oh, I bet I know what his "factoid" is -- that ebola was developed by the gub'mint to use as a bioterriorism weapon . . . note the website name . . .

http://www.libertynews.com/2014/10/excl ... ve-report/

[BoSoxGal]

It's true that the US holds 8 patents on ebola virus . . . but doesn't he realize the NSA can also read our PMs?

[Lord Jim]

Dude, do you really think I'd publish incorrect information, like the right-wing wackos have been doing, on this issue?

Well I had to ask Guin, because when I did a search the first thing that popped up was a website called "Conspiracy Theory Cantina"...

http://ctcantina.com/showthread.php?tid=2190&pid=13899

But I certainly assume that CDC is being honest about this. (Since they have no ideological motive to lie, like they did regarding the deaths caused by second hand smoke; to the best of my knowledge that's the only thing they've been dishonest about.)

I really don't understand why the media is doing such a piss poor job of publicizing this. Maybe it's because at them moment it's such a limited problem in the US, but if that's the rationale, it's a lousy one.

Oh, I bet I know what his "factoid" is -- that ebola was developed by the gub'mint to use as a bioterriorism weapon . . .

I was going to guess that it was Islamic terrorists trying to bring the virus into the US to spread it...


See what you've started Lib?

[Guinevere]

It's also on the Canadian Health Service's MSDS for ebola.

It's unclear whether that can transmit the virus, but better safe than very very sorry.

And yes, I assume the CDC hasn't gotten to discussing that because we aren't at that point, and hopefully will not get there.

[MajGenl.Meade]

When you're at Jo'burg airport waiting to go through Immigration, you are required to first stand for what I suppose to be an infrared thermal scan. Temperature is a significant guide to detection of influenza and (I suppose) ebola. For 'flu I've seen figures of 70% accuracy or better... not sure that would be much reassurance with ebola. Hope the five US airports are not going to use rectal thermometers on the folks flying in from West Africa - whole lot of belt removing going on

[Lord Jim]

New screening protocols:

Ebola: US begins West Africa air passenger screening

Travellers from Ebola-affected countries will face increased security scrutiny at five major US airports.

Passengers from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea will have their temperatures taken and have to answer questions.The new measures at O'Hare in Chicago, JFK and Newark in the New York area, Washington's Dulles, and Atlanta's airport will begin in the coming days.

The Ebola outbreak has already killed more than 3,000 people and infected more than 7,200, mostly in West Africa.

The increase in passenger testing comes after the first person diagnosed with Ebola on US soil died in Dallas on Wednesday.Thomas Duncan travelled to the US from Liberia, and was only diagnosed with the disease once he arrived in Texas.

A police officer who visited Mr Duncan's home is now reported to have Ebola-like symptoms and has been taken to hospital as a precaution. Frisco Mayor Maher Maso described the risk as "minimal", but officials were taking "an abundance of caution"

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-29541840

Here's the thing that has puzzled me about the Duncan case from the get-go:

It makes perfect sense that a person living in Liberia, who thought they had been exposed to Ebola and would lie about it in order to gain entrance to the US if they had the means to do so. Obviously, they would have the benefit of better medical care, improving their chances of survival. (Of course if that was his thinking, the joke's on Mr. Duncan...)

But what makes absolutely no sense at all, is if this what he did, then why on earth didn't he come clean about it the first time went to the hospital ?

Why didn't he say something like: "I was exposed to an Ebola patient before I came from Liberia. I didn't think I caught it, but it's apparent now that I have. You need to put me in isolation and begin treatment."

His failure to do something like that really doesn't jibe with the claim that he was conscious of his exposure to the virus...

[wesw]

I ve seen NO info on how long the virus can live outside the body...., strange.

[Gob]

I was going to guess that it was Islamic terrorists trying to bring the virus into the US to spread it...

Don't be daft. The US government, under control of giant repotiods, led by Queen Elizabeth II, are spreading it via chemtrails.

[wesw]

the QE flu?

[Gob]

[wesw]

thank you. syphilis really opens the moronic mind....

[Big RR]

I ve seen NO info on how long the virus can live outside the body...., strange.

Check this link:

http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/lab-bio/res/ ... la-eng.php

The information is there. It's an official Canada link so I'm inclined to accept it.

There are other similar links from which can be obtained by a google search.