Ebola Virus

[airbusgirl66]

Ebola called 'out of control' in West Africa

Anyone want a Conakry layover?

[Old King Coal]

Get a grip!

Whilst any sort of endemic disease is never a good thing, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) could also equally have said that either Malaria and / or Typhoid are "Out of Control" in West Africa (and indeed those two diseases annually kill many, many, many, more than ever has Ebola) but, when making such pronouncements, MSF (just like 'Oxfam' and / or the 'RSPCA' and / or 'RSPCC') are often more interested in (self-)serving their own ends, i.e. it regularly suits their agenda and / or 'Modus Operandi' to paint things much worse than in fact they actually are; as that then often garners political influence and / or monetary donations for their coffers.

See this for an alternative view: Malaria and / or Typhoid -- not Ebola -- biggest health threat for travelers to tropics

Fwiw, as I type this reply, I'm presently in West Africa (Monrovia / Liberia, to be precise) in a bar watching the 'World Cup' (Ghana vs Germany) and all is completely normal... aside from regular outbursts of frenetic football related shouting, chanting, and general African exuberance !

[Outatowner]

King your prodigious use of italics and the / symbol with spaces before and after it plus many sets of () makes for a slight headache when reading your post.

Just sayin' - as the yanks would say.

[pilotday]

Mapping Africa's "Totally Out Of Control" Ebola Epidemic | Zero Hedge

[Old King Coal]

Here are some facts from the World Health Organisation (WHO) regarding Malaria (based on data from 2012) for Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, versus the current supposedly out of control 'Ebola epidemic' that is (also) effecting Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone:

Total combined population of all 3 countries = 21,620,000
Total Malaria infections = 3,261,977 (15% of total population)
Total deaths due to Malaria = 6,315 (0.03% of total population)

Total Ebola infections = 567 (0.003% of total population)
Total Ebola deaths = 350 (0.0002% of total population)

I should add that both diseases are easily preventable, albeit that Malaria is probably the harder of the two to avoid.

[boocs]

Reminds me of SARS or Bird flu in Southern China/Hong Kong. Yes it's tragic that people died of these diseases when they hit, but as OKCoal alludes, other diseases have far more significant results.
For info 775 people died from SARS, and 206 from bird flu. The general 'flu' kills 36,000 people in the US alone on an annual basis.

b.

[mooseknuckles]

Here's the latest....

Outbreak of Ebola in Guinea | Ebola | CDC

Interim Guidance for Airline Workers | Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers | CDC

http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/alert/ebola-guinea

http://www.afro.who.int/en/clusters-...july-2014.html

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n...leone-liberia/

Stay safe

[Old King Coal]

And here's an interesting bit of research too, i.e. regarding the methods and likelihood of infection thereof:

Assessment of the Risk of Ebola Virus Transmission from Bodily Fluids and Fomites

Perhaps the most pertinent point of which is this:

Taken together, our results support the conventional assumptions and field observations that most EBOV transmission comes from direct contact with blood or bodily fluids of an infected patient during the acute phase of illness. The risk of casual contacts with the skin, such as shaking hands, is likely to be low. Environmental contamination and fomites do not appear to pose a significant risk when currently recommended infection control guidelines for the viral hemorrhagic fevers are followed.

[airbusgirl66]

Glad this passenger wasn't on my flight….

Ebola now taking toll on doctors

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/07/27/wo...html?hpt=hp_c3

[rjtjrt]

No longer is it in an isolated area/village far from connection to rest of the world.
Now it has potentially reached Lagos, it is very serious.
21 Million people in a densely populated 3rd world city, with third world institutions, but connections via an international airport, it is a recipe for an truly un contained epidemic.
If they have isolated that man in time maybe not too late, but more likely he is not the only person to be taking it far and wide.
This is a very serious world problem that is obviously not contained.
I must say I have a lot of admiration for the health workers, both the locals and the internationals - very decent courageous people.

[SOPS]

It's getting worse...


Ebola moving faster than efforts to control it, warns the World Health Organisation - Australia Network News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

[Capn Rex Havoc]

The timeline in that link to ABC report is horrific.

This bit-

Patrick Sawyer, an American who was working for the Liberian government, collapses on arrival at Lagos Airport in Nigeria on July 20.

He is put in isolation at the First Consultants Hospital in Obalende, one of the most crowded parts of Lagos, a city that is home to 21 million people.

It later emerges his sister had died from Ebola. Mr Sawyer dies on July 25, prompting an evacuation of the hospital.

Before he collapsed he took flights from Liberia to Ghana, on to Togo, and eventually to Nigeria, highlighting the risks international travel poses to the spread of the disease.

Brings home the vector of air travel to spread this disease.

[Fromagio]

So now someone has now died from the Ebola virus in Saudi after a business trip to Sierra Leone. IMHO, West Africa is a bigger threat than the perceived threat from a rogue SAM being fired at a commercial aircraft flying at high altitude over Iraq yet it seems that no real action is being taken by the airlines to protect, not only its crew and pax but the wider human population as a whole from the spread of this horrible virus. BA seems to be going in the right direction by stopping flights to some of its West African destinations but are continuing with flights to Lagos and Abuja, for the time being at least. What will it take for the airlines to realise the risk here or maybe I'm just over reacting!!

[pilotday]

Some people say its not 'that' contagious since its not airbourne, but why are these American doctors catching it? I would assume they are using the best precautions and still getting it. I'm sure they aren't taking note from the Filipino Nurse Manual, not using rubber gloves, ever.

It appears this is becoming parabolic. Is EK Clinic still saying Ebola is not a big deal? Keep discovering…..diseases

[mooseknuckles]

What do you expect from the supremely delusional. They still think every pilot in the world wants to be an emirates pilot. The only reason we stopped going there was because the WHO shut down all flights in and out of Conakry. If not for that, we'd still be flying there with some fci about bringing your own biohazard suit.

[pilotday]

This Amazing Jet Will Transport Ebola Victims From Africa To The U.S.

Since we forget this is a pilot forum, the above link is pretty cool. Its the specialized air ambulance that flew that Ebola infected doctor and his nurse to Atlanta. Some ballzy pilots knowing that only a plastic sheet and negative pressure protects them from death. Imagine the procedures if that jet crashes or diverts somewhere.

Whether or not that was a good idea is yet to be known.

I'm already reading conspiracies that those evil "yanks" are breeding the virus to use as a weapon while the innocent Hamas and other peaceful terrorists are suspected nosing around to build some sort of Ebola bomb.

[Fromagio]

Biological warfare has been around for a long time, no conspiracy there. A weaponised version of Ebola may have been looked at by certain parties and I suspect that the US has looked at its potential military uses but that's for a different forum. My concern is that there is a real threat to air crew, pax and the wider global population by operating to/from this region. It appears to me that very little has been or is being done to protect the locals (African that is) from the threat let alone us. I wonder if management pilots would be happy to operate flights to the region with the current situation.

[SOPS]

I thought this thing was meant to be hard to catch.

It is in Lagos now.

Ebola spreads to Nigeria. Government declares emergency. - The Washington Post

[Tarq57]

I don't think it's so much "hard to catch", more that - up till recently, anyway -it's spread has been self-limiting due to the relatively short incubation/infectious period.

Simply put, it kills its host quicker than is ideal for the spread of the virus.

Closer to the other end of the scale is HIV, which spread pretty much unfettered, affecting a large number of people before it was even realized what the ailment was.

Something like Ebola (or Marburg, or similar) has to reach a critical mass of victims before it truly takes off.

I worry that due to the reported behaviour of most of the people currently affected*, that the critical mass might be approaching. It might already have passed.

What also bothers me is the authorities insistence that it's not especially contagious (like the flu, or a cold is particularly contagious.)

"They" are saying that exposure to body fluids is required.

Does that include, say, exposure to a moisture droplet that might have been sneezed or coughed? To then spread several feet or yards from the host? And I do wonder how long the virus remains active in such a droplet (if present)?

It's reported that WHO are seriously debating travel restrictions and quarantine protocols. Decision to be released tomorrow (Saturday in NZ.)

For a bit of light reading about the nature of the beast, check out The Hot Zone, by Richard Preston. He did a lot of research before writing this.

*[edit] 'behaviour' is probably not entirely accurate. A more complete appraisal would also relate to health infrastructure/availability, and the tendency of the locals in these countries to be suspicious of same; a lack of effective education.

[SOPS]

The news just keeps getting better.

Ebola crisis: WHO declares international public health emergency, to consider use of experimental medicines - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)