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EBOLA IN TEXAS.


sventvkg

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Ebola is nasty, scary stuff. It's way up there on my "worst possible ways to die" list. Hopefully they keep it contained and prevent it spreading in the USA. Here's hoping they manage to contain the outbreak and reduce casualties in Africa too. Last I heard, over 3,000 people have already died, making this by far the worst Ebola outbreak in history. :(

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FWIW it seems fairly contained in Nigeria, but the exposure was very limited and the government acted quickly. Liberia was a disaster before the outbreak, so a coordinated government effort seems difficult to pull off. Guinea and Sierra Leone are just too poor to deal with this kind of thing. It's unlikely ebola could get a toehold in the US.

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It's unlikely ebola could get a toehold in the US.

 

Especially in Texas. I think ebola needs warmer, wetter climates to thrive. Too bad, because then maybe we could just drop some on those ISIS dudes and kill two big news stories with one germ.

 

I know this stuff is news and we certainly want to know about it, but at the same time I'm always disheartened by how much our news media thrives by scaring people. Nothing like a potential "!outbreak!" or beheading to get people to tune in and drive ratings!

 

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This would have scared the crap out of me several years ago…. now I`ve become so "whatever" about the news… but yes, I obviously hope the US government is on top of this and I honestly don`t know why they don`t shut down travel when something like this happens. This stuff could spread like wildfire in the coming months with flu season coming… I just roll with it but its pretty nasty stuff. The sort of thing you wouldn`t even wish on your worst enemy… or maybe you would…

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I honestly don`t know why they don`t shut down travel when something like this happens. …

 

Because that would cripple the entire economy. The stock markets would crash. It would have massive effects on the entire world. Much worse than a few people (or even a few thousand people) getting sick and dying. You have to do a cost/benefit analysis on such things.

 

There conceivably would be a point where shutting down travel would make sense. But we're nowhere NEAR close to that yet.

 

See, that's the problem I have with the media coverage of stuff like this. ONE GUY gets sick in a nation of 350,000,000 and the media so over hypes it that shutting down a travel system that hundreds of millions use every day and that the entire world economy depends on is an idea that actually makes sense to otherwise reasonable folks.

 

Our news media is good at a lot of things. "Perspective" isn't one of them, however.

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Because that would cripple the entire economy. The stock markets would crash. It would have massive effects on the entire world. Much worse than a few people (or even a few thousand people) getting sick and dying. You have to do a cost/benefit analysis on such things.

 

There conceivably would be a point where shutting down travel would make sense. But we're nowhere NEAR close to that yet.

 

See, that's the problem I have with the media coverage of stuff like this. ONE GUY gets sick in a nation of 350,000,000 and the media so over hypes it that shutting down a travel system that hundreds of millions use every day and that the entire world economy depends on is an idea that actually makes sense to otherwise reasonable folks.

 

Our news media is good at a lot of things. "Perspective" isn't one of them, however.

 

How about shutting down roads in and out of the infected areas? Send in whoever can help but shut down all access. Anyone in the affected area has to stay there until everything is clear. Makes no sense…. then again, ebola is an alternative cure to overpopulation. Something to consider...

 

 

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How about shutting down roads in and out of the infected areas? Send in whoever can help but shut down all access. Anyone in the affected area has to stay there until everything is clear. Makes no sense…. then again, ebola is an alternative cure to overpopulation. Something to consider...

 

 

Or...how about just handling like they have so far, which seems pretty reasonable. There aren't "affected areas". There's one guy who is sick and a couple dozen people who he's been in contact with. You want to shut down all access to the entire Dallas metropolitan area because one guy has a deadly disease and a few others MIGHT have it?

 

But your way WOULD make a much better movie, for sure.

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Because that would cripple the entire economy. The stock markets would crash. It would have massive effects on the entire world. Much worse than a few people (or even a few thousand people) getting sick and dying. You have to do a cost/benefit analysis on such things.

 

There conceivably would be a point where shutting down travel would make sense. But we're nowhere NEAR close to that yet.

 

See, that's the problem I have with the media coverage of stuff like this. ONE GUY gets sick in a nation of 350,000,000 and the media so over hypes it that shutting down a travel system that hundreds of millions use every day and that the entire world economy depends on is an idea that actually makes sense to otherwise reasonable folks.

 

The hysteria I've heard - not that I've been following this closely - stems from the guy initially lying on the intake form about being exposed to someone with ebola. Then, when treated initially, the hospital did not test for ebola despite him returning from an ebola-stricken area.

 

So the alarm I've heard is more about how this was initially handled, not whether we should bar international travel from West Africa, which seems patently ridiculous to me.

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From what I've heard, the guy may not have known he was exposed to Ebola as the woman he came in contact with was a pregnant girl he helped get to the hospital who exhibited symptoms that would also be consistent with a bad pregnancy. Although one would think that "could she have Ebola?" should have run through his head. Can't blame him for wanting to get back to the U.S. though. And had he thought he himself had Ebola, one would think he would have fought harder with the hospital who sent him home with flu medicine.

 

But in any case, it makes no sense to panic. 30,000 people die of the flu every year in America. Nobody bats an eye because it doesn't make the news.

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That's right, and no one is panicking here. In Texas, perhaps they may feel differently, I don't know.

 

No, around here, the enterovirus 68 is what is causing great concern among parents and educators:

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Enterovirus-Long-Beach-Los-Angeles-County-Health-Virus-Illness-277766952.html

 

Also, some info on this:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Here are key things to know about enterovirus-D68 from the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control.

 

  • From mid-August through the beginning of October, there have been more than 500 confirmed cases of respiratory illness caused by enterovirus-D68. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not know how many cases occur each year in the United States because health-care officials are not required to report them.
  • Enterovirus-D68 is thought to be uncommon, and less is known about it than other of themore than 100 kinds of enteroviruses. In all, enteroviruses cause about 10 to 15 million infections each year in the United States.
  • Enterovirus infections occur more often in the summer and fall. Enterovirus-D68 infections will probably decline later in the fall.
  • Infants, children and teenagers are more likely to become infected. That is probably because they do not have immunity from previous exposures to the virus.
  • Among the cases in Missouri and Illinois, children with asthma seemed to have a higher risk for severe respiratory illness.
  • To protect yourself from enteroviruses, wash your hands often, avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth, do not share cups or utensils with people who are sick, avoid kissing or hugging those who are sick and disinfect frequently touched surfaces, including toys and door knobs.
  • Enterovirus-D68 appears to be spread the same way other respiratory infections are spread, through saliva and mucus when someone sneezes or touches something. The new school year is likely helping the virus to be transmitted.
  • It can cause from mild to severe respiratory illness.
  • Symptoms include fever, runny nose, sneezing, coughing and body and muscle aches. Most of the children who got very ill had wheezing and difficulty breathing.
  • There is no vaccine.
  • There is also no specific treatment and no antiviral medications. For mild respiratory illness, you can take over-the-counter medications to help allieve pain and fever. Children should not take aspirin.
  • If you have asthma, make sure to take your prescribed medications. If you develop new or worsened symptoms and they do not go away, call your doctor.
  • Enterovirus-D68 was first identified in California in 1962 and since then clusters have appeared in Asia, Europe and the United States.

 

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