Ebola

[Puckoon]

Pharmaceutical companies have the cure. They just have to work out how much they can charge for it.

There are a few great compounds in the works, but the crux is not "how much they can charge for it" rather how quickly they (the pharma companies) can get it fully approved. I'm working with two clients right now on Ebola compounds.

[easytiger95]

I think people need to calm down. Malaria kills multiples of the current figures for ebola, has a far more efficient delivery system, and, as climate changes heats up Europe, will become more prevalent in the Northern hemisphere.

The reason epidemics like the Black Plague were so virulent was that people had no understanding of how it was transferred - they thought it was carried by a phenomenon they called miasma, a stench that floated in the air - so when they saw rats coming off infected ships they thought they were trying to escape this cloud of death - not that they were carrying the agents of death on their backs.

Spanish flu was so virulent because after half a decade of the most savage war known to man, the human population (of Western Europe, and by extension, North America through mass immigration) had very low immune systems. Men who had survived the trenches died off very quickly from influenza as their bodies physically had no reserves left to mount defenses.

We have a lot more knowledge now, so the odds on a huge pandemic occurring are actually quite high. A lot of the global risk think tanks would be far more worried about rogue scientists manufacturing a pathogen and releasing it either accidentally or doing a "12 Monkeys" on it.

Modern technology has done a lot of bad things - but it has given us the capacity to fight outbreaks like this quite effectively. So chill the f**k out people, we got this.

[Bingo]

I hope you are right easytiger!

This Spanish nurse is a worry though. She visited the two sick patients twice, both times in full protective clothing, yet she still caught it? She get it directly from them or another health care worker.

Plus she has been on holiday since they died and they are watching another 50 people who were in contact with her.

I'm stocking up on tinned goods.

[Apparently so]

We are all going to die

All the best

[easytiger95]

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/07/ebola-crisis-substandard-equipment-nurse-positive-spain

Looks like they might as well have sent her in looking like the Rubber Bandits. Not surprising given how f**ked the Spanish economy is - but I doubt they'll make that mistake again.

[moysider]

 

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/07/ebola-crisis-substandard-equipment-nurse-positive-spain

Looks like they might as well have sent her in looking like the Rubber Bandits. Not surprising given how f**ked the Spanish economy is - but I doubt they'll make that mistake again.

The Spanish health service is way beyond ours in my experience. Much more professional from what I saw.

Not sure about your explanation of the severity of Spanish Flu of 1918 either. If anything the experiences of the soldiers in trenches would have maybe 'hardened' them up. A friend of mine's granduncle fought at the Somme and survive only to come back and die from the flu.
The bottom line with that Spanish Flu is that it made no sense. Flu usually is hard on elderly and people already with an illness. Spanish flu killed young healthy people mostly. Young girls that were nowhere near the war woke up and went to work and were dead by evening. Nobody knows what that virus was at! Our understanding of viruses is superficial at best. We can only react and try and deal with stuff as it happens. That s what s happening now.
I can t understand the blaisé approach to this. We ll I can. It s all about getting people to get on with normal life so business/economics is not messed about.

I m continuing to stockpile. Loads of spuds and powdered milk for a start as well as the obvious canned food and smoked stuff and bacon that will last a bit.

[macdanger2]

I think people need to calm down. Malaria kills multiples of the current figures for ebola, has a far more efficient delivery system, and, as climate changes heats up Europe, will become more prevalent in the Northern hemisphere.

The reason epidemics like the Black Plague were so virulent was that people had no understanding of how it was transferred - they thought it was carried by a phenomenon they called miasma, a stench that floated in the air - so when they saw rats coming off infected ships they thought they were trying to escape this cloud of death - not that they were carrying the agents of death on their backs.

Spanish flu was so virulent because after half a decade of the most savage war known to man, the human population (of Western Europe, and by extension, North America through mass immigration) had very low immune systems. Men who had survived the trenches died off very quickly from influenza as their bodies physically had no reserves left to mount defenses.

We have a lot more knowledge now, so the odds on a huge pandemic occurring are actually quite high. A lot of the global risk think tanks would be far more worried about rogue scientists manufacturing a pathogen and releasing it either accidentally or doing a "12 Monkeys" on it.

Modern technology has done a lot of bad things - but it has given us the capacity to fight outbreaks like this quite effectively. So chill the f**k out people, we got this.

One counter point however is that modern life in terms of movement and contact with others is orders of magnitude greater than what it would have been back in 1918. Not saying that we should be panicking about Ebola but the potential for a huge epidemic is not just science fiction

[moysider]

 

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/07/ebola-crisis-substandard-equipment-nurse-positive-spain

Looks like they might as well have sent her in looking like the Rubber Bandits. Not surprising given how f**ked the Spanish economy is - but I doubt they'll make that mistake again.

The Spanish health service is way beyond ours in my experience. Much more professional from what I saw.

Not sure about your explanation of the severity of Spanish Flu of 1918 either. If anything the experiences of the soldiers in trenches would have maybe 'hardened' them up. A friend of mine's granduncle fought at the Somme and survive only to come back and die from the flu.
The bottom line with that Spanish Flu is that it made no sense. Flu usually is hard on elderly and people already with an illness. Spanish flu killed young healthy people mostly. Young girls that were nowhere near the war woke up and went to work and were dead by evening. Nobody knows what that virus was at! Our understanding of viruses is superficial at best. We can only react and try and deal with stuff as it happens. That s what s happening now.
I can t understand the blaisé approach to this. We ll I can. It s all about getting people to get on with normal life so business/economics is not messed about.

I m continuing to stockpile. Loads of spuds and powdered milk for a start as well as the obvious canned food and smoked stuff and bacon that will last a bit.

[Muck Savage]

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/07/ebola-crisis-substandard-equipment-nurse-positive-spain

Looks like they might as well have sent her in looking like the Rubber Bandits. Not surprising given how f**ked the Spanish economy is - but I doubt they'll make that mistake again.

The Spanish health service is way beyond ours in my experience. Much more professional from what I saw.

Not sure about your explanation of the severity of Spanish Flu of 1918 either. If anything the experiences of the soldiers in trenches would have maybe 'hardened' them up. A friend of mine's granduncle fought at the Somme and survive only to come back and die from the flu.
The bottom line with that Spanish Flu is that it made no sense. Flu usually is hard on elderly and people already with an illness. Spanish flu killed young healthy people mostly. Young girls that were nowhere near the war woke up and went to work and were dead by evening. Nobody knows what that virus was at! Our understanding of viruses is superficial at best. We can only react and try and deal with stuff as it happens. That s what s happening now.
I can t understand the blaisé approach to this. We ll I can. It s all about getting people to get on with normal life so business/economics is not messed about.

I m continuing to stockpile. Loads of spuds and powdered milk for a start as well as the obvious canned food and smoked stuff and bacon that will last a bit.

Got myself a gun so I can go and have a "chat" with the lads stockpiling if the time comes 

[moysider]

I ve already laid in xtra ammo for my own guns Muck Savage. Nobody ll get near my stuff

[Agent Orange]

The Liberian man diagnosed with Ebola last month just days after arriving in Texas has died following nearly two weeks in a Dallas hospital's isolation room, officials confirmed.

Thomas Eric Duncan, believed to be 42, who became the first person diagnosed with the killer virus on American soil during the current pandemic, died early Wednesday after a battle that sparked a national debate on screening of visitors from West Africa, which has been ravaged by the disease. His death came a day after officials began treating him with an experimental drug and days after he had taken a dramatic turn for the worse.

Thomas Eric Duncan, a Liberian national, had been placed on a ventilator and kidney dialysis after his health declined over the weekend.

"It is with profound sadness and heartfelt disappointment that we must inform you of the death of Thomas Eric Duncan this morning at 7:51 a.m.," a spokesman from Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital said in a statement.

"Mr. Duncan succumbed to an insidious disease, Ebola. He fought courageously in this battle. Our professionals, the doctors and nurses in the unit, as well as the entire Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas community, are also grieving his passing. We have offered the family our support and condolences at this difficult time," the statement said.

In a statement, Duncan's partner, Louise Troh, who is in quarantine, expressed her thanks to the Dallas community, her church and the Liberian community for their support.

"His suffering is over. My family is in deep sadness and grief, but we leave him in the hands of God. Our deepest sympathies go out to his father and family in Liberia and here in America. Eric was a wonderful man who showed compassion toward all," the statement said.

Duncan arrived in the U.S. on a commercial flight from Liberia in late September. He initially sought treatment at a hospital after feeling ill, but was sent home with antibiotics only to return two days later by ambulance. Duncan had been placed in isolation since Sept. 28.

Duncan reportedly had helped carry a 19-year-old pregnant woman to a taxi to go to the hospital just five days before he boarded a U.S.-bound flight. The woman later died.

Texas health officials have been monitoring 10 people who had close contact with Duncan, and 38 others who came into contact with that group. So far, none have shown any symptoms of Ebola, health officials said.

"This past week has been an enormous test of our health system, but for one family it has been far more personal. Today they lost a dear member of their family," Dr. David Lakey, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services said in a statement.

"They have our sincere condolences, and we are keeping them in our thoughts. The doctors, nurses and staff at Presbyterian provided excellent and compassionate care, but Ebola is a disease that attacks the body in many ways. We'll continue every effort to contain the spread of the virus and protect people from this threat."

Duncan was the first person diagnosed with the deadly virus on U.S. soil, and had been given the experimental medication brincidofovir. A hospital in Nebraska said it is using the same drug to treat an American journalist, Ashoka Mukpo, who was airlifted from Liberia and arrived Monday.

Authorities in the United States and the public are on alert following Duncan's diagnosis more than a week ago, which raised concerns that the worst epidemic of Ebola on record could spread from three hardest-hit impoverished countries - Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

On Monday, President Obama announced that the U.S. government is preparing additional measures to screen passengers in the U.S. and overseas as part of the expanding effort to contain the virus.

"We're ... going to be working on protocols to do additional passenger screening both at the source and here in the United States," the president said.

Ebola has killed more than 3,400 people since an outbreak in West Africa began in March, out of nearly 7,500 confirmed, probable and suspected cases.

Dallas residents have mostly taken in news of Ebola within the city limits calmly, but many have kept a close eye on whether it might spread. Cars of Dallas County Sheriff's deputies who were at the scene of the apartment where Duncan stayed have been scrubbed as a precaution, the sheriff's office said.

The hospital and health officials have said mistakes were made in handling Duncan.

Duncan's family was legally quarantined on October 2, after refusing to comply with Dallas health official requests that they stay home. They are to remain in isolation for 20 days until the potential incubation period for Ebola is over. The family's home was disinfected on October 4, at which time they were moved a private residence in a gated community that was offered by a volunteer.

[moysider]

As I said. This is being made up as it goes along.

Nobody has a clue how this works. The only thing that seems to be of concern is that people are to get on with their lives as usual. The disaster movies were right all along. The mindset to keep people calm is more important than to tell people the truth. I m sure people in the WHO know this is well out of control but are kept under wraps. All we need to know that infected people are now in Europe and America. The nurse in Madrid's dog was euthanized because dogs apparently can be carriers. Hello! Or Holla! How many people was that nurse in contact before she showed symptoms? How many did those others shake hands with or kiss? How many dogs did this dog greet and how many people petted him/her? It s already a nightmare - just about how bad it s going to get imo.

Flights not restricted. Businesses not affected. Potential loss of lives well down the consideration afaic. Typical.

[trileacman]

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/07/ebola-crisis-substandard-equipment-nurse-positive-spain

Looks like they might as well have sent her in looking like the Rubber Bandits. Not surprising given how f**ked the Spanish economy is - but I doubt they'll make that mistake again.

The Spanish health service is way beyond ours in my experience. Much more professional from what I saw.

Not sure about your explanation of the severity of Spanish Flu of 1918 either. If anything the experiences of the soldiers in trenches would have maybe 'hardened' them up. A friend of mine's granduncle fought at the Somme and survive only to come back and die from the flu.
The bottom line with that Spanish Flu is that it made no sense. Flu usually is hard on elderly and people already with an illness. Spanish flu killed young healthy people mostly. Young girls that were nowhere near the war woke up and went to work and were dead by evening. Nobody knows what that virus was at! Our understanding of viruses is superficial at best. We can only react and try and deal with stuff as it happens. That s what s happening now.
I can t understand the blaisé approach to this. We ll I can. It s all about getting people to get on with normal life so business/economics is not messed about.

I m continuing to stockpile. Loads of spuds and powdered milk for a start as well as the obvious canned food and smoked stuff and bacon that will last a bit.

It is hypothesised that the fully fledged immune system of young adults was stimulated in such a manner that it ending up worsening the patients condition. The immune system of the young, weak and the old was not able to mount such an overwhelming response and was largely more effective. Not a faulty paradigm when you consider the range of immune-mediated disease currently abound.

[trileacman]

As I said. This is being made up as it goes along.

Nobody has a clue how this works. The only thing that seems to be of concern is that people are to get on with their lives as usual. The disaster movies were right all along. The mindset to keep people calm is more important than to tell people the truth. I m sure people in the WHO know this is well out of control but are kept under wraps. All we need to know that infected people are now in Europe and America. The nurse in Madrid's dog was euthanized because dogs apparently can be carriers. Hello! Or Holla! How many people was that nurse in contact before she showed symptoms? How many did those others shake hands with or kiss? How many dogs did this dog greet and how many people petted him/her? It s already a nightmare - just about how bad it s going to get imo.

Flights not restricted. Businesses not affected. Potential loss of lives well down the consideration afaic. Typical.

You're a crackpot with little idea of the realities of the ID50, LD50, zoonotic diseases and there transmission, infection pressure or disease reservoir. It's a dog that could maybe kinda possibly have been infected with Ebola with a even lesser chance it could transfer it. It's not a dog running down every street in Madrid pissing Ebola into the drinking water.

[moysider]

As I said. This is being made up as it goes along.

Nobody has a clue how this works. The only thing that seems to be of concern is that people are to get on with their lives as usual. The disaster movies were right all along. The mindset to keep people calm is more important than to tell people the truth. I m sure people in the WHO know this is well out of control but are kept under wraps. All we need to know that infected people are now in Europe and America. The nurse in Madrid's dog was euthanized because dogs apparently can be carriers. Hello! Or Holla! How many people was that nurse in contact before she showed symptoms? How many did those others shake hands with or kiss? How many dogs did this dog greet and how many people petted him/her? It s already a nightmare - just about how bad it s going to get imo.

Flights not restricted. Businesses not affected. Potential loss of lives well down the consideration afaic. Typical.

You're a crackpot with little idea of the realities of the ID50, LD50, zoonotic diseases and there transmission, infection pressure or disease reservoir. It's a dog that could maybe kinda possibly have been infected with Ebola with a even lesser chance it could transfer it. It's not a dog running down every street in Madrid pissing Ebola into the drinking water.

The crackpot in the disaster movies often turn out to have been right all along

I ll let you write the paper on epidemiology. I ll continue to expect the worst.