241 replies to this topic

[FiveNotions]

But aerosolized, as discussed in that article, is different from airborne, isn't it?

 

Gosh this stuff is confusing and fascinating ....

[BelaLugosisDad]

I think it's obvious why aliens don't want to make contact with us

[Carleeta]

FiveNotions, why did I think you would ask that question...lol lol lol.....There is a fine line between aerosol and airborne because they both travel through the air. Lol lol...With the aerosol; droplets (size of antigen) are bigger and tends to not travel in the air that far before they die off. In airborne the droplets are much smaller and tend to travel farther before dying off.. They both travel through air and they get in through nasal or respitory pathways...There are similarities and yet there are differences....size plays the role of how far the distance will be. Having said that, if ebola is aerosol this would make sense for the health care to wear respitory shields because they would have a greater chance of becoming infected due to being one on one. I would say in this case, and if were/is aerosol, then yes, sitting next to an infected person on a plane would make someone more susceptible to contacting the virus, and not everyone on the plane. If it's airborne then mostly everyone on the plane would be susceptible. Hopefully, this helps clarify the difference...lol lol.

[BelaLugosisDad]

FN.

 

You might enjoy this:

 

http://www.reddit.com/r/ebola

[FiveNotions]

Thanks BLD! I've been reading this for a week or two already.... looks like you and I travel some of the same paths on the 'net :-))

in fact, just came here from there! ..... to post this new CDC info...

USA Today
http://www.usatoday....-ebola/16076067

On Tuesday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to release its own predictions for only Liberia and Sierra Leone — the two West African countries that recently have shown the steadiest and most alarming spread of cases.

The CDC calculations are based, in part, on assumptions that cases have been dramatically underreported. Other projections haven't made the same kind of attempt to quantify illnesses that may have been missed in official counts.

CDC scientists conclude there may be as many as 21,000 reported and unreported cases in just those two countries as soon as the end of this month, according to a draft version of the report obtained by The Associated Press.

*** They also predict that the two countries could have a staggering 550,000 to 1.4 million cases by late January.***

[FiveNotions]

And, Carleeta, why did I know (for sure!) that you'd be the one able to answer my question? You are awesome, my dear! :-)

[FiveNotions]

Totally off topic, but here's something for our favorite pilot, BLD .....

Tiny robot learns to fly a real plane
http://www.cnet.com/...y-a-real-plane/

No way in hell I'm ever getting on a plane flown by a robot ....(have enuf trouble getting on one flown by a woman....I'm a woman, BTW) ..... I want a real live thinking, feeling, reasoning human pilot ... preferably a handsome male, with that oh-so-attractive pilot attitude .... I think it's called "testosterone" ;-)

Although, there are a few female fighter pilots in the military who I'd let fly me anywhere..... Those Israeli gals are hot .... Teehee

[thismoment]

FN

 

Do you know how you can tell when your date with a pilot is half-over?

The pilot says, "Well, enough about me-- now let's talk about airplanes!"

lol

[BelaLugosisDad]

Totally off topic, but here's something for our favorite pilot, BLD .....

Tiny robot learns to fly a real plane
http://www.cnet.com/...y-a-real-plane/

No way in hell I'm ever getting on a plane flown by a robot ....(have enuf trouble getting on one flown by a woman....I'm a woman, BTW) ..... I want a real live thinking, feeling, reasoning human pilot ... preferably a handsome male, with that oh-so-attractive pilot attitude .... I think it's called "testosterone" ;-)

Although, there are a few female fighter pilots in the military who I'd let fly me anywhere..... Those Israeli gals are hot .... Teehee

 

 

You have many times. 90% of the time I am just punching numbers into the flight control computer. I set the autothrottle and and auto-brake. I chat on the radio. I'll let the FO take it down on final.

 

The real stuff I do is pre-flight checks, manage fuel, manage crew.

 

The real flying happens in the simulator. That's where the preperation for things going tits up happens. Unlike doctors we don't practice on people.

[BelaLugosisDad]

FN

 

Do you know how you can tell when your date with a pilot is half-over?

The pilot says, "Well, enough about me-- now let's talk about airplanes!"

lol

 

It's sadly true for many. Luckily I got this out of my system in the airforce. When you fly a supersonic jet capabale of destroying a small town you don't need to go on dates. Just walk off base and smile. It's quite empty. I am quite happy I married early and have two great kids.

 

When I moved to commercial I had it explicitly written in to my contract that I don't stay in crew hotels. Fleet CPT epaulettes and a 'heavy' crew of starry eyed girls ends in broken marriages . I take my uniform off in the airport. ~I prefer people to see the person not the uniform.

[Carleeta]

It's sadly true for many. Luckily I got this out of my system in the airforce. When you fly a supersonic jet capabale of destroying a small town you don't need to go on dates. Just walk off base and smile. It's quite empty. I am quite happy I married early and have two great kids.
 
When I moved to commercial I had it explicitly written in to my contract that I don't stay in crew hotels. Fleet CPT epaulettes and a 'heavy' crew of starry eyed girls ends in broken marriages . I take my uniform off in the airport. ~I prefer people to see the person not the uniform.

yipeeeeee BLG....It's obvious you certainly know how to leave your job at work. Once you get out of your uniform you leave that life behind and continue on home to the life and person you are. It's a difficult thing to do, although it's the only way to stay balanced and in control of one's self....I admire this qualify in you and happy you are able to share this with us.. Thank you.

[FiveNotions]

Fresh Graves Point to Undercount of Ebola Toll
http://www.nytimes.c...ebola.html?_r=0

FTA: Since the beginning of the outbreak more than six months ago, the Sierra Leone Health Ministry reported only 10 confirmed Ebola deaths here in Freetown, the capital of more than one million people, and its suburbs as of Sunday — a hopeful sign that this city, unlike the capital of neighboring Liberia, had been relatively spared the ravages of the outbreak.

But the bodies pouring in to the graveyard tell a different story. In the last eight days alone, 110 Ebola victims have been buried at King Tom Cemetery, according to the supervisor, Abdul Rahman Parker, suggesting an outbreak that is much more deadly than either the government or international health officials have announced.

Beyond the many worrisome trends in the Ebola epidemic seizing parts of West Africa — the overflowing hospitals, the presence of the disease in crowded cities, the deaths of scores of health workers trying to help — another basic problem has stymied attempts to contain the disease: No one seems to know how bad the outbreak really is.

The World Health Organization acknowledged weeks ago that despite its efforts to tally the thousands of cases in the region, the official statistics probably “vastly underestimate the magnitude of the outbreak.”

[FiveNotions]

This blog is written by a woman "on the ground" fighting ebola in West Point Liberia ... it was posted/linked on the Reddit site that BLD posted/linked up thread ....
 
Warning .... the photos and the author's notes (really a daily diary) are heart-rending .... this is the reality that we are not being shown in the media..... This gal is a saint ....

http://racingheartblog.tumblr.com/

[FiveNotions]

How the U.S. Screwed Up in the Fight Against Ebola
BloomberBusinessweek, 9/24/2014
http://www.businessw...pentagon-agency

Well worth the read. Excellent summary of the history of vaccine development for ebola. ZMapp was delayed by an agency of the Pentagon. Could have been ready/used much sooner.

FTA: Could a large stockpile of ZMapp have halted the spread of Ebola? No one can say. What’s certain is that the U.S. government hasn’t done a good job taking the idea behind ZMapp and turning it into a treatment. The technology for antibody cocktails such as ZMapp has “been around for a few decades,” says Robert Garry, a professor of microbiology at Tulane University. “This is something that, given the emergency, the government could have moved a little faster on, quite honestly.” He’s more right than he knows. The treatment came into the hands of a little-known Pentagon agency in late 2010, and, Bloomberg Businessweek has learned, ZMapp sat there dormant, waiting for a contract, for two years.

[Carleeta]

Sadley, I did catch CNN late last night and seen how the newly developed hospitals were not ready to take on new ebola patients and how these extremely sick patients were lying on the ground outside the hospital until health care workers were able to put them back on the trucks until the facility will be up and going...my heart goes out to these individuals. They aren't even able to wear clothing from their waist down because of the severity of their diarrhea. Had to turn this off and just say a prayer for these innocent individuals. God Bless them

[FiveNotions]

Ebola outbreak: Why has 'Big Pharma' failed deadly virus' victims?
The Independent (UK), 9/24/2014
http://www.independe...hy-9716615.html

CDC owns patent on Ebola virus; agency to collect royalties on all future Ebola vaccines
Natural News, 9/19/2014
http://www.naturalne...s_vaccines.html

Big Pharma: GSK, Merck, Pfizer Criticized for Profit-Making Mindset in Case of Ebola Vaccine
Latin Post, 9/7/2014
http://www.latinpost...ola-vaccine.htm

Ebola Outbreak: Vaccines And Experimental Treatments Funded More By US Government Than Big Pharma
http://www.ibtimes.c...-pharma-1674182
International Business Times, 8/29/2014

[FiveNotions]

US Ebola Patent: Human Ebola Virus Species and Compositions and Methods Thereof
http://www.google.co...s/US20120251502
US 20120251502 A1
Owner name: THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Inventors: Jonathan S. Towner, Stuart T. Nichol, James A. Comer, Thomas G. Ksiazek, Pierre E. Rollin
Filing date Oct 26, 2009
Priority date Oct 24, 2008

Jonathan Towner is a Virologist at the CDC. World renowned.

[FiveNotions]

Emory U generated "up to 40 bags a day" of ebola medical waste materials ... for just 2 patients.....

 

U.S. hospitals unprepared to handle Ebola waste
Reuters, 9/24/2014 (re-posted on Yahoo News)
http://news.yahoo.co...65--sector.html

FTA: Waste management companies are refusing to haul away the soiled sheets and virus-spattered protective gear associated with treating the disease, citing federal guidelines that require Ebola-related waste to be handled in special packaging by people with hazardous materials training, infectious disease and biosafety experts told Reuters.

Many U.S. hospitals are unaware of the regulatory snafu, which experts say could threaten their ability to treat any person who develops Ebola in the U.S. after coming from an infected region. It can take as long as 21 days to develop Ebola symptoms after exposure.

The issue created problems for Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, the first institution to care for Ebola patients here. As Emory was treating two U.S. missionaries who were evacuated from West Africa in August, their waste hauler . . . initially refused to handle it. . .

Ebola symptoms can include copious amounts of vomiting and diarrhoea, and nurses and doctors at Emory donned full hazmat suits to protect themselves. Bags of waste quickly began to pile up.

"At its peak, we were up to 40 bags a day of medical waste, which took a huge tax on our waste management system," Emory's Dr. Aneesh Mehta told colleagues at a medical meeting earlier this month.

Emory sent staff to Home Depot to buy as many 32-gallon rubber waste containers with lids that they could get their hands on. Emory kept the waste in a special containment area for six days until its Atlanta neighbor, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, helped broker an agreement with [their waste handler].

[FiveNotions]

Okay, I'm posting some positive info here... it's high time ...

Who Is Working on Ebola?
GlaxoSmithKline, NewLink, Inovio and others are developing vaccines to fight the virus.
Barron's, 9/18/2014
http://online.barron...160493463369472

FTA: Who is working on Ebola? Highlighted companies in vaccine development include GlaxoSmithKline (ticker: GSK ), NewLink Genetics ( NLNK ), Inovio Pharmaceuticals ( INO ), Bavarian-Nordic [of Denmark], Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ), Integrated BioTherapeutics (privately held) and Profectus Biosciences (privately held).

On the Ebola therapeutics front we highlight Tekmira Pharmaceuticals ( TKMR ), BioCryst Pharmaceuticals ( BCRX ), Fuji Film Holdings [of Japan], Mapp Biopharmaceuticals (privately held), Medivector (privately held) and Sarepta Therapeutics ( SRPT ). We also highlight Lakeland Industries ( LAKE ), which is involved in manufacturing personal protective equipment for health-care workers in Ebola hot zones.
-------------------
Inovio, GeneOne to Advance Ebola Vaccine to Human Trials
WSJ, 9/24/2014
http://online.wsj.co...ials-1411562512
-----------------
UN health agency: Enough Ebola vaccine could be ready by year-end to help in outbreak
US News & World Report, 9/24/2014
http://www.usnews.co...ady-by-year-end
----------------------
BioCryst receives additional Ebola research funds
NewsObserver.com, 9/19/2014
http://www.newsobser...onal-ebola.html
----------------------------------
Johnson & Johnson to Quicken Development of Ebola Virus Vaccine
Company to Start Human Trials in 2015, Nearly a Year Earlier Than Planned, After Africa Outbreak
WSJ, 9/4/2014
http://online.wsj.co...cine-1409803263

[FiveNotions]

Nurses Hold Die-In to Highlight Urgent Need for More Preparedness to Prevent Spread of Ebola
California Nurses Association Press Release, 9/24/14
http://www.nationaln...e-preparedness/

[Carleeta]

Yipeeeeee, for the California nurses stepping up to the plate. Their message will get across. As more concerns are coming to light, this should keep the US health care workers on their sharpest lookout.

[FiveNotions]

oy ...

A professor in U.S. is telling Liberians that the Defense Department ‘manufactured’ Ebola
Washington Post, 9/26/2014
http://www.washingto...ebola-outbreak/

Edited to correct citation ... WaPo, not NYT, added full link . . .

Also, this professor is from Liberia, and the article has gotten big press there ... feeds right into what many Liberians are saying ... does not help the med and relief teams or our US military's efforts ... rumors and superstitions are rampant ... ebola is a major "conspiracy theory" franchise ...

Edited by FiveNotions, 27 September 2014 - 09:01 AM.

[TryinginFL]

omg....unbelievable

[Carleeta]

oy ...A professor in U.S. is telling Liberians that the Defense Department ‘manufactured’ EbolaNYT, 9/26/2014an-american-professor-is-telling-liberians-that-the-u-s-manufactured-ebola-outbreak

Seriously? Why in the world would this professor say such a thing? Ebola has been around since the 1970's....OMG this is horrible if it is true, and horrible if he made it up.....

[FiveNotions]

Dead Ebola patients resurrect?
The New Dawn (Liberian news source), 9/24/2014
http://www.thenewdaw...neral&Itemid=68

Two Ebola patients, who died of the virus in separate communities in Nimba County have reportedly resurrected in the county. The victims, both females, believed to be in their 60s and 40s respectively, died of the Ebola virus recently in Hope Village Community and the Catholic Community in Ganta, Nimba.

But to the amazement of residents and onlookers on Monday, the deceased reportedly regained life in total disbelief. The NewDawn Nimba County correspondent said the late Dorris Quoi of Hope Village Community and the second victim only identified as Ma Kebeh, said to be in her late 60s, were about to be taken for burial when they resurrected.

Ma Kebeh had reportedly been in door for two nights without food and medication before her alleged death. Nimba County has had bazaar news of Ebola cases with a native doctor from the county, who claimed that he could cure infected victims, dying of the virus himself last week.

News of the resurrection of the two victims has reportedly created panic in residents of Hope Village Community and Ganta at large, with some citizens describing Dorris Quoi as a ghost, who shouldn’t live among them. Since the Ebola outbreak in Nimba County, this is the first incident of dead victims resurrecting.
------------------------
Liberia: Top Doctor Goes Under Ebola Quarantine
ABC News, 9/27/2014
http://abcnews.go.co...antine-25800969

Liberia's chief medical officer is placing herself under quarantine for 21 days after her office assistant died of Ebola.
-----------------------------
Doctor treats Ebola with HIV drug in Liberia -- seemingly successfully
CNN, 9/27/2014
http://www.cnn.com/2...ebola-hiv-drug/

A doctor in rural Liberia inundated with Ebola patients says he's had good results with a treatment he tried out of sheer desperation: an HIV drug. Dr. Gobee Logan has given the drug, lamivudine, to 15 Ebola patients, and all but two survived. That's a 7% mortality rate. Across West Africa, the virus has killed 70% of its victims.
----------------------------

[FiveNotions]

Here's the original source of the allegations that the US has manufactured ebola ...

Ebola, AIDS Manufactured by Western Pharmaceuticals, US DoD?
The Liberian Daily Observer, 9/9/2014 (Largest newspaper in Liberia)
http://www.liberiano...euticals-us-dod

Article is letter to the editor from Dr. Cyril Broderick, currently a professor at U of Delaware, and "former professor of Plant Pathology at the University of Liberia’s College of Agriculture and Forestry"

Actually worth reading... mix of fact and conspiracy theory?

[TryinginFL]

This is some freaky information - how much can one believe?

[FiveNotions]

Well, TFL, definitely not all of it! I haven't had time to fact-check each and every point ... but I will ... and hopefully Carleeta can help us out with all her knowledge ... what I would say at this point is that there are bits and pieces of fact in there ... mixed with huge bunches of conspiracy theory and superstition ... this u of Delaware prof who wrote the original article/letter to the editor is himself Liberian ... and allegedly a highly education scientist ... if you read the article, he references one or two books about ebola that he's read ... I'm going to check for them on Amazon.com and see if they're legit...

 

One of the problems with trying to put a stop to this epidemic in Africa is the high level of superstition and rumor, the low level of education and intelligence of the general population, and the wide-spread distrust of the US and the Western countries as a whole ... villagers are attacking and killing med relief workers, refusing to believe that their friends/relatives died of the disease, believing that those who died of it have "resurrected", escaping from treatment centers, etc etc ...

 

And, heck, look at my two Liberian neighbors in my building ... both bringing their relatives here ... also learned yesterday that the fellow who drives my apartment building's van (it takes residents to a nearby university and shopping areas as a courtesy) is flying to Nigeria this week ... to visit his mother ... and, plans to stop in Sierra Leone to visit other family ...in both places, he's going to help family members make arrangements to travel to the US on tourist visas to get out of Africa, and be able to stay here ... he's flying from here to London, then to Nigeria, then to Sierra Leone, and his route home is from Sierra Leone to London, back to here ... I asked him about his concerns re. ebola, and he said "it's not contagious" ... HUH???

 

He also lives in my building.

[TryinginFL]

FN

 

You certainly have some interesting neighbors - they sure seem to know all the angles.  However - NOT CONTAGIOUS??  Egads, where does that come from - or does he know something we don't??

[FiveNotions]

Nope, he knows much less than we know ... or is flat out pretending he doesn't know ... similar to my two Liberian neighbors who are bringing their family members here ... they act incredibly casual about the disease, and indicate zero concern about a family member coming here while carrying the disease but before showing symptoms ... as Carleeta says, we/I just have to be very aware and careful in my dealings/contact with them ... DC is a highly international city, with a very large West African community ...

U.S. Troops Battling Ebola Get Off to Slow Start in Africa
Rare Military Effort Comes as Concerns Mount Over Epidemic's Expansion
Wall Street Journal, 9/28/2014
http://online.wsj.co...rica-1411948064

FTA: "The American military effort against history's deadliest Ebola outbreak is taking shape in West Africa, but concerns are mounting that the pace isn't fast enough to check a virus that is spreading at a terrifying clip.
. . .
The epidemic is showing signs of gaining speed—6,574 cases had been reported officially as of Sept. 23, with 3,091 deaths. Those fatalities are more than double the number of both a month ago. The actual number of cases is believed to be three or four times as high. Had no international aid come, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, the number of cases in Liberia and Sierra Leone might have soared to 1.4 million by mid-January.
. . .
'There is no argument the disease is out in front of the response," said Ken Isaacs, vice president of programs and government relations for Samaritan's Purse, who as an expert in humanitarian assistance is leading who is leading the relief organization's Ebola efforts in Liberia. In terms of response, he added, "where we are today is where we should have been 60 to 90 days ago.'
. . .
The epidemic in Liberia and Sierra Leone will likely worsen until 70% of Ebola patients can find room in a treatment center or other setting where they can't transmit the disease to others, the CDC said. Currently, just 18% do so, it said."