The New Republic has a good article pointing out that Ebola in the US really isn't particularly life-threatening. Here's the score card for patients treated here:
Duncan, of course is a special case because he was misdiagnosed and lost two full days of treatment, and some of the subsequent treatments didn't exist yet.
Their point is that much more can be done to reduce the death rate in West Africa. True that.
My main point is that the fears here have gotten ridiculously overblown, because with modest cautionary steps and proper treatment, few will catch it and only a tiny proportion will die. My suspicion is that those who do die will almost exclusively be the same type of population that dies from other infectious diseases like the flu--young children, elderly, and those with weakened immune systems.
And it still isn't easy to catch if you aren't treating existing patients.
"Ebola Terror!! NYC Outbreak Possible!!"
Now that's how you sell newspapers
But carry on with the freak-out.
panic over!!
That sells. Can we agree to go with that?
Aliens are coming. And I hear they're armed with Ebola!
It would not be this low if the spread were more rapid, but the underlying point remains.
Comparisons between the third world and the developed world, when assessing mortality rates, suffer from quite a bit of issues. But don't tell a newspaper that...
What do I do again? An infected person has to shit in my mouth was it?
Just wait til this Ebola crap melds with Herpes and the shit keeps coming back every month.
What do I do again? An infected person has to shit in my mouth was it?
Just remember semen can contain the virus for 70+ days.
And yes, preforming rim jobs in Liberia should do the trick.
So, no.
This certainly speaks well of the ability in the US to treat the disease.
The only question remaining in my mind is screening and/or quarantine of those returning from West Africa.
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I'm getting antsy. I'd really like to panic over something.
Aliens are coming. And I hear they're armed with Ebola!
Yup, they're coming over the southern border posing as Mexicans, but they're really from Alpha Centauri and are in league with ISIS to infect, subvert, and otherwise fuck the good 'ol USofA up the pooper!
Keep 'em in quarantine, just to be sure.
When do we start quarantining?
What is the real reason people are freaking out over this? The symptoms? From decades of scary movies?
Bunch of lemmings following the Cable News Pied Piper of Fear.
Ebola.
Yeah, it’s a disease on the Discovery Channel where all your intestines sort of just slip right out of your butt.
Thank you. I know what Ebola is.
But carry on with the freak-out.
I'm at work, I'm not freaking out. I think you are misunderstanding me. I think we have the thing contained pretty well. My initial point to what MG posted was that in small amounts of victims it's very treatable. If it did break out it wouldn't be as nice looking of a score card. All I'm sayin.
When do we start quarantining?
What is the real reason people are freaking out over this? The symptoms? From decades of scary movies?
Bunch of lemmings following the Cable News Pied Piper of Fear.
Cable News Pied Piper? I guess ebola being the lead story on the 3 mainstream morning shows for a majority of days over the last 4 weeks had nothing to do with it.
But you are essentially talking about a pitcher's performance in the top of the 1st inning.
Certain people will now say that their fury caused increased vigilance which was the cause of the positive outcome.
I'm impressed she has the energy to bike while fighting off Ebola...
But IMO this lady has moved from "hero" to narcissistic douchebag at warp speed.
But IMO this lady has moved from "hero" to narcissistic douchebag at warp speed.
Only for a certain segment of the public.
Back on my original point: Not only has no one died, but the only people who have contracted the disease so far were (drum roll please)...health care workers. That's right, aside from people who worked directly with people who had Ebola, there have been zero cases in the US.
And the ones in the Dallas situation happened largely because the initial gowns they were given were just stupid. They had no covering at the neck. I don't know if that was entirely the hospital's fault, but health administrators somewhere along the line screwed up, pure and simple, or we would have had fewer cases still.