Ebola threat

[lizzie]

Maybe some people who post on SS cannot talk to their partners or other 'real' people in their life, concerning certain subjects. Having somewhere to be able to discuss certain subjects may be helpful for them?

For the ones who dislike these types of subjects...just don't read them.

I think discussion on this topic is very relevant ... just not to the drama queen - world is going to end - extreme that some take it to.

There are also a few on the forum atm that are posting negativity everywhere - it's nice to throw a positive in occasionally to try and balance things.

Personally - yes Ebola is horrific for those dealing with it. But people like myself are just better off staying out of the way, and supporting in a positive manner, those who have the ability to "do" something ... and not spread panic because panic solves nothing

 

[Freckle]

There are also a few on the forum atm that are posting negativity everywhere - it's nice to throw a positive in occasionally to try and balance things.

Sssshhhh.. we can't have any reality here or contra opposing opinions. That might upset some people's sensitivities

and not spread panic because panic solves nothing

Pray tell who's panicking dear lady? I know of no one. Perhaps you could point them out.

 

[property_girl]

I think it's easy to stay calm in Australia. But all it takes is one person to come from Africa and spread it to a few more, and then we will all be panicked. I personally think the Australian government (and other govs) should be doing more to help in Africa. Many of the people being diagnosed and dying are being turned away from hospitals because there is no room for them. They are being sent home to die and spread it to anyone else they come in contact with.

 

[redwing]

There's a good article here from the BBC

Why Ebola is so dangerous

 

[Freckle]

When I was in the army during the 80's it took 8 soldiers to support 1 frontline soldier.

I'm not sure what the medical ratio of personnel to patient is but in Texas just the nursing staff alone was 50:1 for the dude that died.

The international effort to stall the spread of Ebola isn't even close to what's needed. Given the geographical size and number of patients I would think you would need at least 100 field hospitals with at minimum 100 beds. 10,000 patient capacity times say 20 support personell per patient and now we need 200,000 med staff and support personell. Now if you want to include quarantine camps then you would need to ramp that figure up by a factor of 10.

Now scale in time frames as staff become exhausted (plus infections) and I'm wondering where all the help's going to come from because they sure as hell aren't going to nail this thing in a few months.

When you look at the projected numbers that are currently tracking with the models you kinda get the impression this thing is going to go off the scale in the not too distant future.

I think WHO and some of the NGO's are suggesting that by November if they can't get a handle on this thing then it will grow beyond anyone's resources to get it under control.

I can see some fairly draconian measures being put in place in the not too distance future. Whole regions will simply be quarantined and left to burn out. My guess is that in African nations you may well be shot on sight if you try and break quarantine. It's going to get extremely ugly before it gets better.

 

[plusnq]

I can see some fairly draconian measures being put in place in the not too distance future. Whole regions will simply be quarantined and left to burn out. My guess is that in African nations you may well be shot on sight if you try and break quarantine. It's going to get extremely ugly before it gets better.

I agree. If it gets out of control, quarantine regions and border controls will be a reality. Think SARS on steroids. Travel will collapse as people won't risk it. Some shorting opportunities there. As an aside a Pathologist friend of mine told me on Friday that it had been successfully turned into an aerosol in the lab, so maybe the conspiracy nuts aren't so mad

 

[lizzie]

I can see some fairly draconian measures being put in place in the not too distance future. Whole regions will simply be quarantined and left to burn out. My guess is that in African nations you may well be shot on sight if you try and break quarantine. It's going to get extremely ugly before it gets better.

Agree - and it may seem harsh, but was something I believe should have been done from the start

 

[Mr. Fabulous]

This thread is hilarious.

 

[MTR]

This thread is hilarious.

I reckon, too funny... with a bit of luck Freckle will do the right thing and volunteer .... perhaps a nurse, and give us all a break oops, did I say that

 

[Freckle]

I reckon, too funny... with a bit of luck Freckle will do the right thing and volunteer .... perhaps a nurse, and give us all a break oops, did I say that

Hmmmm.. I never really thought of discussions around misery, suffering and broader threats to the wider community as funny. Must be just me. Perhaps I'm getting old. Maybe I should jump over to the ISIS beheading forum and see if I can muster up a laugh or two.

 

[MTR]

Maybe I should jump over to the ISIS beheading forum and see if I can muster up a laugh or two.

Your not getting old, you just thrive on doom and gloom, nothing wrong with that just make sure you pick the right forum, that one sounds perfect, take the jump, you'll never look back

 

[Doovalacky]

A lot of people calling for more to be done, but as long as its them not at risk.
The various politicians demanding for medical staff to be sent should be packed on a plane to take their chances.

If volunteers want to go, fine support them as much as possible but a proper quarantine for the return should be enforced. With the long incubation period and the fact its not just spread by direct contact but also indirect contact with surfaces means this should be taken seriously.

 

[kathryn d]

A lot of people calling for more to be done, but as long as its them not at risk.
The various politicians demanding for medical staff to be sent should be packed on a plane to take their chances.

If volunteers want to go, fine support them as much as possible but a proper quarantine for the return should be enforced. With the long incubation period and the fact its not just spread by direct contact but also indirect contact with surfaces means this should be taken seriously.

great post

 

[Graemsay]

But that's always the way.

After the GFC there were calls for austerity to bring the British deficit under control. Of course everyone wanted cuts to services that they didn't use...

As for Ebola, there were talks that it's starting to burn itself out in Liberia, so maybe my gloomy prognostications are way off the mark. I hope so.

 

[coastymike]

Restricting travel from those nations isn't that easy. What happens if a French citizen has travelled to Liberia, stays in France for 2 weeks and then attends Australia on a business conference. Is his travel banned ?

He would represent just as much a risk as a Liberian citizen. It's not as simple as closing the borders.

The CDC has now come out and admitted it can be spread through droplets from sneezing. Sounds airborne to me. "“If you are sniffling and sneezing, you produce microorganisms that can get on stuff in a room. If people touch them, they could be” infected, said Dr. Meryl Nass, of the Institute for Public Accuracy in Washington, DC.

Nass pointed to a poster the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention quietly released on its Web site saying the deadly virus can be spread through “droplets.”

“Droplet spread happens when germs traveling inside droplets that are coughed or sneezed from a sick person enter the eyes, nose or mouth of another person,” the poster states."