Too had those nurses were told they had nothing to fear.How about those 130 airline passengers on Ebola watch?They should just chill out?I’ll trust my own instincts, not Tom “The Barry” Trolles blind faith in the idiots in DC.
It would definitely have to be more than the “one” that happened in this country thus far, and evidently that was more due to the inadequate response of the hospital than the ability of this country to actually care for our people. If you notice the others that are actually stricken are hanging in there fairly well at this point.
The country has been in the grip of Fear Mongers for years now. But the funny thing is, we are only encouraged to fear the exotic and remote threats. The flu claims 3,000 lives a year in this country in a good year, and 50,000 in a bad one. And yet how many people don’t bother to get a flu shot? Each year 10,000 die from skin cancer, and how many tans do you see? “Between 2.7 and 5.2 million Americans are believed to be infected with the hepatitis C virus. Deaths related to it can range widely, from 17,000 to 80,000 annually, he said. There’s a test for it. There’s effective treatment. But the C.D.C. says that up to 75 percent of the people with the virus don’t know they have it.” About 30,000 die from gunshots every year. And more than 30,000 in auto accidents (about half of whom were NOT wearing seatbelts). Then there is tobacco, obesity, unsafe sex. Things like Ebola and Terrorism are not to be taken lightly, but at this point there are dozens if not hundreds of things that are far more of a threat to each of us, and we take them all in stride, and don’t even bother to take the precautions we can take against them. PS: Looking at the figures, I was interested to note that the year with the highest auto fatality rate in the United States was 1937, with 294 deaths per million Americans. The number fell during WWII (less driving) but rose afterward (more cars). It peaked in the years 1966 to 1973 with more than 250 per million each year. In the last few years it has gotten down to nearly 100 per million. Safer car, seat belts, air bags, traffic lights and other controls, etc. When looked at in relation to vehicular miles traveled, the progress is a lot clearer. In 1921 there were 240 deaths for each billion miles traveled. In 2012 there were 11 per billion miles. Driving has been getting steadily safer for a hundred years. Some of this improvement might have happened through the “natural selection” of competing models, but considering the behavior of most people when it comes to spending money or time on safety, I think it is a good bed that government safely regulations (traffic laws, road design requirement, auto safety standards, seatbelt laws) have saved millions of lives on the highways since 1921.
Dr. Peter Piot, one of the original team members that identified the Ebola virus in 1976, is giving interviews. Many of the mistakes that are being made today were made before. Having been in the thick of things on the ground then, he expresses optimism that Ebola will eventually be contained overseas before it becomes a problem here. And the problem here now is misunderstanding and disorganization..http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/16/world/europe/ebola-outbreak-running-faster/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
Ebola is not going to go away, and it will continue to arrive here whether stop all flights from West Africa or “seal” the borders or whatnot. Eventually, effective counter-measures will be devised. Effective vaccines may (we hope) be available in 2016, and massive immunization programs can be launched. In the meantime, we don’t need fear or panic, but we do need action to prepare, and to minimize and manage the threat and the damage. Of course, the best place to fight this plague is where it is, and by means that only governments (i.e. nations) are big enough to organized and implement. At times like this I want to hear those folks who say that American taxpayers’ money ought not to be “wasted” on providing, for example, medical care to poor people in foreign countries; or that they need no “nanny state” to watch over their health. If this were 150 years ago, in “the good old days” when government had little to do with health care or preventing the spread of infectious diseases, there might be dozens dead in Dallas by now, with hundreds or thousands more to follow. Ironically, much more than 150 years ago, in the age of sail, ebola could probably not have reached America. Anyone infected when they boarded a ship would be sick by the time the ship had crossed the Atlantic, and the ship and its passengers would have been quarantined (even “small” governments did that) and no one allowed to land until the everyone on board was dead or demonstrably healthy. Nowadays a person can be infected but asymptomatic long enough to travel anywhere before he actually gets sick. Screening passengers will help, but not solve the problem. Ebola is well on its way to become endemic rather epidemic.
Yikes. And who knows? There may be some folks capable of carrying and transmitting it, without ever showing symptoms. The 3% is scary, the 2% is scarier.
If the two parties could get together on one thing, one thing!, it should be this Ebola situation. But nooooo. Maybe if the midterm elections were not approaching … But both herds enjoy the dominance head-butting ritual too much. Money-mating is the goal..Oh, once we train people sufficiently and spend lots of money on medical task forces, Ebola will get under control in the U.S. A little over-reaction is fine and necessary, as there are probably many more things we are overlooking. Eventually, running in place as hard as we can we will, as usual, stay just barely ahead. Catastrophe averted here, once again by the skin of our teeth. Gerald Ford’s action against the expected Swine Flue epidemic is instructive, here. Ford deserved credit for his response but received, as I recall much criticism..But there is an international economic concern, too. Just when Africa is seen as coming up economically, it slips down. Its fragile social and political structure is showing. With so many people alive through scientific and social progress, it needs continued hope and support. Instead, with the fear and chaos from Ebola, back come the dictators and other opportunists that still lurk in dark corners..Ebola relief, lots of it, is an investment in Africa’s future and our own. A healthy, prosperous population, with hope for the future, does not so easily give in to revolution and terrorism. America should be seen as a heroic giant, in contrast to those countries that perch on the sideline like vultures. Where are China and Russia in this epidemic? Have I missed their presence? They did not seem to help in the continuing African AIDS crisis, either..The African population may be looking for outside forces to blame (why not? they have truly been to blame in the past), and there are those eager to encourage hatred. In the hunt for economic influence, our competitors will blame the U.S. and cut us out, just as they are doing in Asia. It’s a cheap, dirty win, but effective..And then, too, misery loves company. If the U.S. is effectively made the villain in this situation, might not viral-terrorism develop? All the diseases other than Ebola that we feel safe from (malaria, tuberculosis, measles, polio, exotic parasitical conditions, etc.) could be purposely exported as punishment for our “sins.”.But our political parties continue to squabble. What do they care? As in plagues past, the elite and political nobility will if necessary take refuge in fortresses shut away from the chaos. Then return to take control again.
Back in 1989 Ebola made its way to Reston, VA, by way of monkeys imported from the Philippines for research. After the Reston virus, we stopped importing monkeys from there.
By the way, that lab was decontaminated and is now a day care center. What I’m saying is we need some perspective, the sky is not falling. There are challenges everywhere, we need to deal with them, not fear them.
“I heard the other day that it can take Ebola over 40 days to show up in the body instead of 21 days.”.I read: What might at first be considered an Ebola infection is sometimes something else. That something else might not be as lethal as Ebola, but it still weakens a body’s immune system. The person might recover, having “overcome” Ebola. Identification of virus types is not always accurately reported, especially under panic conditions. It takes expensive, careful study of submitted information to get it right. Those percentages are relatively small, and suspicious to me. .Certain populations do have anti-bodies within their members that can ward off viral invasions the anti-bodies are specific against. If there are enough of those people in the population (herd resistance), infection will occur but the disease will be defeated. Sickness would not mean death. .Eventually a Ebola vaccine will be available, but people must then take it to help avoid future outbreaks. In the urgency of the situation in Africa, I think most people would take advantage of that miracle hope..If I may add: That’s why universal vaccination against infectious diseases is important: a disease can remain in currency until it finds a weak spot, then pounces. It kills those unvaccinated or those they love. Or even those they don’t know. You who avoid vaccinations due to “freedom of choice” issues might consider your blame if a woman catches the disease and aborts her baby. Or a child nearly due for vaccination catches it and becomes disabled. This specifically refers to measles and polio, that many of us cavalierly dismiss as longer lethal.
At the time no one knew that it only infected monkeys, they did know it was killing the monkeys, serologic testing came back with six positives of employees at the facility. By the way, Marburg is the name of the variant that killed six in Germany back in the 60’s, that was imported on monkeys.
When the CDC wanted to study and publish information on gun death in America, the NRA jumped on their House and Senate flunkies, and the CONGRESS banned the study (mostly Republicans) micro-managing an agency which is NOT part of their Constitutional role. This is going on with many elements in funding CDC, and many other (well all) Federal agencies today. See a problem, blame mostly the House, now who’s got control there? and as good as control with the filibuster rules in the Senate.
Varney: sounds just about like MERSA, if you want something that’s a more immediate threat here, and in our medical facilities, especially senior care facilities where the patients are more fagile, and easily bumped off the roster.
You’re another I’m going to start flagging for ad hominim attacks and insults. Earlier this week you claimed to have flagged a cartoonist…? :-|I’m impressed.
Dtroutma over 9 years ago
Well, appropriate that it’s red and spread.
ConserveGov over 9 years ago
Too had those nurses were told they had nothing to fear.How about those 130 airline passengers on Ebola watch?They should just chill out?I’ll trust my own instincts, not Tom “The Barry” Trolles blind faith in the idiots in DC.
Mugens Premium Member over 9 years ago
It would definitely have to be more than the “one” that happened in this country thus far, and evidently that was more due to the inadequate response of the hospital than the ability of this country to actually care for our people. If you notice the others that are actually stricken are hanging in there fairly well at this point.
Doughfoot over 9 years ago
The country has been in the grip of Fear Mongers for years now. But the funny thing is, we are only encouraged to fear the exotic and remote threats. The flu claims 3,000 lives a year in this country in a good year, and 50,000 in a bad one. And yet how many people don’t bother to get a flu shot? Each year 10,000 die from skin cancer, and how many tans do you see? “Between 2.7 and 5.2 million Americans are believed to be infected with the hepatitis C virus. Deaths related to it can range widely, from 17,000 to 80,000 annually, he said. There’s a test for it. There’s effective treatment. But the C.D.C. says that up to 75 percent of the people with the virus don’t know they have it.” About 30,000 die from gunshots every year. And more than 30,000 in auto accidents (about half of whom were NOT wearing seatbelts). Then there is tobacco, obesity, unsafe sex. Things like Ebola and Terrorism are not to be taken lightly, but at this point there are dozens if not hundreds of things that are far more of a threat to each of us, and we take them all in stride, and don’t even bother to take the precautions we can take against them. PS: Looking at the figures, I was interested to note that the year with the highest auto fatality rate in the United States was 1937, with 294 deaths per million Americans. The number fell during WWII (less driving) but rose afterward (more cars). It peaked in the years 1966 to 1973 with more than 250 per million each year. In the last few years it has gotten down to nearly 100 per million. Safer car, seat belts, air bags, traffic lights and other controls, etc. When looked at in relation to vehicular miles traveled, the progress is a lot clearer. In 1921 there were 240 deaths for each billion miles traveled. In 2012 there were 11 per billion miles. Driving has been getting steadily safer for a hundred years. Some of this improvement might have happened through the “natural selection” of competing models, but considering the behavior of most people when it comes to spending money or time on safety, I think it is a good bed that government safely regulations (traffic laws, road design requirement, auto safety standards, seatbelt laws) have saved millions of lives on the highways since 1921.
vwdualnomand over 9 years ago
we as a nation are always fearful. we fear everything.
emptc12 over 9 years ago
Dr. Peter Piot, one of the original team members that identified the Ebola virus in 1976, is giving interviews. Many of the mistakes that are being made today were made before. Having been in the thick of things on the ground then, he expresses optimism that Ebola will eventually be contained overseas before it becomes a problem here. And the problem here now is misunderstanding and disorganization..http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/16/world/europe/ebola-outbreak-running-faster/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
magicwalnut Premium Member over 9 years ago
Michael….I’m desperately searching for a sale on hazmat suits…
Doughfoot over 9 years ago
Ebola is not going to go away, and it will continue to arrive here whether stop all flights from West Africa or “seal” the borders or whatnot. Eventually, effective counter-measures will be devised. Effective vaccines may (we hope) be available in 2016, and massive immunization programs can be launched. In the meantime, we don’t need fear or panic, but we do need action to prepare, and to minimize and manage the threat and the damage. Of course, the best place to fight this plague is where it is, and by means that only governments (i.e. nations) are big enough to organized and implement. At times like this I want to hear those folks who say that American taxpayers’ money ought not to be “wasted” on providing, for example, medical care to poor people in foreign countries; or that they need no “nanny state” to watch over their health. If this were 150 years ago, in “the good old days” when government had little to do with health care or preventing the spread of infectious diseases, there might be dozens dead in Dallas by now, with hundreds or thousands more to follow. Ironically, much more than 150 years ago, in the age of sail, ebola could probably not have reached America. Anyone infected when they boarded a ship would be sick by the time the ship had crossed the Atlantic, and the ship and its passengers would have been quarantined (even “small” governments did that) and no one allowed to land until the everyone on board was dead or demonstrably healthy. Nowadays a person can be infected but asymptomatic long enough to travel anywhere before he actually gets sick. Screening passengers will help, but not solve the problem. Ebola is well on its way to become endemic rather epidemic.
Kip W over 9 years ago
FDR: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”GOP: “The only thing we have is fear.”
echoraven over 9 years ago
I imagine Democrats will wear “Obama the messiah will protect and provide for us!”.
Doughfoot over 9 years ago
Yikes. And who knows? There may be some folks capable of carrying and transmitting it, without ever showing symptoms. The 3% is scary, the 2% is scarier.
emptc12 over 9 years ago
If the two parties could get together on one thing, one thing!, it should be this Ebola situation. But nooooo. Maybe if the midterm elections were not approaching … But both herds enjoy the dominance head-butting ritual too much. Money-mating is the goal..Oh, once we train people sufficiently and spend lots of money on medical task forces, Ebola will get under control in the U.S. A little over-reaction is fine and necessary, as there are probably many more things we are overlooking. Eventually, running in place as hard as we can we will, as usual, stay just barely ahead. Catastrophe averted here, once again by the skin of our teeth. Gerald Ford’s action against the expected Swine Flue epidemic is instructive, here. Ford deserved credit for his response but received, as I recall much criticism..But there is an international economic concern, too. Just when Africa is seen as coming up economically, it slips down. Its fragile social and political structure is showing. With so many people alive through scientific and social progress, it needs continued hope and support. Instead, with the fear and chaos from Ebola, back come the dictators and other opportunists that still lurk in dark corners..Ebola relief, lots of it, is an investment in Africa’s future and our own. A healthy, prosperous population, with hope for the future, does not so easily give in to revolution and terrorism. America should be seen as a heroic giant, in contrast to those countries that perch on the sideline like vultures. Where are China and Russia in this epidemic? Have I missed their presence? They did not seem to help in the continuing African AIDS crisis, either..The African population may be looking for outside forces to blame (why not? they have truly been to blame in the past), and there are those eager to encourage hatred. In the hunt for economic influence, our competitors will blame the U.S. and cut us out, just as they are doing in Asia. It’s a cheap, dirty win, but effective..And then, too, misery loves company. If the U.S. is effectively made the villain in this situation, might not viral-terrorism develop? All the diseases other than Ebola that we feel safe from (malaria, tuberculosis, measles, polio, exotic parasitical conditions, etc.) could be purposely exported as punishment for our “sins.”.But our political parties continue to squabble. What do they care? As in plagues past, the elite and political nobility will if necessary take refuge in fortresses shut away from the chaos. Then return to take control again.
feverjr Premium Member over 9 years ago
Back in 1989 Ebola made its way to Reston, VA, by way of monkeys imported from the Philippines for research. After the Reston virus, we stopped importing monkeys from there.
http://ispub.com/IJPRM/2/1/12768
feverjr Premium Member over 9 years ago
By the way, that lab was decontaminated and is now a day care center. What I’m saying is we need some perspective, the sky is not falling. There are challenges everywhere, we need to deal with them, not fear them.
emptc12 over 9 years ago
“I heard the other day that it can take Ebola over 40 days to show up in the body instead of 21 days.”.I read: What might at first be considered an Ebola infection is sometimes something else. That something else might not be as lethal as Ebola, but it still weakens a body’s immune system. The person might recover, having “overcome” Ebola. Identification of virus types is not always accurately reported, especially under panic conditions. It takes expensive, careful study of submitted information to get it right. Those percentages are relatively small, and suspicious to me. .Certain populations do have anti-bodies within their members that can ward off viral invasions the anti-bodies are specific against. If there are enough of those people in the population (herd resistance), infection will occur but the disease will be defeated. Sickness would not mean death. .Eventually a Ebola vaccine will be available, but people must then take it to help avoid future outbreaks. In the urgency of the situation in Africa, I think most people would take advantage of that miracle hope..If I may add: That’s why universal vaccination against infectious diseases is important: a disease can remain in currency until it finds a weak spot, then pounces. It kills those unvaccinated or those they love. Or even those they don’t know. You who avoid vaccinations due to “freedom of choice” issues might consider your blame if a woman catches the disease and aborts her baby. Or a child nearly due for vaccination catches it and becomes disabled. This specifically refers to measles and polio, that many of us cavalierly dismiss as longer lethal.
feverjr Premium Member over 9 years ago
At the time no one knew that it only infected monkeys, they did know it was killing the monkeys, serologic testing came back with six positives of employees at the facility. By the way, Marburg is the name of the variant that killed six in Germany back in the 60’s, that was imported on monkeys.
Dtroutma over 9 years ago
When the CDC wanted to study and publish information on gun death in America, the NRA jumped on their House and Senate flunkies, and the CONGRESS banned the study (mostly Republicans) micro-managing an agency which is NOT part of their Constitutional role. This is going on with many elements in funding CDC, and many other (well all) Federal agencies today. See a problem, blame mostly the House, now who’s got control there? and as good as control with the filibuster rules in the Senate.
Dtroutma over 9 years ago
Varney: sounds just about like MERSA, if you want something that’s a more immediate threat here, and in our medical facilities, especially senior care facilities where the patients are more fagile, and easily bumped off the roster.
Robert C. Premium Member over 9 years ago
Don’t copy the misplaced colon @ the beginning – works fine for me.
lonecat over 9 years ago
I don’t flag, but if I did, this would deserve it.
OmqR-IV.0 over 9 years ago
You’re another I’m going to start flagging for ad hominim attacks and insults. Earlier this week you claimed to have flagged a cartoonist…? :-|I’m impressed.
OmqR-IV.0 over 9 years ago
…or was he ‘moderated’? [is that even a verb?]