Will Ebola become a big problem in the United States?

[Lihu]

Ok. That pretty much explains your perspective.....

What modern news doesn't tell you to panic?

[Golfingdad]

Fox News means PANIC!!

ONE person in the US has contracted Ebola. She contracted it from a patient who was in his death throes and was highly contagious and she missed something in her protocol. And BTW, that patient who died lied about it; he had direct contact with an Ebola sufferer who had the full blown disease. He did not infect anybody in his travels and it is becoming clear that he did not infect anybody until he was dying and his body was hemhorraging.

They are monitoring every single flight that comes in that has passengers who were in infected countries. They separate them from everybody else and give them protocol to follow. There is a difference between being in Liberia and actually having contact with somebody who has Ebola. I suggest as well that if it was a family member who was trying to get back to America and had only been traveling in one of those countries that you would go crazy if they quarantined him/her there.

This is not the first outbreak of Ebola and the CDC knows more about this than you do.

Don't really care that much to get involved in this whole thread other than to say I agree a lot more with what @phan52 here is saying than anybody else.  Perhaps he was a little too precise by mentioned Fox, but network news in general does go out of their way to sensationalize things, do they not?

You guys all remember the panic the media put us through for the bird flu and the swine flu, don't you??

[David in FL]

Don't really care that much to get involved in this whole thread other than to say I agree a lot more with what @phan52 here is saying than anybody else.  Perhaps he was a little too precise by mentioned Fox, but network news in general does go out of their way to sensationalize things, do they not? You guys all remember the panic the media put us through for the bird flu and the swine flu, don't you??

No panic. But what's the harm in restricting travel from the few countries that represent the most significant threats of exposure? Why would anyone resist something that simple and effective.

[phan52]

Ok. That pretty much explains your perspective.....

But could you explain how you "monitor" someone coming into the Country and determine if they've been infected, when they may very well be asymptomatic.....and, knowing the consequences, will likely be dishonest in answering any questions regarding possible exposure?

That is why they are separated, their current condition is checked out and they are given instructions on what to do in the near future. And knowing the consequences why the hell would someone "likely be dishonest" once they are back in the country? The consequences are that they could die without follow up if they happen to be infected. Mr. Duncan may still be alive if he had been honest once he was in Dallas. Unfortunately when he finally was honest about it, the Hospital dropped the ball and sent him home with Tylenol.

The protocols were in place. This is not the Third World and I still see nothing that is happening in the US that will cause an outbreak here. You have a better chance of being struck by lightning.

Originally Posted by Golfingdad

Don't really care that much to get involved in this whole thread other than to say I agree a lot more with what @phan52 here is saying than anybody else.  Perhaps he was a little too precise by mentioned Fox, but network news in general does go out of their way to sensationalize things, do they not?

You guys all remember the panic the media put us through for the bird flu and the swine flu, don't you??

The only reason I mentioned Fox News specifically is because I saw one of their talking heads haranguing the head of the CDC while he was patiently explaining what they were doing and why. The clown was acting as if the ideas he was suggesting were something new and different, as if the people who make these decisions are not considering all possibilities. Smug idiots..

[David in FL]

That is why they are separated, their current condition is checked out and they are given instructions on what to do in the near future.

One more time. Their current condition MEANS NOTHING. All you're doing by not restricting travel is increasing the risk of exposure to the general population. There is very little or no downside to restricting travel. There is enormous upside. Given that, I have to question the motivation or agenda of anyone in any position of government authority, irrespective of political affiliation, who would hesitate to do so.

[Gunther]

I can see where this is going. I'll prefer to listen to the CDC, not Fox news.

You are so naive bud, almost everything you've written here is a verbatim of what the gov't is telling us through their media channels. I prefer to get my news from a place that challenges the gov't, as the media is supposed to do.

[phan52]

You are so naive bud, almost everything you've written here is a verbatim of what the gov't is telling us through their media channels. I prefer to get my news from a place that challenges the gov't, as the media is supposed to do.

Go ahead then. Panic.

Naïve, indeed.

[phan52]

One more time. Their current condition MEANS NOTHING.

All you're doing by not restricting travel is increasing the risk of exposure to the general population.

There is very little or no downside to restricting travel. There is enormous upside. Given that, I have to question the motivation or agenda of anyone in any position of government authority, irrespective of political affiliation, who would hesitate to do so.

You should work for the CDC. You have all the answers. And BTW, their current condition means everything. If they are not symptomatic they just need to self monitor for a specified period of time. If they ARE symptomatic, they will be isolated. They have done it numerous times already and it turned out to be a false alarm. That's OK, it means they are doing their job.

Let me know when there is an outbreak of Ebola in the US. And I don't mean isolated cases, I mean an outbreak.

[MS256]

You are so naive bud, almost everything you've written here is a verbatim of what the gov't is telling us through their media channels. I prefer to get my news from a place that challenges the gov't, as the media is supposed to do.

I can't even figure out what the deal is with "Fox News". I watched a little bit of news this morning on whatever that morning show is on NBC that my wife watches every morning. Then I watched a little bit of Shepard Smith's news broadcast on Fox this afternoon.

If anybody was more "panicky" it was the news on NBC. All Shepard did was to emphasize over and over and over again that "Ebola is NOT spreading in the United States and only ONE person has contracted it in this country." He acted like he was shocked that it's a big deal at all.

Edit: I'm guessing that once again people are equating the opinion shows on Fox to their hard news broadcasts without distinguishing the difference. Guessing because I haven't watched the opinion shows in a few days.

[David in FL]

You should work for the CDC. You have all the answers. And BTW, their current condition means everything. If they are not symptomatic they just need to self monitor for a specified period of time. If they ARE symptomatic, they will be isolated. They have done it numerous times already and it turned out to be a false alarm. That's OK, it means they are doing their job.

You're assuming that the second an infected person gets the very slightest symptom, they'll immediately run to an isolation ward. I don't make that silly assumption, and neither should anyone with an iota of common sense. It's also worth mentioning that there is significant discussion as to whether or not you must be symptomatic to be contagious. The jury is still out on that one.... . I'll ask one more time, because you have yet to answer. Why not restrict travel? What's the downside? [quote name="phan52" url="/t/77593/will-ebola-become-a-big-problem-in-the-united-states/36#post_1065292"] Let me know when there is an outbreak of Ebola in the US. And I don't mean isolated cases, I mean an outbreak. [/quote] How many dead people will it take for you to care? 5....10.....50.....100? I'm just trying to gauge your tolerance for preventable deaths.... Regardless though, by then it will be too late. I prefer to be proactive, and tend to err on the side of what is in the better interest of national safety and security. I'd feel a bit better if our elected officials did the same.

[newtogolf]

You should work for the CDC. You have all the answers. And BTW, their current condition means everything. If they are not symptomatic they just need to self monitor for a specified period of time. If they ARE symptomatic, they will be isolated. They have done it numerous times already and it turned out to be a false alarm. That's OK, it means they are doing their job.

Let me know when there is an outbreak of Ebola in the US. And I don't mean isolated cases, I mean an outbreak.

Taking precautions is not panicking.  If a family member has a stomach virus I don't invite the non-sick members of their household over to my house to infect my family.  I wash my hands and use anti-bacterial soap when I return from public places, use public restrooms or around people that are sick.  I consider that common sense, not panic.

There are strains of Ebola, no one is certain how each strain reacts in each person or at exactly what point the person becomes contagious.  Initial symptoms are flu like, even the Dallas hospital with trained doctors released Duncan because his symptoms didn't indicate anything serious, you really believe the TSA can screen for Ebola?

This isn't a bi-partisan discussion, it doesn't matter who's POTUS or where you get your news from, it's a fatal disease that has a 70% fatality rate, I don't know about you, but I don't like those odds.

I'd prefer they restrict flights out of infected areas until we have more details and proper measures in place.  These aren't short flights, if you're unlucky to sit next to someone on a commercial flight that is infected do you want to take your chances that they aren't contagious because they don't have a fever yet?

[newtogolf]

Don't really care that much to get involved in this whole thread other than to say I agree a lot more with what @phan52 here is saying than anybody else.  Perhaps he was a little too precise by mentioned Fox, but network news in general does go out of their way to sensationalize things, do they not?

You guys all remember the panic the media put us through for the bird flu and the swine flu, don't you??

Overall I agree, their job is to sensationalize everything that will attract viewers whether it be snow, fatal diseases, possible racial based killings by cops, celebrity deaths, etc.

One could say the bird flu and swine flu were over hyped by the media or you could also say they helped prevent a pandemic by educating people on what to be on alert for and how to prevent getting infected.  In the case of fatal diseases I'd rather err on the side of caution.

[phan52]

Taking precautions is not panicking.  If a family member has a stomach virus I don't invite the non-sick members of their household over to my house to infect my family.  I wash my hands and use anti-bacterial soap when I return from public places, use public restrooms or around people that are sick.  I consider that common sense, not panic.

There are strains of Ebola, no one is certain how each strain reacts in each person or at exactly what point the person becomes contagious.  Initial symptoms are flu like, even the Dallas hospital with trained doctors released Duncan because his symptoms didn't indicate anything serious, you really believe the TSA can screen for Ebola?

This isn't a bi-partisan discussion, it doesn't matter who's POTUS or where you get your news from, it's a fatal disease that has a 70% fatality rate, I don't know about you, but I don't like those odds.

I'd prefer they restrict flights out of infected areas until we have more details and proper measures in place.  These aren't short flights, if you're unlucky to sit next to someone on a commercial flight that is infected do you want to take your chances that they aren't contagious because they don't have a fever yet?

There are so many falsehoods in your post that I don't know where to start. Except to say that the screening is not done by the TSA. Where do you get this stuff?

I can only guess.

[Gunther]

I can't even figure out what the deal is with "Fox News". I watched a little bit of news this morning on whatever that morning show is on NBC that my wife watches every morning. Then I watched a little bit of Shepard Smith's news broadcast on Fox this afternoon. If anybody was more "panicky" it was the news on NBC. All Shepard did was to emphasize over and over and over again that "Ebola is NOT spreading in the United States and only ONE person has contracted it in this country." He acted like he was shocked that it's a big deal at all. Edit: I'm guessing that once again people are equating the opinion shows on Fox to their hard news broadcasts without distinguishing the difference. Guessing because I haven't watched the opinion shows in a few days.

Exactly right, people like James Rosen, Carl Cameron, Ed Henry, et.al., are some of the greatest newsmen working today. Their hard news is second to none. Good point on the panic aspect as well. CNN and MSNBC are the masters of this and have carried Obama's water for 6 yrs. [quote name="phan52" url="/t/77593/will-ebola-become-a-big-problem-in-the-united-states/40_40#post_1065291"] Go ahead then. Panic. Naïve, indeed. [/quote] Guess you didn't read my earlier post where I stated that I'm concerned. Not panicked because I'm rational and well-informed because I watch Fox News who doesn't take the govt's talking points verbatim and spew them over the airwaves. I've read your posts for a long time here. You're no dummy which is exactly what is so disheartening about what's happened in this country for the past 6 years. Smart people like you are swallowing the govt's line every time regardless of how many lies they've been caught up in. It truly saddens me. How much sense does it make that by restricting flights in from West Africa the epidemic will naturally increase. It is complete BS. Meds can get in via govt/military charters. We're talking about restricting people like Duncan who lied or others who as yet show no signs. It's pure common sense and I have no idea how anyone can believe it. Latest polls finally starting to show most agree with me.

[phan52]

Exactly right, people like James Rosen, Carl Cameron, Ed Henry, et.al., are some of the greatest newsmen working today. Their hard news is second to none.

Good point on the panic aspect as well. CNN and MSNBC are the masters of this and have carried Obama's water for 6 yrs.

Guess you didn't read my earlier post where I stated that I'm concerned. Not panicked because I'm rational and well-informed because I watch Fox News who doesn't take the govt's talking points verbatim and spew them over the airwaves.

I've read your posts for a long time here. You're no dummy which is exactly what is so disheartening about what's happened in this country for the past 6 years. Smart people like you are swallowing the govt's line every time regardless of how many lies they've been caught up in. It truly saddens me.

How much sense does it make that by restricting flights in from West Africa the epidemic will naturally increase. It is complete BS. Meds can get in via govt/military charters. We're talking about restricting people like Duncan who lied or others who as yet show no signs. It's pure common sense and I have no idea how anyone can believe it. Latest polls finally starting to show most agree with me.

And I'm the one who is being irrational. Now polls should decide what we do about Ebola instead of trained, educated medical professionals who have dealt with this for years. I've heard it all now.

[Golfingdad]

I'll ask one more time, because you have yet to answer. Why not restrict travel? What's the downside? How many dead people will it take for you to care? 5....10.....50.....100? I'm just trying to gauge your tolerance for preventable deaths.

You asked me this one ;) ... And I intend to answer, but we had back to school night tonight and now it's time to put the kiddies to bed. While I'm watching my dvr of Big Break in a couple hours, I'll share my thoughts. :)

[trickyputt]

This describes when its time to run. The aerosol version of ebola that was in the Reston monkey house about 1990. They killed more than 1000 monkeys over it. Here is an excerpt: And, indeed researchers discovered that this was a new species of Ebola virus, which they named Ebola-Reston15, 28, 29. The new virus was highly pathogenic in monkeys but apparently not in humans. The researchers also dispelled the idea that filoviruses were found only in Africa, because the monkeys had been imported from the Philippines. The investigators documented a high likelihood of aerosol transmission outside a controlled laboratory setting, because the virus appeared to pass between rooms to infect susceptible monkeys. Specimens from animals that died or were killed to eradicate the outbreak yielded fertile ground for research in new Ebola virus detection and identification techniques and the virological and pathological events associated with infection. Its not mentioned in this article, but in the book "The Hot Zone", the author describes this house as being decontaminated with advanced gasification and failing to be purified so they dug it up. However in this article that issue was not mentioned, rather the implication was that the property was no longer commercially viable due to a reputation for disease, so they dug it up and put a daycare on the site. Now what happens to that apartment room in Texas? Another point is that post infection dissemination of the virus continues for 7 weeks in semen. I dont know what the standard deviation amongst people is on that time frame, but they told the doctor that recovered here recently 3 months. He is still putting out virus? That ebola virus is a survivor. It has some tricks that help it hang around.

[MS256]

Evidently the Australians didn't get the memo that unless you work for Fox News you shouldn't be concerned.

http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/ebola-outbreak-2014-the-terrifying-statistics-you-need-to-see/story-fneuzlbd-1227088785863