Thread: Ebola

Well, it's the well known federal government underreach problem that has been a central campaign issue for the past decade or four. We all know the feds are the only ones who can keep the good american folk from ingesting the vomit and poop of sick africans.

What non-medicos do not realize is,It took one person,one norway rat,and one Flea to start an epidemic that killed Millions of people.
It took one person to spread the spanish Flu that Killed 10s of thousands in The U.S.
It took one person infected with Polio to destroy thousands of lives.
Yes, Science can get us thru this.If we let it happen.

What I find interesting is that the ebola virus has been active in Africa since the 1970s. When "The Coming Plague" was written in the '90s ebola was supposedly so virulent that there was no chance of an infected individual making it onto a plane and spreading the disease. So 40+ years later, when it becomes a supposed threat to the good old USA, a vaccine becomes a top priority.

If the virus is contained, and this latest outbreak subsides ....... if it doesn't become an epidemic in this country, I'll bet a thousand dollars to a donut that we will hear little or nothing about a vaccine.

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

What non-medicos do not realize is,It took one person,one norway rat,and one Flea to start an epidemic that killed Millions of people.
It took one person to spread the spanish Flu that Killed 10s of thousands in The U.S.
It took one person infected with Polio to destroy thousands of lives.
Yes, Science can get us thru this.If we let it happen.

I don't know about this one person thing - it's the SCIENCE that claims it is so but we all know how trustworthy SCIENCE is. If you stop being dogmatic and read the non-SCIENCE sources you'll find out there are plenty of alternative explanations that make just as much sense.
There were people long before there was SCIENCE and they survived just fine, well technically they all died, but still the point is that they lived all of their lives without any SCIENCE mumbo-jumbo (which was just for the chief/priest/shaman/etc. because he could manhandle it).

Science gives us all the great ideas about what to do and what not to do. Human nature has us lying to the authorities about whether or not we went out bowling or not. Science doesn't account for human nature in that way. It's long been the nightmare of science that someone with Ebola would board a plane and fly to NY. That day has come. We'll survive this if we get smart about all the elements in play, including the propensity to lie about where we've been and what we've been exposed to.....something two infected individuals have done thus far.

And let's not forget that 7,000 IIRC have been infected in the African countries with a bit more than half dieing. This in a geographical area with a population of millions of people and an infrastructure that is lacking. Nigeria has just been declared virus free, after a recent outbreak that claimed 20 lives, if I have the stats right.

I'm not minimizing the problem, or unsympathetic to the people who are bearing the brunt of it. I do think the world should do whatever is necessary to combat ebola, marburg and other serious infectious diseases that are especially recurring in "third world" countries, but I don't see it happening unless we are effected to the extent that it becomes self preservation. YMMV.

Jimmy, forgive me but your post almost suggests that it's best that that the US gets infected with Ebola in order to fix the problem. I'm not ready to subscribe to that thinking or sacrifice our own to save the rest of the third world. Call me selfish but I don't believe in sharing the pain just to resolve it.

Originally Posted by OCDshaver

Science gives us all the great ideas about what to do and what not to do. Human nature has us lying to the authorities about whether or not we went out bowling or not. Science doesn't account for human nature in that way. It's long been the nightmare of science that someone with Ebola would board a plane and fly to NY. That day has come. We'll survive this if we get smart about all the elements in play, including the propensity to lie about where we've been and what we've been exposed to.....something two infected individuals have done thus far.

It has nothing to do with being smart, it's a question of not being inconvenienced at the slightest when somebody else could suffer whatever they 'deserve'. The only way to get around the problem of lying is to seal off the US borders completely. After less than a day the economy will crumble and the next morning people would realize they've bitten off far more than they can chew and blame the politicians for doing it all wrong.

Well, I'm exaggerating with a day, US can survive few days with sealed borders - we had 9/11 for comparison, but it won't be long before the consequences from sealed off borders become far larger than the currently perceived danger of epidemic.

Originally Posted by gugi

It has nothing to do with being smart, it's a question of not being inconvenienced at the slightest when somebody else could suffer whatever they 'deserve'. The only way to get around the problem of lying is to seal off the US borders completely. After less than a day the economy will crumble and the next morning people would realize they've bitten off far more than they can chew and blame the politicians for doing it all wrong.

That's a straw man Gugi. The narrative is that we close all borders or do nothing at all and that there are no measures in between. Just because we can't guarantee 100% security is no reason to do nothing at all. This is the common sense that is being thrown by the wayside. Time to sleep my friends.

I've always had a positive attitude toward science. In high school I mixed my sports with my science class & got a "C" every grading peroid.

My wrestling coach was having an affair with my science teacher, so as long as I kept winning, my science & math grades were taken care of.