jonc

West Africa has seen the largest out break of this deadly virus, which as yet, there is no cure and it has a mortality rate of 90%. News is filtering through that people travelling from the infected countries are coming to Britain; an assylum seeker and an athlete competing in the Common Wealth games have been tested but were given the all clear, though one athlete has disappeared. This just highlights how easy the could get into our country.

Are our border controls sufficiently equipped to deal with people displaying the sysmtoms? There are no health or quarentine facilities at our borders or guidence for border staff to deal with such cases. Currently they rely heavily on the checks carried out on passengers travelling from these third world countries. Then there are of course the illegal immigrants from these countries who will bypass these checks and quarentine. The virus can be carried from 3 to upto 25 days before symptoms appear.

Should we be concerned or is the media blowing this all out of proportion?

john banks

Prof John Oxford has said a few sensible things on this. He crops up in viral outbreaks and usually takes a lot of sense.

tony de wonderful

I'm paying attention to this given that I work in West Africa. Not getting malaria is probably forefront in my mind still though.

Biggest risk of getting the virus would be flying home. Last two times I picked up colds; the last one being a vicious sore throat, the worst in years for me. Planes are the worst for contagion.

CrisPDuk

As far as I understand it, the chances of Ebola reaching Europe are pretty slim because it has a short incubation period, and kills it's victims so quickly & aggressively it limits it's own ability to propagate over large distances.
Additionally it's genetic structure is apparently fairly unstable, so it evolve/mutates itself out of existence pretty quickly (virally speaking).

Small comfort to those already infected, or living/working with them, but happier for the world at large I think.

Cpt Jack Sparrow

iTrader: (14)

They were saying that if a person recovers from Ebola they are still infectious for up to 7 weeks after recovery.

People should be stopped from traveling for a period of time after recovery.

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

Read the information from Prof. John Oxford that John Banks mentioned above.

The chances are extremely slim that it will get to Europe and as it is not transmitted in an airborne manner coupled with far better levels of hygiene here the risk of an 'outbreak' is almost zero.

As usual the scum press are just overhyping it and scaring everyone. No surprise there given that is one of their usual modus operandi.

Dr Hu

Read this book- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hot_Zone and I've had this book for a few years now - Its an excellent read & I've read it many times - its a true story of an ebola outbreak in Uganda, Africa, and it almost broke out of a 'research' facility in Washington US - pretty fascinating, yet sobering stuff..... it's truly deadly, if it ever mutated to to be airborne, (as it did in the research facility!, it killed an entire building full of baboons, that never had contact with each other, even in separate rooms) its goodnight vienna for a lot of people!

If it did get into a metropolis area it would be quite scary TBH, as if a child or partner got infected, *any* contact with any bodily fluid infects the next person, just a single drop, the hardest thing about this virus is not being able to touch the afflicted, pretty hard to deal with if your a parent or partner, that's if you know they've got it......

The results of infection are pretty horrifying, the body basically turns to mush inside within days and you catastrophically suddenly 'bleed out' of any and all body orifices, and all of the 'output' is lethally 'hot' with virus...

Like I said - a nice holiday read - hahahaha

dpb

It sounds like you'd have to be up close and personal for it to pass over

jonc

Whilst the risk of an outbreak in the UK is very low, it's still enough for the Government to deem it necessary to hold an emergency COBR meeting on this issue.

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

Yes, but according to the press it's either coming soon to wipe us all out or already in the Uk in Glasgow at the Commonwealth Games.

From what I understand the COBR meeting is more to discuss people travelling to and from the infected regions rather than the idea of an epidemic in the UK.

That said the government aren't adverse to a bit of OTT reactionary politics to things like this ... all helps to keep the population under control don't y'know

David Lock

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/e...nment-response

jonc

Well if the Government says so, I feel safer already.

Sheepsplitter

I bet you the UK has multiple cases within a month.
Ebola has been around for years, but they've always contained it.
This time it's different, it's already gone beyond Africa's boundaries and has been 'transported' via airlines.
There is no telling how many people already made this a global problem, but you can be fairly sure if they are mentioning that the government have it under control we are already in trouble. Look what happened to Foot & Mouth, that was a complete fiasco, and that wasn't even a fraction as difficult to contain as Ebola.

I hope I am wrong, but I think over the coming days you will see supposedly contained cases hitting the news, and then that followed by a substantial spread.

One things for sure, if it does turn out to be the next plague, about 90% of us are going to be missing by the time it's over, so best enjoy yourself while you can just in case :-)

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

Do you work for the press as that statement is plain wrong? Foot and mouth is transmitted by coming into contact with the virus either physically in an or it can be airborne.

In animals it transmits freely due to the nature of how animals interact with each other. It is present in saliva, milk and dung and of course the carcasses of infected animals that have died.

Ebola transmission is not airborne and humans, at least in developed countries, have high levels of hygiene that will make the transmission of the disease very difficult albeit not impossible of course.

tony de wonderful

Never had a drink in the local Wetherspoons during the day then?

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

No, I haven't as I don't drink ... what am I missing?

Sheepsplitter

Sorry I wasn't referring to the ease of transmission of the virus. I meant that it's much easier to contain viruses/illness in animals because animals tend be locked up or kept in fields.
Humans on the other hand tend to travel around lots, so the spread is a much higher risk.
I'm not sure where you get the idea that high levels of hygiene will protect you. Since one of the methods of transmission is through sexual activity. However I do agree 'close' contact with an infected person is required for transmission. Recent surveys of food hygiene in many fast food organisations have proven that traces of faeces and other human fluids are not unusual, so the idea that the UK has high levels of hygiene may be somewhat optimistic.

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

No worries, I see what you're saying. While European levels of hygiene may not be perfect I suspect they are a whole lot better than much of West Africa.... Wetherspoons excluded apparently

Sheepsplitter

I think that's safe to assume, mostly anyway.
Fingers crossed they keep it contained.

53

iTrader: (41)

Lol... apparently our village fête has been cancelled due to a suspected outbreak of tombola

joz8968

iTrader: (13)

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

The Daily Mail might even run with that

hodgy0_2

All we need now is reports of dead Ebola victims rising from the dead and attacking the living


I think the tabloid leader writers would literally explode

zip106

Remember the deadly outbreak we were going to have of bird flu?

No, neither do I...

twistybits

According to my research (the game "Plague Inc.") the best way to avoid a virus like this is to move to Iceland, the cold climate makes it a bitch to infect the populace.

hodgy0_2

Or scotland

Dr Hu

Thats why they test suspects for a temperature. First thing the virus does is greatly raise the body temp to speed up the multplication of the virus.... Turns the human body into a nice warm bioreactor...

tony de wonderful

That's the body's own immune system response.

mart360

I wouldnt call 21 days incubation short

Mart

jonc

So it's managed to defy the odds and has now reached Europe and the USA.....