Ebola - The End of the World?

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Don't worry Indica, just like ebola it'll come back strong. It's actually one of the better off-topic discussions to have come up of recent recollection given the relevancy, implications & the potential impacts. It's a subject that should generate intelligent discussion & input amid the light hearted dick humour & moronic behaviour we expect of RB.

In his deft hand way, Johnny touched on one of the really good points that we often forget, not so much the exploitative occurrences/nature of corps & govs etc, but more the fact that much as there are varying levels of conflict ("terrorism", war, instruments of war etc) there too are, & have always been, varying levels of totally bad-arse disease in existence & it's there for a reason- population cleansing & balance. Every species has them- some shared between animals, others unique to their species.

In terms of a tangible analogy, Ebola measures up like the charismatic, indoctrinated, war-hardened & unpredictable fundamentalist whose origins are from a land on the other side of the world & whose prime purpose is to righteously fuck your shit up- & it's just one of many potentially deadly types that want your blood. Like the stereotype, it radicalises at a local level in a distant land, then it erupts for a time with an appalling statement before being contained at face-value by a foreign & external influence/s or, as has happened throughout history, is touted as being converted/subverted or wiped out altogether. But instead the truth is that through ignorance, absence of genuine interest (thanks to a greater exploitative purpose)or understanding & regular global monitoring, it has failed to be noticed that over time away from the prying or disinterested eyes (who are too caught up in their pursuit of domestic western bliss) not only has it become bigger & stronger but this time it's better seated & has spread into the neighbouring countries. Once again the eruptions are utterly appalling but this time greater & nearer until eventually they're suppressed & bliss returns, for a while. Containment of the problem can only happen as long as there are dedicated eyes on it & a sound way of reliably tracking the disease. That is something that simply can't be done in Africa, now or in the immediate future so long as it's being approached/handled the way it is. Really does lend itself to being a short-lived cycle that continues until eventually the crossroad is reach & repeated lessons can no longer be taught. Then we'll discover whether the eruptions are still just happening on the other side of the world.

Or alternatively we eventually we find a vaccine for Ebola, things turn out ok & we can continue to go about killing Zombies without fear or repercussion while we wait for the next bad-arse highly evolved virus/disease/bacteria to come along & give us a touch up.
 
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Indica. Are we talking George Romero/The Walking Dead zombies or James Bond 'Live and Let Die' voodoo zombies because given the West African origins of the latter ( Voodoo, that is. Not James Bond. A Nollywood James Bond would be pretty badarse however ) Anyway I'm not sure introducing shotguns and chainsaws and shotguns with chainsaws strapped under-barrel to the equation are really a productive measure.

If anything, your traditional voodoo zombies would probably be a bit shitty about these new 'hipster' Ebola victims flooding their neighbourhood and- what with them already being immune to death and all- they might actually help in containment of this whole thing. Targeting them is going to be pretty counter-productive if you ask me...
 
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For those who can't get to sleep at night:

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In all seriousness though, it is a very daunting and serious problem. However, unless you do come in contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person you are pretty much sweet. Unfortunately, even after a person dies, they can still carry the virus within their system so even disposal of the body, not just treatment, has to be precautionary.

Personally, I'd be more worried about animals contracting, carrying and spreading the virus than a human. I know to avoid a person who is coughing but if a dog came up to me and licked me, that's nothing more than a sign of affection. Or a bat or other animal that could be carrying the disease yet exhibits no symptoms just waiting to be eaten by a poor villager. To me, that's where we'd come unstuck.

Again, it is a very serious issue, but the bringer of the apocalypse? I think not.
 
Not sure you're reading me correctly. I'm saying that all the great threats in the world such as terrorism, WMDs, disease/epidemics, environmental challenges, belligerent state actors and so on are real. They are not fairy tales whipped up by secret societies, the military complex or big pharma or even politicians and ideologues. The world most definitely is a dangerous place where terrorism is real, diseases and savage people exist. Particular interests such as politicians, ideologues and capitalists take advantage of these threats to sell their policy, ideas and products but they don't need to construct these threats in order to sell themselves, these threats already exist exclusive of their selfish agendas.

jhonny^

But to not see it All as conspiracy is ludicrous, by the definition it is all conspiracy. Where I think people tend to shrug it off is when they either don't have the aptitude to seek "deeply" (not taught at school,) Or and, most are so enmeshed with what they are "supposed" to be/think/feel, that, the very idea of contemplating something other = Fear.

So, simply, one will join the bandwagon that suites their perceived place in the world. At their point in time they are almost a immovable object. Tis a pity, imagine how many great thinkers have gone-by-the-way-side due to that control factor?

Ps: If this Ebola shit has been weaponised and really does become a pain? Just make your own Colloidal Silver. Those that can tech can rig up electrolysis for about 30 bucks and can make heaps of Ltrs for next to nothing. Nothing to worry about, Spermie's got you covered.
 
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kwikee said:
Nah, I got your intention.

Seriously, though, if you think about any highly contagious disease getting out in a third world country with poor hygiene practices and medical facilities, the potential for disaster is staggering.
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FYI, ebola is NOT highly contagious at all. There is no vaccine, no specific treatment and has a very high mortality rate but it is not highly contagious.
 
PINT of Stella said:
1. It's a 60% chance of death not 90% - not true, depends on the strain. The current outbreak is caused by the Zaire strain. This is the most virulent strain, with a death rate of up to 90% though the exhibited mortality thus far is 60%

2. The two doctors were trying to follow all the safety protocols to the best of their ability. Proper protocol when dealing with highly contagious viruses like Ebola are the use of positive pressure suits with independent air systems in a negatively pressured laboratory that have quarantine locks, decontamination showers etc. - Again not true. Ebola is not highly contagious. It is not like the flu or common cold. It is not airborne, it is not waterborne, it is not transmitted by mosquitoes, rats or other common animals. You need to come in direct contact with the bodily fluids of a symtomatic person (vomit, blood, diarohhea etc). So unless you are a health worker specifically treating victims in West Africa, the chance of getting it is sweet FA.

They were operating in third world countries where they can't even source clean drinking water. Never mind space-age multi-million dollar containment facilities.

3. The two infected Americans are also two people who have had the most experience with the disease so it would be pretty stupid to let all that recently gained knowledge go to waste.

It's not airborne. They aren't landing them in f*****g Times Square and 'Outbreak', The 'Last Ship' and 'The Stand' are not documentaries (I'm not sure the Last Ship can even be considered entertainment)
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Holy crap. Didn't realize the amount of verbal diarrhea on this topic. I was just reading through it and it was getting worse and worse. arghhh.....
 
Noticed today in the news the 'mericans have flown a 2nd sick missionary back to the US. I know they have all of the space-age tech containment centres, but why bother? Likely they're gonna die anyway (harsh I know, but true), and they already have samples of the virus to test anyway? To me it is a totally pointless risk.
 
Also as mentioned before Richard Preston's book 'The Hot Zone' explored the outbreak of an Ebola strain called the 'Reston' Virus in Reston, Virginia in 1989. That strain was airborne but fortunately only affected monkeys.

The fact that Ebola has spawned airborne mutations in the past means it gets placed in the highest category for safety protocols.
 
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