Quote:
Originally Posted by Sandtrap328
A seemingly minor mistake in removing the protective wear was a terrible mistake. Personally, I doubt if the healthcare workers in Africa have the highest level of protective gear to wear. They make do with what is available.
Ebola is not an airborne virus. It is bodily fluids that spread it.
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NY Times -
What We’re Afraid to Say About Ebola
By MICHAEL T. OSTERHOLM
SEPTEMBER 11, 2014
...... "The second possibility is one that virologists are loath to discuss openly but are definitely considering in private: that an Ebola virus could mutate to become transmissible through the air. You can now get Ebola only through direct contact with bodily fluids.
But viruses like Ebola are notoriously sloppy in replicating, meaning the virus entering one person may be genetically different from the virus entering the next. The current Ebola virus’s hyper-evolution is unprecedented; there has been more human-to-human transmission in the past four months than most likely occurred in the last 500 to 1,000 years. Each new infection represents trillions of throws of the genetic dice.
If certain mutations occurred, it would mean that just breathing would put one at risk of contracting Ebola. Infections could spread quickly to every part of the globe, as the H1N1 influenza virus did in 2009, after its birth in Mexico.
Why are public officials afraid to discuss this? They don’t want to be accused of screaming “Fire!” in a crowded theater — as I’m sure some will accuse me of doing. But the risk is real, and until we consider it, the world will not be prepared to do what is necessary to end the epidemic......"
Michael T. Osterholm is the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/12/op...out-ebola.html