Last edited Thu Oct 16, 2014, 03:36 AM - Edit history (1)
Clearly, a major problem is that there's been no definitive research (CDC for one has had its' budget cut every year for many years) determining when and how Ebola is spread, and even if there had been such research done, viruses are constantly mutating, so that past research could quickly become irrelevant.
Given that fact (which was repeatedly emphasized in 2 classes I took at the Univ. of Pittsburgh on infectious diseases), and the Big Brother/paternalistic attitude common in government of hiding info because the public "can't handle it", I think a realistic person would indeed question both the value and honesty of info provided by official agencies. As to FEMA, the agency's website, at fema.gov, when queried on EBOLA response, consistently refers back to the guidelines from CDC.
What virologists don't like to talk about
The possibility of an airborne-transmissible Ebola virus is one "that virologists are loath to discuss openly but are definitely considering in private," wrote Osterholm. In its current form, the virus spreads only through contact with bodily fluids, he noted, but with more human transmission in the past few months than probably occurred in the past 500 years, the virus is getting plenty of chances to evolve.
"Each new infection represents trillions of throws of the genetic dice," he said.
"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."
Osterholm added that public officials are reluctant to talk about this risk because they fear being accused of screaming "Fire!" in a crowded theater. "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."
As evidence of the risk, he noted that Canadian researchers in 2012 showed that Ebola Zaire, the species in the West African epidemic, could spread by the respiratory route from pigs to monkeys.
= new reply since forum marked as read