# How concerned should we be about Ebola now that it is in the U.S.? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 2, 2014, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-should-we-be-about-ebola-now-that-it-is-in-the-u-s/700214 "2014-10-02T22:13:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2014, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-should-we-be-about-ebola-now-that-it-is-in-the-u-s/700214/41 "2014-10-05T10:33:41Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Four days after the fact. Do you think the juices were dripping on people through the ceiling or something? ---
**Author:** ![Ramira](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ramira/32/344_2.png) [@Ramira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ramira)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2014, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-should-we-be-about-ebola-now-that-it-is-in-the-u-s/700214/42 "2014-10-05T11:32:19Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > I’m not at all. When I pointed out the errors and delays in the Dallas response, it was **Ramira** who suggested that maybe the Nigerian response had handled it badly as well. I am certain that if one nitpicked the Nigerian response in the same fashion and the Senegalese response in the same fashion, you can find small errors or things that do not response to the standards of hollywood films. And yet there was no transmissions after the initial contacts, pre identification. That is why I wrote that it is strange that the body fluids have become more scary and more contaminating in America than in Africa… Because simply the application of the bleach and the simple procedures, even days later in the Lagos case, were sufficient. In the face of the scare mongering it seems to me that a a perspective is needed. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2014, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-should-we-be-about-ebola-now-that-it-is-in-the-u-s/700214/43 "2014-10-05T16:01:30Z")
> [@ernest](#): > > how body fluids and disease become more scary in america. To be honest I think due to vaccines. We are giving shots not to catchs things. But at the same time I would suspect that would also cause us not to build up a natural herd resistant to foreign ones which people in poor countrys might be carriers of but have a natural resistants to. I wouldn’t worry about this - our environment is chock full of antigens from infectious disease agents and other things, way more than ample to keep our immune systems going. As for those “lucky” people in poor countries, having endemic disease doesn’t protect them from getting sick. For instance, global measles deaths not long ago were about 562,000 a year. By 2012 that had dropped to around 122,000, thanks to vaccination campaigns (not “natural immunity”). > [@](#): > > They say (Typhoid Mary)…eventually moved away from people and died all alone. “They” are wrong. Typhoid Mary was a serial offender who drifted from job to job in households where her poor hygiene resulted in typhoid infections in numerous people. She was placed in confinement and released after promising never to work as a cook again. She broke that promise. Finally authorities caught up to her after more typhoid outbreaks, and she was quarantined in an institution where she eventually died. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2014, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-should-we-be-about-ebola-now-that-it-is-in-the-u-s/700214/44 "2014-10-05T22:39:14Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Four days after the family already bagged his clothes/possessions and had a go at disinfecting the place themselves, which was probably adequate but hey, maybe we should be extra sure, right? > > They’re Liberian, not incompetent. I’m not complaining about what ever it was that the family did, I’m complaining about the slow response by the health care providers. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2014, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-should-we-be-about-ebola-now-that-it-is-in-the-u-s/700214/45 "2014-10-05T22:40:19Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Do you think the juices were dripping on people through the ceiling or something? Was there trash collection? Were waste materials flushed into the sewers? Did the family leave the building? ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2014, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-should-we-be-about-ebola-now-that-it-is-in-the-u-s/700214/46 "2014-10-05T23:33:47Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Was there trash collection? Were waste materials flushed into the sewers? Did the family leave the building? To give an example, even in Liberia, where actively sick people are being cared for at home, it’s still fairly rare for kids to get Ebola. Caregivers, who are exposed to fresh fluids, yes. They are the ones getting sick. But kids running around putting their grubby hands on everything (and keep in mind, these are often families living in a single room), not so much. Bodies are infections. Wet puddles of fluids are infectious. Dried fluids are considered only infectious for a short time. Throwing stuff in a landfill isn’t a best practice, but unless we are talking about sopping wet stuff, it’s more of a theoretical risk than an actual one. As for the family leaving the building, that’s fine. Ebola is not infectious until symptoms appear, and Ebola can’t be spread without getting bodily fluids on somoene. Someone with a high fever who is spewing vomit all over the pllace? Sure, worry. A potentially exposed but otherwise healthy person walking around Walmart? Not a best practice, but it’s not actually going to lead to any infections. Again, the bleach and quarantines are a best practice to eliminate risk, not a bare minimum. What’s really important is getting sick people into hospitals, and burying bodies safely. That is what is causing Ebola to spread. ---
**Author:** ![Chen019](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f19dbf/32.png) [@Chen019](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chen019)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-should-we-be-about-ebola-now-that-it-is-in-the-u-s/700214/47 "2014-10-06T07:12:35Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > And what steps should we take to prevent it’s spread? > > This is an a really nasty virus, and extremely deadly. Incubation periods, as I understand it, can be weeks, with no signs of infection. The Powers that Be (I’m not trying to pin anything whatsoever on Obama here) assured us not long ago, when they brought to Americans infected with it back, that we are safe from it. But now there are patients in the U.S. I think Hawaii, Utah, and I know, Dallas. And the U.N. fears it could become airborne, the ramifications of which are hard to fathom. > > So, what should be done. How cautious should we be? How quickly do we start to quarantine the homes of the infected? How quickly do we close schools? I’m not suggesting at all that we do these things now? But are they on the horizon? > > This could get very, very ugly. [History lessons](http://westhunt.wordpress.com/2014/10/03/disaster-in-the-south-pacific/) from the contrasting approaches of Western Samoa and American Samoa to the flu. Quarantine works 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-should-we-be-about-ebola-now-that-it-is-in-the-u-s/700214/48 "2014-10-06T15:26:11Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > They’re Liberian, not incompetent. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-should-we-be-about-ebola-now-that-it-is-in-the-u-s/700214/49 "2014-10-06T16:15:31Z")
There seems to be an implication that the close associates of Mr. Duncan were sitting helplessly passive in the apartment waiting to be rescued. They were not. They were doing their best to clean the home, contain any contaminated items, and take care of themselves. I believe they were removed to another location largely due to the fears of their neighbors and not because it was impossible for them to remain in their own home. I really do feel sorry them, they’ve received all sorts of media attention they probably didn’t want, I can’t imagine the neighbors were happy about the presence of Mr. Duncan once his illness was revealed, they were first involuntarily confined to home and then involuntarily removed from their home. All of that has to suck. I hope their lives get better very soon. They didn’t deserve any of this. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-should-we-be-about-ebola-now-that-it-is-in-the-u-s/700214/50 "2014-10-06T16:24:56Z")
We could stop the spread by [executing anyone who comes into contact with ebola](http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/10/former-sc-gop-director-execute-anyone-who-comes-into-contact-with-ebola-its-just-math/). ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-should-we-be-about-ebola-now-that-it-is-in-the-u-s/700214/51 "2014-10-06T16:35:05Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > We could stop the spread by [executing anyone who comes into contact with ebola](http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/10/former-sc-gop-director-execute-anyone-who-comes-into-contact-with-ebola-its-just-math/). And napalming their villages! (Yes, he actually says that.) ---
**Author:** ![Ramira](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ramira/32/344_2.png) [@Ramira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ramira)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-should-we-be-about-ebola-now-that-it-is-in-the-u-s/700214/52 "2014-10-06T17:12:32Z")
> [@Chen019](#): > > [History lessons](http://westhunt.wordpress.com/2014/10/03/disaster-in-the-south-pacific/) from the contrasting approaches of Western Samoa and American Samoa to the flu. Quarantine works 🙂 And it is what relevance to this disease that is not spread by air like the influenza? Or are we not surprised that you want to ban the Africans from the USA? The coy posting is not surprising. > [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > We could stop the spread by [executing anyone who comes into contact with ebola](http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/10/former-sc-gop-director-execute-anyone-who-comes-into-contact-with-ebola-its-just-math/). As the precedent holds. > [@Broomstick](#): > > There seems to be an implication that the close associates of Mr. Duncan were sitting helplessly passive in the apartment waiting to be rescued. Thank you. They are from the African continent and so in some minds sub-humans incapable… ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-should-we-be-about-ebola-now-that-it-is-in-the-u-s/700214/53 "2014-10-06T17:28:33Z")
> [@Ramira](#): > > And it is what relevance to this disease that is not spread by air like the influenza? What I got from the example is that a quarantine does effectively stop disease, not that there be a complete ban on travel. Although in retrospect I can see that interpretation as well. I’m for _appropriate_ and _humane_ quarantines. You impose them where the benefits will outweigh the negatives, and you don’t simply wall people up but you make sure they get the food, water, and other supplies needed, as well as proving medical care for those who fall ill. Quarantines were an integral part of finally eliminating smallpox. So - calls for quarantining _all of Africa_ are stupid and born of ignorance and prejudice. Limiting travel into and out of ebola-affected areas does, however, make sense and it should be discussed as a tool, along with how to we get more effective medical care to the affected regions and a bunch of other issues. > [@](#): > > Thank you. They are from the African continent and so in some minds sub-humans incapable… Yes. Just as many people completely discount that the Nigerians, and I think some other surrounding nations, have successfully dealt with isolated outbreaks on their territory despite limited resources. Africans are just as smart and capable as any other human beings, but all too many of them are struggling with inadequate material resources, education, and governments. Europeans or Asians or Americans in the same circumstances wouldn’t do any better, and might fare worse. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-should-we-be-about-ebola-now-that-it-is-in-the-u-s/700214/54 "2014-10-06T17:33:59Z")
> [@Ramira](#): > > And it is what relevance to this disease that is not spread by air like the influenza? Or are we not surprised that you want to ban the Africans from the USA? The coy posting is not surprising… It’s such a huge surprise that the most Draconian proposals come from the board’s pet racists. Actually, no. It isn’t. When I first heard about Ebola, years ago, I was concerned because it sounded so dreadful. The latest epidemic concerns me even more–because i care about all these sick & dying people, even if they aren’t here. (Somebody pointed out that kids often escape the disease–NPR did a piece today about all the Ebola orphans being created.) Personal fear of the disease? Nope. We need to join an international effort to stop it in Africa. And continue research on better treatments and/or a vaccine. Since we’re just a plane flight from anywhere, there is a touch of danger. I’m pretty sure that hospital has had some pretty serious QA meetings to ensure nobody screws up again. Personally, I’m fairly squeamish about other people’s body fluids… I commute via mass transit, but am more concerned about the flu. We’ll be getting our shots soon, but they aren’t perfect. So I hope few of my fellow commuters will be shedding the influenza virus. (And I’m _really_ concerned about vaccine ignorance, revealed in this very thread.) ---
**Author:** ![Ramira](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ramira/32/344_2.png) [@Ramira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ramira)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-should-we-be-about-ebola-now-that-it-is-in-the-u-s/700214/55 "2014-10-06T18:19:47Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > \*\* Just as many people completely discount that the Nigerians, and I think some other surrounding nations,\*\* have successfully dealt with isolated outbreaks on their territory despite limited resources. Africans are just as smart and capable as any other human beings, but all too many of them are struggling with inadequate material resources, education, and governments. Europeans or Asians or Americans in the same circumstances wouldn’t do any better, and might fare worse. I have added the bolding. It is this point that I return to. It is disturbing to me to see again and again and again the disregard of these actions. I have no respect for the Nigerian government, but the disregard of the successes of the Senegalese, the Nigerians etc that have been achieved, and the comments that are showing the hidden disdain. But here we favours the false politenesses. But it is the same history always. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-should-we-be-about-ebola-now-that-it-is-in-the-u-s/700214/56 "2014-10-06T22:39:15Z")
Here’s what we need more of: [Woman saves three relatives from ebola](http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/25/health/ebola-fatu-family/) For those not following the link: Fatu Kekula improvised protective gear from trash bags while taking care of four family members suffering from ebola without catching the disease herself. Under her care, the disease had a 25% mortality rate which is a darn sight better than most hospitals in the region. She did such a good job international aid workers came to study her methods and are now talking about disseminating the techniques in areas where proper hazmat gear is unavailable. The sad thing is that due to finances she might never be able to finish nursing school. All of which is an illustration of the intelligence and resourcefulness of Liberians as well as the tragic loss of potential caused by lack of resources, so that intelligent, resourceful, and brave people like Ms. Kekula can’t complete the training and certification to enable them to go out and do even more good in the world. Seriously, that is exactly the kind of nurse I’d want taking care of me if I was suffering from a serious and potentially lethal illness. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2014, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-should-we-be-about-ebola-now-that-it-is-in-the-u-s/700214/57 "2014-10-07T03:10:45Z")
Perhaps it’s just my imagination, but I think I’ve noticed the media actually _downplaying_ the symptoms now that Ebola seems to be spreading. A few years ago we were treated to graphic descriptions of blood and other fluids hurtling out of every bodily orifice that exists and victims writhing in hellish agony. Now we hear nothing about that. It’s more like, oh, got a fever and am sneezing so stopped in at the hospital. Got some meds, but they didn’t help, so I went back. BTW: I was curious why Ebola kept being spelled with a capital E. We don’t cap malaria or cancer, for example. Then I learned the disease is named after the Ebola River in Africa, so it gets capped the same as we cap West Nile virus or Alzheimer’s disease. Just so you’ll know. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2014, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-should-we-be-about-ebola-now-that-it-is-in-the-u-s/700214/58 "2014-10-07T12:28:02Z")
There _are_ some people who spew blood and fluids out of every orifice, their eyes, needlesticks… but it’s not universal. That’s the extreme version of the disease. Many still experience vomiting, diarrhea, and bleeding but not to the extreme. That, and the early symptoms really aren’t that horror-show bad, and its the initial stages where you want to identify and isolate the victims. ---
**Author:** ![sweat209](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@sweat209](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweat209)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2014, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-should-we-be-about-ebola-now-that-it-is-in-the-u-s/700214/59 "2014-10-12T23:44:22Z")
I don’t want this to come across as a conspiracy theories but the government ,media and CDC is lying every thing about Ebola. The U.S. government is actively encouraging an Ebola outbreak by downplaying it. 10 reasons why the government ,media and CDC is lying and actively encouraging an Ebola outbreak for profit. Read more here. > **[Do these ten pieces of evidence prove the U.S. government is actively...](https://www.naturalnews.com/047118_Ebola_pandemic_US_government_American_cities.html)** > > Do these ten pieces of evidence prove the U.S. government is actively encouraging an Ebola outbreak in America? ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2014, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-should-we-be-about-ebola-now-that-it-is-in-the-u-s/700214/60 "2014-10-12T23:54:33Z")
> [@sweat209](#): > > I don’t want this to come across as a conspiracy theories but the government ,media and CDC is lying every thing about Ebola. > > The U.S. government is actively encouraging an Ebola outbreak by downplaying it. > > 10 reasons why the government ,media and CDC is lying and actively encouraging an Ebola outbreak for profit. > > Read more here. > > [Do these ten pieces of evidence prove the U.S. government is actively encouraging an Ebola outbreak in America? - NaturalNews.com](http://www.naturalnews.com/047118_Ebola_pandemic_US_government_American_cities.html) I was expecting something dumb, but that is probably the dumbest thing I have ever read. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-should-we-be-about-ebola-now-that-it-is-in-the-u-s/700214.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-should-we-be-about-ebola-now-that-it-is-in-the-u-s/700214.md?page=4)