Ebola outbreak, and other potential epidemics

biffvernon · Post by **biffvernon** » 02 Oct 2014, 11:44

So what can we do today?

I suggest starting by lobbying governments to show them there is the electoral support for diverting resources. In the UK case the quickest line of communication is probably via twitter to @JustineGreening She's at the Donor Conference right now.

Comparing the spending with what we're spending on flying our Tornados over Iraqi deserts hardly bears thinking about. Some folk pretend that ISIS are a bigger threat than ebola.

biffvernon · Post by **biffvernon** » 02 Oct 2014, 11:50

Interesting that her own ministry is lobbying itself:

DFID ‏@DFID_UK 5m5 minutes ago
.@JustineGreening: We can be under no illusions now: Ebola is one of the most serious threats facing the world #EndEbola

PS_RalphW · Post by **PS_RalphW** » 02 Oct 2014, 13:53

Dallas victim vomited in public space as he was transferred to ambulance.

Who cleaned it up?

Airline shares and oil price both down sharply.

Sudan put a blanket ban on media reporting local ebola stories a month ago, after rumours of an outbreak in the west of the country.

We are so not prepared. In the office everybody is moaning about the autumn back to school virus that has hit half the staff.

Coughs and sneezes everywhere.

http://en.starafrica.com/news/sudan-ban ... ebola.html

fuzzy · Post by **fuzzy** » 02 Oct 2014, 14:05

Biff, it may be a better use of resources than bombing people but the UK gov has no resources - none. It has a debt to pay overseas and 'offshore' bondholders. Vast amounts of UK money was given to Saudi Arabia for oil. Why don't they fix it?? Why should the people of Britain who you don't believe should benefit from a national border to immigrants and trade, be solving the mess somewhere else? When it gets here we will need every resource we have. We are just further down the line.

PS_RalphW · Post by **PS_RalphW** » 02 Oct 2014, 14:09

Number of potentially infected contacts of US victim now listed at 80.

I would still bet there are more.

The victim's nephew phoned the CDC to inform them that his uncle was seriously ill, probably with ebola, and yet the victim was taken to hospital in a normal ambulance, which was returned to service after the patient vomited in it, for the next two days.

Children are being kept home from school by concerned parents in Dallas.
First bit of sane news I have heard in the US outbreak.

biffvernon · Post by **biffvernon** » 02 Oct 2014, 14:34

fuzzy wrote:Biff, it may be a better use of resources than bombing people but the UK gov has no resources - none. It has a debt to pay overseas and 'offshore' bondholders. Vast amounts of UK money was given to Saudi Arabia for oil. Why don't they fix it?? Why should the people of Britain who you don't believe should benefit from a national border to immigrants and trade, be solving the mess somewhere else? When it gets here we will need every resource we have. We are just further down the line.

Despite rumours to the contrary, the UK is still one of the wealthiest places on the Planet. We even manage to run the world's fourth most powerful armed force.

Why should the people of Britain be solving the mess? Lot's of reasons, but for you the most important might be self-interest. It is going to be much cheaper to solve the problem now, in West Africa, than try to solve it later in the British Isles.

Yes, we should do all we can to get other countries, Saudi Arabia included, on board and that's what today's Donor Conference, chaired by our Foreign Minister, Philip Hammond, was all about. There are times when it is good to be proud of our nation as being a world leader, so we'd better see to it that we contribute more than little old Cuba.

PS_RalphW · Post by **PS_RalphW** » 02 Oct 2014, 15:45

Make that 100 potential contacts with the ebola victim.

snow hope · Post by **snow hope** » 02 Oct 2014, 17:36

PS_RalphW wrote:Make that 100 potential contacts with the ebola victim.

Have you got a link to this (disastrous) information?

nexus · Post by **nexus** » 02 Oct 2014, 17:39

US Ebola case: family members told to stay home as Texas checks 100 for exposure

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014 ... ly-members

vtsnowedin · Post by **vtsnowedin** » 02 Oct 2014, 18:12

snow hope wrote:
PS_RalphW wrote:Make that 100 potential contacts with the ebola victim.
Have you got a link to this (disastrous) information?

And here.
http://www.usnews.com/dims4/USNEWS/5b89 ... dshe-b.tif

UndercoverElephant · Post by **UndercoverElephant** » 02 Oct 2014, 19:28

vtsnowedin wrote:
snow hope wrote:
PS_RalphW wrote:Make that 100 potential contacts with the ebola victim.
Have you got a link to this (disastrous) information?
And here.
http://www.usnews.com/dims4/USNEWS/5b89 ... dshe-b.tif

Sums up a big part of the problem. Is it really the job of health professionals to re-assure the public that the situation is under control? Nope, their job is to do everything they can to control the situation, and to advise both the public and the powers that be of the true seriousness of the situation, whether it is under control or not under control. How does re-assuring the public that it is under control, if it isn't, help anyone or anything? Answer: it helps those in a position of authority look like they are doing a decent job when they aren't, but only temporarily. The long term effect is to utterly destroy any confidence the public have in what they are being told, which has the exact opposite effect of re-assuring the public (it means that even if the health authorities tell the truth in future about having things under control, nobody will believe them.)

"See...I feed BSE-infected meat to my daughter. It's safe. Relax and enjoy those burgers. There is no evidence it might cause a horrific, fatal degenerative brain disorder. DON'T PANIC! And keep buying meat."

PS_RalphW · Post by **PS_RalphW** » 02 Oct 2014, 22:28

The more I read about what is still happening in Dallas the more I incredulous I become. The victims apartment still hasn't been cleaned or cleared of infectious bedding, because that is the responsibility of the family, who are quaranteened to stay indoors on pain of arrest. The steps where the man presumably vomited were cleaned by contractors without any protective clothing. They really do not know what is about to hit them.

Mean Mr Mustard · Post by **Mean Mr Mustard** » 02 Oct 2014, 23:11

Where are you reading this, Ralph?

Sounds plausible...

Most likely the folks who did the cleanup were probably undocumented or uninsured and not wanting to present themselves to anyone in authority, pay medical bills for the flu, so it's the CVS or Mall*Wart for their ineffective meds advertised on TV. Nor can they take time off sick from the three jobs they work in between the childminding... but they have a cousin in San Antonio or Austin who can help. They'll stop off at a diner on the way, where the tables might get cleaned a few customers later by other undocumented or uninsured folks...

Mean Mr Mustard · Post by **Mean Mr Mustard** » 02 Oct 2014, 23:29

Just seen the BBC report. Evidently one of the family - who initially defied the quarantine until the cops enforced it - bagged the infected bedding. And the vomit outside got powerwashed by unprotected janitors...

fifthcolumn · Post by **fifthcolumn** » 03 Oct 2014, 02:26

I really, seriously hope these photographs are hoaxes.

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2014/10 ... ms-family/