ebola, anyone else mildly terrified?

ebola, anyone else mildly terrified?

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Discussion

Luftgekuhlt

853 posts

189 months

Wednesday 2nd July 2014
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otolith said:
though aerosols are thought to be a risk at close quarters.
Eww.

otolith

55,899 posts

203 months

Wednesday 2nd July 2014
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It didn't kill us all, though, and nor would the strain those researchers have created. Massively dangerous, but not civilisation ending.

I think some of the things the Soviet bioweapons people were trying to do were terrifying though.

S11Steve

6,374 posts

183 months

Wednesday 2nd July 2014
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Natures way of appeasing Malthus.

otolith

55,899 posts

203 months

Wednesday 2nd July 2014
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According to Ken Alibek, the soviets were successful in genetically modifying smallpox to express parts of the Ebola genome. I wonder if it is actually possible to insert the entire genome of a small and nasty virus into that of a large and highly contagious one, and have it express the virions of the smaller virus as well as those of the chimera? I don't think that's what the Soviets did, I think they just created a nastier smallpox.

Du1point8

21,604 posts

191 months

Wednesday 2nd July 2014
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[quote=otolith]It didn't kill us all, though, and nor would the strain those researchers have created. Massively dangerous, but not civilisation ending.
[quote]

How do you work that out? You work for the CDC?

If someone takes H1N1 (it killed 500,000 people in 2009) and better known as influenza.

The guy the refined it until he found strains that were resistant to antibodies, then refined it a few more times and now has a strain that is not effected by any vaccine, as in it can not be wiped out by a vaccine.

How is that not civilisation ending?

You cant stop it, you might be able to hide from it, but can you hide forever?

otolith

55,899 posts

203 months

Wednesday 2nd July 2014
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They have artificially produced a virus which is similar in nature to the 1918 strain - they have searched a database of avian influenza viruses to find candidates with similar sequences to the 1918 virus and then modified it to make it easily transmissible. If it got out, it would no doubt kill a huge number of people, just like the 1918 pandemic did. But that didn't kill everyone, and nor, I think, would this.

zygalski

7,759 posts

144 months

Wednesday 2nd July 2014
quotequote all
otolith said:
They have artificially produced a virus which is similar in nature to the 1918 strain - they have searched a database of avian influenza viruses to find candidates with similar sequences to the 1918 virus and then modified it to make it easily transmissible. If it got out, it would no doubt kill a huge number of people, just like the 1918 pandemic did. But that didn't kill everyone, and nor, I think, would this.
Mobility of the population is the most worrying aspect of a modern pandemic.

smegmore

3,091 posts

175 months

Wednesday 2nd July 2014
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zygalski said:
Mobility of the population is the most worrying aspect of a modern pandemic.
Definitely, the availability of world wide air travel would mean the virus spreading at an exponential rate, a far cry from the Spanish flu of 1918.

2013BRM

Original Poster:

39,731 posts

283 months

Wednesday 2nd July 2014
quotequote all
smegmore said:
zygalski said:
Mobility of the population is the most worrying aspect of a modern pandemic.
Definitely, the availability of world wide air travel would mean the virus spreading at an exponential rate, a far cry from the Spanish flu of 1918.
I can recommend the book Hot Zone which is an accurate description of ebola and, to quote Stephen King, 'the most terrifying thing he has ever read'

otolith

55,899 posts

203 months

Wednesday 2nd July 2014
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You have to bear in mind that there was an awful lot of movement of people going on in 1918.

Travel restrictions would certainly be a big part of managing any modern pandemic.

Getragdogleg

8,736 posts

182 months

Wednesday 2nd July 2014
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P-Jay said:
It's a terrifying thing to have or course - but like most things of this type, no one will do much about it until it reaches a country where lots of white people live.
Why don't the "black" people sort it out then ? why does it always have to wait until it becomes a "white problem" before it gets dealt with ?

wink



tenpenceshort

32,880 posts

216 months

Wednesday 2nd July 2014
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Getragdogleg said:
Why don't the "black" people sort it out then ? why does it always have to wait until it becomes a "white problem" before it gets dealt with ?

wink
We should compromise. Make the brown people deal with it. silly

otolith

55,899 posts

203 months

Wednesday 2nd July 2014
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I think the yellow people would be the most likely to survive a civilisation threatening pandemic - because they would just do whatever was necessary.

Lost soul

8,712 posts

181 months

Wednesday 2nd July 2014
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zygalski said:
Black Death wiped out half of Europe.
Not worried here.smile
But that's when half of Europe was not worth a tenth of what it is today smile

smegmore

3,091 posts

175 months

Wednesday 2nd July 2014
quotequote all
2013BRM said:
I can recommend the book Hot Zone which is an accurate description of ebola and, to quote Stephen King, 'the most terrifying thing he has ever read'
Thanks BRM, I actually downloaded that onto my kindle this morning, looking forward to reading it.

thumbup

zygalski

7,759 posts

144 months

Wednesday 2nd July 2014
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Lost soul said:
zygalski said:
Black Death wiped out half of Europe.
Not worried here.smile
But that's when half of Europe was not worth a tenth of what it is today smile
True enough.
I dread to think what would have happened had the density of population been 10x higher....

7mike

3,005 posts

192 months

Wednesday 2nd July 2014
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P-Jay said:
It's a terrifying thing to have or course - but like most things of this type, no one will do much about it until it reaches a country where lots of white people live.
Does writing bks like this make one feel in some way, superior?

Foppo

2,344 posts

123 months

Wednesday 2nd July 2014
quotequote all
7mike said:
P-Jay said:
It's a terrifying thing to have or course - but like most things of this type, no one will do much about it until it reaches a country where lots of white people live.
Does writing bks like this make one feel in some way, superior?
With other words black people are dispensable that is how I read his post.He won't be far wrong.

Mojocvh

16,837 posts

261 months

Wednesday 2nd July 2014
quotequote all
Foppo said:
7mike said:
P-Jay said:
It's a terrifying thing to have or course - but like most things of this type, no one will do much about it until it reaches a country where lots of white people live.
Does writing bks like this make one feel in some way, superior?
With other words black people are dispensable that is how I read his post.He won't be far wrong.
Wot you mean like you can go to the chemists and get a bag full confusedconfusedconfused

[for all the mongs out there that was a satirical comment]

Edited by Mojocvh on Wednesday 2nd July 20:52

otolith

55,899 posts

203 months

Wednesday 2nd July 2014
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I think he's right - at the moment it's just another of those horrible things that happens in Africa, like all the other terrible things.

I would imagine the security services have concerns about live Ebola carriers being so easy to procure at the moment, though.