To feel alarmed at the plane quarantined in Paris for Ebola?

[LonesomeDove]

Suddenly brings it a lot closer to home. I know in the grand scheme of things it's far down the list of urgent concerns, but...I think it is a disaster waiting to happen :( They only quarantined the Air France plane for two hours too, is that really enough time?

Surely they need stricter border control on people leaving the affected areas at the moment?

Well, someone was sick in a loo and they stopped the plane and tested everybody. What more could they do?

It is not a disaster waiting to happen, it is a disaster that is happening now! Or was that a Eurocentric thought?

MSF are working hard to reassure and quarantine people... there is not much else that can be done in Guinea at the moment, in its current political unrest.

Not Eurocentric at all, actually. I was just as scared for my friend doing aid work in another part of West Africa, hoping they would tighten border control there too.

And actually, I'm thinking more on a global scale. I didn't mean it wasn't a disaster in Guinea - but better to contain it in as small an area as possible, then have a 28 Days Later scenario on our hands.

I am worried about this and I am not a worrier A virus with a 90% death rate is scary!

I am concerned about this also and don't think enough is being done to prevent it spreading further afield.

Better check the oh fuck rucksack is packed! Seriously that is getting a wee bit scary.

This is the price of easy global connexions.

What happens in Africa really does matter, both out of compassions for fellow humans and cold, hard self-interest.

And no, we cannot stop the spread of infectious disease. We might like to think we can control the world and live in predictable times, but that ever has been and never will be true.

Glad I'm not alone in my twinges of unease.

Namechangeforamo, where would you go with your oh fuck rucksack?! It's insane to even consider what could happen.

It can incubate for 3 weeks ... and has even been found in semen 61 days later.

Indeed - think of The Sweat in Tudor times (probably a hantavirus of some kind) which came and went many times. Or the first great influenza.

Best keep the store cupboard full.

It's unusual in that if you recover, yo remain infectious for a period after you appear well.

I confirmed Ebola here, I should imagine that post recovery quarantine would be very strictly policed. But elsewhere, where public health may not have adequate infrastructure? Quite different.

It can incubate for three weeks!

I thought everything about it was very rapid, from infection to killing its host, and that was the only reason it hasn't ripped through the world already?!

No, it's because haemorrhagic fevers (for reasons unknown) seem to spontaneously attenuate after about 3 generations (better documented with Marburg, though). A change to that would have serious repercussions.

To put it in context, the death rate exceeds that of smallpox (but is lower than that of rabies).

It is quite difficult to catch Ebola. It's not airborne so is only transmitted in bodily fluids. Also apparently the infected person is only contagious when they are showing symptoms so the long incubation period doesn't make a difference.
It is a horrible disease but should it spread to the west it should be quite easy to contain once people are well informed on the symptons and look out for them in themselves and others.

The best place I've found for keeping up to date with this (and other disease outbreaks) is flutrackers

It's in general a very factual place and just gathers news reports from around the world.
MSF are having a really hard time on the ground with this as they seem to be received with suspicion in some of the more remote places.

Can I ask where you read about this Paris bit? I cant find anything

Paris bit was on different news sites? It happened on Friday?

Yeah, MSF are being attacked in places, by mobs believing they introduced the virus to the community :(

You can find the Paris incident on the link I posted. (Look under the guinea thread I think)

I'd be more concerned if they'd done nothing.

I'm seconding Uselessidiot here.

I am not worried

There will prob be cases here,I'm sure... but let's hope our NHS can cope..... Will be a test of its capabilities

It hasnt come over here when there have been other bigger outbreaks. However

"CONAKRY (Xinhua) - Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has decided to discontinue its activities in southern Guinea, after its facilities had suffered an attack Friday in the town of Macenta by angry protesters who the accused "of having imported the Ebola virus in the region for ulterior purposes" Has said Saturday from sources.

This incident led to the destruction of part of the isolation of patients with Ebola center. It took the intervention of security forces to calm down the protesters.

MSF is concerned that its staff are the target of violence from the people of this province of the Guinea forest, the epicenter of the deadly fever, which has so far 86 victims of 137 reported cases."

from this article concerns me somewhat.