Ebola and other Epidemics, Inadequate Healthcare Threatens Millions

[Caliga]

The world gets to see how things go when the West isn't involved, or is barely involved. Let it be a rude awakening for the West's many detractors

They'll just end up hating us even more.

[Caliga]

Nope, it's definitely going blow up in some other 3rd world slum somewhere, whether in south/southeast Asia or Latin America.

I don't think there is much population exchange between slums in Monrovia and slums in say Rio de Janeiro.

[jimmy olsen]

Tim, i'm surprised Ebola-chan's got you so worked up. You realize this is, of course, merely an African matter?

Nope, it's definitely going blow up in some other 3rd world slum somewhere, whether in south/southeast Asia or Latin America.

I can see why you are worried then, but I don't suppose America will stand by and let Puerto Rico writhe in anguish.

[CountDeMoney]

I can see why you are worried then, but I don't suppose America will stand by and let Puerto Rico writhe in anguish.

Even Puerto Ricans have more sense than West African witch doctor worshippers.

They dont bathe their dead with the whole family present, they just drop the suspension and put an oversized spoiler on the corpse.

[Savonarola]

I can see why you are worried then, but I don't suppose America will stand by and let Puerto Rico writhe in anguish.

Even Puerto Ricans have more sense than West African witch doctor worshippers.

But Cubans don't; so Miami is doomed.   

They dont bathe their dead with the whole family present, they just drop the suspension and put an oversized spoiler on the corpse.

Heh

[Zanza]

If three quarters of the population of S. Leone, Liberia and Guinea contract the virus and 70% die that's 52.5% off the population dead just from that. That's 11 million people. How many more will die from starvation, other diseases and injuries that can no longer be treated, and conflict over dwindling food and medical supplies?

The 70% in the article reference the number of patients in quarantine. The article gives a figure of 550.000-1.400.000 victims. That's admittedly terrible, but way short of your number.

Once hundreds of thousands have contracted the disease there will be no stopping it from spreading throughout the population until it burns out. What I wrote is just an extrapolation of that.

What you wrote is an extrapolation of the extrapolation in the article based on an erronous understanding of what the article talks about.

[Admiral Yi]

You're talking like that's a bad thing.

[derspiess]

The world gets to see how things go when the West isn't involved, or is barely involved. Let it be a rude awakening for the West's many detractors

We'll just be criticized for not intervening in time. That's just how it goes.

I'm okay with that criticism.

[derspiess]

I can see why you are worried then, but I don't suppose America will stand by and let Puerto Rico writhe in anguish.

I think we should let them write in English.  Or Spanish.  Just not that weird Spanglish they speak.

[derspiess]

They dont bathe their dead with the whole family present, they just drop the suspension and put an oversized spoiler on the corpse.

[jimmy olsen]

If three quarters of the population of S. Leone, Liberia and Guinea contract the virus and 70% die that's 52.5% off the population dead just from that. That's 11 million people. How many more will die from starvation, other diseases and injuries that can no longer be treated, and conflict over dwindling food and medical supplies?

The 70% in the article reference the number of patients in quarantine. The article gives a figure of 550.000-1.400.000 victims. That's admittedly terrible, but way short of your number.

Once hundreds of thousands have contracted the disease there will be no stopping it from spreading throughout the population until it burns out. What I wrote is just an extrapolation of that.

What you wrote is an extrapolation of the extrapolation in the article based on an erronous understanding of what the article talks about.

The fatality rate of confirmed cases was recently listed as 71 percent by the WHO.  My numbers had nothing to do with the quarantine number.

[DontSayBanana]

Also, Fate Lied, Millions Died!

Meh. Since the initial 1967 outbreak Ebola and Marburg have only killed 3000 people. Ebola doesn't spread quickly because it requires direct contact with the host's fluids to become infected. You don't need Outbreak style spacesuits to prevent spread. Gloves and gown are enough.

It'd be much more contagious if it spread via a fecal-oral route like polio or respiratory droplets like influenza.

That's because Fate relied on an average morbidity rate going all the way back to 67, when there was no treatment.  Advances in treatment haven't led to a consistent cure, but slower onset of death.  Meaning longer periods of contagion, and a potential exponential increase in exposure.

We're not curing them, we're keeping them around longer to infect more people.

[jimmy olsen]

Most people are getting no treatment at all. This whole thing has been caused by distrust of authorities, traditional practices that happen to spread the disease, much greater population density, crushing poverty and nonexistent health care infrastructure.

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

Nope, it's definitely going blow up in some other 3rd world slum somewhere, whether in south/southeast Asia or Latin America.

I don't think there is much population exchange between slums in Monrovia and slums in say Rio de Janeiro.

Monrovia, no.  Port Harcourt, yes.  If the disease spreads down to that area (more than the isolated cases noted so far) there is significant danger of oilfield workers bringing it home with them.

[LaCroix]

there hasn't been an ebola outbreak like this before, correct? so, isn't it difficult to say exactly how it will progress over the next year? people and communities adapt, so i suspect the trajectory of the outbreak isn't going to play out the way authorities suggest.