Ebola is Not Z Virus, but

RiderOnTheStorm

I know the growing ebola crisis is not the start of the Zombie Apoc, but is anyone else as unimpressed as myself with the containment of this known virus? How would 'they' cope if it was an unknown virus, ie Zombies.

southcentralts

Our benevolent leaders would hurl thousands of soldiers and police at the problem further fueling the zombie menace until they run out of bad ideas and send in the nukes.

ScumLord

The ebola virus is running rampant in African countries mostly because those countries have very poor sewage systems, poor hygiene and they don't manage their waste effectively.

It won't get the same foothold in counties that have proper waste management. We've seen that any case that makes it into a 1st world country like the Us or Ireland is caught immediately and treated effectively.

Ever since Europe started properly managing its waste and identified that human waste is what allows most diseases to spread, we have avoided the large scale plagues that used to devastate European populations on a regular basis. Even the ancient Romans famous for their sewage systems mostly lived in their own filth and rubbish tips that included dead bodies were all over the city.

I'd have faith that Europe can deal with the majority of standard diseases. Liberal Europe would have real problems dealing with the walking dead though. We probably wouldn't have the heart to start killing zombies until it's too late.

RiderOnTheStorm

ScumLord wrote:

I'd have faith that Europe can deal with the majority of standard diseases...

Thats my fear SL. Ebola is a bad one, but it is a standard disease. What will they do with a disease that is equally at home in the slums of Rio, the square mile of London, or the Vatican.

PucaMama

people are far too over confident with our ability to contain ebola.

MadYaker

PucaMama wrote: »

people are far too over confident with our ability to contain ebola.

No, no they aren't.

RiderOnTheStorm

Its not contained yet. Not under control at all. Its spreading. What will happen if it gets a foothold beyond is breeding ground of poor sewage systems & poor hygiene ?

Quote from Indo.ie
The UN has warned that up to 20,000 people across West Africa could be infected by Ebola by the end of the year, with some aid agencies predicting the true figure could be twice that.
The US is to send 5,000 troops
WHO say 2,461 deaths so far

Not good .... not good at all!

ScumLord

RiderOnTheStorm wrote: »

Its not contained yet. Not under control at all. Its spreading. What will happen if it gets a foothold beyond is breeding ground of poor sewage systems & poor hygiene

Hygiene has been humanities best tool for combating the spread of infection. In some ways we've taken it too far by sterilizing everything to the point our immune systems are novices at their job, but over all it would be very difficult for a disease to get a proper foothold in Europe.

African countries can be very superstitious and old wives tale treatments that can do more harm than good are still in use. In Europe we understand hygiene and medicine so we don't make the silly mistakes that they would make there.

Europe has hundreds of years of infrastructure to combat disease under it's belt starting way back with the likes of Roman sewers right up to colossal projects that have been taking place in Europe for the past 100-200 years when we had a better understanding of what needed to be done. the average European city is just not comparable to the average African city.

RiderOnTheStorm

ScumLord wrote: »

Hygiene has been humanities best tool for combating the spread of infection....

true. but poor hygiene is where it starts, right? Do you think that if there are sufficient numbers of infected in a 'clean' city, that the very infectious dead-bodies will spread the disease easily without the aid of poor sewage etc?

MadYaker

But there could never be sufficient numbers of infected in a first world country, as soon as someone is diagnosed they are isolated immediately. Ebola poses almost almost no threat to developed countries unless it mutates and becomes airborne so something, which is incredibly unlikely. It is found in bodily fluids so in order to contract it in its current form you'd need to be in frequent direct contact with an ebola patient or a dead person. The problem in Africa is that nobody understands it or how it spreads, dead bodies are being handled by people with no protective gear at all and sick people are not being isolated. Also the fact that in urban areas you have entire families living in one room together doesn't help.

ScumLord

RiderOnTheStorm wrote: »

true. but poor hygiene is where it starts, right? Do you think that if there are sufficient numbers of infected in a 'clean' city, that the very infectious dead-bodies will spread the disease easily without the aid of poor sewage etc?

Even if you were to dump the dead bodies into our water supply it might not be enough for the virus to infect enough people to be a serious threat to the country.

Don't some parts of Galway still have a cryptosporidium problem with their water? There's a virus that has the means to infect a lot of people but still has problems because people are aware and have ways of avoiding it.

As long as a country deals with it's human waste properly it's very hard for a disease that transfers between humans to spread.

Of course the zombie disease would have other means that we would have trouble controlling, the dead wouldn't wait around for us to collect and dispose of them properly and protective gear won't be able to withstand a fighting patient. It's the ideal way for a virus or disease to circumvent all our safeguards. They'll move around spreading the disease over a wider area bypassing our safety controls getting into food supplies after they've been sealed, contaminating any standing water, contaminating public areas.

I think part of the problem with most zombie stories is that the disease isn't as infectious as it should be. It shouldn't be the case that the zombie needs to bite you, all it would need to do is get it's bodily fluids on you or contaminate areas that you would visit.

Wabbit Ears

You know what terrifies me? If someone with rabies got ebola and it went freaking mental in their system and they run around biting people and spitting blood at them ( and bees, dunno how that works but right now, simpsons reference or something) and sh1t gets all fcuked up and theres explosions and stuff. Tom Cruise can play the hero, but in the end he dies and you know, dolphins and stuff take over.

RiderOnTheStorm

The first case of ebola has been diagnosed in the US.

http://www.independent.ie/world-news/americas/first-case-of-deadly-ebola-diagnosed-in-united-states-30628539.html

RiderOnTheStorm

There is a "nightmare" chance that the Ebola virus could become airborne if the epidemic is not brought under control fast enough, the chief of the UN's Ebola mission has warned.

Anthony Banbury, the Secretary General's Special Representative, said that aid workers were racing against time to bring the epidemic under control, in case the Ebola virus mutates and becomes even harder to deal with.

"The longer it moves around in human hosts in the virulent melting pot that is West Africa, the more chances increase that it could mutate," he said.

"It is a nightmare scenario [that it could become airborne], and unlikely, but it can't be ruled out."

This is close to my worry. The longer its not under control, the longer its spreading, the less it needs its original growing conditions.

What modifications would you make to your Zombie Plan if Ebola mutates and becomes a pandemic?
I guess fighting the infected is no longer necessary. With a 50:50 mortality we wont be looking at lone-survivor scenarios where society has broken down (ie you cant go out and take over the local hotel and take any/all food/fuel you want). You will still want to stay indoors with good supply of food /fuel until it 'blows over' ..... what else?

RiderOnTheStorm

The weekend saw the first Ebola infection in the US, contaminated from another infected person (ie not directly from the source of ebola).

Are we more worried now? Or will this cause an up-scaling of efforts?

Are you updating your Z-plans to E-plans?

RiderOnTheStorm

"More Americans have been married to Kim Kardashian than have died from Ebola in the US" ...... interesting, eh? Should we be more worried about Kim so?

RiderOnTheStorm

well ...... now that Sir Bob is on the case, and a charity single has been launched, I reckon we dont have to worry about Ebola anymore.


If the Z virus were to start / spread, I wonder what song would be released in order to raise awareness for this mobility-challenged curse?

-Every Day Im Shufflin'
-The Hokey-Kokey (you put your right leg in, your right leg out ..... if it doenst fall off!)
-I would walk 500 miles .... and 500 more .... and 500 more
-Please Release Me, Let Me Go .....
-If you want my body, and you think I'v got braaaaains!

ScumLord

Pretty much anything from the cramps would work.