Ebola

[LAblondeGPhi]

Originally Posted by Outlaw 1963

I'm just trippin at why they can't just come up with a vaccine like they do for other illnesses.

Ditto what IUHoosierGirl and CheerfulGreek said - vaccines aren't just an easy thing to whip up.

It takes big bucks and resources to develop vaccines. Where was the real incentive to spend that kind of money for a disease that, while terrifying, had infected fewer than 2,500 people globally over the almost 40 years since it first popped up? (prior to the 2013-14 outbreaks, of course)(source)

Even if you do have the money and the will, it can take years to develop treatments. It depends on the nature of the virus and how wily it is.

Originally Posted by shirley1929

My understanding is that SARS (a few years ago) killed more people and was FAR more contagious than Ebola. Did we lock down our borders (or even discuss it?) to Asian countries then? Of course not. We shouldn't now either.

I looked up the SARS outbreak the other day, because my memory was that SARS was much less scary than Ebola. The outbreak of 2002-03 killed fewer than 800 people, and had a fatality rate a little under 10% (source). The current Ebola outbreak has killed more than 4,500 people, and the fatality rate is likely between 50-70% (source).

I don't know about how contagious one is versus the other, but based on this thread, I suspect you're right that SARS is more contagious.

If we really want to talk about contagious, can we talk about how freaking contagious MEASLES is? There was a kid in the DC area who got measles last year, and public health officials were reporting all the locations this kid had been to while contagious but asymptomatic. Non-immune folks have up to a 90% chance of contracting it by getting near a contagious person.

[IUHoosiergirl88]

Originally Posted by LAblondeGPhi

If we really want to talk about contagious, can we talk about how freaking contagious MEASLES is? There was a kid in the DC area who got measles last year, and public health officials were reporting all the locations this kid had been to while contagious but asymptomatic. Non-immune folks have up to a 90% chance of contracting it by getting near a contagious person.

Measles actually has a high R-naught value (aka the average number of people a sick person gets sick in an average uninfected population). The average measles patient infects 12-18 people, if it weren't for vaccines!

Just for comparison:
Measles: 12-18
Pertussis: 12-17
Diptheria: 6-7
Smallpox: 5-7
Polio: 5-7
Rubella: 5-7
Mumps: 4-7
HIV/AIDS: 2-5
SARS: 2-5
Influenza (1918 Spanish flu pandemic): 2-3
Ebola: 1-2

[shirley1929]

Originally Posted by LAblondeGPhi

I looked up the SARS outbreak the other day, because my memory was that SARS was much less scary than Ebola. The outbreak of 2002-03 killed fewer than 800 people, and had a fatality rate a little under 10% (source). The current Ebola outbreak has killed more than 4,500 people, and the fatality rate is likely between 50-70% (source).

I don't know about how contagious one is versus the other, but based on this thread, I suspect you're right that SARS is more contagious.

If we really want to talk about contagious, can we talk about how freaking contagious MEASLES is? There was a kid in the DC area who got measles last year, and public health officials were reporting all the locations this kid had been to while contagious but asymptomatic. Non-immune folks have up to a 90% chance of contracting it by getting near a contagious person.

Ok, I know better than to go quoting crap I read without being able to find the source, so consider me wrong on the mortality/catchability of SARS! It was one of those things I read when people were discussing locking down borders, and the concept made sense to me (we didn't do it then, why now?) but of course I don't know how reputable my source was.

And ugh...yes...on measles. I remember when there was a big outbreak back in the late 80's. Was a big deal. Isn't the big thing about measles is that you're contagious when you don't know you have it? Once you have the symptoms, you're done being contagious? Like chicken pox? Ugh, ugh ugh.