Some perspective on this Ebola outbreak

[Atreus21]

No googling.

How many people do you suppose Ebola has killed since it's discovery in 1976?

How many people do you suppose Tuberculosis kills a year?

How many people do you suppose Malaria kills a year?

Answers will be given in 1 hour.

 

[Jaepheth]

Voted. Then looked it up. I was right.

So many other things kill so many more people, but those are "normal" deaths.
Ebola's exotic nature makes it novel and unknown, and we all know how people feel about the unknown.

 

[Atreus21]

Voted. Then looked it up. I was right.

So many other things kill so many more people, but those are "normal" deaths.
Ebola's exotic nature makes it novel and unknown, and we all know how people feel about the unknown.

Yeah, exactly.

The hell with it. I'll just give the numbers.

Ebola, according to the WHO, has killed about 1300 people since 1976, including this latest outbreak.

According to the same source, Malaria kills 600,000, and Tuberculosis kills 1.3 million every year.

 

[werepossum]

Hah, I missed it. I thought for sure it had killed at least 5,000 in forty years. 1,300 is chump change.

Ebola isn't something that worries me as an epidemic. It has a horrendous survival rate, but its transmissibility is limited. If you aren't caring for someone with it, you almost certainly won't catch it.

 

[Atreus21]

Hah, I missed it. I thought for sure it had killed at least 5,000 in forty years. 1,300 is chump change.

Ebola isn't something that worries me as an epidemic. It has a horrendous survival rate, but its transmissibility is limited. If you aren't caring for someone with it, you almost certainly won't catch it.

I was reading some cultural practices in affected areas include washing the sick and dying, and that's a common method of infection.

 

[xBiffx]

I don't think its the number of people killed that's scary. Its the fact that its nearly 90% mortality. So pretty much if there is an outbreak near you, chances are you can kiss your bleeding out ass goodbye. I'd also add that the manner of death seems rather gruesome as well.

 

[Atreus21]

I don't think its the number of people killed that's scary. Its the fact that its nearly 90% mortality. So pretty much if there is an outbreak near you, chances are you can kiss your bleeding out ass goodbye. I'd also add that the manner of death seems rather gruesome as well.

Well, (1) 90% mortality in the third world, and (2) this latest outbreak has about 60% mortality (much better!), if the news can be trusted.

But I agree. I think I'd prefer death by Malaria to Ebola.

 

[werepossum]

I was reading some cultural practices in affected areas include washing the sick and dying, and that's a common method of infection.

Yes, and African villages simply don't possess proper equipment to protect health care givers and preparers of the dead, nor any means to get such things. As with AIDS it's somewhat cultural, but also a practical matter of education and modern resources.

 

[realibrad]

Ebola is new,and has a high morality rate without a cure so its pretty scary to people.

Was happy to see I got it right though

 

[dank69]

Hah, I missed it.

Spoiler

I thought for sure it had killed at least 5,000 in forty years. 1,300 is chump change.

Ebola isn't something that worries me as an epidemic. It has a horrendous survival rate, but its transmissibility is limited. If you aren't caring for someone with it, you almost certainly won't catch it.

Spoiler Alert!

 

[werepossum]

Spoiler Alert!

LOL Above me, the OP wrote:

Yeah, exactly.

The hell with it. I'll just give the numbers.

Ebola, according to the WHO, has killed about 1300 people since 1976, including this latest outbreak.

According to the same source, Malaria kills 600,000, and Tuberculosis kills 1.3 million every year.

Spoiler Alert for the slow, I suppose. Though anyone who reads the thread before voting is probably going to Google it anyway.

 

[dank69]

LOL Above me, the OP wrote:


Spoiler Alert for the slow, I suppose. Though anyone who reads the thread before voting is probably going to Google it anyway.

Didn't read his post. He spoiled his own thread. My post was a joke anyway.

 

[Sinsear]

My perspective: don't go to africa

 

[Oyeve]

Most of those deaths have been this year alone tho, that's what worries me.

 

[rudder]

Yeah, exactly.

The hell with it. I'll just give the numbers.

Ebola, according to the WHO, has killed about 1300 people since 1976, including this latest outbreak.

According to the same source, Malaria kills 600,000, and Tuberculosis kills 1.3 million every year.

TB can be taken care of with antibiotics... although there are some drug resistant strains. There are treatments for malaria as well to kill the parasites. Most deaths from TB and malaria can be attributed to the living conditions of the people dying from those.... that is no access to treatment and medicines. There is no medicine to take that gets rid of the ebola virus.

 

[Atreus21]

TB can be taken care of with antibiotics... although there are some drug resistant strains. There are treatments for malaria as well to kill the parasites. Most deaths from TB and malaria can be attributed to the living conditions of the people dying from those.... that is no access to treatment and medicines. There is no medicine to take that gets rid of the ebola virus.

Right, but Ebola is treatable too with the right facilities. Living conditions contribute as much to the death toll from Malaria as they do to Ebola.

 

[Newell Steamer]

People are horrified by the symptoms,.. and the media is using that to sensationalize this and draw in viewers.

 

[K1052]

There is no medicine to take that gets rid of the ebola virus.

There is apparently a highly experimental antibody serum treatment that may be effective if you get it under 48 hours from exposure.

The FDA seems to have gotten better about letting people use high risk experimental stuff if you know you're fucked and don't care about the risks. Getting the drug companies to cough up what you want can be harder than merely getting approval.

 

[werepossum]

Right, but Ebola is treatable too with the right facilities. Living conditions contribute as much to the death toll from Malaria as they do to Ebola.

It's treatable, but not necessarily curable. Even under Western medical care, Ebolla typically has 50%+ fatality rate. That is simply horrendous, especially considering the compressed time frame and the horrific symptoms. Luckily for us Ebolla is not very contagious in its early, non-debilitating stages, for if the Ebolla virus ever becomes as transmissible as influenza without losing its lethality it will be a serious threat to civilization as we know it.

 

[Kwatt]

Most of those deaths have been this year alone tho, that's what worries me.

~600 from 1976 through March 2004...700+ since April.


.

 

[soccerballtux]

My perspective: don't go to africa

in democratic america, africa go to you

 

[Jaskalas]

The issue is if it spreads, due to its lethality. We fear the potential.

 

[TheVrolok]

~600 from 1976 through March 2004...700+ since April.

Came here to say this. OP is a little misleading, yes, ~1300 since 76, but about 70% are in the last few months? That's different.

 

[werepossum]

Came here to say this. OP is a little misleading, yes, ~1300 since 76, but about 70% are in the last few months? That's different.

Maybe, but infectious diseases tend to be feast or famine. They'll sweep in, kill a bunch of people, then virtually disappear as society mobilizes against them via treatment and behavioral changes. Just because Ebola has killed 900 in the last few months does not necessarily mean we're headed for a pandemic.

Of course, people likely said the same thing when the Black Plague first came through, so YMMV.

EDIT: Hmm, I may be wrong. This doctor is estimating that the Liberian numbers are understated by at least 50%. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ebola-outbreak-could-be-much-worse-than-thought/

The official Ebola death toll jumped from 729 to 887 on Monday as Liberia confirmed dozens of new cases, but the doctor told us he believes the real number is at least 50 percent higher.

He put this down to the fact that people are scared to report Ebola cases, and have instead been hiding sick relatives and burying the still-contagious bodies of the dead in secret.

Traditions in parts of West Africa involve touching bodies before burial -- potentially putting unknown numbers of family and community members at risk.

 

[Pens1566]

Came here to say this. OP is a little misleading, yes, ~1300 since 76, but about 70% are in the last few months? That's different.

And from the initial outbreak in '76 there wasn't another sign of it until '94.