Ebola outbreak may be spreading faster than first thought, WHO doctor warns

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Swineservant@reddit

I find it fascinating this was instantly downvoted. PBS had interviewed a US doctor yesterday that had previously survived ebola. His take is we are weeks to months behind on containing this outbreak. It's already a very large outbreak impacting large population centers with locally spreading cases. This outbreak has been spreading long before it became news. Definitely something to keep an eye on...

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Laughing_Man_Returns@reddit

I swear to god, if I have ebola I will die so fucking mad...

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Beliriel@reddit

We already had this ebola shit in Trumps first presidency no?

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Sumoshrooms@reddit

Different strain. This one is far more deadly and isn’t part of the testing panel for Ebola as it’s only the third time we’ve seen it, so it doesn’t cause positives on tests

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teslawhaleshark@reddit

I thought the new wave is more transmittable less deadly?

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teslawhaleshark@reddit

It’s killing people slower, slightly, with more power to spread

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Besmirching_Badger@reddit

Ebola has far too high a mortality rate to actually become a global pandemic. Unless the WHO et al just completely ignored it.

Doesn't mean that it's not awful or that it doesnt need responding to, but it physically couldn't have a covid-like response where it suddenly spread around the world.

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Trollimperator@reddit

Sure, but why would this be relevant to anyone not living in West Africa. And why would it be more relevant than STDs in Africa, which are omipresent?

For me Ebola is a local decease, which makes for a good news story. It isnt even near the top of the desease list in Africa and its highly unlikely to spread anywhere else.

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WoolooOfWallStreet@reddit

Because it was showing up in two countries at the same time with multiple clusters showing it HAD been spreading for a while with nobody knowing how fast and for how long

This is the Bundibugyo version of Ebolavirus and not the Zaire Ebolavirus (the one that has been known and dealt with for the longest time), and most of the infrastructure and overhead dealing with Ebolavirus focuses on that so most tests didn’t catch it as an ebolavirus at first and the emergency vaccines for Ebolavirus are built for the Zaire Ebolavirus

So when it was finally caught, it really blindsided a large amount of people who keep an eye on this stuff

Also, you mention STDs

Ebola can be found in semen long after the patient recovered

After genomic sequencing of the 2021 Guinea outbreak, it was strongly indicated that it came from a survivor of the 2013-2016 outbreak

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Trollimperator@reddit

Well, interesting idea. But i somehow think its more likely, that the survivor just stayed in the same environment with the same habits and became a host again, rather than staying a reservor for 8years.

Also, for the downvotes, i dont wanted to suggest this isnt worth researching. Its just not as much as a factor for the general public, as the news coverage often indicates it to be. From an economic or health standpoint, other problems like HIV are still a much, much bigger problem in and out of Africa. Ebola seems reasonably contained to the region, while not being a Top10 problem of the region.

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Graybeard_Shaving@reddit

I’m not even going to read these comments because COVID broke all the brains and there are going to be a whole lot of nutters in this comment section.

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Magjee@reddit

Between 2014 and 2016, more than 28,600 people were infected by Ebola in West Africa, the largest outbreak of the virus since its discovery in 1976.

It was caused by the Zaire strain, for which there is an approved vaccine.

It is feared the outbreak may have been ongoing for several weeks before it was first detected on 24 April.

There is no vaccine for the strain of Ebola virus fuelling the latest rise in cases, but the WHO is evaluating whether other drugs may provide protection.

Well, that is terrifying

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Butterfly_Mine_69@reddit

Not really, it spreads through bodily fluids so just don't go playing in pools of blood and such.

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Magjee@reddit

Are you under the impression people having been swimming in blood and catching ebola?

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imunfair@reddit

It's generally places with worse sanitation, that's why you see it a lot more in Africa - dies out before it gets far in the west. It would be unheard of for somewhere like the US or Europe to get 28,000 cases of Ebola.

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Magjee@reddit

That's how cholera used to spread

British Dr traced a small outbreak to diapers down the drain

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Antoak@reddit

Ebola isn't airborne and typically requires sharing contact with bodily fluids, so it's nowhere as insidious as flu viruses

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P01135809-Trump@reddit

Except the death rituals in many of those countries involve touching the dead people by their families. Even when told not to they still do d they don't comprehend the concept of viruses.

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Antoak@reddit

Yeah obviously it's not a solved issue, but the point is it's very unlikely it will become a global pandemic like covid

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Magjee@reddit

People naturally stay 6 feet away from someone leaking blood from their eyes without having to be told.

You would hope so

The extreme symptoms are not immediate though

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