Ebola Safety Alerts

[Fijoli]

No one is telling me to do this, I have to speak out and make this happen.

Having watched this not too fun looking disease hitting my shores is something the U.S. government claims to be prepared for. While this is the case I am really concerned for the well being of myself, those I love, and the community that I am a part of.

If you are an American citizen, it is EXTREMELY important that you keep up to date with how what the government is doing and how they are responding to this pretty scary outbreak of Ebola, I encourage you all to remain calm and not to panic because that will not do anything to help, and staying ignorant to what is going on is something that endangers you, your loved ones, and your community.

While Ebola is no joke, it is, preventable.

What has me posting this thread is the possibility of the transfer of Ebola. While the U.S Government states that You cannot contract this virus through air, water, or food. I still STRONGLY encourage that you take ALLL safety precautions as if it was transferable through these means. There is no sense in not making sure and just grabbing a few packs of surgical masks and rubber gloves and brushing up on some precautionary info on how to personally reduce the risks of transmuting Ebola.

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To all human beings, downplaying this is as dangerous as panicking. Make sure you do not wait for your government to educate you on the precautions you can take to prevent the spread of disease. I cannot stress how important it is for everyone to do their part and take care of themselves by keeping themselves updated and aware of their geographical surroundings. Mapping out a rural area to retreat to is a necessary step to evading further outbreak. being prepared is better than being a sitting duck.

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I feel as a staff member of this community I feel strongly that I have a responsibility to protect it...and the only way I can do that is by making this thread in which we can all keep each other updated, post tips and info on how to take proper precautions and basically just look out for each other. I cannot make any of you do anything, but I can lead you to the waters. I don't care what your political stance, religion, ethnicity or etc., that does not matter anymore. Now is the time to set all our differences aside and look out for each other before the point of no return sneaks up on us. What divides us is now nothing but dragons we must slay to take care of the bigger and most common threat that is set against us and it is possible to beat this. We can do things to prevent the needless suffering of thousands, possibly, millions of lives. Keeping updated through the governmental website is at this point

Ebola has spread to different countries,CDC has confirmed Ebola is in the united states, and this disease is not a very pleasant one. I mentioned this today to someone and they said to me...This is he first I am hearing of this....This is all of our responsibility to take action into our own hands and protect ourselves from what TheWhiteHouse.gov calls "The Ebola Attack". Today we may have the upper hand on Ebola but change is happening rapidly and I love all of you too much to say nothing...If you are Scared out of your wits, we have a counseling forum full of loving and productive support from members and staff. It's absolutely ok to be scared, but don't be blinded by it, make sure you get the support and do what needs to be done to protect yourselves.

This is a news thread and I want it to be productive and serve its purpose for everyone, but the downplay and/or panic over Ebola, does nothing to help us stay aware and prevent it from coming to our doorstep. Here are some more U.S. Government pages that might help you understand hat Ebola is and what is being done about it now.



Questions and Answers on Ebola

Ebola Requires the World's United Action[/url

FACT SHEET: U.S. Response to the Ebola Epidemic in West Africa

100 pages of discussed, archived, and documented awareness of Ebola according to the U.S. Government, about 19,000 results, IF THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT THIS< THEN SO SHOULD WE!


So let's do this guys. Let's educate each other cause I need help too. I can't possibly know everything about Ebola. Links Videos, articles, interviews, anything you can find that Obama is signing or has any affiliations with The response procedures on epidemics. This is our thread to stay aware and pass the torch of knowledge at lighting speeds.Highlight important info for everyone to see that you think is really important knowledge, you never know when something may get over looked. I will not be selfish with my awareness I will share as much of it with Iwaku as I can. Take everything with a bit of skepticism. Take the steps to being safe and don't let anything deter you from taking all the precautions necessary to prevent contracting Ebola.


CDC U.S. Quarantine Stations (includes map that shows exactly where the quarantine stations are set up in the U.S.

Executive Order 13527 -- Medical Countermeasures Following a Biological Attack

Executive Order 13295: Revised List Of Quarantinable Communicable Diseases
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Press Briefing on Government Response to the Ebola Epidemic in West Africa, 10/3/2014

Senior Officials Hold a Briefing on the U.S. Government Response to Ebola

Executive Order -- Revised List of Quarantinable Communicable Diseases

I love you guys!! Stay Epic, Stay Safe and Let's Kick Ebola's Ass!!!l
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[Sidhe]

I mean this with all due respect, but this is kind of just fear mongering. :s The possibility of one catching Ebola in America is astronomically low. The reason it is currently so prevalent in Western Africa (Libera, Sierre Leone, Guinea, and to a much smaller extent thus far, Nigeria) is due to lack of education and medical attention. Unless you are going to go around licking strange blood samples or handling dead bodies, you are pretty well safe. I'm not saying that someone shouldn't be alert and aware about Ebola, but there is literally no need to go investing in medical grade masks and act like the moon is falling. The only people who should be seriously concerned are those who are going to be in direct contact with the virus, I.E. medical professionals/lab assistants/etc. It's not just the government saying that you can't catch it airborne, it's medical science. You literally can't catch it that way. That's not how the virus is designed.

 

[LunaValentine]

I mean this with all due respect, but this is kind of just fear mongering. :s The possibility of one catching Ebola in America is astronomically low. The reason it is currently so prevalent in Western Africa (Libera, Sierre Leone, Guinea, and to a much smaller extent thus far, Nigeria) is due to lack of education and medical attention. Unless you are going to go around licking strange blood samples or handling dead bodies, you are pretty well safe. I'm not saying that someone shouldn't be alert and aware about Ebola, but there is literally no need to go investing in medical grade masks and act like the moon is falling. The only people who should be seriously concerned are those who are going to be in direct contact with the virus, I.E. medical professionals/lab assistants/etc. It's not just the government saying that you can't catch it airborne, it's medical science. You just can't catch it that way. That's not how the virus is designed.

Thank you. Also thank you for not using red. Fijoli, next time use a less err.....threatening color. To be honest, the information is good to know but we don't need to be wearing surgical masks everywhere and keeping the windows closed and being afraid to be out and about. We need to be smart, wash our hands more often, and clean things more often. Maybe carry around disinfecting wipes (not like half the people in the U.S. aren't already XD (I kid, i kid) ) but seriously, it has a lot to do with contact and being too close to a sick person.

 

[ElBell]

I think you underestimate this. It can be spread through hugging, kissing, hand holding, etc. too, not just 'licking blood samples' and 'handling dead bodies'. And when you consider how many doctors there are? It's more present than it may appear. Let's say my mother comes home from a day of surgery and hugs my family as she always does. If she's not scrubbed off enough, that's 4 infected people. My brother and I then go swimming at practice, and we bump into others from being sweaty from dry land. That's now an infected swim team. Then it can arrive in the schools of my teammates, and that's already 100s of people. So I'm sorry, but you're undermining it.

 

[Sidhe]

I think you underestimate this. It can be spread through hugging, kissing, hand holding, etc. too, not just 'licking blood samples' and 'handling dead bodies'. And when you consider how many doctors there are? It's more present than it may appear. Let's say my mother comes home from a day of surgery and hugs my family as she always does. If she's not scrubbed off enough, that's 4 infected people. My brother and I then go swimming at practice, and we bump into others from being sweaty from dry land. That's now an infected swim team. Then it can arrive in the schools of my teammates, and that's already 100s of people. So I'm sorry, but you're undermining it.

Pardon me for not listing all the examples in my original post, but kissing is the only one of those things that could transmit the virus. You cannot get it by hugging, or hand holding, or even by touching a sweaty person. You catch the virus by exchanging/ingesting bodily fluids (blood, vomit, urine, feces, semen, saliva, breast milk) with an infected person, or touching objects like syringes that have been contaminated. You can't get it just by touching someone. If you're very concerned about that, wash your hands and/or body immediately after. The virus also cannot live very long outside of a host, so you're not going to catch it from using a public toilet.

 

[LunaValentine]

From what we know about it, people aren't contagious until AFTER they show signs and symptoms of the illness.... Just sayin'.

 

[ElBell]

Not according to the medical meeting my mother went to on the matter. The speaker at said meeting stated that sweat can in fact spread the virus. Granted it takes a fair amount of it, but they did say contact with sweat can spread it.

My point about my mother infecting people still stands though, and even if that doesn't concern you, it does me, so please respect what information I've been given and my own fears.

 

[Kylulu]

I think you underestimate this. It can be spread through hugging, kissing, hand holding, etc.

Kissing, yes, if you're swapping saliva, but only if they're already showing symptoms, and if you're willingly kissing someone who's obviously sick, you should probably stop. But just touching someone who may have ebola is NOT going to infect you. Touching their blood and other bodily fluids, and then not scrubbing off? While they're symptomatic? Yes. But the simple act of hugging isn't going to infect you. Yes, Ebola is fucking horrible, and Yes, people should be taking precautions against it with increased hygiene (Wash your hands a lot. Don't stick your hands in or around your mouth. ect.) But it is not a prevalent as you think, and it is not that easy to catch.

Also, posting this again because it has lots of information that's presented in an interesting way.

Also! Ebola has killed around 3400+ people. Which is a big number and it's very tragic. (and it might be bigger now.)

Over a period of 30 years, between 1976 and 2006, estimates of flu-associated deaths in the United States range from a low of about 3,000 to a high of about 49,000 people. Every year. And every year sees an average of 200,000 people hospitalized due to the flu. (According to the CDC)

So… should we panic now?

 

[ElBell]

It's a more recent finding that hugging can spread it if you're sweaty, but once again, it's coming from a reliable medical source. I'm not just being paranoid.

 

[Ser K+]

Here's how you don't spread it if you know if you have it, like half of the docs coming back did: Don't kiss. Don't thoroughly Sexulate. Don't spit on your hand and smack someone in the head... or pelvis. Don't swim. Don't lick or pee on/in anything somebody has to intake. Don't drink and drive.

Maybe I'm not at the age to understand, but is it really so difficult not to exchange fluids with another human being?
Oh, and how do people wearing hazmat uniforms get infected? Is there something we aren't being told? Is the Ebola virus just coverage for the zombie apocalypse?!

Of course not....
Right?

 

[Sidhe]

Not according to the medical meeting my mother went to on the matter. The speaker at said meeting stated that sweat can in fact spread the virus. Granted it takes a fair amount of it, but they did say contact with sweat can spread it.

My point about my mother infecting people still stands though, and even if that doesn't concern you, it does me, so please respect what information I've been given and my own fears.

It can be spread by sweat, but not by simply touching it, and as you said, it would take an immense amount of the present virus to potentially infect a person. In the sweat samples that have been tested over the past few decades, none have carried a whole sample of the virus. I respect your fears and experiences - I'm sorry if I'm coming across antagonistic - I just don't like to see fear mongering being imposed on other people. :( I'm hella scared of many things, including various diseases, but blowing things out of proportion doesn't help anyone!

Here's an article that may better describe what I'm trying to say:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/10/06/how-ebola-spreads/16802063/

 

[Levusti]

As a medical personnel and as a lab tech I feel there is something for me to address to those who believe that only bodily fluids are the only possible way of transmission:

Bacteria and viruses are rapidly reproducing organisms and highly adaptive. Remember that microorganisms can mutate and change to their environments, thus bringing the difficult organisms such as Methicillin Resistant Staph. aureus (MRSA) and Vancomycin resistant Enterococcus spp. (VRE).

Do not assume you are "immune" because neither you nor anyone else is not.

Realize there are potentially many vectors, vehicles, and modes of transmission for viruses, especially as they mutate and evolve.

If you are in an area nearby suspected individuals, assume that the organisms can be transmitted airborne (past one meter), through droplets (within one meter), contact, and bodily fluids and wastes.

Knowledge is power. Being informed like so is not a reason to be afraid, but to be empowered.

EDIT: LEV IS NOT SAYING THAT A MUTATION LIKE THIS IS LIKELY, BUT IT IS POSSIBLE. For now, however, its viability outside of the body in a non-water environment is relatively short.

ALSO REMEMBER BLOOD CAN BE TRANSMITTED THROUGH VECTORS SUCH AS MOSQUITOES. (However, it is, again, unlikely for Ebolavirus.)

 

[Fijoli]

Take it how you will, I don't want anyone to Panic. I just want as many people to be prepared and safe as humanly possible. I do not regret how I presented the information, I am just happy that I am able to share it with those willing to be educated on the subject.

No harm comes from being educated. I'm sorry if this scares anyone, but that is to be expected when you are discussing possible Epidemics and if my government is discussing then I want to discuss it too. Gruesome details and all. No possibility should be over or underestimated.

The bottom line is "No one really knows" so lets just take it for what it is. An educational safety alert thread and remember that I do care for you all.

@Kylulu Thank you a ton for that video! I really liked the way that guy put things.

 

[Fijoli]

@Levusti Thank you for sharing that information, October and I have already had Surgical masks JUST in case, cause even if Ebola doesn't spread ~Crosses her fingers~ who's to say whats may spread. It makes me feel much better to know I have things set in place for my own safety. I also learned something new from you so thank you thank you!

 

[Razilin]

headdesk

you know what, i am just going to go back to work

(goes back to hospital)

 

[Windsong]

What'd I do with that picture of Ebola-chan..

By all means folks. Don't go licking people who've been to Ebola-laden countries.

Also, go read the Hot Zone.

 

[Clover]

I am trying to not be freaked out by this ebola virus as much as one possibly can...

I think back to when the swine flu came around, also known as H1N1. You guys remember the media hype around it, exactly the same as the hype around ebola right? Well, I actually had the H1N1 virus and I survived. I just hope that it's a similar situation...

 

[Mid]

So the first case is in Texas... And another case is in Newark. They're currently trying to track down everyone who was on this plane and possible everyone they've been in contact with since then, this includes children and about 4-5 schools as a precaution. And as someone who works in the school system... I will tell you that schools, especially special education, is one of the germist places. I actually am very sick because one child refused to stop coughing in my direction and no, we cannot wear masks. It can "offend" parents or whatever. It's very stressful. Some staff don't even wear gloves when changing students and I'm here like o.o.

 

[Hope]

I'm going to quote a friend of mine. Now please know that I do not agree with EVERYTHING he is saying, but agree to the general concept.

"This Ebola stuff is nonsense. We should be more worried about be worried about being worried ad infinitum. ..We are all ingesting poisons on the daily. For example, aspartame is a type of excrement produced as an artificial sweetener from Ecoli bacterium. No one wants to stop chewing that dentyne ice yet we will spend aplenty energy worrying about propagandists nonsense like this? True effective change comes from the inside out. Don't get side tracked by how we may be conquered from the outside in."

Now, I do not agree that Ebola is nonsense. Not in the slightest. And I agree we should be aware of it. However, there is no need to take it to the extreme. From working in the hospital, I have learned that you actually come in contact with things like MRSA and VRE on a daily basis. The only people it really affects are those with a compromised immune system, so it can by transferred by you to someone with a compromised immune system and you'd never know it.

My point is, be aware. Don't stress yourself out over it. The government always has a new deadly virus hitting us every few years. I I'm educated, but I stopped revolving my life around them a long time ago.

 

[Mid]

Your friend is right on the terrible stuff we injest. I'm in a bit of a war with my mom because she's always ordering out. I am so SICK of take out! I want REAL food that isn't filled with pink slime or pesticides or any of that other crap. I've been trying so hard to stay away from all of it. D: