Racing To Contain Ebola 112
An anonymous reader writes "Ebola, one of the most deadly diseases known to humans, started killing people in Guinea a few months ago. There have been Ebola outbreaks in the past, but they were contained. The latest outbreak has now killed over 100 people across three countries. One of the biggest difficulties in containing an outbreak is knowing where the virus originated and how it spread. That problem is being addressed right now by experts and a host of volunteers using Open Street Map. 'Zoom in and you can see road networks and important linkages between towns and countries, where there were none before. Overlay this with victim data, and it can help explain the rapid spread. Click on the colored blobs and you will see sites of confirmed deaths, suspected cases that have been overturned, sites where Ebola testing labs have been setup or where the emergency relief teams are currently located.'"
Re:Is Ebola a "rapid burnout" disease? (Score:5, Insightful)
Back in the mid 1900s sure, but today even Ebola's average of 13 days between infection and onset of symptoms is plenty for someone to get on a plane with a transfer in JFK International...
Re:Is Ebola a "rapid burnout" disease? (Score:4, Insightful)
A partially immune host, one who's symptoms delay or remain minor, could conceivably have much more time to spread the often fatal disease, but it's not going to "take off" due to poor transmission rates.
Humans have exhibited an ability in past plagues to leave oozing, infected bodies alone... but if something this virulent ever learns to spread like the flu there will be no more overpopulation worries.
Re:Africa, eh? (Score:4, Insightful)
I predict a low posts count.
The most terrifying book I have ever read is "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston. http://www.amazon.com/Hot-Zone... [amazon.com] If this gets out and goes global, it is THE END of civilization as we know it. I suspect a few more people might be following this than normal.
No ebola, while a very nasty and unpleasant disease isn't a "global killer" for the same reason it is so feared: it kills most* of it's victims and that in a relatively short time. That makes fast spreading of it very unlikely unlike other diseases like variants on the flu. That also makes it possible to contain outbreaks even on a larger scale: at worst a pure isolation of the affected people for some weeks is enough.
(* depending on strain, up to IIRC 90% lethality)
In todays world I can contact a lot of people in two weeks... Even without flying every day. One Liberian ambassadorial aid could really mess some stuff up.
Re:Is Ebola a "rapid burnout" disease? (Score:3, Insightful)
This Ebola strain is not communicable via air, but others are, e.g. Ebola Reston. Luckily, Ebola Reston is not as deadly to humans, but it still dissolves monkeys. We are one mutation away from an air-born deadly strain which can cause a pandemic.