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> others have just passed an infected person on the subway and died. Who? That's a false, alarmist rumor and the parent reads like a "technothriller", which is
by forapurpose 8y ago
> others have just passed an infected person on the subway and died.
Who? That's a false, alarmist rumor and the parent reads like a "technothriller", which is probably the wrong way to talk about real diseases that might alarm people. Remember during the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, some people coming to the U.S., including a nurse who was effectively imprisoned, were subject of a public panic that had nothing to do with reality. There was no risk. Ebola, like any disease, is contagious only in certain ways. The U.S. CDC says:
https://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/transmission/index.html https://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/transmission/index.html
The virus spreads through direct contact (such as through broken skin or mucous membranes in the eyes, nose, or mouth) with:
* Blood or body fluids (urine, saliva, sweat, feces, vomit, breast milk, and semen) of a person who is sick with or has died from EVD
* Objects (such as needles and syringes) contaminated with body fluids from a person sick with EVD or the body of a person who died from EVD
* Infected fruit bats or nonhuman primates (such as apes and monkeys)
* Semen from a man who recovered from EVD (through oral, vaginal, or anal sex)
The Ebola virus CANNOT spread to others when a person shows no signs or symptoms of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). ... There is also no evidence that mosquitoes or other insects can transmit Ebola virus.
Please don't spread these rumors. EDIT: It also distracts people from the real risks.
- 2RTZZSro 8y agoEbola may be made airborne locally as some body fluids may be aerosolized during rapid expulsion of air from the lungs.
- radicaldreamer 8y agoYep, this is sneezing. Ebola is scary because it is one of the most contagious diseases. But in any complex system, it's very hard to predict who will contract the disease and who won't. You can see similar scenarios play out after Chernobyl, where some people who were very close to the reactor which blew up where seemingly unaffected and lived long lives, while others who were relatively far away passed from radiation exposure or the subsequent cancers.
- searine 8y ago> Ebola is scary because it is one of the most contagious diseases. Ebola isn't particularly contagious. It has a R0 of ~2. Measles for example is 10.
- lyricaljoke 8y agoWell sure, but that's a seriously high bar you're comparing it with. Measles is regarded as one of the most contagious diseases on earth, no?
- Fjolsvith 8y agoExactly, and how fatal is Measles?
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- forapurpose 8y ago> Ebola may be made airborne locally as some body fluids may be aerosolized during rapid expulsion of air from the lungs. Really? The CDC disagrees: The virus spreads through direct contact (such as through broken skin or mucous membranes in the eyes, nose, or mouth) with ... Who are you? What evidence do you have?
- 2RTZZSro 8y agohttps://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17112746 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17112746
- LgWoodenBadger 8y agoThat's the thing about viruses. Ebola-Zaire was as you describe for humans. But Ebola-Reston was airborne-transmissable to (Rhesus?) monkeys.
- forapurpose 8y ago> Ebola-Reston was airborne-transmissable to (Rhesus?) monkeys Uh-oh. Better keep your Rhesus monkey out of Ebola zones.
- Fjolsvith 8y agoIf its airborne transmissible, it could transfer both ways, right? Besides, if you live in an area with Rhesus monkeys, your snide comment is not applicable.
- forapurpose 8y agoNo. Provide some evidence that it's even transmissible one way or that it's transmissible the other. This is HN; have some pride in not passing around unfounded alarmist nonsense. > if you live in an area with Rhesus monkeys, your snide comment is not applicable Ha ha ha ... awesome! I couldn't have written a better parody of this nonsense if I tried.
- Fjolsvith 8y agoHere's some unfounded alarmist nonsense for you: "Limited airborne transmission of Ebola is ‘very likely,’ new analysis says" https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2015/02/19/limited-airborne-transmission-of-ebola-is-likely-new-study-says/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.da3ef790219b https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2015/0... Quote from the article: "As evidence, the research notes that Ebola virus has been found on the outside of face masks worn by health workers caring for victims of the disease. It also points out that the virus has been passed between animals via respiration. And the authors say that Ebola can infect certain cells of the respiratory tract, including epithelial cells, which line body cavities, and macrophages, a type of white blood cell that consumes pathogens. The paper notes that breathing, sneezing, coughing and talking can release droplets of fluid from the respiratory tract that travel short distances and most likely cause infection by settling on a mucous membrane. Those actions also release smaller airborne particles capable of suspension in mid-air that can be inhaled by others. Technically, both qualify as aerosols, the paper says."
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- Johnny555 8y agoI don't know if you've ever ridden the subway, but coming into contact with someone's bare skin, even broken skin, is not unheard of in a crowded subway. So it's plausible that your cat scratched arm could come in contact with some infected person's sweaty arm as you try to make your way through a crowded subway car. It's certainly plausible that someone with an early stage infection may take the subway to go to a doctor. I've seen plenty of obviously sick people on the train (and I keep my distance, not because I think they have Ebola, but because I don't want to catch whatever illness they do have)
- Ar-Curunir 8y agoThat's different from "just passing an infected person"
- steven2012 8y agoI've had people bleed on my on the SF MUNI, it's thoroughly disgusting and scary.
- forapurpose 8y ago> I don't know if you've ever ridden the subway Many, many times. > it's plausible that your cat scratched arm could come in contact with some infected person's sweaty arm as you try to make your way through a crowded subway car. You've got to be kidding me. Again, who has ever caught Ebola on a subway?
- Johnny555 8y agoAgain, who has ever caught Ebola on a subway? Good question - how many times has there been a significant Ebola outbreak in a city with a subway system? Mbandaka is not exactly a bustling metropolis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mbandaka#/media/File:Stadsaanzichten_f.JPG https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mbandaka#/media/File:Stadsaanz...