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I think we're actually in agreement. To be fair tho, influenza is airborne, but you're not going to contract it by going outside and breathing, unless you're b

I think we're actually in agreement. To be fair tho, influenza is airborne, but you're not going to contract it by going outside and breathing, unless you're being breathed on by someone with the flu, or shaking their hand. My point is that being breathed on, or even in close proximity to someone with Ebola is likely to result in you contracting the disease without actually touching them, as it is with influenza. So, does it matter if the virus isn't 'airborne' in the strict medical sense if it is just as contractable as one that is from things like coughing? It's a question, and not a rhetorical one.

thathonkey 12y ago
Yeah, honestly I'm not qualified to answer that question. If I had to guess, one of the reasons why going airborne would be so bad is that it allows the virus to sprawl (geographically) much faster than it ever could otherwise (because it would be subject to wind etc). Basically it could and would spread much faster and further if it were truly airborne. Also pretty much makes it impossible to contain because we can't just quarantine the earth's atmosphere.