3 ms·

Stopping Ebola now could be one of the single most important decisions the world makes this century. Just imagine what would happen if Ebola emerged in lets say

by jostmey 12y ago

Stopping Ebola now could be one of the single most important decisions the world makes this century. Just imagine what would happen if Ebola emerged in lets say India. It doesn't sound so far fetched now that we have seen a case in America. Exponential growth tends to catch people off-guard. Just like Moore's Law lead to a rapid emergence of the home computer, a deadly disease could reshape the world overnight.

tomjen3 12y ago
The viral factor of ebola is 1.7, but it is also is the place in the world where there is the least amount of medical staff. In addition it would be a lot easier to ban plane travel out of Africa than it would be to end the ebola outbreak. Both options would prevent ebola getting into India. In addition I am not that terrified of India - the kind of people who live about the airline are the kind of people who have access to medical resources. I don't want to live in India, but it is not entirely a third-world country, certainly not for the middle-class and above. Now if it got into the slums of Calcutta we might a bigger problem.
- 616c 12y ago
  Unfortunately, with all do respect, you do not know the current plight of Indian and South Asian population. Many of them work in the Persian Gulf in labor camps. ANd I do not mean a couple thousand. In Qatar, there is 10 million plus population, the population is overwhelmingly male, and the Qataris are less one million of that population. Male South Asian laborers are the largest demographic group in the whole country. This is an increasingly common pattern in the region. There is little or no medical care, and despite first class medical care for expats, it would be way too late for the unprepared MoH units, which receive basically minimal training from the CDC to react in time. This area, specifically Qatar, has become a major transportation for hub internationa flights, hence the real underlying panic for MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome). If South Asia (India, Pakistan, Nepal, etc.) were hit in any real way, the world would be fucked ... probably in the course of weeks.

by jostmey 12y ago

tomjen3 12y ago

The viral factor of ebola is 1.7, but it is also is the place in the world where there is the least amount of medical staff. In addition it would be a lot easier to ban plane travel out of Africa than it would be to end the ebola outbreak. Both options would prevent ebola getting into India. In addition I am not that terrified of India - the kind of people who live about the airline are the kind of people who have access to medical resources. I don't want to live in India, but it is not entirely a third-world country, certainly not for the middle-class and above. Now if it got into the slums of Calcutta we might a bigger problem.

616c 12y ago
Unfortunately, with all do respect, you do not know the current plight of Indian and South Asian population. Many of them work in the Persian Gulf in labor camps. ANd I do not mean a couple thousand. In Qatar, there is 10 million plus population, the population is overwhelmingly male, and the Qataris are less one million of that population. Male South Asian laborers are the largest demographic group in the whole country. This is an increasingly common pattern in the region. There is little or no medical care, and despite first class medical care for expats, it would be way too late for the unprepared MoH units, which receive basically minimal training from the CDC to react in time. This area, specifically Qatar, has become a major transportation for hub internationa flights, hence the real underlying panic for MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome). If South Asia (India, Pakistan, Nepal, etc.) were hit in any real way, the world would be fucked ... probably in the course of weeks.