The Ebola Virus

[Falcon_BlizZACK]

Just wanted to see some thoughts generally.

 

Are you for or against bringing the British carrier of Ebola to the UK?

 

My only real after thought is that this is probably a great example as to why we need to eradicate poverty. Bats, the prime hosts for Ebola, being a delicacy in some West African regions - I really think bats wouldn't be on the menu if food wasn't scarce.

 

Then again, to those in control, its probably a nice population controller. (I say this with no offence to those that have died from it - RIP) Actually, a friend on FB is adamant that this outbreak was a weapon for that very reason.

[dwarf]

I think it's hilarious.

[bob]

It must be pretty damn frustrating to be a doctor or a infectious disease professional in these countries. They are trying their best to stop the spread, and people are eating dead bats off the ground, hiding their ill relatives and even stealing infected blankets from hospitals.

 

It's a really scary disease, but if there was a bit more information out there for the population, the spread should be contained fairly easily.

[Zechs Merquise]

Just wanted to see some thoughts generally.

 

Are you for or against bringing the British carrier of Ebola to the UK?

 

My only real after thought is that this is probably a great example as to why we need to eradicate poverty. Bats, the prime hosts for Ebola, being a delicacy in some West African regions - I really think bats wouldn't be on the menu if food wasn't scarce.

 

Then again, to those in control, its probably a nice population controller. (I say this with no offence to those that have died from it - RIP) Actually, a friend on FB is adamant that this outbreak was a weapon for that very reason.

 

Why wouldn't bats be a delicacy? The French eat snails and frogs legs, what;s more people actually eat caviar, which is not only foul smelling and tasting but is fish eggs!

 

Secondly, to assume 'those in control' want population control is nonsense since the world's population is growing out of control. If anyone was in control and they wanted population reduction it would in fact show they were not in control at all, as the opposite is happening.

 

In essence - if this disease was a weapon, it's doing a very poor job. It's only killed 1427 people which is a statistical insignificance on a continent of 1.111 billion people.

 

If I was an evil mastermind wanting to wipe out a continent full of people and my best effort was to off 0.000128% of the population I'd be pretty disappointed!

[Jonnas]

My only real after thought is that this is probably a great example as to why we need to eradicate poverty. Bats, the prime hosts for Ebola, being a delicacy in some West African regions - I really think bats wouldn't be on the menu if food wasn't scarce.

 

First of all, gastronomy may or may not be a side-effect of poverty, but like Zechs said, it's hardly stopping educated people from eating delicacies that we would consider disgusting or dangerous. One of Porto's typical dishes is Pig Tripe, and a particular expensive Japanese delicacy is called Fugu: a poisonous blowfish that will kill anyone who doesn't eat it/prepare it properly.

 

The real issue here has more to do with hygiene. It's one thing to hunt a bat, clean it and prepare it, it's another one to just cook any dead bat you find on the ground.

 

Then again, to those in control, its probably a nice population controller. (I say this with no offence to those that have died from it - RIP) Actually, a friend on FB is adamant that this outbreak was a weapon for that very reason.

 

A disease has been used as a weapon against enemies, but it has never been used as a measure of population control. Plagues are, by definition, uncontrollable, and are as likely to affect people the government wants alive.

 

The spread of the disease is affected only by the population's actions, and that's something no government can truly control (outside of quarantines and other types of confinement).

 

Are you for or against bringing the British carrier of Ebola to the UK?

 

Assuming the question means "Any developed country with significant medical research", then yes, I'm for. It's much easier to control one carrier within a country that knows how to handle such epidemics, and more importantly: actually capable of developing something resembling a cure or a vaccine.

[Falcon_BlizZACK]

Why wouldn't bats be a delicacy? The French eat snails and frogs legs, what;s more people actually eat caviar, which is not only foul smelling and tasting but is fish eggs!

 

Secondly, to assume 'those in control' want population control is nonsense since the world's population is growing out of control. If anyone was in control and they wanted population reduction it would in fact show they were not in control at all, as the opposite is happening.

 

In essence - if this disease was a weapon, it's doing a very poor job. It's only killed 1427 people which is a statistical insignificance on a continent of 1.111 billion people.

 

If I was an evil mastermind wanting to wipe out a continent full of people and my best effort was to off 0.000128% of the population I'd be pretty disappointed!

 

Thats cool but I wasn't really asking for a debunk on my theories or points of view, but rather your own opinion on the virus and the situation.

 

 

Assuming the question means "Any developed country with significant medical research", then yes, I'm for. It's much easier to control one carrier within a country that knows how to handle such epidemics, and more importantly: actually capable of developing something resembling a cure or a vaccine.

 

Thats a fair point.

 

For me of course the British man should be brought back here, he went out to help. But I did raise an eyebrow at the thought of bringing the patient of an apparently uncontrollable disease to a city of 12 million.

[bob]

It really isn't that uncontrollable. It's not like bird flu or sars which is transmittable by air: you actually need to transfer bodily fluids to catch it. The main reason why it's infecting so many people is that they aren't taking precautions over in Africa. If there was an outbreak here, we would be much better prepared to deal with it.

[Falcon_BlizZACK]

It really isn't that uncontrollable. It's not like bird flu or sars which is transmittable by air: you actually need to transfer bodily fluids to catch it. The main reason why it's infecting so many people is that they aren't taking precautions over in Africa. If there was an outbreak here, we would be much better prepared to deal with it.

 

Im guessing a major factor in Africa is the heat and sweat is hard to avoid. I was actually thinking this while in the gym yesterday, with all those buggers that dont wipe away their juice.

[Jonnas]

Thats a fair point.

 

For me of course the British man should be brought back here, he went out to help. But I did raise an eyebrow at the thought of bringing the patient of an apparently uncontrollable disease to a city of 12 million.

 

It's uncontrollable in Liberia, but only because it's already out there in the general populace.

One single patient can be contained and studied. It'll only get out if something goes horribly wrong.

 

[/TypicalZombieMovieOpening]