October 6, 2014
Top News Today
The very mention of the word “Ebola” brings about fear and mass hysteria unlike anything in recent memory. But the truth is, most people are clueless when it comes to anything associated with the disease. Few people know what Ebola actually is, how it developed, how it spreads, or if there are any known precautions to prevent it. They simply heard on the news that there’s some new deadly disease from Africa that has now invaded our country, therefore they should run for their lives in the interest of saving themselves and all of mankind.
Ebola is a huge mystery — so much so, that it brings out both the best and the worst in news coverage of the disease. However, the truth is the odds of contracting Ebola in the United States are extremely low. According to Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the disease is not contagious during its incubation period and patients do not transmit it until they develop symptoms. This means it is highly unlikely anyone can or will catch the disease on the bus or subway or in some public forum.
The incubation period can run from 2 to 21 days, but is usually 8 to 10. The first symptoms are typically fever, aches and pains, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Even after they set in, it takes direct contact with bodily fluids to transmit Ebola. Blood, vomit, urine and diarrhea from very sick patients are highly infectious, but other body fluids like sweat, saliva, tears, semen and breast milk are also risky. So unless you are coming in contact with very personal bodily fluids, you likely have nothing to fear.
People can also contract the disease by touching infected fluids and then touching their eyes or mouth. The virus does not spread through the air, unlike measles or chickenpox. Ebola also does not invade healthy skin, so merely touching secretions does not mean an infection is imminent. However, washing hands or using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer is essential after any potential contact, to avoid spreading the virus to other people or to one’s own eyes or mouth.
Top News Today
According to the CDC, the virus can survive for a few hours on dry surfaces like doorknobs and countertops. It can also survive for several days in puddles or other collections of body fluid at room temperature. Fortunately, bleach solutions can kill it.
Interestingly, not everyone believes Ebola is an accidental disease.
According to Dr. Cyril Broderick, a professor of agriculture at Delaware State University, the U.S. Department of Defense is responsible for the outbreak of Ebola in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, West Africa.
The Liberian-born professor blames a secret battle between the U.S. and Soviet spies as the real cause behind the devastating viruses. He also claims that AIDS and similar viruses such as Ebola are the result of genetically-modified organisms which are not found in bats as some so called specialists have claimed.
The professor believes the disease has been genetically engineered and that the Department of Defense tested it on human subjects in Zaire. He also believes the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) was responsible for testing these secret bio weapons in the pretense of trying to find a vaccine against Ebola.
What are your thoughts and beliefs on Ebola?
TAKE OUR POLL:
(function(){var voice = document.createElement(‘script’); voice.type = ‘text/javascript’;voice.src = (‘https:’ == document.location.protocol ? ‘https://’ : ‘http://’) + ‘d3atj1huicz51x.cloudfront.net/widget/p.js’;var s = document.getElementsByTagName(‘script’)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(voice, s);})();
