Slashdot Mirror
US Scientists Predict Long Battle Against Ebola
An anonymous reader writes: Despite recent advances in medicine to treat Ebola, epidemiologists are not hopeful that the outbreak in west Africa will be contained any time soon. Revised models for the disease's spread expect the outbreak to last 12 to 18 months longer, likely infecting hundreds of thousands of people. "While previous outbreaks have been largely confined to rural areas, the current epidemic, the largest ever, has reached densely populated, impoverished cities — including Monrovia, the capital of Liberia — gravely complicating efforts to control the spread of the disease. ... What worries public health officials most is that the epidemic has begun to grow exponentially in Liberia. In the most recent week reported, Liberia had nearly 400 new cases, almost double the number reported the week before. Another grave concern, the W.H.O. said, is 'evidence of substantial underreporting of cases and deaths.' The organization reported on Friday that the number of Ebola cases as of Sept. 7 was 4,366, including 2,218 deaths." Scientists are urging greater public health efforts to slow the exponential trajectory of the disease and bring it back under control.
Yeah except last month it was 1000 deaths and the month before that 500 deaths and the month before that 250 deaths.
imagine 1/3 of the USA or the first world dying? that's not only a decades long economic depression that will follow, it will mean a huge impact onto your quality of life as people who make all your stuff from the food you eat to your electricity to gasoline die, you will have to learn how to survive on your own. grow your own food, etc
All it takes is a couple of people who 'aren't infected, just look' (there are a few days of little-to-no symptoms) to bribe some official to get on some plane or past a border check. We're a significantly more interconnected world today than even a hundred years ago - you don't need rats to spread things widely.
It's not a pandemic - yet. But it wouldn't take much for it to be one, and it would be major.
'Sensible' is a curse word.
Competing consumers would also drop from the population. Less food/power/gas would be needed to match.
It takes three medical support people to keep an Ebola patient clean, dry, hydrated, fed, and disposed of when he dies. And three more armed and dangerous army types to defend you while you do it. Now look at the Monrovia metro area with 4.4 million souls. On a moment's notice where are you going to get 15 million health professionals, 15 million soldiers, and the materials necessary to ensure this virus "only" kills 70% of the population? You aren't.
Help stamp out iliturcy.