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The CDC Is Carefully Controlling How Scared You Are About Ebola
HughPickens.com writes: Russell Berman reports in The Atlantic that the Obama administration is trying to navigate a tricky course: Can officials increase public vigilance about the deadly Ebola virus without inciting a panic? "Ebola is scary. It's a deadly disease. But we know how to stop it," says Dr. Thomas Frieden, the CDC director. speaking "calmly and clearly, sticking to an even pitch and avoiding the familiar political image of the whip-smart fast-talker." International groups wanted the U.S. to step in sooner to help fight the outbreak in west Africa, while more recently some Republicans have called on the administration to ban travel from the most affected countries.
Frieden and other officials say such a move would be counterproductive, citing lessons learned from the SARS outbreak a decade ago. "The SARS outbreak cost the world more than $40 billion, but it wasn't to control the outbreak," says Frieden. "Those were costs from unnecessary and ineffective travel restrictions and trade changes that could have been avoided." The government announced Wednesday that it was stepping up protective measures at five airports, where authorities will screen travelers from Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea with targeted questions and fever checks, an action, officials acknowledge, that was taken not only to stop the spread of the disease but simply to make people feel safer. According to Berman, the message is this: Be afraid of Ebola. Just not too afraid.
Frieden and other officials say such a move would be counterproductive, citing lessons learned from the SARS outbreak a decade ago. "The SARS outbreak cost the world more than $40 billion, but it wasn't to control the outbreak," says Frieden. "Those were costs from unnecessary and ineffective travel restrictions and trade changes that could have been avoided." The government announced Wednesday that it was stepping up protective measures at five airports, where authorities will screen travelers from Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea with targeted questions and fever checks, an action, officials acknowledge, that was taken not only to stop the spread of the disease but simply to make people feel safer. According to Berman, the message is this: Be afraid of Ebola. Just not too afraid.
The reason Ebola is spreading in Africa is because of poverty and customs. In some places the doctors have run out of gloves. With a disease like Ebola, that is not something you want. Secondly, in some places they have customs like washing the body of the deceased, then having the wife drink the water to prove she didn't try to kill him. Once again, that is not the kind of tradition you want to have if you're going to stop the spread of Ebola.
Airborne Ebola would be a serious problem. What we have with the current epidemic is an education/sanitation problem, not a disease problem.
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
"The SARS outbreak cost the world more than $40 billion, but it wasn't to control the outbreak," says Frieden. "Those were costs from unnecessary and ineffective travel restrictions and trade changes that could have been avoided."
This isn't SARS. The death toll is already 5x that of SARS.
"Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
Finally, my strategy of spending all my time alone at my computer, having no close contact with other people is starting to pay off.
Once everyone else has died off from ebola, the geeks, nerds, and dorks shall inherit the earth.
People are the same the world over.
In many communities where Ebola is running rampant, superstition, and a belief in shamanistic or animistic magic are helping spread the disease and prevent proper care.
And here in the US, I've seen a well-shared Facebook link to a 'natural health' site that tells you how you can get Ebola from ATM keypads and doorknobs, but you can protect yourself via essential oils and the immune system boosting properties of silver! No need for autism creating vaccines!
I'm so glad I don't live in a place where people think magic potions and mystic talismans will ward off disease!
Be aware of travelers to west central Africa in your life. Make competent decisions about whether you, yourself should go there. Go to your doctor for any suspicious illness if you have any reason to believe you're exposed at all.
You know, nothing major.
After the Singularity, we'll get computer viruses and bad OS updates.
The aid workers who picked it up despite taking precautions will sure be comforted by your sentiment.
Even in modern hospitals, disease outbreaks happen despite precautions.
"Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
yes
have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same