Ebola is a bioterrorism agent. It is one of the few level fours that we have (The top). It would be a difficult weapon as, at the moment 1) its not airborne (though ebola reston was) 2) it has a low attack rate (meaning you arent as likely to get it if someone coughs blood in your eyes) 3) its not very tough (dies quickly on countertops) 4) burns itself out quickly (anything that kills it host quickly doesnt allow you to spread it very far. on average a person with ebola infects 5-8 whereas smallpox would get 10-15 at least)
BUT its a great bioterrorism agent because 1) the deaths are spectacular and 2) people are scared of it. 3) its out there not locked up in labs (like smallpox) 4) we have zero treatments (RTIs, etc dont help much)
1)A vaccine is an awesome thing to have b/c some day we may need it here. 2) there are healthcare workers in africa who could use it now. 3) every vaccine that works gives us an idea on how to fight other similar viri.
you may need to check your facts. The term vaccine comes from vaca which is the latin root for cow. This is because the first vaccine came from using the COWPOX scabs to provide immunity against SMALLPOX (yes that is a virus).
BUT Vaccines are anything that boosts the immune system to respond to an agent that was previously unnoticed (or sometimes under-noticed)
There is for instance a vaccine for nicotine (an organic molecule) there are vaccines for shigella, campylobacte j. and ETEC (THESE ARE BACERIA) which are common causes of gastroenteritis in general and travelers diarrhea in particular.
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Ebola is a bioterrorism agent. It is one of the few level fours that we have (The top). It would be a difficult weapon as, at the moment 1) its not airborne (though ebola reston was) 2) it has a low attack rate (meaning you arent as likely to get it if someone coughs blood in your eyes) 3) its not very tough (dies quickly on countertops) 4) burns itself out quickly (anything that kills it host quickly doesnt allow you to spread it very far. on average a person with ebola infects 5-8 whereas smallpox would get 10-15 at least)
BUT its a great bioterrorism agent because 1) the deaths are spectacular and 2) people are scared of it. 3) its out there not locked up in labs (like smallpox) 4) we have zero treatments (RTIs, etc dont help much)
1)A vaccine is an awesome thing to have b/c some day we may need it here. 2) there are healthcare workers in africa who could use it now. 3) every vaccine that works gives us an idea on how to fight other similar viri.
you may need to check your facts. The term vaccine comes from vaca which is the latin root for cow. This is because the first vaccine came from using the COWPOX scabs to provide immunity against SMALLPOX (yes that is a virus). BUT Vaccines are anything that boosts the immune system to respond to an agent that was previously unnoticed (or sometimes under-noticed) There is for instance a vaccine for nicotine (an organic molecule) there are vaccines for shigella, campylobacte j. and ETEC (THESE ARE BACERIA) which are common causes of gastroenteritis in general and travelers diarrhea in particular.