Peace Corps is pulling all of its volunteers out of Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea. I wouldn't send a school group to any of those countries right now.

Eek. I hadn't thought about this yet. I am a teacher and have students who travel to their countries in West Africa to visit family over the summer. Bodily fluids aren't contained very well in an elementary school, especially Kindergarten. I hope there will be some protocol set.

Here -- check out this link:

http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/2005-09/1127697416.Im.r.html

I don't think diseases can usualliy be transmitted via sweat.

MRSA, maybe, through contact with another person's body? But even then the contact is with the skin, not the sweat.

Anonymous wrote:
You left out sweat -- the countries involved have shut down all forms of public games -- soccer, football ect. Wonder why?

Those are contact sports that carry the risk of bleeding if people are injured.

I'd also point out that cancelling these sports appears to be an overreaction. However, given the fear and concern in these countries, I can't blame them.

You aren't suggesting, I hope, that you think Ebola is being spread by people sweating onto one another? Do you have any scientific basis for believing that Ebola is spread through sweat??

I can't even think of a virus that is spread by sweat. Admittedly I am not a virologist or anything. But is that even possible?

Sweat is not usually what one means, by "bodily fluid", I don't think.

Anonymous wrote:Ebola is also transmitted through the air when someone who has it cough, sneezes, or breathes the virus onto you. It is also an airborne virus -- that is why it is so dangerous. It is NOT like AIDS -- more like TB.

Ebola then spreads in the community through human-to-human transmission, with infection resulting from direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membranes) with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people, and indirect contact with environments contaminated with such fluids.

WHO | Ebola virus disease
www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs103/en/

When I sneeze, cough, or sweat, it is a pure raindrop from heaven that contains no viruses what so ever. That is why, when I have the flu, you won't mind me coughing all over you. Because I am pure. And anyway, you cant catch it that way!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are no travel alerts or warnings for the three countries impacted. It's transmitted through bodily fluids. Or butchering infected meat. I'd think regular hand washing, etc. would be good enough. Regular travel precautions. Fully cooked food, etc.

Regular hand washing in an epidemic like this is not good enough. If you touch someone's bodily fluid (let's say spit or mucous) who has the flu and wash your hands, you may or may not get the flu but you are already exposed to the disease. Up to your immune system to see how well you fight it. Do you really want to take that chance with Ebola? Not me and I wouldn't allow my child to travel to west Africa. This epidemic is serious and fast spreading. It's actually quite scary

West Africa is a huge place. Three countries are impacted. 1200 sick out of 20+ million. Those who contract it are overwhelmingly family caregivers and health care workers. Freaking out over travel to "West Africa" is overkill.

Umm speak for yourself. Maybe you don't know people from Africa or don't have friends that are traveling there as we do so you are not concerned. However, I have friends and my children have classmates that are traveling to the region this Summer and yes, I am concerned. This is DC you know. It is a very international city. It is a normal concern.

Yes. My husband is African. He works almost exclusively with Africans here in DC. Most of my friends are immigrants. I'm taking my family this winter. I still think you are all getting carried away. If you get this scared, you'll never travel anywhere.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ebola is also transmitted through the air when someone who has it cough, sneezes, or breathes the virus onto you. It is also an airborne virus -- that is why it is so dangerous. It is NOT like AIDS -- more like TB.

Ebola then spreads in the community through human-to-human transmission, with infection resulting from direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membranes) with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people, and indirect contact with environments contaminated with such fluids.

WHO | Ebola virus disease
www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs103/en/

It is NOT airborne. Not transmitted through the air or an aerosol. It is not like TB at all.
That would be horrific!

When a person coughs or sneezes, (or breathes) air born particles are produced into the air, where other people breathe or touch them when they fall to a surface. Why do you think TB patients are quarantined? Why do you think that the hospital workers are dressed up in suits from head to toe? (They don't do that for AIDS patients) Also the person can be sick and carry the virus for a few days before the symptoms arrive -- but the virus is there. To add to the situation, at first it seems like a cold ...

Ebola causes hemorrhaging and the person is basically oozing various bodily fluids when they are dying. So is the corpse. That's why they wear those suits. If AIDS patients were oozing blood from all over, they would probably wear those suits too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
When a person coughs or sneezes, (or breathes) air born particles are produced into the air, where other people breathe or touch them when they fall to a surface. Why do you think TB patients are quarantined? Why do you think that the hospital workers are dressed up in suits from head to toe? (They don't do that for AIDS patients) Also the person can be sick and carry the virus for a few days before the symptoms arrive -- but the virus is there. To add to the situation, at first it seems like a cold ...

Some illnesses like the flu are spread through contact with droplets from the lungs or nose (cough, snot). Some (like Ebola and HIV) are spread through contact with bodily fluid like blood, vomit and feces.

The people in the hospital caring for EBOLA patients are dressed head to toe because symptoms in the later stages include vomiting, diarrhea, and bleeding from the eyes, ears, nose and rectum. Contact with these fluids is extremely dangerous so people need to take precautions.

With your typical AIDS patient, this bleeding is not usually present.

You left our sweat -- the countries involved have shut down all forms of public games -- soccer, football ect. Wonder why?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ebola is also transmitted through the air when someone who has it cough, sneezes, or breathes the virus onto you. It is also an airborne virus -- that is why it is so dangerous. It is NOT like AIDS -- more like TB.

Ebola then spreads in the community through human-to-human transmission, with infection resulting from direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membranes) with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people, and indirect contact with environments contaminated with such fluids.

WHO | Ebola virus disease
www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs103/en/

NO IT IS NOT. YOU ARE WRONG.

Do you really think I am more convinced because of your typeface?
You can shout all you want, but you are not the author of a medical study. Or if you are, identify yourself.

Anonymous wrote:
When a person coughs or sneezes, (or breathes) air born particles are produced into the air, where other people breathe or touch them when they fall to a surface. Why do you think TB patients are quarantined? Why do you think that the hospital workers are dressed up in suits from head to toe? (They don't do that for AIDS patients) Also the person can be sick and carry the virus for a few days before the symptoms arrive -- but the virus is there. To add to the situation, at first it seems like a cold ...

Some illnesses like the flu are spread through contact with droplets from the lungs or nose (cough, snot). Some (like Ebola and HIV) are spread through contact with bodily fluid like blood, vomit and feces.

The people in the hospital caring for EBOLA patients are dressed head to toe because symptoms in the later stages include vomiting, diarrhea, and bleeding from the eyes, ears, nose and rectum. Contact with these fluids is extremely dangerous so people need to take precautions.

With your typical AIDS patient, this bleeding is not usually present.

There were at least two cases of people who had Ebola traveling on international flights while infected and contagious. Despite being on the airplanes for hours and hours, they did not infect anyone else.

Ebola is mostly spread by close contact with an infected person's bodily fluid. It is NOT airborne. It's harder to contract than the flu (which can be spread by infected droplets when the person sneezes/coughs).

There is a reason these outbreaks tend to peter out without causing world-wide panic or infection:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/06/25/324941229/could-the-ebola-outbreak-spread-to-europe-or-the-u-s