Fear Grows Over Airborne Ebola. Doctors Concerned As The Virus Contines To Spread/Mutate

Michael T. Osterholm, Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy based at the University of Minnesota has warned that Ebola continues to mutate, and one of those mutations could (if it hasn't already) make it airborne.

The article points out that Ebola did go airborne, but in monkeys and not transmittable to humans. This was famously portrayed in The Hot Zone, a novel by Richard Preston.

However, the possibility of an airborne Ebola affecting humans is all too real.

The second possibility is one that virologists are loath to discuss openly but are definitely considering in private: that an Ebola virus could mutate to become transmissible through the air.

Ebola has mutated already during the course of this outbreak. Their fears are not unfounded.

You can now get Ebola only through direct contact with bodily fluids. But viruses like Ebola are notoriously sloppy in replicating, meaning the virus entering one person may be genetically different from the virus entering the next.

Ebola is very risky, and each new patient represents a possible mutation, according to the article.

Why are public officials afraid to discuss this? They don’t want to be accused of screaming “Fire!” in a crowded theater — as I’m sure some will accuse me of doing. But the risk is real, and until we consider it, the world will not be prepared to do what is necessary to end the epidemic.

It's natural for governments to downplay these events. Look no further, they have it under control.

They clearly do not. I don't know if Ebola spreads fast enough to actually become a global killer. But I believe any day now the Western world could have a truly authentic, verifiable case of Ebola (not someone flown in by the government).

The people on the front lines are overworked and there are not enough resources to go around. You can't put a tiny sponge in a filled swimming pool and expect all the water to be absorbed. Not enough beds, understaffed and dealing with fear and mistrust from the locals. Bless those on the front lines and those living in the hot zone.

Amidst Airborne Questions Doctors Remain Hesitant To Speak Up

The countries affected cannot even handle this outbreak, an airborne mutation could push them way past the edge.

Does anyone here believe it has already become airborne, or that it will eventually?

It could mutate airborne tomorrow... It could mutate it in 50 years...

I really can't stand articles like this, they are so wreckless. I read an AMA today on reddit from one of the doctors named Estrella Lasry at MSF (doctors without borders) where she answered tons of questions from people, she stated "No reason why Ebola should mutate to an airborne virus. It survives in body fluids, but not on dry surfaces due to it's lipid membrane." So who is right here?

I guess you could argue articles like this help muster up more awareness and help for the crisis in Africa.

Really, there is hope to stop this still, her AMA was a pretty good read, and i trust what MSF has to say about Ebola.

To answer your question, no I don't think it has already become airborne, and yes, one day it very well may become airborne, but who the hell can say when that day will occur?

Here is the AMA if you're interested www.reddit.com...

a reply to: Yeahkeepwatchingme

Look. Best site to keep an eye on is this one:

www.newsnow.co.uk...

It has all the upto date info on Ebola and you should also subscribe to:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

That Thread has been going since March 30th

a reply to: clenz
I am a big believer in Sod's law

a reply to: Yeahkeepwatchingme

"The article points out that Ebola did go airborne, "

But that has not been proven, it was suspected by the scientists that did the study. They concluded either the monkeys were infected through breathing in the virus, OR they caught it after particles were displaced when cleaning from one cage to another. The study could not prove which was the reason conclusively.

a reply to: Yeahkeepwatchingme

The possibility of Ebola evolving to become airborne is real - and the more and longer it spreads human-to-human, the more likely it is that the 'right' mutation will appear. Which is why every nation who can should be sending trained people to stop the spread.

fyi - the Winnipeg study and the "Hot Zone" are about 2 different Ebola strains: The Winnipeg study showed suspected airborne transmission of Zaire Ebola (the one ravaging West Africa), while the "Hot Zone" is about Reston Ebola (doesn't affect humans).

a reply to: Yeahkeepwatchingme

Saying Ebola is likely to suddenly go airborne is a bit like saying "Lions are dangerous, but what it makes it worse is that a generation of flying lions may be born."

While this is true, the number of generations this would take is relevant. Granted, a generation of virus is much shorter than a lion generation, and there are many people carrying the virus right now.

But "sloppy replication" has an absurdly tiny chance of "accidentally" encapsulating the virus' rna in the capsid that would be required to allow it to survive on its own airborne.

Something along the odds of your child being born with wings.

a reply to: TheBlackTiger

And your qualifications are?

originally posted by: joho99
a reply to: TheBlackTiger

And your qualifications are?

Well, I've researched on the difference between airborne and non-airborne viruses and what makes the difference, as well as the instances of a non-airborne virus becoming airborne.

Granted, I have not personally put any lab time into this. I don't have the qualifications or access to such facilities, so in that sense, I have no knowledge of what I'm talking about.

Except for the research of the people who do study these things, that's all.

a reply to: TheBlackTiger
i meant no insult just you are contradicting a Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy who gets paid and has spent years looking at this kind of thing was just curious if you was a lay person or not.

originally posted by: joho99
a reply to: TheBlackTiger
i meant no insult just you are contradicting a Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy who gets paid and has spent years looking at this kind of thing was just curious if you was a lay person or not.

a doctor from MSF contradicts the Director as well, which one is correct?

originally posted by: joho99
a reply to: TheBlackTiger
i meant no insult just you are contradicting a Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy who gets paid and has spent years looking at this kind of thing was just curious if you was a lay person or not.

Not sure where in the article you see that any director said anything like that. From what I see, the author of the article was pointing out that in theory, such a mutation could occur, which definitely is true.

I was just saying, that even though some particular thing "could" happen, it's sometimes useful to put the odds in perspective.

Michael T. Osterholm is the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.

a reply to: TheBlackTiger
and you contradicted him.

thats not a crime was just curious how you came to that opinion is all

was it years of study or a passing glance of ebola.

Ebola could mutate and become airborne just like HIV could mutate and become airborne. Anything is possible, but I'm not worried yet. I think the whole conversation keeps coming up because of that scene in the movie Outbreak, when they discover the killer virus mutated and went airborne.

a reply to: Richn777
never seen the film

a reply to: clenz
you have 2 choices.

i always play the hope for the best prepare for the worst.

truth is one is playing the no panic game and the other is playing the probability game


but you do have a not so subtle clue

The second possibility is one that virologists are loath to discuss openly but are definitely considering in private:

did he come to that conclusion by him self or because of his position and the people he can talk to?

My girl is a biologist, and has been following this closely for quite some time now. She is quite concerned for a number of reasons. One is we are in uncharted territory with this one, as no outbreak has lasted this long, allowing the current strain to mutate over and over. I read something she showed me about a 2 months ago, and this one had already mutated 109 times at the time of the report. Another is the border situation here in the US. We both believe strongly that the people in the world that want to do harm to americans will exploit this. Its almost a no-brainer. They have access to aircraft, money, and could easily access people in africa with the disease and bring them across the southern border, no problem. The whole airborne thing has some grey areas to it. Technically its not airborne, but once someone becomes symptomatic, it kinda is, b/c of aerosolized droplets from coughing, vomiting, sneezing, etc. The doctor that attempted to fly back to the US a few months back and died at an airport after several flights was symptomatic, and did infect others at the airports, leading to a few deaths. No access to rapid transportation is the only thing that has kept this thing in check all along. Now it seems that it has/had access to this. She is adamant that most doctors in the know, are not going to discuss airborne issues because it will panic people, but yes, they are discussing it, and know that it is a real possibility, if it hadnt already happened. Another reason she is fearful is that once it makes it into an area, its there forever. As explained to me.... Inside the host, its "alive" and vulnerable, since its not encapsulated anymore. Outside the host, say in the ground, on a tree, etc, it is encapsulated and protected, and it is not "alive"- so it cannot be killed. One more concern, is that this one mutates so fast that any vaccine produce might not work because it was produced for the old version. Interesting times.
YMMV

originally posted by: inbound

[snip]
...
As explained to me.... Inside the host, its "alive" and vulnerable, since its not encapsulated anymore. Outside the host, say in the ground, on a tree, etc, it is encapsulated and protected, and it is not "alive"- so it cannot be killed. One more concern, is that this one mutates so fast that any vaccine produce might not work because it was produced for the old version. Interesting times.
YMMV

Yep. That is another reason that I don't believe that Ebola is some devious tool started by TPTB for a depopulation agenda. It's too crude and too uncontrollable to be useful for them.

Ebola just 'is', for now.

With the right vaccine / cure Ebola will be rendered null and void, making it an "isn't". I mean the 'right' vaccine. The medicinal community may have to rethink how they make vaccines to be effective against Ebola. A vaccine that is only effective against mutation numbers 525-575 is not good enough, IMHO.

a reply to: inbound
I read over 250 mutations . Posted it some place on here, after I read it , some time ago.

Also posted this doctors fear of becoming airborne in a thread this week as well, after he warned it could infect about 1.2 million. Used a lousy source in my op and that was the end of that.

a reply to: violet

It was almost 400 mutations over the past 10 years that Ebola was in West Africa - with 50 of those occurring between January and May of this year. No news on how many more to date, or what the effects might be.