August 2014
The international response to ebola has been pathetic, excepting for the heroic doctors of Medecins Sans Frontieres and others who are risking their lives to treat those with the disease in Africa.
Meanwhile, according to Stuff, you should be worried about ebola.
As it happens, Stuff is full of shit.
You have zero chance of contracting ebola, unless you happen to be travelling to West Africa in the near future. The virus is unquestionably one of the most deadly known to mankind, but unlike the wild claims made about its communicability, it's not very contagious at all. In fact, the biggest problem by far in the transmission of the disease is in its terminal stages and after death, when the body is pumping out bodily fluids and blood containing billions of viruses. This is why doctors and nurses are the most risk. You are extremely unlikely to contract ebola from someone still walking.
The stark fact of its lack of communicability is very simple maths.
Think back to H1N1. Within weeks of its emergence and recognition as a novel virus it had spread around the world. From USA to Saudi Arabia to New Zealand to the outer Hebrides, it took only the space of 12 weeks for it to become established in all communities across the globe. Thankfully, H1N1 was a weak virus and caused few problems.
ebola is the exact opposite: hard to catch, but utterly deadly, with a mortality rate of 40-50% even in patients who receive early medical care.
Given the extreme measures being taken to contain the outbreak within Africa, and the slow rise in case numbers, it is not something for the everyday citizen to even think about. In a place like New Zealand, a person is more likely to be killed by lightning while standing on one leg singing Ave Maria than contract ebola.
Worry factor: nil.
Copyright © Alan Charman