Posted: Oct 02, 2014 9:53 am
kiore wrote:Acetone wrote:Rome Existed wrote:The good news about Ebola (well, not to those who get it) is that it's so deadly to those who have it that it rather limits how many people they can pass it to.
It still has a Re over 1 so epidemics can certainly get out of hand if we don't get on top of it.
Another good thing about ebola is that the symptoms are very apparent and that patients are not contagious if they do not have symptoms (generally the case I believe). So in countries that have top notch medical access for their citizens it will be likely difficult for ebola to get a foothold (not impossible though).
Countries do not even have to have 'top notch' medical care to defeat EVD outbreaks, simple containment, education and hygiene have been effective in the recent outbreaks in Uganda and DRC.
It does rather depend on the circumstances of the index case though - how easy it is to trace, quarantine and monitor all persons who have come into contact with that case. Imagine, for example, if the index case traveled about on the London Underground, feeling ill, for a couple of days before discovering she had ebola.