So how much trouble are we in?
And when I say, "we," I don't mean conservatives, Americans, TheBlaze readers, or reality TV fans. I am referring to all 7.2 billion humans.
To be clear, I am not a doctor. Nor am I a virologist or an epidemiologist. However, I have read most of the books. I have been studying virology & epidemiology in general and in particular filovirdea, the family of RNA virus which ebolavirus is a member, since the mid 1990s. I have read many academic texts and taken many classroom and online courses in virology, chemistry, as well as human anatomy and physiology.
For those seeking a primer on this subject, I would recommend reading "The Coming Plague" and "Betrayal of Trust" by Laurie Garrett, "Viral Storm" by Nathan Wolfe, and "The Great Influenza" by John Barry. Many others are recommending "The Hot Zone" and "The Demon in the Freezer" by Richard Preston, but this article is not about the violent physiological effects of viral hemorrhagic fever. It’s about something far worse and far more deadly: Government dishonesty about public health. Lest we forget, government dishonesty about public health has already destroyed one superpower.
In this photo released via Twitter by the City of Dallas Public Information Managing Director Sana Syed, members of Dallas Fire-Rescue Haz Mat Unit prepare to decontaminate common areas near the The Village Bend East apartment of a second healthcare worker who has tested positive for Ebola, Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2014, in Dallas. (AP/City of Dallas Public Information, Sana Syed)
There are two claims the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has made that should be addressed. I feel it important that these claims are addressed in the public square because as John Barry described on page 460 of "The Great Influenza," ”There was terror afoot in 1918, real terror. The media and public officials helped create that terror not by exaggerating the disease but by minimizing it, by trying to reassure.”
The notion that you can only contract ebolavirus via direct contact, while technically correct, is disingenuous and leads to a false sense of security. Do you understand that if you get sneezed upon from 3 seats away in an airplane or coughed on from the adjacent table in an airport food court that constitutes direct contact?
Ebola isdroplet spread. This was in part proved by a doctor working for the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Disease (USAMRIID), Col Nancy Jaax in the late 1980s. In their own documents CDC confirms this and require that healthcare workers treating ebola patients wear double gloves, full gown, and face shield.
Now let's address the notion that you can only contract the disease from someone who is symptomatic. Perhaps the most effective way to do that is with a timeline:
The CDC, our government, and the mainstream media would have you believe that on Tuesday October 21st, Patient X can walk up to you and sneeze into your face and you are fine. Ebolavirus laden droplets being blown into your eyes, nose, and mouth at 100mph and you are going to be just fine because Patient X is not yet sick. When technically does, “sick,” start? The day the fever shows up? What about a back ache? If the fever shows up at noon, is it absolutely impossible for you to transmit the virus at 11:55am? Or perhaps at dinner the night before?
Read my lips, no new taxes…
I didn’t have sex with that woman…
I am not a crook…
If you like your insurance you can keep it…
You can't get ebola without direct contact with someone who visibly sick… or can you?
Dave welcomes your questions and comments On twitter: @davepeavy Facebook: facebook.com/theindependentconservative Email: davepeavy@gmail.com
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