THE EBOLA VIRUS – its very name seems to have come straight from the heart of darkness – is striking fear across the globe. It has killed (officially) 4,546 people out of 9,191 infected since the first case in West Africa in December 2013, but it now poses a risk to millions. Yesterday, David Cameron, the Prime Minister, described it as the “biggest health threat to the world in a generation”. A politician’s soundbite, or the stark reality?
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It took a vaccine to end the scourge of smallpox, the despair of polio. It requires vaccines to prevent diseases like measles, rubella and chicken pox. We have vaccines for influenza that are at best only effective part of the time and we have NO
ReplyDeletevaccines for the 200 odd variations of virus that cause the common cold. We have NO effective therapeutic treatment for any viral disease....the most we can do is mitigate symptoms and provide support to the body while the disease runs it's course. The odds of us finding a treatment for Ebola that actually works once infected are close to zero. The only real issue is a vaccine. The US gov has been playing with Ebola since at LEAST the early 80's, 30 years maybe more. If they have not been able to come up with a vaccine by now the odds of us getting one are small and the odds of getting one in time to make a difference in the current situation is damn near zero.
30 years maybe more. If they have not been able to come up with a vaccine by now the odds of us getting one are small and the odds of getting one in time to make a difference in the current situation is damn near zero.
DeleteDoesn't look promising.
Smallpox, polio, chickenpox and other viruses that are prevented (not 100%) are not the same type of virus as ebola/marburg filoviruses.
ReplyDeleteVaccine preventative diseases have been mostly eradicated due to the fact that they are DNA- based viruses. This makes them more "stable". They do not mutate with every new infected individual. They are also viruses that infect primarily humans. While they jumped over from an animal reservoir, it was eons ago and the human is the dead end host. Outbreaks of these types of diseases end when there are no new uninfected hosts to spread the disease. (End but do not die, they become dormant until circumstances lead to exposure and infection again)
RNA Based viruses such as ebola and marburg have recently jumped into primates from their reservoir - most likely bats. RNA based viruses replicate by taking over cells and hijacking the cellular processes inserting their genetic code to replace the cell's genetic coding. This leads to many mutations as there are other invaders in cells, such as protists, bacteria and other viruses that may be lying dormant in one's body. Also viruses hitchhike on bacteria. That's why each case of a disease is different, concurrent infections might be taking place inside an infected individual.
This is why the common cold, and influenza are not curable or eradicatable by vaccine or medicine. The RNA virus is always a couple steps ahead of the guys with the test tubes. Viruses are teeny tiny. Depending upon what type of virus a couple billion can fit on the period at the end of this sentence. I read on a medical news page that this strain has mutated over 300 times. That's 300 times that they know of. From the time they had that sample. (because they've traced it back to patient zero in Guinea)
In the past outbreaks of ebola burned out due to mutations that did not allow the virus to continue infecting new victims. This quick mutation doesn't always work to the benefit of the virus. This is why past outbreaks have been quick and isolated in parts of Africa (or some who traveled to catch it there and died quickly after contracting it).
Villages used to self quarantine and neighboring villages would leave out food and supplies so that everyone didn't die.
With mobility and jet travel being what it is, this time is different. It's also possibly spreading because dogs are eating the dead and they are carriers. (Carrying infection but not exhibiting symptoms). Or because, as I've seen speculation, that it's weaponized. Or maybe it's just bad luck of the draw. Microbiologists, epidemiologists, infectious disease experts have been talking about THE BIG ONE for a long Time. Species level extinction events are a cycle of nature.
Good info and thanks.
Delete"Prof Piot admits to being “very worried” about Africa, but remains optimistic that Ebola will not be a major problem in the West. “Even in Nigeria, when they had a small epidemic, it was quickly contained. The authorities acted promptly, including a non-negotiable quarantine. Also, in Congo, a recent outbreak was contained… and Congo is not the best-organised country in the world.”
ReplyDelete----
So assuming that a vaccine is not an option, not in the way that vaccines are usually created (giving small doses over time of a killed or disabled virus so that immunity is built up over time) and they haven't got a handle on disabling the virus by other means ---
what are we left with ?
A protocol that includes:
allowing travel unrestricted from areas infected with the virus.
purposely bringing infected from Africa to our country
"voluntary" quarantine of healthcare workers that were directly exposed to a patient while in a highly communicable state (end stage disease) leading to more exposure of individuals (such as on an airplane, running out to the sandwich shop ) and Mr. Clipboard Man.
Experts that are refusing to educate the healthcare workers in proper protocol when dealing with the infected. "Experts" not providing proper equipment to healthcare workers.
"Experts" that are sending troops to infected areas with no training and no equipment to protect themselves.
Less than a dozen hospital beds that are equipped to deal with diseased in the US. After billions were funneled to an agency that was supposed to be preparing for such an event.
Increasing the size and span of government by appointing lawyers and cronies into positions of which they are not qualified to dictate public policy or protocol.
"Experts" that are informing the public with false information, and directly conflicting information, sometimes in the same press conference.
The problem is not WHY haven't come up with a vaccine for this disease.
The problem is WHY haven't these people who are deliberately doing everything possible to CAUSE An epidemic here, NOT being removed from their positions of power? They have done just about everything to remove any trust or confidence in their ability to fight their way out of a paperbag, much less protect American citizens.
They've done just about everything except import live species of bats to our shores.
They've done just about everything except import live species of bats to our shores.
DeleteIt has probably been thought of.
Don’t hold your breath waiting for a cure or vaccine. The medical and drug companies have stopped developing any cure or vaccine. Honestly where is the profit in curing a disease. Managing illness there is the cash machine.
ReplyDeleteBadger
Managing illness there is the cash machine.
DeleteGood point.
If a vaccine is possible it would have been developed as part of the investigation into weaponizing this virus. There is no question that part of the research on this that the .mil et.al. have done for years was with an eye to use as a weapon and defense against it being used against us. IF a vaccine is reasonably achievable it already exists. If not it is not likely to come along soon. One reason to send 4K soldiers to Africa to "fight a virus" is to be real world guinea pigs for vaccine tests. RNA base virusesmdo mutate more readily than DNA based making vaccines less effective. In the case of influenza the vaccines can be effective but not as effective as we would like. A vaccine for filovirid might not be as effective as other vaccines but ANY immune system response that can be triggered safely can make future infections less serious. The same thing happens with flu vaccines. The vaccine may not be a 100% match for the dominant strain currently infecting people but if it triggers a response then when the vaccinated person encounters the current variant they might just end up feeling punky rather than getting deathly ill. A vaccine for Ebola might not prevent infection and I'll ESS but it might make the disease more survivable. We simply don't have enough real world info on this disease yet. Getting that Intel though could be very costly though.
ReplyDeleteThe vaccine may not be a 100% match for the dominant strain currently infecting people but if it triggers a response then when the vaccinated person encounters the current variant they might just end up feeling punky rather than getting deathly ill. A vaccine for Ebola might not prevent infection and I'll ESS but it might make the disease more survivable.
DeleteVery good. Thanks.
From the Oxford Journal of Infectious Disease pub. in 1999 with cooperation with
ReplyDeleteRussia. As detailed here, immunoglobulin preparations have been developed that protect guinea pigs and baboons from infection with fatal doses of EBO virus. Occasionally, medical research investigators, medical personnel, and animal care workers working with EBO virus in the hospital, laboratory, or jungle are accidentally infected with EBO virus. To our knowledge, these immunoglobulin preparations are the first that can be used for the prompt treatment (within 72 h of exposure) of such exposures to EBO virus. The results reported here are milestones in the research leading to the prevention of EBO infection. At the least, these results are applicable to accidental cases of EBO infection occurring in a laboratory or hospital setting.
This preparation has been used repeatedly with success.
Thanks and new to me.
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