The Gun Counter

I let my mind wander as I often do and it hit me.

There are plenty of diseases (viruses) that are transmitted by mosquito bites. A short list: yellow fever, dengue fever and chikungunya.

Living in Florida, that puts a whole new possible vector to the transmission aspect here. I don't have any idea if it works that way for Ebola and I doubt the "experts" know either.

Anyone know how to find out if that is a probable transmission path?

Mosquitoes are pretty well-known in Africa.
So far, they aren't considered a vector for Ebola.

Just for all the other pestilence they bring to the party.

Aesop wrote:Mosquitoes are pretty well-known in Africa.
So far, they aren't considered a vector for Ebola.

Just for all the other pestilence they bring to the party.

My concern is that WHO etal are not mentioning it, not that they don't know.

The transmission rate would be stratospheric in that case.

BDK wrote:The transmission rate would be stratospheric in that case.

Yeah I think if it could be transmitted by mosquito like malaria, then everyone would already be dead. Like, everyone.

How well does Ebola do in cold temps? I get the rapid spread of this thing; it's extremely frightening....but when it's below zero in another two months, could that slow or stop transmission in northern climes?

I couldn't find info on that, but I no longer have access to research journals, etc.

I suspect it "needs" that environment, for one reason or another - it is very old, but hasn't really spread beyond that region before - so, I'm hoping it needs the warmth/humidity/local fauna, etc.

Obviously, humans tend to prefer to be warm, and comfortably moistened, but - at least what I read - this is still, mostly, being spread by people actually handling the ill, or the bodies.

In many ways, its an explanation of what happens when authorities have lost/never had, their legitimacy.

Frankly, provided heads don't remain completely up asses, this is survivable - but we are seeing a consequence of electing a completely fucking incompetent POS as President, and having equally, completely useless P*$%(%0 in Congress.

This should be every government's, and frankly, biotech/pharmeceutical company's #1 priority. The only office w. the prominence and influence to unite those, is POTUS, but it is currently occupied by a buffoon.

What should concern us, is that, eventually, another super-strain of influenza will arise - most likely out of HK - and, influenza is a stone cold bitch to stop, compared to even this strain of Ebola - IOW, we need a %$*%( plan/and this would be a great time to talk to...

It would be a great time for me to talk to some folks about returning to biotech...

Presumably it's less robust on surfaces.
Unfortunately the primary hosts all walk around at 98.6 degrees right up until they get it, and it thrives there.
Then they walk around symptomatic and contagious for 7-9 days, then they crump, and they usually die in about 3-5 days after that.
And the virus survives just fine in and on dead bodies and clothing even after the hosts are dead.

IDK what tests they've done with, e.g., bat species other that African fruit bats. Bear in mind there are fruit bats worldwide between the Tropics, and other bats pretty much indigenous to everything between the Arctic and Antarctic Circles. Presumably, if it lives in African fruit bats, it could become established in any bat species ("Is there a biologist in the house?"), but prior to this summer, there was zero virus load floating around loose, outside of deep jungle Africa.

A lot of the problem with this is that the answers to basic epidemiological questions like this is = "WDK": We don't know.
Or couched in weasel words words like "possibly" "perhaps" "some studies indicate" etc. blah blah blah.

Seriously, watch Andromeda Strain, Outbreak, and Contagion for basic reference, and realize that the state of the art stuff in Andromeda Strain from the 1970s hasn't changed 40 years later enough to quibble over.
The only thing Hollywood gets wrong is the whole "pulling a vaccine out of our ass" thing, which is about as likely as hitting the Powerball when you're actually trying, but movies piss people off when everyone dies at the end and humanity fades to black.

You can't believe how much shit I'm taking from presumably intelligent people on another forum who're pissed off I even hinted that this is heading for pandemic cataclysm. Like I'm just making this stuff up and pulling it out my back end for sadistic glee.

I mean, if we were talking about waterboarding jihadi terrorists as a team sport, or playing lacrosse with their severed heads, yeah, of course, that'd be cool.
But casually prognosticating the end of humanity?
Nope, doesn't really turn my crank much.

For anyone still unconvinced, I point to the recent spread of the D58 "mystery"* enterovirus that's pretty well going coast to coast now.


*(Yeah, like the fact that it came here with the recent swarms of illegals crossing the Rio Grande is a total fucking medical mystery... )

I'm not much of a bat guy, but my understanding of the Megachiropterids is that they were by-and-large warm weather critters. That is of course, not to say that another animal couldn't also become a vector/reservoir, or that the fruit bat range would necessarily stop the spread. As far as I know, we don't have any fruit bats. We do have plenty of insectivorous microchiroptids....which are ready disease reservoirs for a variety of species. That said, the fruit bats and insectivorous bats are separated at the order level....they are not ALL that close in relation. I could see it being an easy jump, but we don't have to worry about fruit bats as an American problem.

Keeping all of that in mind...there's no reason that this should be in question at this point. This disease should have been studied inside and out the moment it was discovered. Which, in my mind, says we're probably fucked. Ostrich head in the sand and all that (even though that doesn't actually happen....).