Could ebola be 'weaponized'?

[xfundy]

Got to thinking about this while reading how some 'christians' propose it as 'the ultimate solution':

Christian broadcaster: Ebola could cleanse US of atheists, gay people, and sluts

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/08/07/christian-broadcaster-ebola-could-cleanse-us-of-atheists-gay-people-and-sluts/

Some of these people would have no problem unleashing such a weapon upon the USA, since they know who deserves to live and die (/sarcasm, but barely).

[Kelvin Mace]

1. I am sure it has been tried by our military

and its defense contractors, however it would not work the way this guy wishes it would.

[ohnoyoudidnt]

2. The fundamentalists who would like to,

I suspect are far too stupid to figure out how to alter the virus to make it more contagious if it can even be done. Then, it would of course be indiscriminate.

[xfundy]

5. Consider, though:

All the fundies would have to do, if it could be done, is channel some of their untaxed wealth to top scientists in one or more countries that hate us.

[Laffy Kat]

3. Read "The Cobra Event" by Richard Preston.

That will answer your question. It is not about Ebola per se, but an especially unpleasant designer virus. It is a work of fiction but you could see how easily such biological terrorism could occur. That novel has haunted me for years.

[sarisataka]

8. A very good book

And according to some medical people it is quite plausible.

Far scarier that bombs.

[Laffy Kat]

12. The novel was published while President Clinton was in office.

I guess it concerned him so much that he actually appointed a committee to study the plausibility. Yikes.

[LordGlenconner]

4. We have/have had biological weapons that are just as deadly, if not more so

[Lurks Often]

6. A qualified yes

and it would be neither cheap or easy and would require people with PHD level knowledge.

I am not an expert, but if I understand things correctly, Ebola (and there are several variants) would have to be mated to a more robust virus to serve as an effective "weaponized Ebola" as most of the current variants have too short of lifespan and are too "fragile" to survive for any length of time outside of a host body.

In the past Ebola outbreaks have ended quickly due the generally very rural areas the victims lived and the generally fast and very lethal progress of the disease meant carriers usually died before being able to transmit the disease. Whether things have changed remains to be seen, as this is the worst Ebola outbreak seen to date.

Some depressing reading: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biological_warfare

[alfie]

7. Yes

For several years I was Infection Control nurse for my hospital. i went to the state conventions and one national convention. At each convention at least one speech was on bioterrorism and ebola was always mentioned. They usually talked about it being paired with a disease that is more easily transmitted such as measles or tuberculosis which are airborne. These viruses stay suspended in air for an extended period of time so could easily be spread in a crowded room or airplane. If paired with a virus that is droplet borne such as influenza or the common cold, it could be spread to people within a few feet of the infected person, but not to the entire room unless the person walked around sneezing or coughing.

[Marrah_G]

9. Maybe, but it wouldn't make a good bioweapon unless unleashed on a third world country.

Except, like the above poster says, it was combined with an airborne virus somehow.

[Bluenorthwest]

10. This shit is not new, Reagan and his Republican Party voters were thrilled with the new virus

killing gays and black people long before we named it HIV. Both in direct comments and in the years of absolute inaction we see evidence that they hoped to see a mass die off of minority groups they hated. Mike Huckabee called for mass quarantine camps for gay people. Some radio preacher saying the same things decades later is not surprising to anyone who is aware of the history of our lifetime in America, much less the rest of the world.

[Capt. Obvious]

11. Ben Carson thinks so

[La Lioness Priyanka]

13. dont we have enough problems, without inventing new ones to worry about?

[d_r]

14. not to be creepy

but wouldn't there be a very low tech way of doing this? If someone wanted to be a suicide bomber and was willing to kill themselves to hurt others, couldn't they travel to an infected area and try to purposefully infect themselves, and then hop on a plane and try to spread it by putting their body fluids in bathrooms, doorknobs, etc.? I don't know how long the virus stays active outside a human host, I don't think it is very long, but I bet someone could spread it at least a little.

[badtoworse]

15. Have you looked at what dying from Ebola is like? It's not like detonating a vest fiwith explosives

I doubt many would sign up.

[xfundy]

16. True, but they could be infected without knowing it.

[badtoworse]

19. d_r's premise was that a suicide bomber would intentionally infect themselves and then infect others

[d_r]

23. Yes it would be a bad way to go

Plus there would be a lot more potential for error than with a bomb, its not a very good scenario.

[BainsBane]

17. I heard something on the radio saying they thought it unlikely

because it doesn't transport and transmit as well as some other pathogens.

The serious danger is small pox. It wiped out 90% of the indigenous population of the South America and Mexico in the first century of contact. We no longer have antibodies protecting us against is, as the European settlers in the Americans had.

[badtoworse]

20. I was vaccinated when I was a child. We no longer have vaccines?

ETA: I'm 64

[BainsBane]

21. I don't think everyone is vaccinated for it anymore

I'm not sure though.

[NickB79]

22. Routine smallpox vaccinations stopped in 1972.

Per the CDC's website.

And since the disease is all but extinct, I don't know how easily they could whip up new batches of vaccine if an outbreak ever occurred again.

[badtoworse]

24. Thanks

[MineralMan]

18. Not by amateur Christian extremists it couldn't.

Truly.