a cough or sneeze. In fact, during the outbreak before this one, in Uganda in 2012, the infection was from primates to pigs. The scientists couldn't, at first, figure out how the infection was transmitted to the pigs. The figured out that the infection was AIRBORNE placing 4 piglets that had been inoculated with Ebola Zaire in a room with 4 cynomolgus macaques. They were separated by wire cages to prevent direct contact. Guess what? Within a few days, the piglets started to become sick. However, pigs only get respiratory illness with a fever. It DOES NOT kill them & 9 days after infection, the piggies were recovering....HOWEVER, within 4 days after placement in the room with the inoculated pigs, 2 of the MONKEYS were sick and 4 days later, the other 2 were sick.
Because there was NO DIRECT CONTACT and in fact, after examination, the evidence in the lungs of the macaques showed the the virus was INHALED!! The scariest part of all is that this was Ebola Zaire which has a 90% MORTALITY RATE! The scientist said that they don't believe that the virus is airborne, it's VERY easily transmitted via droplets from "SNEEZING, COUGHING or any other thing that causes ejection of droplets of saliva, mucus etc. The human beings were infected by infected piggies who got the virus from airborne droplets and fomites, from fruit that they were eating, contaminated with the virus and dropped to the ground by the macaques. the pigs ate the dropped pieces of fruit AND also inhaled droplets from the infected macaques.
NOW, in 1989, there was a REALLY scarey outbreak of a simian haemorrhagic fever,( EBOLA is just the most well known one but they're are many), in RESTON VIRGINIA that spread through the cynomolgus macaques, (crab eating macaques) that had been imported FROM THE PHILIPINES!! It was ACCIDENTLY discovered during a microscopic examination of tissue samples. We dodged a bullet because although because although an animal handler cut himself DURING a necropsy but NEVER got sick. LUCKILY, Ebola Reston has VERY low pathogenicity in humans, is, it doesn't make US sick. However, ALL the monkeys were euthanised and incinerated and the lab was STERILISED....using EXTREME methods.
So, YES, It freaks me out because this is a virus that seems to be able to, like so many other RNA viruses to MUTATE and the fact that there are PROVEN cases where there was transmitted through exhaled droplets, that while not truly airborne transmission, might as well be for the poor schmuck who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
If there was little to no chance of INHALING infected droplets, do you REALLY think that they would be observing such strict infection prevention using MASKS, GOGGLES, SUITS, TWO OF MORE PAIR OF GLOVES & SHOE COVERS, that are taped closed at the wrists and ankles AND then sprayed down with BLEACH? Though most Ebolaviruses aren't as infectious and transmissible as influenza, to say that there is NO chance of infection via sneezing and coughing. NOT true... PERIOD.
= new reply since forum marked as read
