Friday Firesmith – Ebola

Friday firesmithIt seems odd that people would take the medical advice of a man who has only seen a few seasons of House and who had never actually played doctor as a child. Medically speaking, unless you are looking for an easy malpractice suit, don’t listen to anyone on the internet who is handing out free advice because it isn’t worth nearly as much as you’re paying.

That said, I am here to offer you the One Word Of Truth, well, a few words of truth, on Ebola.

It is some seriously terrible shit and you do not want it here.

But here it is. It arrived in Texas via a man who had caught it in Liberia, one of the places on this earth that Ebola is killing people faster than they can be counted.

Ebola alertLet’s begin at the beginning. Ebola is named after the Ebola River, in the Congo, where there are a lot of trees, a bunch of humidity, and some very bad things that kill people in horrible ways. There are three or four strains of human Ebola that we know of, a couple that kill primates, and since this thing popped up in 1976 and started laying waste to small villages, we know just about as much as you’ve read here.

The truly vexing part about this, and if you’re not sitting down I recommend it, is that we have no idea, zero, zilch, de nada, as to where this thing hides out when it isn’t killing nearly every human being it enters.

Let me give you a reason to be afraid, if you’re still sitting there wondering why I am.

Most of the seasonal flu cases that pop up are known to have natural hosts; bird flu, swine flu, you know, that sort of thing. The flu viruses are harbored by these animals and because they are we know a lot about where they come from and we know what to do about it. Vaccines are mass produced for these diseases and overall the death rate from the flu is in the thousands. In 1919 the flu killed more people than World War I.

So here we have a disease no one know where it hides. We know that the virus that causes chickenpox can turn into the virus that causes Shingles and the virus can lay dormant for decades in the human body.

We have no idea if the people who survive Ebola might still have something inside of them that might pop out to infect again. We simply have no sure idea.

So what do we know? The Ebola virus attacks the cells in the body that kinda keep us glued together. A person will start have bloody diarrhea and then the lining of the colon will eventually slough out along with the waste. The victim will start coughing up pieces of their stomach lining and the lining of their throat. Blood pours from every orifice and the eyes. It takes somewhere between twenty-four and seventy-two hours to die of this disease once it reaches this stage.

Read the Book, “The Hot Zone” by Richard Preston.

By the way, the CDC is telling is everything is cool, just be cool, it’s okay. But they accidentally exposed their workers to Smallpox and one of their directors was arrested a few years ago for drug possession and bestiality.

You’re better off, ha ha ha, listening to me.

Take Care,

Mike

Mike writes regularly at his site:  The Hickory Head Hermit

Opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those of the management of this site.

 

38 thoughts on “Friday Firesmith – Ebola”

  1. Remember how Britain contained Mad Cow with strict quarantine and strict measures to disinfect everyone who had been anywhere rural? Remember how Toronto controlled SARS with strict measures?
    That’s the way to do it. Filling out a questionnaire while on the plane from Africa ain’t gonna do the job. Texas really dropped the ball, and the CDC is no better.

  2. Some decent info, but the shingles/Ebola reinfect thing was pulled from your tush without a shred of indication that this could be so. This Ebola thing is scary enough without making stuff up about it.

    • Fair enough, Danny, but at the same time we know a hell of a lot more about almost any disease than we do this one.

      I rather be very cautious out of ignorance and be wrong than not cautious enough and be wrong.

  3. when the Government tells us “everything is under control,theres no need to worry” thats when Im really scared and know the sh*t is about to hit the fan

  4. I figure Ebola will have a cure and a vaccine and will be virtually eradicated within less than 5 years. Yeah, its been around since 1976, but its been over in Africa, its been in an ‘uncivilized’ part of the world with poor sanitation and not as much common medical knowledge. There has been no reason for US drug companies to look into a cure. Why, because there is no money in Africa. BUT if it gets to the US, there is a ton of money in it now. I mean look at the 3 Americans that already have contracted it. It appears that they are cured. Is my take on it sad, yes, but I thought that someone needed to say it.

    • Blake,you may actually have a damn good point there.

      Never discount money when it comes to motivation. And I really don’t blame the guy for lying to get here. It was his only chance to stay alive. Now, if he winds up killing people then it’s another story.

  6. Aids taught us avoidance, that’s why everyone wears a condom now, amiright?

    Like zombies, only real. More guns will fix it.

      • My wife and I loaded up today on lock-down supplies. Lots of canned goods. We own two freezers, so lots of frozen veggies and meat. Going to Cabela’s tomorrow for ammo, and going to hit Amazon tonight for masks and gloves. And we’re going to buy more Clorox.

        The author of the book, which was put together on the fly but has lots of useful information, suggested any confirmed case within 100 miles of his residence would trigger a lockdown, and he advised planning for six weeks of isolation.

  7. The flu vaccine is a bit trickier: it takes a year to get the flu vaccine made–that means that last year they had to determine which flu viruses would be “popular” this season. While they are not 100% accurate, I am willing to have a flu shot to lessen my chances of getting it.

    For the record: I had chicken pox when I was about 6 and had shingles when I was about 13. I really I hope I never get shingles again.

    And Danny S: It seems to be a foregone conclusion in the medical field that the shingles virus is related to the chicken pox virus–and if you had the latter you are fairly likely to get the former.

      • I had it last year. Painful enough that I had to go to the Doc-In-A-Box at 10:00 at night. The treatment was a high dose of Valtrax and some sort of mega-Benadryl for the itching. Went away in a few days. Might be an urban legend, but I read somewhere that shingles will never cross the plane of your spinal column; your initial outbreak, and any subsequent outbreaks, will also be on either the right or left side of your body. Dunno about that, as I haven’t had a relapse.

        It wasn’t excruciating, but it burned, and made it hard to concentrate on reading or anything else.

  8. With the subject line saying Ebola Update, I received this email today from my local county commissioner:
    “I want to provide an update on Palm Beach County’s preparations concerning the Ebola virus. The County Health Department has been preparing since early August, as soon as they received the initial alert. County health officials have met with area hospitals, airports, the Port of Palm Beach, Border Patrol, the Sheriff’s Office, and many other agencies. The County operates Palm Beach International Airport, which is developing an Ebola Virus Disease Airport Response Plan. There are no direct flights to Africa from the airport, although obviously travelers can make a connection through PBIA. Health officials emphasize there is no cause for panic, but it is prudent to be prepared, and I wanted everyone to know we are on top of it.

    Commissioner Steven L. Abrams”

    So I guess that means we’re OK in my neck of the woods.

    Although I’m not sure why he’s talking about flights TO Africa, unless he’s planning to send affected people there.

  9. I wouldn’t be too concerned about it. The fear and panic is being driven by the media. While you have no faith in governments that have already proven to reduce risks to their general population, I have absolutely no faith in the larger media outlets who essentially live on the “if it bleeds, it leads” mantra.

    Of course, there is the CDC, which has been slightly handcuffed to respond properly, due to cuts in its budget because of the sequester. So, to certain degree, your concern about not trusting the government, has some merit. You might be able to thank your local congressman for that.

    • I don’t trust my local congressman, CAI. As far as the fear factor goes, I’m nearly certain this is something to be afraid of simply because there isn’t a way to keep it out. If we can’t keep it out then it will spread. If it spreads it will be here forever.

      • I didn’t say anything about trusting your local congressman, just thanking them for not looking out for their constituents.

        And if you’re afraid there isn’t a way to keep it out, you can thank the Texas legislature for that. Since they opted out of the additional Medicare money, it left a few million people unable to get health insurance and we all know if you can’t afford health care, one tends to wait until an illness is full blown and beyond help to seek medical attention. Lord knows how many can get infected by that time. If you consider the states that opted out, there’s a chance they can have an outbreak. Then of course, if a corporation can make money off of it, you can bet that will be the deciding factor of keeping it around for a while. After all, cures don’t create perpetual profits.

    • C.A.I., I’m greatly concerned, and I don’t rely on the MSM for the bulk of my information. I’m concerned because so many of my back-channel information sources are concerned, and in some cases, more terrified than concerned. The MSM will be handy for tracking the progression of Ebola in the US, and that’s it. For anything else I’ll stick with the back corners of the Internet, which have served me well in the past.

    • You know, Ron, that has to be one hell of a feeling. You were on the same flight. You might have, possibly, used the bathroom right after he went. Did you wash your hands? Did you touch your face? Did you…? For about three weeks every time you sneezed there would be this little fear that grew.

Comments are closed.