Ebola outbreak in Thailand 'very unlikely'

[arjunadawn]

I remain concerned. In medicine it is always correct to avoid looking for zebras when everyone's riding horses. However, with pestilence (as cited in motion picture "Contagion") Mother Nature is a "serial killer." With serial killers look for Zebras!

The practical screening of visitors from those west African countries cited are not likely the location an infected traveller will arrive from. It's amazing how much imagination is lacking. There are desperate people clamoring to exit certain infected countries. It's highly unlikely they could exit the tightly controlled exit points with ease, especially if infected; they would go to a neighboring country and remain there, or of connections or history in Thailand, fly here. It is not reasonable to presume the thoughts of all people, when they accept or consider if they are infected, is to avoid their fellow man to limit other infections. Altruism dies in panic-self preservation. They will conceal and desperately seek to evade death- Appointment in Samara-type evasion.

Which brings me to my concern. I live in an area which is incredibly rich in African people. I'd never seen this before in Thailand. I've stopped and spoken with a number and many said their home is Nigeria, Cameroon, etc! These are not 'tourist' types so there's some anchoring. There's thousands here from West Africa; I've heard others suggest there are few African folks here. Wrong! Ladprao/Rhamkhaemkaeng area has many folks from these countries.

If I were boss man I'd consider health screeners being pushed forward on Thai Flights; (not practical? Definitely to DXB) or refuse direct flights from infected countries. Give some depth between Thailand and the threat. Make people transfer in another country first. The body's mechanical. Look for horses in body diagnosis. Pestilence is insidious. Disease always sneaks in as a Zebra.

Edited August 7, 2014 by arjunadawn

[catweazle]

Well, since a local health official gave this statement, I am fully at ease now...

Edited August 7, 2014 by catweazle

[AGareth2]

_{possible reports of a death in Saudi!}

[Thai at Heart]

They can't control Dengue, Malaria or Hand, foot and mouth disease. How on earth are these people thinking they can monitor and control the Ebola virus if it did come knocking on their door? All it needs is one male, lets say staying in the Nana district to have unprotected sex with a sex worker................well hello to a the end of days.

Ebola spreads in very similar ways to HIV. However, Ebola patients are only contagious when they show symptoms like fever,vomiting and diarrhea. Not sure any of these qualities are what John or Working girls are looking for in a partner. However Ebola appears to be stronger in terms of transmission, at least by what they tell us. While HIV is not really believed to be spread through things like sweat and saliva, they say Ebola can be.

Most of the people who are at risk of getting Ebola from somebody else are caregivers (family, doctor, nurse ...).

I posted a link yesterday that at its height the virus is even detectable in skin swabs, tears and saliva.

So, it is infinitely more infectious than HIV. The theory is that people have to be incredibly sick with the virus to really pose a threat. That is the theory that is being put to the test.

Let's hope it doesn't get out and into a group of people who just went through an airport.

I believe you will find that HIV can also be detected in these body fluids but not in sufficient amounts to be transmitted. I am not even sure they know if Ebola is or has ever been transmitted through things like tears or saliva. And it certainly IS NOT infinitely more infectious than HIV. Simply logic of number of HIV related cases and/or deaths compared to Ebola should tell you this. You not only need direct body fluid contact with an Ebola patient but the Ebola patient is only contagious for a short time while they have symptoms that generally prevent or discourage people from mixing with the public.

Ebola patients die in weeks, that is the bonus (if you can call it that).

Just handling an infected person can cause infection, which would obviously show that the risk of infection is much higher than an HIV patient. They would be bleeding from orificies at the end. Even a corpse is apprently still infectious because incredibly the virus survives the death of the patient.

[Jonmarleesco]

The Department of Disease Control (DDC) claims to '... have implemented many measures to control and prevent the disease."'

A great pity they don't extend such measures to checking the washrooms in the numerous malls, other public buildings, and even schools, that fail to maintain even the most basic hygiene requirements. No tissue, no soap dispensers, never mind soap, no paper towels or dispensers, no working dryers, and all too often, no running water. Impressively, the malls include at least one which boasts medical businesses as its core tenants.

[Rumblecat]

Yeah, that's very good point.

[belg]

no more visa for people either living there or having travelled there ... case solved...

so what does thailand do to prevent ?

[nottocus]

_{possible reports of a death in Saudi!}

Cool….it's gonna combine with MERS and become MERBOLA.

[JohnThailandJohn]

Just handling an infected person can cause infection, which would obviously show that the risk of infection is much higher than an HIV patient. They would be bleeding from orificies at the end. Even a corpse is apprently still infectious because incredibly the virus survives the death of the patient.

There has been less than 3,000 people who have contracted Ebola and around 2000 who have died since it was identified in the 70's (before HIV was identified).

Today there are about 35 Million People living with HIV and another 35 Million have died as a result of HIV since 1980 (near 2 Million died in 2012 alone).

[Thai at Heart]

Just handling an infected person can cause infection, which would obviously show that the risk of infection is much higher than an HIV patient. They would be bleeding from orificies at the end. Even a corpse is apprently still infectious because incredibly the virus survives the death of the patient.

There has been less than 3,000 people who have contracted Ebola and around 2000 who have died since it was identified in the 70's (before HIV was identified).

Today there are about 35 Million People living with HIV and another 35 Million have died as a result of HIV since 1980 (near 2 Million died in 2012 alone).

Yeah. Its great. All you have to do, is lock the people up and they die in a couple of weeks or survive and thats it. Bear in mind it has never really ever got out of Africa, and into a highly mobile population until.....

http://news.yahoo.com/spain-priest-ebola-stable-madrid-hospital-115317891.html

Spain priest with Ebola stable in Madrid hospital

The priest, Miguel Pajares, 75, was helping to treat people infected with Ebola and was one of three who tested positive at the San Jose de Monrovia Hospital in Liberia earlier this week. He was flown to Spain on Thursday.

Juliana Bohi, an Equatorial Guinean nun with Spanish nationality who worked with him in Liberia, was also brought back but she is not infected. Both worked for the San Juan de Dios hospital order, a Catholic humanitarian group that runs hospitals around the world.

Both Pajares and Bohi were being kept in isolation at the Carlos III center in Madrid, which is run by La Paz hospital.

They arrived at a military air base near Madrid and were strapped to stretchers enclosed by transparent capsule-like tents that were pushed by personnel in protective white suits wearing masks. A convoy of ambulances took them to the hospital with a police escort.

[Basil B]

A public health official has assured the Thai public that an outbreak of Ebola virus in Thailand is extremely unlikely.

I do hope it is not going to be "famous last words"

[JohnThailandJohn]

Just handling an infected person can cause infection, which would obviously show that the risk of infection is much higher than an HIV patient. They would be bleeding from orificies at the end. Even a corpse is apprently still infectious because incredibly the virus survives the death of the patient.

There has been less than 3,000 people who have contracted Ebola and around 2000 who have died since it was identified in the 70's (before HIV was identified).

Today there are about 35 Million People living with HIV and another 35 Million have died as a result of HIV since 1980 (near 2 Million died in 2012 alone).

Yeah. Its great. All you have to do, is lock the people up and they die in a couple of weeks or survive and thats it. Bear in mind it has never really ever got out of Africa, and into a highly mobile population until.....

http://news.yahoo.com/spain-priest-ebola-stable-madrid-hospital-115317891.html

Spain priest with Ebola stable in Madrid hospital

The priest, Miguel Pajares, 75, was helping to treat people infected with Ebola and was one of three who tested positive at the San Jose de Monrovia Hospital in Liberia earlier this week. He was flown to Spain on Thursday.

Juliana Bohi, an Equatorial Guinean nun with Spanish nationality who worked with him in Liberia, was also brought back but she is not infected. Both worked for the San Juan de Dios hospital order, a Catholic humanitarian group that runs hospitals around the world.

Both Pajares and Bohi were being kept in isolation at the Carlos III center in Madrid, which is run by La Paz hospital.

They arrived at a military air base near Madrid and were strapped to stretchers enclosed by transparent capsule-like tents that were pushed by personnel in protective white suits wearing masks. A convoy of ambulances took them to the hospital with a police escort.

First of all, numerous people with Ebola have been flown to first world countries to be treated. Around 2000 people have died of Ebola in the last 40 years and if an outbreak ever did occur in a modern country it would be dealt with much faster due to it being identified much faster and the media alerting people and the fact people go to the hospital when sick... especially when there is a fear of dying. This is not an airborne disease and not even like HIV where you can't tell somebody is contagious. People in first world countries generally also do not clean their dead and prepare them for burial at home.

If it spread to a first world nation, how many people do you think would die, 100, 1,000, 5,000? The Flu kills about 35,000 people a year in the US alone and Ebola is SIGNIFICANTLY more hard to get. This is the worst incident of Ebola in history and 900 people have died in West Africa which is very poor, has less access to healthcare or knowledge of dealing with and preventing the spread of Ebola. This is why first world nations are sending so many professionals to help. If the unlikely event that an outbreak did occur in a first world nation, professionals would already be there and would identify the threat almost immediately and would be running for cover from anybody who even sniffled. Just look how paranoid you are when you are not even at risk.

This incident is the 7th outbreak in Africa where more than 100 people died.

Edited August 8, 2014 by JohnThailandJohn

[Thai at Heart]

First of all, numerous people with Ebola have been flown to first world countries to be treated. Around 2000 people have died of Ebola in the last 40 years and if an outbreak ever did occur in a modern country it would be dealt with much faster due to it being identified much faster and the media alerting people and the fact people go to the hospital when sick... especially when there is a fear of dying. This is not an airborne disease and not even like HIV where you can't tell somebody is contagious. People in first world countries generally also do not clean their dead and prepare them for burial at home.

If it spread to a first world nation, how many people do you think would die, 100, 1,000, 5,000? The Flu kills about 35,000 people a year in the US alone and Ebola is SIGNIFICANTLY more hard to get. This is the worst incident of Ebola in history and 900 people have died in West Africa which is very poor, has less access to healthcare or knowledge of dealing with and preventing the spread of Ebola. This is why first world nations are sending so many professionals to help. If the unlikely event that an outbreak did occur in a first world nation, professionals would already be there and would identify the threat almost immediately and would be running for cover from anybody who even sniffled. Just look how paranoid you are when you are not even at risk.

This incident is the 7th outbreak in Africa where more than 100 people died.

With a mortality rate for Ebola running right now at 55%, its hardly comparable to flu. I can't find any stats for mortality expressed for flu in this manner, but if 35,000 die, how many people caught it?

In which case, 35,000 might be quite easily achievable. Beyond that, of course, the havoc it would cause due to having to quarantine people because the nature of modern living in the west means people are mobile by a factor of 10 beyond that in Africa, it certainly pays to be extremely wary of this.

[Thai at Heart]

http://news.yahoo.com/ebolas-spread-us-inevitable-says-cdc-chief-205903838.html

Ebola's spread to US is 'inevitable' says CDC chief

[bkkjames]

http://news.yahoo.com/ebolas-spread-us-inevitable-says-cdc-chief-205903838.html

Ebola's spread to US is 'inevitable' says CDC chief

yes it was a couple weeks ago the same people were saying very low chance of it reaching there. Saudi yesterday, Delhi today...

I don't believe the infected / fatality numbers coming out of Africa either.

[JohnThailandJohn]

First of all, numerous people with Ebola have been flown to first world countries to be treated. Around 2000 people have died of Ebola in the last 40 years and if an outbreak ever did occur in a modern country it would be dealt with much faster due to it being identified much faster and the media alerting people and the fact people go to the hospital when sick... especially when there is a fear of dying. This is not an airborne disease and not even like HIV where you can't tell somebody is contagious. People in first world countries generally also do not clean their dead and prepare them for burial at home.

If it spread to a first world nation, how many people do you think would die, 100, 1,000, 5,000? The Flu kills about 35,000 people a year in the US alone and Ebola is SIGNIFICANTLY more hard to get. This is the worst incident of Ebola in history and 900 people have died in West Africa which is very poor, has less access to healthcare or knowledge of dealing with and preventing the spread of Ebola. This is why first world nations are sending so many professionals to help. If the unlikely event that an outbreak did occur in a first world nation, professionals would already be there and would identify the threat almost immediately and would be running for cover from anybody who even sniffled. Just look how paranoid you are when you are not even at risk.

This incident is the 7th outbreak in Africa where more than 100 people died.

With a mortality rate for Ebola running right now at 55%, its hardly comparable to flu. I can't find any stats for mortality expressed for flu in this manner, but if 35,000 die, how many people caught it?

In which case, 35,000 might be quite easily achievable. Beyond that, of course, the havoc it would cause due to having to quarantine people because the nature of modern living in the west means people are mobile by a factor of 10 beyond that in Africa, it certainly pays to be extremely wary of this.

I thought we were talking about how infectious it was and the risk it posed to the world (Thailand). For sure the mortality rate is higher but certainly doesn't come close to that of HIV nor do the number of infected come close. Point being is that fearing getting Ebola is not really logical unless the 1,000s of other illnesses you are considerably much more likely to die from have you so scared you don't leave your house unless in a protective suit, do weekly full body MRI scan, have a physician who travels with you as well as mobile lab to test your food and wear tinfoil on your head. If these things are true then I can see you (somebody) fearing catching Ebola outside Africa.

[Thai at Heart]

First of all, numerous people with Ebola have been flown to first world countries to be treated. Around 2000 people have died of Ebola in the last 40 years and if an outbreak ever did occur in a modern country it would be dealt with much faster due to it being identified much faster and the media alerting people and the fact people go to the hospital when sick... especially when there is a fear of dying. This is not an airborne disease and not even like HIV where you can't tell somebody is contagious. People in first world countries generally also do not clean their dead and prepare them for burial at home.

If it spread to a first world nation, how many people do you think would die, 100, 1,000, 5,000? The Flu kills about 35,000 people a year in the US alone and Ebola is SIGNIFICANTLY more hard to get. This is the worst incident of Ebola in history and 900 people have died in West Africa which is very poor, has less access to healthcare or knowledge of dealing with and preventing the spread of Ebola. This is why first world nations are sending so many professionals to help. If the unlikely event that an outbreak did occur in a first world nation, professionals would already be there and would identify the threat almost immediately and would be running for cover from anybody who even sniffled. Just look how paranoid you are when you are not even at risk.

This incident is the 7th outbreak in Africa where more than 100 people died.

With a mortality rate for Ebola running right now at 55%, its hardly comparable to flu. I can't find any stats for mortality expressed for flu in this manner, but if 35,000 die, how many people caught it?

In which case, 35,000 might be quite easily achievable. Beyond that, of course, the havoc it would cause due to having to quarantine people because the nature of modern living in the west means people are mobile by a factor of 10 beyond that in Africa, it certainly pays to be extremely wary of this.

I thought we were talking about how infectious it was and the risk it posed to the world (Thailand). For sure the mortality rate is higher but certainly doesn't come close to that of HIV nor do the number of infected come close. Point being is that fearing getting Ebola is not really logical unless the 1,000s of other illnesses you are considerably much more likely to die from have you so scared you don't leave your house unless in a protective suit, do weekly full body MRI scan, have a physician who travels with you as well as mobile lab to test your food and wear tinfoil on your head. If these things are true then I can see you (somebody) fearing catching Ebola outside Africa.

Well by definition HIV isn't present in sweat, saliva, tears and skin swabs to a level that is infectious.

Thus in an uncontrolled environment, Ebola is infinitely more infectious. A person does not become sick from HIV, they become sick from another infection that their immune system cannot handle.

One cannot catch HIV from handling an infected person. Just look at the protective measure require for an Ebola patient. Sitting in proximity to an HIV patient poses zero risk. Ebola is far more dangerous than that.

[Arkady]

I remember similar assurances that SARS, Bird Flu and AIDS were not a threat to Thailand. Chuan Leekpai was sacked as Health Minister in the 80s for initiating Thailand's first HIV awareness campaign which was viewed as damaging to tourism. AIDS was said to be purely a foreign affair.

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

[bkkjames]

NCPO chief orders close monitoring and preparations for Ebola epidemic

BANGKOK, 8 August 2014 (NNT) – Prayuth Chan-ocha, Chief of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has ordered the Ministry of Public Health and relevant institutions to monitor visitor health closely and prepare for a possible Ebola epidemic.

The Ministry of Transport has been ordered to maintain a strict inspection of all passengers arriving in Thailand.

Moreover, Prayuth also instructed the institutions involved to draw up construction plans for waste disposal plants in both local and central areas.

[needforspeed]

Health check been done by some airlines before boarding flight from Nigeria to Europe.

(KLM/Air France)

[ParadiseLost]

An opportunity for some to draw attention to themselves and justify big budgets, no doubt...

Personally I am more afraid of Dengue. And Parrot Fish. And my wife.

[kannot]

ebola is that like tombola?

[monk213]

So the first case of Ebola escaping the borders of Africa, now things are getting a little more serious

http://www.cnbc.com/id/102037055

[ldiablo]

Its ok if ebola comes into Thailand because they have the cure.hahaha so why the assurance to the public.

[monk213]

Its ok if ebola comes into Thailand because they have the cure.hahaha so why the assurance to the public.

Yea I read that haha, 'we have the cure for Ebola' - this country is more than just a joke sometimes

[MiclB]

As a couple (US/Thai-US) couple with tickets from Texas to winter in HH/ChaAm area early Dec we are getting very concerned about the Ebola threat.

The govt here seems to be lying/withholding info or is too incompetent to act. All kinds of issues: is Thai still clear of this stuff/if we get there and SHTF will we get stuck/what about refunds for air tickets if we don't go/?????

Any updates pls.