Link to story on CNN

I'm not going to pretend that I'm not put on edge by this.

Don't sneeze on anyone.

I'm not that worried. The media makes it out to look like it's this huge thing but in reality we have way better access to the isolation and cleaning methods needed to contain the spread of Ebola.

It feels like Swine Flu all over again. Just make sure you don't make a blood pact with anyone any time soon.

- We have a possible Ebola patient here in Hawaii. This place is a potential breeding ground for an epidemic as people can't or won't cover their mouths or wash their hands.

Yeah, I remember swine flu cases popping up all over the place in poverty-stricken areas in the US and Canada a few years back. I mean, it's how it's spread so much in Africa too. It's said how hard it is to disseminate truthful information about deadly diseases.

I want to say that I'm not freaking out at all over this, but the truth it that it does scare me. I'm really into apocalypse books/movies, especially things that are zombie-themed. Note that I am not trying to make light of the situation by any means, but ebola is one of the diseases that could be turned into a zombie-like epidemic. Even if that didn't happen, even if it stayed just as the disease is now, it could turn into an endgame epidemic and that alone scares me.

I definitely do NOT recommend reading The Hot Zone by Richard Preston like many science classes are requiring in high school, haha. There's nothing quite like his detailed description of someone dying or suffering from the virus to put visceral fear in your mind..

That being said, I live in Houston and work in retail near one of our main airports and I constantly have scenarios running through my head where infected flight attendants from Dallas sneeze on me as they hand me their cash,..

The same thing happened a couple of days ago in a Hospital in Madrid: See news here

And now the patient is dead. His family is blaming the Dallas hospital for letting him die and saying they're racist. The guy also lied to Liberian customs, meaning he knew he was infected, and still flew to one of America's top ten most populated cities.

Yeah. Nothing nice I can say about that so I'll hold back my own comments.

Okay, coming back in light of recent events, let me put a couple things very simply:

• Ebola struggles to maintain life outside a host. It's a very fragile virus.
• The only real ways you can contract it is through touching blood, vomit and ingesting meat from an infected animal. Ew.
• Animals can carry the virus but sometimes don't display symptoms. The virus also cannot be easily transmitted from a human to an animal and vice versa. (There was a European country that euthanized a dog because the owner showed symptoms; the owner's fine, btw, but the dog's dead. Explain that one to any animal lover.)
• Basic hygiene goes a long way for preventing ebola's spread.
• It's spreading so bad in Africa because the hospitals there are downright abysmal and dangerous not to mention the people are scared of doctors and people who come in dressed in hazmat suits. Among other things.

Ebola can also be spread via droplets. Why else would they make people put on SO MANY layers and respirator if it was just via touching blood or vomit? I don't mean to cause panic, but it's definitely airborne.

You know what's sad? People not really giving a shit until it's in their own backyard. This could have been controlled already, but nope, no one cares. And if a foreigner contracts Ebola, they go back to their homeland country. Like it's always been, the message sent is we don't care about you, Africa. :c

I'm also so sad to hear about the dog in Spain being euthanized. Bastards. u___u

Just wanted to point out that the owner of the dog is actually sick and in critic condition due to the virus. The one who's fine is her husband, who hasn't show any symptoms so far but is under supervision in the hospital.

As for the dog, I'm sad about it and worried that they'll do the same with other pets if similar cases appear, and what the owners might do to keep them "safe". And considering all the errors that have happened since the nurse caught the virus (and prior to that too), I wouldn't be surprised if more sick people showed up in the following days >.<

Then that's very different from the report I heard last night. My mistake.

The only thing I would count on would be the sheer amount of panic the world's going to be thrown into over a simple fever. Some people get spikes in their temperatures and never wind up ill.

Well, she was stable and the fever even disappeared for a few hours yesterday, I think, but at night she got worse and this afternoon she went in critic condition. So if you did read that yesterday, then you were quite right (plus there's also the husband, so you might have mixed both cases as both were the owners of the dog).

And yes, there's already some panic here, with false alarms every now and then, and it's even worse when you hear all the mistakes in protocols and lack of means the sanitary workers have to face. I cross my fingers wishing that it won't get much worse and that it'll end soon everywhere, but... uh. >.<

Until then, all we can do is pray or whatever religious practice applies.

As a germaphobe, it freaks me out. I've been following it since the big outbreak in Africa (before the US case) and it makes me sad to see so many people dying because they don't have the structure nor the specific hygiene to control the virus. It makes me sad because I wish it would just stop and leave everyone alone. I was always afraid of touching things and coming close to sick people. Now that Ebola is out of control, I just try to avoid everything and keep some strict hygiene lifestyle. I'm also going to stock up on some masks, gloves and protective glasses.

The level of disconnection with reality here is kind of scary.

JFC, people, haven't any of you learned anything from any of the last few "ZOMFG KILLAR DISEESE!!!!111!!11ONE!11!ELEVEN!" scares?

It's 99.99% media hype designed to drive up ratings and profits. Facts barely factor into it.

It's easier to get AIDS than it is to get ebola. Hell, you're more likely to get AIDS, be shot by a police officer, and be mauled by a rottweiler before you're liable to get ebola.

READ, be enlightened, and stop acting like the bloody world is about to end. Because it's not.

No, it really isn't.

Medical professionals in Africa have to wear so many layers because the outbreak has become so advanced that contact with blood, vomit, diarrhea, etc. containing infectious doses of the virus is highly likely, and the disease can be contracted via contact with cuts or open sores on the skin. They may also be dealing with frightened and struggling victims, which increases the likelihood of physical contact resulting in infection (if, say, the person hit them hard enough to split their lip, and the victim's blood came into contact with the wound.)

On top of that, they are taking absolutely no risks. The situation in Africa is bad, and they're trying to help contain it while minimizing risk to themselves as much as possible.

It's got nothing to do with fear of airborne contagion. To-wit:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/10/06/how-ebola-spreads/16802063/

Transmission via saliva droplets is entirely "theoretical," and has never been observed in four decades of monitoring this disease.

I'm not here to argue transmission methods, but yes, droplets in the air can enter broken skin, mucous membranes, and the eyes. There's a lot scientists still don't know about Ebola. They don't have a cure. Hell, they even put down a DOG that had absolutely no symptoms of it when they have no clue if dogs can get it in the first place. The nurse from Spain supposedly touched her face. All it takes is someone to rub their eyes. It's not airborne in the traditional sense, but yes, a sneeze has a viral load. So pretending it's only via blood and vomit when it's found in other body fluids like sweat and semen is misleading. I wonder if people will really have protective sex for up to three months after they've had Ebola to prevent others from getting it. That's going to work really well.

My country voluntarily takes in Ebola patients to cure them. So far I'm not worried though, there are so many things that can kill you, if I would panic over everything I'd die of a heart attack before midnight. We'll see what happens.

FATU KEKLUA, 24, SAVES FAMILY FROM EBOLA.

They were turned away from the hospital, so what did she do? She made her own protective gear out of pants, a jacket, rubber gloves, a simple face mask, and garbage bags. She cared for four family members, and saved three, while avoiding infection herself with this incredibly simple setup.

GARBAGE BAGS, people.

It's literally that easy. And if it's that easy for someone with almost no money and only jerry-rigged protective gear, imagine how simple it would be for an incredibly wealthy country with cutting-edge medicine and isolation units and procedures.

So everyone can stop wringing their hands and crying about how ebola is going to kill all the white people and get back to living their bloody lives already.