Spain and Ebola: Discuss

[SV THIRD DAY]

Originally Posted by robert sailor

Couldn't agree more, Iraq for example!

Lets throw in Afghanistan, Syria and Chicago.

[waggy]

Can we send Ebola to the middle east?

It's a (bad) joke people.

[crazyoldboatguy]

=== In my experience Cubans are a pretty happy lot ===

I seem to remember a class of folks being described this way in my history books.

Humans are quite an adaptable species. They seem to be able to find some measure of joy even when enslaved. That doesn't mean they would prefer to live like that. It also doesn't mean that activities they engage in are done freely.

I can't opine about the motives of individual Cubans related to going to Africa to help. Many Cubans ended up fighting in Angola once upon a time. Many folks in Cuba descended from Africans. But to generalize about any group is unwise.

[crazyoldboatguy]

Originally Posted by robert sailor

Couldn't agree more, Iraq for example!

My, my, how quickly we forget.

[sneuman]

Originally Posted by dannc

The problem with comparing Ebola with SARs, Swine Flu, or other historical outbreaks, is that Ebola *** IS *** different. With the exception of the plague, none of these other illnesses has/had a 50-90% fatality rate. Some of the predicted flu pandemics like Swine Flu just did not happen and/or did not have the expected fatality rates. Thank goodness. Ebola *** IS *** happening, it is spreading, and it is very deadly.

The US government is not even trying to prevent the spread of Ebola to the US.

My family DID catch Swine Flu and it was an a...ss whipping. Thankfully it only lasted about 12-24 hours but it was the second worst illness I have ever had. We caught it on a vacation to Disney World but we did not know what it was until we got back home. As it was, we had to spend a few days in our hotel room dealing with the illness. The Swine Flu had a very distinct cough. We all had the cough and you could hear it all through the Disney parks. You had the cough AFTER the fever so you were no longer contagious but you had to wonder how many people were walking around spreading the illness. It was very eerie hearing those coughs over the Disney background noise...

Later,
Dan

Actually, the mortality for Ebola outside of West Africa has been quite low. A doctor at Emory said the other day that treatment is about "fluid, electrolyte management." In other words, it's pretty much the same drill as for other common viral infections.

[crazyoldboatguy]

What does that say about how folks are being treated in Africa? Not maligning - really curious. I think using the blood serum from previously infected folks has had a big impact but haven't read all that much about it.

A worry that some folks have pointed out is that altho our medical system is quite advanced, a huge influx of highly infectious people would overwhelm ANY medical care system. All the more reason to be careful at the outset so as to prevent a collapse. While that seems easy to say, in this day and age, folks have little memory of a time when that kind of outbreak could occur. During the influenza epidemic that broke out near the end of WW1, hospitals were just overwhelmed by the cases and couldn't provide the support that, had it been available, likely would have spared many thousands of lives. There were just too many people who were sick all at once.

[K_V_B]

Originally Posted by waggy

Cuba is not a free state. No amount of lipstick (socialist cowtow narative) will change it from a pig.

Almost everybody who has the opportunity to choose between "Cuba" and "somewhere else" choses "somewhere else".
Even Castro goes to Spain if he needs to see a doctor.

That's basically all you need to know about Cuba...

[K_V_B]

Originally Posted by crazyoldboatguy

A worry that some folks have pointed out is that altho our medical system is quite advanced, a huge influx of highly infectious people would overwhelm ANY medical care system.

It hasn't so far overwhelmed the medical care system in Nigeria. On the contrary. So I'd guess it wouldn't that easily overwhelm ours.

[Delancey]

Originally Posted by sneuman

Actually, the mortality for Ebola outside of West Africa has been quite low. A doctor at Emory said the other day that treatment is about "fluid, electrolyte management." In other words, it's pretty much the same drill as for other common viral infections.

Yes quite similar to treating other infections +50% mortality rate. Except the part WHERE YOUR NIPPLES BLEED.

[s/v Beth]

Ebola is not like most viral infections. That it is a retrovirus that attacks the RNA makes it much more dangerous. I am encouraged though. Only one death out of 4? here. CDC is doing alot right.

[crazyoldboatguy]

Originally Posted by K_V_B

It hasn't so far overwhelmed the medical care system in Nigeria. On the contrary. So I'd guess it wouldn't that easily overwhelm ours.

Yes, Nigeria, land of the free. They used strategies that would simply not be tolerated in this country. Any attempt to restrict the movement of a person exposed to the virus in this country is met with hand wringing and lawsuits. That simply isn't tolerated in Nigeria. You are comparing apples to golf balls.

[crazyoldboatguy]

Originally Posted by s/v Beth

Ebola is not like most viral infections. That it is a retrovirus that attacks the RNA makes it much more dangerous. I am encouraged though. Only one death out of 4? here. CDC is doing alot right.

WAY too small a sample to determine efficacy.

[DeepFrz]

Almost everybody who has the opportunity to choose between "Cuba" and "somewhere else" choses "somewhere else".
Even Castro goes to Spain if he needs to see a doctor.

That's basically all you need to know about Cuba...

Total crap. Cuba has a very respected medical system and they have done a great deal to train doctors and other medical professions in the third world. When I sailed to Cuba I met a number of americans there who could not afford treatment in the US.

It is rated only slightly lower than the US medical system which is 37th in the world.

You are correct though in that Spain is rated number 7 in the world, far above the US or Cuba.

[crazyoldboatguy]

The problems with rating the health systems of any particular country are the standards that are applied. Take infant mortality for instance. When compared to other countries, the infant mortality rate of the US seems rather abysmal given what one would expect. However, the Europeans, as in other countries, define infant death in a way very different than in the US. It skews the stats to the point of meaninglessness.

Much of the technological advances in medicine are developed in this country. Much of the new pharmaceutical advances occur in the US.

I am skeptical of comparisons that place the health system of Cuba on par with that of the US. Their lack of hard currency, low per capita income and loss of their patron in 89 makes it difficult to accept the idea. But I suspect all those boat people leaving the US to make their way to Cuba can't be all wrong.

[DeepFrz]

I know. It must be hard to accept. I also understand that its rating is falling because of the "embargo" placed on the country. But it is supplying more medical personnel to fight Ebola than ANY other country. Does say something about it.