Science a GoGo's Home Page Forums General Discussion General Science Discussion Forum First Ebola Case in the U.S.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2014/09/30/cdc-confirms-first-case-ebola-diagnosed-us



4-5 days !

Amaranth , I'm still wondering if Ebola can hide in the nasal
cavity inside / surrounded by mucus unnoticeable and
without infecting the host until it comes in contact
with the host.

I don't think you'd find it in the nasal mucus any more than in other bodily fluids. The reason for the 4-5 day incubation period is that it takes time to build up numbers sufficient to cause the symptoms. At that time I would expect to find the virus in all bodily fluids, including the nasal mucosa. It being a hemorrhagic fever, there would be all kinds of leakage of blood through the tissues, including the nose and sinuses. I think the African nations are going to have to take some drastic measures to stop this epidemic. I don't think Ebola is one of those diseases that can be "carried" by a healthy person. It is highly virulent, which means that it takes very few of them to produce the illness. I don't think Ebola can "hide" in the nasal cavity, or if it does, not for very long. But that's just my best guess.

Based on the latest news reports Ebola is passed by personal contact. That is you can't get it through the air. So just walking into a room with somebody who has it won't give it to you. (I don't suggest you try that if you know the person has Ebola.) And riding on the New York subway with a victim could be a problem. Also it is not contagious until there are symptoms. So a person who has just been infected but is non-symptomatic will have a very low probability of transmitting it. There was an interview with somebody from the local health department and they are reviewing all their procedures with all the local hospitals to make sure they all know how to handle any cases that show up.

I very seriously doubt that Ebola will become a major crisis here in the USA, or in any of the developed countries. One of the main reasons it has gotten so bad in Africa is that they are countries with rather fragile health systems to start with. They just didn't have the systems in place to handle it. Since we are already aware of the problem it shouldn't be a huge problem to handle it. A significant effort will be required, but it isn't too big for our health system.

Of course some people are already trying to panic. On the news the other night when they reported the Ebola case in Dallas they said it was only a 4 hour drive from Tulsa. That makes it sound as if it is a big problem.

Bill Gill