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The Ebola/Zika/Other [Infectious Diseases] Thread

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Posts

  • CogCog What'd you expect? Registered User regular
    edited June 2015
    Just double postin', nothing to see here.

    Cog on
  • Santa ClaustrophobiaSanta Claustrophobia Ho Ho Ho Disconnecting from Xbox LIVERegistered User regular
    The potential consequence of the culture war on Planned Parenthood. HIV comes out of retirement.
    But the 150-and-counting active HIV cases there constitute a shocking epidemic inflicted on people who have little else but their addictions. One quarter of residents live below the poverty line. Another quarter is close to the precipice.

    But Austin was not as helpless four years ago. That's when the state Legislature declared culture war on Planned Parenthood and made Austin a casualty of that combat.

    Conservative political forces in Indiana were driven by religious fervor to gut all public funding from Planned Parenthood. They led the nation in demonizing the organization because 3 percent of its services involved reproductive services — abortion.

    To sterilize that contagion, the remaining 97 percent of Planned Parenthood services would be expunged as necessary collateral damage. Private interest became public mandate.

    The people of Austin bore that burden for Indiana's War on Planned Parenthood.

    In 2011, Planned Parenthood ran five rural clinics in Indiana. They tested for HIV and offered prevention, intervention and counseling for better health. The one in Scott County performed no abortions.

    Mothers-to-be in Scott County must drive 50 miles to visit a gynecologist or an obstetrician. That's not an isolated insight. Of Indiana's 92 counties, Scott County has ranked 92nd in unhealthiness for five straight years.

    [...]

    Scott County has been without an HIV testing center for two years. That's how long it took the epidemic to flourish.

    Now the Centers for Disease Control and anti-AIDS medical forces and foundations have descended there with $1 million in support, counseling and medical treatment. That gives the town a fighting chance to face the plague.

    [...]

    The public's HIV treatment bill for Austin will run $200 million once the epidemic peaks — at least $1 million to save each uninsured patient, say health experts.

    I'd bet it would have been less expensive to fund PP.

  • ShivahnShivahn Unaware of her barrel shifter privilege Western coastal temptressRegistered User, Moderator mod
    The potential consequence of the culture war on Planned Parenthood. HIV comes out of retirement.
    But the 150-and-counting active HIV cases there constitute a shocking epidemic inflicted on people who have little else but their addictions. One quarter of residents live below the poverty line. Another quarter is close to the precipice.

    But Austin was not as helpless four years ago. That's when the state Legislature declared culture war on Planned Parenthood and made Austin a casualty of that combat.

    Conservative political forces in Indiana were driven by religious fervor to gut all public funding from Planned Parenthood. They led the nation in demonizing the organization because 3 percent of its services involved reproductive services — abortion.

    To sterilize that contagion, the remaining 97 percent of Planned Parenthood services would be expunged as necessary collateral damage. Private interest became public mandate.

    The people of Austin bore that burden for Indiana's War on Planned Parenthood.

    In 2011, Planned Parenthood ran five rural clinics in Indiana. They tested for HIV and offered prevention, intervention and counseling for better health. The one in Scott County performed no abortions.

    Mothers-to-be in Scott County must drive 50 miles to visit a gynecologist or an obstetrician. That's not an isolated insight. Of Indiana's 92 counties, Scott County has ranked 92nd in unhealthiness for five straight years.

    [...]

    Scott County has been without an HIV testing center for two years. That's how long it took the epidemic to flourish.

    Now the Centers for Disease Control and anti-AIDS medical forces and foundations have descended there with $1 million in support, counseling and medical treatment. That gives the town a fighting chance to face the plague.

    [...]

    The public's HIV treatment bill for Austin will run $200 million once the epidemic peaks — at least $1 million to save each uninsured patient, say health experts.

    I'd bet it would have been less expensive to fund PP.

    This is true of like

    literally every single thing Planned Parenthood does.

    Abortion, birth control, STI testing, STI treatment, HPV vaccines and stuff, in some places queer specific medical issues/HRT for trans people.

    They have to be an enormous moneysaver, but people hate them because abortions (and occasionally STI stuff).

  • Santa ClaustrophobiaSanta Claustrophobia Ho Ho Ho Disconnecting from Xbox LIVERegistered User regular
    Prevention care is usually always less expensive than actual treatment. For anything. My car is falling apart by the minute and I'm certain it'd be in better shape if I'd had the money for routine maintenance.

  • ShadowhopeShadowhope Baa. Registered User regular
    Shivahn wrote: »

    They have to be an enormous moneysaver, but people hate them because Abortion, birth control, STI testing, STI treatment, HPV vaccines and stuff, in some places queer specific medical issues/HRT for trans people.

    Fixed.

    Civics is not a consumer product that you can ignore because you don’t like the options presented.
  • DisruptedCapitalistDisruptedCapitalist I swear! Registered User regular
    Of course, the way to save millions is just to allow hospitals to refuse treatment. Gee, I wonder why no Republicans have proposed removing the mandatory treatment laws. You'd think it's just more regulations that prevent hospitals from engaging in the free market, eh?

    "Simple, real stupidity beats artificial intelligence every time." -Mustrum Ridcully in Terry Pratchett's Hogfather p. 142 (HarperPrism 1996)
  • MayabirdMayabird Pecking at the keyboardRegistered User regular
    Indiana also wouldn't have needle exchanges (since a lot of that disease epidemic - which isn't just HIV but also Hepatitis C and others - are spread by injected drug use) because standard dogwhistles and demonizing of drug users. So then people share needles to inject painkillers but figure it's safe because "it's only in the family." I'm sure they thought they would be just fine screwing over poor, colored people in other states and it would never reach them there.

    And then it did.

  • Kane Red RobeKane Red Robe Master of Magic ArcanusRegistered User regular
    Austin, Indiana? Well that took me way longer than it should have to figure out.

  • hippofanthippofant ティンク Registered User regular
    Ablurgblurgblurg. And the people who made these decisions and the sorts of people who support them are never going to see the consequences of their actions. They'll never actually meet any of these people who go to Planned Parenthood (or if they do, they won't know about it, because it's hush-hush taboo in their circles). They'll never make the causational leap.

  • ShivahnShivahn Unaware of her barrel shifter privilege Western coastal temptressRegistered User, Moderator mod
    hippofant wrote: »
    Ablurgblurgblurg. And the people who made these decisions and the sorts of people who support them are never going to see the consequences of their actions. They'll never actually meet any of these people who go to Planned Parenthood (or if they do, they won't know about it, because it's hush-hush taboo in their circles). They'll never make the causational leap.

    Probably that to a degree. I mean, I go to Planned Parenthood and won't shut up about it cuz it's awesome (HPV VACCINE AND ESTROGEN WHOO) but I don't really think most people ever talk about their doctor unless they're amazing (like mine). And it's also easy to go to Planned Parenthood for birth control and go home and be all "yeah they're good for that but christ they do SO MANY ABORTIONS" and not really think about how true that is.

  • MayabirdMayabird Pecking at the keyboardRegistered User regular
    Austin, Indiana? Well that took me way longer than it should have to figure out.

    Don't feel bad. I only know because I read an article a few days ago about how over 3% of their population was just diagnosed with HIV, among other things.

  • MayabirdMayabird Pecking at the keyboardRegistered User regular
    Back on Ebola, after nearly four months free Liberia has had five new cases with at least one death. It's unknown how it reemerged or where it came from. Unknown reservoir? Crossed one of the borders? Unsafe sex with a survivor?

  • XaquinXaquin Right behind you!Registered User regular
    http://who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2015/effective-ebola-vaccine/en/
    Results from an interim analysis of the Guinea Phase III efficacy vaccine trial show that VSV-EBOV (Merck, Sharp & Dohme) is highly effective against Ebola.

  • TofystedethTofystedeth Registered User regular
    So effective they've gone on to using it as part of their containment program.

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  • MuzzmuzzMuzzmuzz Registered User regular
    I have a question. One of the very first vaccines created was for rabies, a very painful death sentence if you got it. I know you can take it beforehand, if you work with animals, but it can also be given after being bitten. Is that actually a vaccine, or did it just get lumped in with vaccines since it was one of the first?

  • Jam WarriorJam Warrior Registered User regular
    Xaquin wrote: »
    http://who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2015/effective-ebola-vaccine/en/
    Results from an interim analysis of the Guinea Phase III efficacy vaccine trial show that VSV-EBOV (Merck, Sharp & Dohme) is highly effective against Ebola.

    That's my colleagues that is.

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  • Jam WarriorJam Warrior Registered User regular
    Muzzmuzz wrote: »
    I have a question. One of the very first vaccines created was for rabies, a very painful death sentence if you got it. I know you can take it beforehand, if you work with animals, but it can also be given after being bitten. Is that actually a vaccine, or did it just get lumped in with vaccines since it was one of the first?

    It's a vaccine alright. The reason they give it to someone post suspected exposure is Rabies is pretty much a death sentence if it establishes full infection so you throw anything and everything that might help at someone who is at risk. Even if the person is fully up to date on their vaccines you'd give it to them again just in case.

    MhCw7nZ.gif
  • MuzzmuzzMuzzmuzz Registered User regular
    Whoops, I got my two infectious disease conversations mixed up, meant to post on the vaccine topic, but thank you for answering.

  • Morat242Morat242 Registered User regular
    Muzzmuzz wrote: »
    Whoops, I got my two infectious disease conversations mixed up, meant to post on the vaccine topic, but thank you for answering.
    Rabies is also fairly unusual in that there's a lag of several weeks to a few months between a known exposure (that you would get vaccinated for) and any symptoms showing up. For, like, the flu, we know we've been infected only once we're actually sick and it's too late for a vaccine; at that point the immune system already recognizes the infection and is fighting it. With rabies, you can go from the bite to the vaccine without waiting for the disease to get ahead.

    They also give you a shot of immunoglobulin, i.e. blood plasma filled with rabies antibodies, when you get your rabies shots after a bite.

  • Captain MarcusCaptain Marcus now arrives the hour of actionRegistered User regular
    Morat242 wrote: »
    Rabies is also fairly unusual in that there's a lag of several weeks to a few months between a known exposure (that you would get vaccinated for) and any symptoms showing up. For, like, the flu, we know we've been infected only once we're actually sick and it's too late for a vaccine; at that point the immune system already recognizes the infection and is fighting it. With rabies, you can go from the bite to the vaccine without waiting for the disease to get ahead.

    They also give you a shot of immunoglobulin, i.e. blood plasma filled with rabies antibodies, when you get your rabies shots after a bite.
    The lag depends on where you get bit- the virus travels through the nervous system on its way to the CNS, so if you get bit on the foot you've got a breathing period. The face? Less than two weeks.

    They give you a vaccine because people aren't pets and the rabies vaccine isn't mandatory for us. It's the immunoglobulin prophylaxis that actually does the heavy lifting.

  • BurtletoyBurtletoy Registered User regular
    edited July 2015
    Side note: rabies is fairly rare in the us. Basically extinct. The Wikipedia page, for example, says dogs in the us do not have rabies. And there are less than 5 cases of the disease a year in humans in the states.

    Woo vaccines!

    Burtletoy on
  • Andy JoeAndy Joe We claim the land for the highlord! The AdirondacksRegistered User regular
    XBL: Stealth Crane PSN: ajpet12 3DS: 1160-9999-5810 NNID: StealthCrane Pokemon Scarlet Name: Carmen
  • CampyCampy Registered User regular
    Fuck everything about rabies.

    Crawl along my nervous system before entering my brain and almost certainly killing me? Get the fuck out.

  • Santa ClaustrophobiaSanta Claustrophobia Ho Ho Ho Disconnecting from Xbox LIVERegistered User regular
    Rabies is just your pet's way of showing you just how much they really care.

  • ShivahnShivahn Unaware of her barrel shifter privilege Western coastal temptressRegistered User, Moderator mod
    Burtletoy wrote: »
    Side note: rabies is fairly rare in the us. Basically extinct. The Wikipedia page, for example, says dogs in the us do not have rabies. And there are less than 5 cases of the disease a year in humans in the states.

    Woo vaccines!

    Is this due to vaccines, or the way Americans live? We rarely come into contact with wild dogs, for example, which are the major vector like everywhere else (last time I checked dogs killed fifty thousand people a year by rabies infection)

    Also random science sidenote - we use rabies' weird transmission method in neuroscience so we can trace neurons backwards.

  • Captain MarcusCaptain Marcus now arrives the hour of actionRegistered User regular
    Shivahn wrote: »
    Is this due to vaccines, or the way Americans live?
    Vaccines. We drop vaccine-laced food into the woods for animals to eat.

    raccoon_eating_bait.jpg

  • Santa ClaustrophobiaSanta Claustrophobia Ho Ho Ho Disconnecting from Xbox LIVERegistered User regular
    Shivahn wrote: »
    Is this due to vaccines, or the way Americans live?
    Vaccines. We drop vaccine-laced food into the woods for animals to eat.

    raccoon_eating_bait.jpg

    I bet there's mercury in them. Creating autistic raccoons. Won't somebody think of the vermin!

  • ShivahnShivahn Unaware of her barrel shifter privilege Western coastal temptressRegistered User, Moderator mod
    Oh, that is neat! I don't think the lack of wild dogs can be discounted though.

  • hippofanthippofant ティンク Registered User regular
    Shivahn wrote: »
    Is this due to vaccines, or the way Americans live?
    Vaccines. We drop vaccine-laced food into the woods for animals to eat.

    raccoon_eating_bait.jpg

    I bet there's mercury in them. Creating autistic raccoons. Won't somebody think of the vermin!

    Probably why they feel compelled to wash their food before eating it. OCD.

  • MayabirdMayabird Pecking at the keyboardRegistered User regular
    One week with no known new Ebola cases. This could be the end of the epidemic. It'll be another clear month or so before victory can be declared though.

  • Anarchy Rules!Anarchy Rules! Registered User regular
    9 months after recovering from Ebola, a nurse in the UK has been readmitted to hospital in a serious condition, related to Ebola.

    Unclear at the moment exactly what has happened though.

  • Jam WarriorJam Warrior Registered User regular
    It's horrific on a personal level, but very intriguing on a scientific one. They're hoping it's just a very rare thing we've never seen before because we've never had this many Ebola survivors on the planet before.

    MhCw7nZ.gif
  • Anarchy Rules!Anarchy Rules! Registered User regular
    I remember that they found the virus or traces of the virus in either the eye or nervous tissue of one of the Americans several months after recovery. I'll see if I can find the details

  • Anarchy Rules!Anarchy Rules! Registered User regular
    It was the eye:
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25950269 (article behind a pay-wall I'm afraid).

    Viable virus was found in the eye 9 weeks after clearance of the virus from the blood.

  • Santa ClaustrophobiaSanta Claustrophobia Ho Ho Ho Disconnecting from Xbox LIVERegistered User regular
    Obama released Ebola back into Texas!
    VA North Texas reported seeing a patient with Ebola-like symptoms in the emergency room on Saturday.

    A representative said hospital personnel consulted with local, state and federal officials, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The patient was deemed extremely low-risk for Ebola.

    Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins told CBS11 that the patient does not have Ebola. The patient has been diagnosed with another illness that’s causing the symptoms, but not Ebola.

    Dallas County Health and Human Services told CBS11 they were not notified of any Ebola threat.

    Earlier, VA North Texas said the veteran was moved to an isolation room and would be transferred to a regional Ebola assessment facility as a precaution.

    Or not. Though it'll probably make the chicken little rounds for a few cycles.

  • MayabirdMayabird Pecking at the keyboardRegistered User regular
    In the real world not inhabited by crazy people who want to live in fear, Sierra Leone has also been declared Ebola-free and Guinea's last Ebola patient was just released from the hospital.

  • HevachHevach Registered User regular
    edited November 2015
    Andy Joe wrote: »
    Africa's been a pretty stunning success story - Nigeria went from having a large majority of the world's reported cases to certified clean in just a few years.

    Pakistan and Afghanistan are also way down, despite both countries having all kinds of problems (widespread mismanagement and corruption in the eradication programs, resistance to foreign aid, the Taliban fatwah against vaccination, etc). It looks like we might be on the brink of successfully eradicating endemic Polio.

    The bad news, of course, is that the situation in Ukraine may be setting the stage for a resurgence in Eastern Europe, so the Polio whack-a-mole may still be in effect.

    Hevach on
  • MayabirdMayabird Pecking at the keyboardRegistered User regular
    South Korea's MERS outbreak has finally officially ended.

    If you're thinking that it happened months ago, you're right for all but one person. One man caught MERS but could not beat the infection because he had lymphoma. He died after 116 days, and then South Korea waited 28 days after that to make sure no one else had been infected by him.

    But it's done now, and there's an experimental vaccine being tested on camels since the virus comes from camels.

  • JusticeforPlutoJusticeforPluto Registered User regular
    Can I ask what the he'll is going on with the Zika Virus in here?

  • Gnome-InterruptusGnome-Interruptus Registered User regular
    Can I ask what the he'll is going on with the Zika Virus in here?

    Like why is it spreading further / more intensely than previous years? (Global Warming / Climate Change)
    Or what exactly is it? (Mostly a really nasty flu, unless you are pregnant, in which case, yikes, birth defects)

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    MWO: Adamski
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