Tbisb74 Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 I get the comparison... and there was a dreadful stigma attached to being afflicted with leprosy, hence all these separate colonies (See a wonderful book, titled "The Island", by Victoria Hislop.... The astonishing thing about bacteria and viruses is that they are 'developing' all the time and are re-programming themselves to become immune to some treatments: Bacteria, particularly, have various and different devious means of survival, including growing a shell which essentially shields them from attack and annihilation! So bacteria are hard to treat because first of all the strain and strength of the bacteria has to be identified, and viruses.... have no cure but our own immune system. That's what needs boosting. This is why the very young, the elderly and the pregnant are so vulnerable. It is also utterly pointless prescribing antibiotics when someone has a viral infection, as a 'just in case' measure to prevent an associated bacterial infection from developing, so never ask your doctor to do so, and reject a doctor's suggestion if they offer it as an option. First of all, it won't cure anything, secondly, it will also attack and kill beneficial existent bacteria in your gut - one of the first barriers against internal infections - and thirdly, bacteria become immune to its effects. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
man_in_the_box Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 Finding a 'cure' for viruses is indeed difficult since it requires analyzing and identifying the genetic segment of the virus that's unique and can therefore be deliberately targetted. Once that is accomplished a compound has to be modelled and synthesized to specifically target that strain. And then we're glossing over a the problems that still have to be overcome in efficient targetted drug delivery and on a long-term scale the ability of viruses to change their genetic make-up rendering a potentially working remedy pointless again. There's a long way to go there. Link to post Share on other sites
writergal Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 Big news. A few monkeys survived the ebola virus when treated with vaccine cocktail up to 2 days after they were given the virus. Did Scientists Just Discover a Cure for Ebola? | HealthMap Link to post Share on other sites
gaius Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 Big news. A few monkeys survived the ebola virus when treated with vaccine cocktail up to 2 days after they were given the virus. Did Scientists Just Discover a Cure for Ebola? | HealthMap They gave one of the Americans an experimental serum but didn't say which company it came from, that might be it. But this might not even be the same strain of Ebola from before and it's hard to give people a dose 24-48 hours after infection when it has such a long incubation period. So who knows if it will do any good. Link to post Share on other sites
Tbisb74 Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 Well it's definitely good news, but it's still not great news. Scientists deserve a medal for dealing with things like this, by the way... we're busy going about our daily routines, shopping, cooking, looking after the home, working and whatnot... and meanwhile, someone, somewhere, is working to save lives. 3 Link to post Share on other sites
gaius Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 Well it's definitely good news, but it's still not great news. Scientists deserve a medal for dealing with things like this, by the way... we're busy going about our daily routines, shopping, cooking, looking after the home, working and whatnot... and meanwhile, someone, somewhere, is working to save lives. Indeed. And a lot of people like to rag on religion, but in cases like this it's almost always some bible thumper that's on the ground in Africa risking his own skin trying to help people. I know these two that got infected were. And I have mucho respect for that. 6 Link to post Share on other sites
writergal Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 They gave one of the Americans an experimental serum but didn't say which company it came from, that might be it. But this might not even be the same strain of Ebola from before and it's hard to give people a dose 24-48 hours after infection when it has such a long incubation period. So who knows if it will do any good. How many strains of Ebola are there out there? Granted it's a virus, so it could have multiple strains the same way that the flu does. And the flu can't be treated with a vaccine since it's a virus. Same as Ebola. So I don't get why it's news that some monkeys survived a "treatment" but humans can't? I'm such a conspiracy theorist at heart, that I'd like to believe a cure for any strain of Ebola exists because just maybe the Ebola virus was created in a laboratory. I mean remember this news story about the discovery of forgotten sealed vials of the 1950s polio vaccine in a warehouse? (By the way, who do you think accidentally left those vials behind? And why?) Whose to say some Big Pharma company hasn't engineered a human-accepting Ebola vaccine already? Anyway, Ebola is a super scary virus. 2 Americans in Liberia contracted it according to this Washington Post blog. Link to post Share on other sites
man_in_the_box Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 Not sure about that: - It already had outbreaks since 1976 - It kills so fast it doesn't appear to have the opportunity to spread effective - peak infection transmission lies after onset of symptoms - it appears to breakout in the poor, destabilized regions of west and central Africa Call it sceptical but why Ebola? I'd say it's not the most logical choice. Link to post Share on other sites
serial muse Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 (edited) How many strains of Ebola are there out there? Granted it's a virus, so it could have multiple strains the same way that the flu does. And the flu can't be treated with a vaccine since it's a virus. Same as Ebola. So I don't get why it's news that some monkeys survived a "treatment" but humans can't? But there are flu vaccines, though as you say they are for particular strains of flu virus. The vaccine causes your body to produce antibodies to fight off infection from that particular strain. The difference in fighting bacterial vs viral infections is that once you have a disease we have fewer weapons against viruses, since they're so simple - all of the antibacterial weapons we have are useless. But we can develop vaccines for viruses. Those vaccines are not for treatment of flu, though - the trick is to get out ahead of it. Scientists are actually working on developing a "cure" for Ebola, basically a cocktail of drugs consisting of monoclonal antibodies of the virus, but it's untested in humans and there's a lot of anxiety about testing it among these people who are already overwhelmed and mistrustful of western motives - people there are as susceptible to conspiracy theories as we are here, unfortunately, and plenty of people think the scientists and doctors and missionaries there are there to actually spread disease, harvest organs, etc. And if these untested, unapproved drugs are administered to them, under "compassionate use", and then some people develop side effects - well, that could really set things back horribly. It's such a tough question and there's so little time. To answer your first question - I think there are five known variants of Ebola. I'm such a conspiracy theorist at heart, that I'd like to believe a cure for any strain of Ebola exists because just maybe the Ebola virus was created in a laboratory. I mean remember this news story about the discovery of forgotten sealed vials of the 1950s polio vaccine in a warehouse? (By the way, who do you think accidentally left those vials behind? And why?) Whose to say some Big Pharma company hasn't engineered a human-accepting Ebola vaccine already? Anyway, Ebola is a super scary virus. 2 Americans in Liberia contracted it according to this Washington Post blog. Edited August 1, 2014 by serial muse 1 Link to post Share on other sites
serial muse Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 (edited) Oh, this story. :( It mentions the two Americans who have contracted Ebola in Liberia - a missionary, Nancy Writebol, and a doctor, Kent Brantly. Writebol is getting the cocktail I mentioned above. Brantly isn't, because see bolded. From the story: "Writebol is in stable but serious condition and is receiving an experimental treatment that doctors hope will better address her condition, according to a statement released by SIM, a Christian missions organization. Her husband, David, is close by but can only visit his wife through a window or dressed in a haz-mat suit, the statement said. "There was only enough (of the experimental serum) for one person. Dr. Brantly asked that it be given to Nancy Writebol," said Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan's Purse, another aid organization that has been working in Liberia during the Ebola crisis. Brantly, who works for the aid group, did receive a unit of blood from a 14-year-old boy who had survived Ebola because of the doctor's care, Graham said in a statement. "The young boy and his family wanted to be able to help the doctor who saved his life," he said." :( One of those two is coming back to be treated at CDC. Not sure which. Edited August 1, 2014 by serial muse 2 Link to post Share on other sites
pie2 Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 Oh, this story. :( It mentions the two Americans who have contracted Ebola in Liberia - a missionary, Nancy Writebol, and a doctor, Kent Brantly. Writebol is getting the cocktail I mentioned above. Brantly isn't, because see bolded. From the story: "Writebol is in stable but serious condition and is receiving an experimental treatment that doctors hope will better address her condition, according to a statement released by SIM, a Christian missions organization. Her husband, David, is close by but can only visit his wife through a window or dressed in a haz-mat suit, the statement said. "There was only enough (of the experimental serum) for one person. Dr. Brantly asked that it be given to Nancy Writebol," said Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan's Purse, another aid organization that has been working in Liberia during the Ebola crisis. Brantly, who works for the aid group, did receive a unit of blood from a 14-year-old boy who had survived Ebola because of the doctor's care, Graham said in a statement. "The young boy and his family wanted to be able to help the doctor who saved his life," he said." :( One of those two is coming back to be treated at CDC. Not sure which. That is heartbreaking :(. On one hand, it's a gut-wrenching irony. If it works...it will be a God-given miracle. All those affected are definitely in my prayers. Thanks for starting this thread, pih. Link to post Share on other sites
Author pureinheart Posted August 2, 2014 Author Share Posted August 2, 2014 Serial, I bet if the doctor is coherent he'll tell them to take the lady first...that part about the little guy giving blood...wow Thanks for responding Pie...this just makes me cry. Thinking of the people suffering and it's hot, they're uncomfortable...any words just feel shallow. They say it's spreading fast:( Thanks for praying Pie... 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Tbisb74 Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 Pray to God by all means, but at least let's row away from the rocks....Spread the word, not the virus.... 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Author pureinheart Posted August 3, 2014 Author Share Posted August 3, 2014 Pray to God by all means, but at least let's row away from the rocks....Spread the word, not the virus.... Without a doubt T... my faith believes that God gave us a brain and has provided us with information, we're supposed to utilize both. I think it's interesting that we were given two eyes, two ears and one mouth. Link to post Share on other sites
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