Pathfinder
Editor, Senior Moderator
Re: Experts worry Ebola could mutate to spread by air
Ebola Could Spread Like Flu: Top Researcher
Friday, 19 Sep 2014 02:04 PM
By Charlotte Libov
...
?I don?t want to be an alarmist, but the possibility of Ebola becoming an airborne virus clearly has to be taken into account,? said David Sanders, associate professor of biological sciences at Purdue University.
"Ebola does share some of the characteristics of airborne viruses like influenza and we should not disregard the possibility of it evolving into something that could be transmitted in this way,? added Sanders, whose work on Ebola led to his participation in the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency's Biological Weapons Proliferation Prevention Program.
...
Testifying before a Congressional subcommittee this week, Dr. Anthony Fauci, a top White House infectious disease advisor, said it was very unlikely Ebola would mutate in a way that would make it transmittable through the air like flu.
...
But Sanders disagrees. ?I want the facts to be clear. It?s important that we not get the idea that this can?t happen,? he said, adding, ?When people say that it is impossible for this virus to mutate, this is simply not true.?
According to Sanders, a key factor in the successful mutation of a virus centers on how it enters and exits the body. Sanders led a research team that established the Zaire form of the Ebola virus, which is the one involved in the West Africa epidemic, could enter the mucus-lined cells that line the human airway in much the same way the flu virus does.
...
To pose a major threat in the U.S., the Ebola virus would have to mutate so that it could survive outside the body for a significant length of time like influenza can, Sanders said.
?This is not how the Ebola virus is currently known to spread, but there is evidence that it has some of the necessary components for respiratory transmission,? he said.
...
?When people have looked at the current outbreak, the virus really hasn?t changed much,? Sanders said. ?However, this research was done when there were 1,500 cases and now it?s up to 4,000 and if it gets to be 100,000 cases, there is more and more of a chance for mutations to occur.?
...
He pointed to another strain of the Ebola virus that has already mutated to become transmittable through the air. In fact, it has already hit the U.S., although it turned out to be non-lethal to humans. The disease was dubbed Ebola-Reston because its initial outbreak occurred in Reston, Va., in 1989.
...
http://www.newsmaxhealth.com/Health-News/ebola-mutation-contagious-spread/2014/09/19/id/595742
Ebola Could Spread Like Flu: Top Researcher
Friday, 19 Sep 2014 02:04 PM
By Charlotte Libov
...
?I don?t want to be an alarmist, but the possibility of Ebola becoming an airborne virus clearly has to be taken into account,? said David Sanders, associate professor of biological sciences at Purdue University.
"Ebola does share some of the characteristics of airborne viruses like influenza and we should not disregard the possibility of it evolving into something that could be transmitted in this way,? added Sanders, whose work on Ebola led to his participation in the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency's Biological Weapons Proliferation Prevention Program.
...
Testifying before a Congressional subcommittee this week, Dr. Anthony Fauci, a top White House infectious disease advisor, said it was very unlikely Ebola would mutate in a way that would make it transmittable through the air like flu.
...
But Sanders disagrees. ?I want the facts to be clear. It?s important that we not get the idea that this can?t happen,? he said, adding, ?When people say that it is impossible for this virus to mutate, this is simply not true.?
According to Sanders, a key factor in the successful mutation of a virus centers on how it enters and exits the body. Sanders led a research team that established the Zaire form of the Ebola virus, which is the one involved in the West Africa epidemic, could enter the mucus-lined cells that line the human airway in much the same way the flu virus does.
...
To pose a major threat in the U.S., the Ebola virus would have to mutate so that it could survive outside the body for a significant length of time like influenza can, Sanders said.
?This is not how the Ebola virus is currently known to spread, but there is evidence that it has some of the necessary components for respiratory transmission,? he said.
...
?When people have looked at the current outbreak, the virus really hasn?t changed much,? Sanders said. ?However, this research was done when there were 1,500 cases and now it?s up to 4,000 and if it gets to be 100,000 cases, there is more and more of a chance for mutations to occur.?
...
He pointed to another strain of the Ebola virus that has already mutated to become transmittable through the air. In fact, it has already hit the U.S., although it turned out to be non-lethal to humans. The disease was dubbed Ebola-Reston because its initial outbreak occurred in Reston, Va., in 1989.
...
http://www.newsmaxhealth.com/Health-News/ebola-mutation-contagious-spread/2014/09/19/id/595742
