Could Ebola Become Transmissible Through Air Like Mexico's H1N1 Virus Did in 2009? Carrie Weisman - Design & Trend
go to original September 15, 2014

There have been more than 4,300 cases and 2,300 deaths over the past six months since the Ebola epidemic first hit West Africa. The World Health Organization has already warned that by early October, there may be thousands of new cases per week in the region.  What hasn't been addressed, if what we do if this thing goes airborne.

As of now, you can only get Ebola through direct contact with bodily fluids. And this current Ebola virus has lead to more human-to-human transmission in the past four months than most likely occurred in the last 500 to 1,000 years.

And what's scary about viruses like Ebola is that they are famous for replicating in unexpected ways. For instance, the virus entering one person may be genetically different from the virus entering the next. As the New York Times reported, "Each new infection represents trillions of throws of the genetic dice."

It's possible that one of these mutations could lead to things going airborne, allowing infections to spread quickly around the globe, like the H1N1 influenza virus did back in 2009, after it started in Mexico.

But are these concerns warranted? Back in 2012, a team of Canadian researchers proved that Ebola Zaire, the same virus that is causing the current outbreak in West Africa, could be transmitted by the respiratory route from pigs to monkeys, both whose lungs are very similar to those of humans.

So, is there anything we can do? Michael T. Osterholm of the New York Times insists there is.

Read the rest at Design & Trend

Photo: Shutterstock.com

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