Ebola transmission by aerosols confirmed: virus survives for days outside infected hosts

Friday, August 01, 2014
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
Tags: Ebola, aerosol transmission, infectious disease

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(NaturalNews) Today Kurt Nimmo from Infowars.com is incorrectly reporting that "aerosol transmission is not possible" with Ebola. (2) That statement is part of an article entitled, "Don't Fear Ebola, Fear the State" which is, overall, a very compelling article.

Nimmo is a fantastic writer and a great researcher, but in this case his statement is factually incorrect and probably needs to be addressed. As clearly explained by the Public Health Agency of Canada: (3)

"INFECTIOUS DOSE: 1 - 10 aerosolized organisms are sufficient to cause infection in humans."

Ebola, you see, can "ride" on aerosolized particles of blood, mucous and other body fluids. Someone sneezing, for example, can cause Ebola viruses to be aerosolized where they land on other people's hands or faces. It only takes one virus entering the corner of your eye (or the corner of your mouth) to set off a full-blown infection.

In fact, a 2012 BBC article entitled "Growing concerns over 'in the air' transmission of Ebola" states: (3)

Canadian scientists have shown that the deadliest form of the ebola virus could be transmitted by air between species. In experiments, they demonstrated that the virus was transmitted from pigs to monkeys without any direct contact between them. In their experiments, the pigs carrying the virus were housed in pens with the monkeys in close proximity but separated by a wire barrier. After eight days, some of the macaques were showing clinical signs typical of ebola and were euthanised.

Ebola survives for days outside the host

Even worse, Ebola is a strong survivor outside a host. Here's what the Public Health Agency of Canada says:

SURVIVAL OUTSIDE HOST: The virus can survive in liquid or dried material for a number of days. Infectivity is found to be stable at room temperature or at 4 C for several days, and indefinitely stable at -70 C. Infectivity can be preserved by lyophilisation.

This clearly states that Ebola viruses can survive for several days on common objects such as door knobs or household surfaces. If an infected Ebola victim runs around touching such common objects after cleaning blood or mucous from his nose, another innocent victim can easily infect himself by touching the same objects and then eating some food that places the virus in his mouth.

Ebola will be exploited by governments

The rest of the Infowars article is spot-on, saying "Ebola is being exploited and exaggerated as part of a psychological operation by government." That's absolutely true. There is always a social control component of any infectious disease announcement by the government.

As well-described by Nimmo in the article:

Disease, natural disaster, and man-made crises are routinely exploited by government as pretexts to enlarge and extend its power and reach. The state and its propaganda media thrive on one manufactured crisis after another as part of a systematic effort to ramp up the police state. The goal is not protection of the people. It is an all-encompassing surveillance state with a militarized component designed not to save us from evil terrorists or scary diseases, but control the population and maintain through fear and violence its political monopoly.

The article goes on to discuss the fast-tracking of Ebola vaccines, something that also has me very concerned because of the possibility that government might mandate such vaccines for all Americans. That would quickly escalate into a public health disaster, no doubt.

However -- and this is a very important point we all need to understand -- the fact that governments will exploit Ebola does not mean it isn't a deadly pandemic with an ability to spread through aerosolized particles. And I believe all our readers across the alternative media need to be fully informed of the risks of exposure to these deadly pathogens, just in case a full blown pandemic is unleashed across America (accidentally or on purpose).

Ebola is very EASY to catch

Even all of us who are naturally skeptical of "official" statements from the government must remember that just because the government benefits from an Ebola pandemic doesn't mean there is no pandemic happening. Yes, infectious disease outbreaks will be exploited, exaggerated and possibly even entirely fabricated from time to time by the medical-government fascism machine, but we can't let our own guard down and pretend Ebola is "difficult to catch."

It's only difficult to catch if you're nowhere near it. For example, if Ebola is running rampant in Africa but you're not in Africa, then sure, it's difficult to catch because Ebola can't cross the Atlantic and magically appear in your living room. But if you're in the same room with an Ebola victim, it's incredibly easy to catch. And guess what? U.S. health authorities are right now importing Ebola into the United States and placing an infected patient at Emory University in Atlanta. So now, all of a sudden, Ebola is here in the USA.

Ebola is considered a level-4 biohazard. If Ebola were difficult to catch, you wouldn't need to wear protective biohazard suits when being near patients who are infected with it.

Here's what the Public Health Agency of Canada says about handling Ebola:

RISK GROUP CLASSIFICATION: Risk Group 4.

CONTAINMENT REQUIREMENTS: Containment Level 4 facilities, equipment, and operational practices for work involving infectious or potentially infectious materials, animals, and cultures.

PROTECTIVE CLOTHING: Personnel entering the laboratory must remove street clothing, including undergarments, and jewellery, and change into dedicated laboratory clothing and shoes, or don full coverage protective clothing (i.e., completely covering all street clothing). Additional protection may be worn over laboratory clothing when infectious materials are directly handled, such as solid-front gowns with tight fitting wrists, gloves, and respiratory protection. Eye protection must be used where there is a known or potential risk of exposure to splashes.

OTHER PRECAUTIONS: All activities with infectious material should be conducted in a biological safety cabinet (BSC) in combination with a positive pressure suit, or within a class III BSC line. Centrifugation of infected materials must be carried out in closed containers placed in sealed safety cups, or in rotors that are unloaded in a biological safety cabinet. The integrity of positive pressure suits must be routinely checked for leaks. The use of needles, syringes, and other sharp objects should be strictly limited. Open wounds, cuts, scratches, and grazes should be covered with waterproof dressings. Additional precautions should be considered with work involving animal activities.

Does that sound like a protocol for a viral epidemic that's difficult to catch? Not at all.

That's why I hope Nimmo will take a second look at this issue and understand that even though governments will of course exploit this for social control, Ebola really is extremely dangerous and highly infectious, with a demonstrated ability to spread through aerosolized particles.

For more great reporting on Ebola, check out this well-documented article by Paul Joseph Watson entitled "If Ebola Hits U.S., Even Healthy Americans Will be Quarantined."

Sources for this article include:
(1) http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/20...

(2) http://www.infowars.com/dont-fear-ebola-fear...

(3) http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/lab-bio/res/psds-...