Does anyone else fear the weaponization of Ebola?

[Dreamer Tatum]

Consider ISIS members purposely getting Ebola and walking across the border from Mexico, mingling with people along the way.

(If that strikes you as completely and utterly insane, racist, blah blah, here's another scenario: Teabillies acquire Ebola and cross the border to mingle with or infect border-crossers in an effort to kill illegals, but it gets out of hand. There? Happy?)

What say you? I worry that it could happen.

[elleng]

1. Sure it could happen,

and they and everyone they contact would die. They gonna do that?

[Dreamer Tatum]

2. Well, you got me there. ISIS does have a commendable culture of life. nt

[elleng]

5. Right, not so much for others,

but for themselves?

[Drayden]

40. The Islamic terrorists who drove planes into

buildings on 9/11 didn't seem to be phased by dying. Neither do the suicide bombers. They believe they will be entering heaven where 72 virgins await...

[uppityperson]

3. Since it is more difficult to catch than mingling, no. I have thought of someone getting hold of

blood from an person with ebola, but the amount of people they could expose would not be very large unless they kidnapped a person, infected them and then used their waste to infect others with. But still, the numbers would be limited.

I fear media hysteria reporting more. And if someone did do something, even by infecting a couple people, they could shut down parts of this country due to fearful over reactions.

[Dreamer Tatum]

6. Well said.

Didn't think of it that way.

[dilby]

4. I am absolutely terrified that people will rub ebola on bullets then shoot me with them.

I think I can survive ebola but not so sure about the bullet holes in my chest.

[uppityperson]

7. !

[Cali_Democrat]

8. Why are Republicans scared and worried about everything? ISIS, Ebola, Minorities, Women, Muslims etc

Everything scares Republicans.

[Dreamer Tatum]

9. I am not sure to whom you are referring

but in any case, ISIS and Ebola are worth a glimpse now and then, at least.

Both kill indiscriminately, you see.

[Cali_Democrat]

12. I'm referring to Republicans. nt

[Dreamer Tatum]

14. Maybe ask a Republican, then? nt

[Cali_Democrat]

16. Republicans aren't going to be forthcoming if you ask them these questions directly

Their preferred method of discourse is obfuscation.

They will say these things don't scare them, but we all know what they think of minorities, women and Muslims.

It's actually quite easy to figure them out though.

[Adsos Letter]

80. !

I saw what you did there...

[Spider Jerusalem]

10. Not particularly, no, I'd be more worried about weaponised smallpox or H1N1/H5N1 influenza.

[Aerows]

22. Me too

I am of the generation that never got the smallpox vaccine.

[el_bryanto]

11. I'm more afraid of the weaponization of the concept of weaponization.

Imagine how effective that might be.

Bryant

[NightWatcher]

13. I'm scared that people will overreact to ebola

This flu season the ER's will be full of 'possible ebola victims'

[LanternWaste]

15. It's going to be a tough season in the ER's and Emergency Clinics across the country this year

It's going to be a tough season in the ER's and Emergency Clinics across the country this year with what will undoubtedly be a record number of false reports. I think I'll by some high octane alcohol for my friends who are RNs and Em Techs-- goodness knows they may need it sooner or later.

[arcane1]

58. Yep, and those first false headlines will be remembered while the retractions vanish into time.

[herding cats]

17. Oh, I read a good one on a news comments site yesterday!

I'm only posting this to give you a chuckle because of your Teabillies and Ebola scenario. The poster said Obama was gathering Ebola contaminated bodily fluids and giving them to "illegals" in Mexico to sneak across the border. Then these evil people were going to go to Republican voting areas and spread the virus about. The "illegals" then will assume the good Republicans IDs and start voting Democratic!

As to weaponizing Ebola, I suppose it's possible. It's way down on my list of things I worry about though. Way, way down there.

[Dreamer Tatum]

21. Why go to all that bother when Obama can just flip all their votes to (D)

with a flip of a switch? Geez.

[herding cats]

35. I know, right?

This person was making things way too complicated!

[ProfessorGAC]

66. You Forgot About The FEMA Camps

He can just send the NG to red districts and round them all up. That's happening now already isn't it? Oh wait . . .

[GeorgeGist]

18. Why not. Fear itself.

[Electric Monk]

43. Pure weaponized fear? It could even be transmitted by networks, and be super-contagious

and look something like this:

[Electric Monk]

89. Today's toons have caught up with me, lol

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025646744

[randome]

19. It happened back in the 60s but the government covered it up!

[hr][font color="blue"][center]TECT in the name of the Representative approves of this post.[/center][/font][hr]

[jwirr]

20. As long as we do not have a cure - no. Once someone comes up with an answer - it is anyones guess.

[H2O Man]

23. I fear walking outside

and having a large television set fall from outer space, tuned to Fox News, fall upon my head.

[Dreamer Tatum]

25. No kidding. Those ones tuned to MSNBC feel so much better when they splat you. nt

[ecstatic]

24. I saw an article that suggested a terrorist might purposely contract Ebola and blow him/herself up,

which would disperse their fluids into the air.

But to answer your question: No. Why weaponize it when the response is so incompetent? Further tampering isn't necessary.

[Blue_Tires]

26. No...

Next question...

[Warpy]

27. Walk across the border?

Have you ever been to the border? It's miles and miles of desert.

Anyone sick with vomiting and diarrhea is not going to cross the border at any unguarded place. They'd die before they could even see the choppers flying over it every hour or so. Even walking across the Canadian border would be a daunting proposition to the most homicidal person sick with that disease.

When it arrives, it will be by plane. It is not efficiently transmitted and the only one the man who flew to Nigeria sick with the virus was a flight attendant who muscled him off the plane. His seat mates were not affected, nor were the ambulance crew or hospital workers.

Worry about Republicans who are eager to strip more civil rights from us over worries like yours. They're here and they're vicious and they'll do it the first chance they get.

[Dreamer Tatum]

29. Um, yes, people walk across it in S Az all the time. Likewise near San Diego.

If you don't like "walk," how about "stow away on a truck?"

[Warpy]

32. Even in the early stages of ebola, they're SICK.

They're unbelievably sick, constant vomiting and explosive diarrhea sick.

Next time you get an intestinal bug, get out of bed and start walking. See how far you get.

[Drayden]

41. Ummm, Duncan seemed to travel just fine

Looked the picture of health fresh off his plane Sept 20, dying by Sept 26, dead Oct 8th.

[Warpy]

45. He wasn't yet ill

He'd been exposed, was not sick, was not contagious.

He got sick very rapidly, requiring ER treatment.

Most people who are exposed are not getting sick. The point is that the supposed terrorist would have to be known to be contagious and that would mean that he'd have to be SICK and the only efficient way to transport the illness would be on a plane where he could stay seated.

Do note that none of the passengers on the plane that brought ebola to Nigeria have tested positive. The one airline worker who did was the one who had to muscle the sick passenger off the plane, having close contact with that passenger.

The only thing easily transmissible about ebola is PANIC.

[scarystuffyo]

46. Why would they wait until they were ill?

They could infect themselves and cross before it takes affect

[Drayden]

47. Exactly. Nt

Nt

[scarystuffyo]

49. To be honest though I don't see this as a plan by ISIS

I was just pointing out the fact if it was, a person wouldn't wait until they were vomiting with fever to carry this out

[Warpy]

51. Because that's the only way they'd know they'd caught the disease

and were contagious.

[scarystuffyo]

52. If you inject yourself with contaminted blood it's a pretty sure bet

[Warpy]

53. Oh, FFS

Enjoy your stay.

[Erose999]

73. I'm sure ISIS has a waiting list with hundreds of volunteers for that mission :sarcasm:

[MohRokTah]

28. Ebola would be a poor pathogen choice for weaponization.

There are pathogens that would be far more effective as a weaponized pathogen.

[Dreamer Tatum]

30. Like me, after coffee and a couple of Fiber One bars. nt

[smirkymonkey]

60. Funny, I was just wondering where all the "dirty bomb" fear went.

I guess it's not in style anymore.

[FLPanhandle]

33. No.

This whole Ebola panic is getting silly.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

34. No.

[Demit]

36. No.

[brooklynite]

37. Quick, call Congressman Duncan Hunter?

Your crackpot theory will allow him to enhance his "ISIS is invading" claims...

[whatchamacallit]

38. Scaremongering aside, if anyone would do such an unthinkable thing

it would be us

[City Lights]

39. No. nt

[boomer55]

42. sadly yes... its a asymmetric form of attack that can be easily done with zealots

send zealots that can legally visit the US into hot zones for a few days
pull them out
pump them full of ibuprofen to keep the initial fever down
send them to america to lick, spit, sneeze on everything they can get to in the public arena

even if only one of them actually develops ebola and spreads it to a single community the panic it will cause will be tremendous.

[Feral Child]

44. No.

I don't fear IS. I don't fear Ebola.

I don't live in fear, and I certainly won't allow myself to be manipulated into being fearful.

[Drayden]

48. Expressing concern

And engaging in discussion isn't panicking. Panicking would be refusing to leave the house, hoarding food, wearing a bio suit or at least a face mask. There are some here that start throwing the word panic around if a major story is even mentioned. I haven't noted anyone panicking in the true sense of the word.

[Feral Child]

56. "Panic"?

Didn't use that word. I was thinking more of drama-junkies that fall prey to fear-mongering.

How many dreary threads are we going to have about a disease that's most unlikely to become the Big Pandemic?

How many times does the world have to fail-to-end?

There's a morbid sub-culture in the USA that manipulative politicians use to justify more loss of freedom, so we can all be "safe".

Drayden, you're going to die. When you do it probably won't be dramatic or world-shattering.

Buck up, Drayden. It probably won't be tonight. But, it might...

[Drayden]

61. Lol, I think you are the one wildly spouting off

Assumptions, feral child. I'm not the least bit afraid of dying of ebola. It is nowhere near around me.

[Feral Child]

64. If you're desperate to post

please find a new topic. The horse you're flogging already has maggots.

See you around, Chum. I got better things to do this morning.



EDIT: Btw, your thread-title does suggest you're afraid, ("Does anyone else fear the weaponization of Ebola&quot , emphasis mine. Your title presupposes a condition of fear, specifically of Ebola being carried to your vicinity by terrorists.
You need to reread your own posts before you respond to someone with lame accusations. Stay consistent.

[Drayden]

67. And you need to work on your reading comprehension

I didn't start the thread and certainly didn't post those words. Stop unleashing your anger on discussion boards, it isn't healthy.

[Feral Child]

74. Ooh! You took advantage of an "oopsie".

Point to you. Thrilling isn't it?


It's not my comprehension at fault, it's my attentiveness: This topic is tedious beyond belief.

So, apparently you're not pissing yourself in fear. You still haven't made your point. Did I accuse anyone of "panicking"? Please be specific in your response. That means naming a name.

The OP asked if anyone else was afraid of "weaponized" Ebola. I responded truthfully that I'm not, because it's a ridiculous premise. You came out of nowhere, seemingly, to pick a fight with me on my response. Let's hear your defense of the premise, then. Why do you feel a fear of "weaponized" Ebola is reasonable?

I had dismissed you, I'm only responding now because I made a mistake in attributing this puke to you. Please, make it worth my time. I'd appreciate an erudite response, not a deflection or a misquote.

One more thing, no more strawmen. I'm not unleashing my "anger". There's nothing in this thread worth anger, merely ennui...

[Drayden]

77. Lol, for someone who finds the topic tedious

You sure have had a lot to say about it.

[Feral Child]

84. That's not a response.

You failed to answer my specific questions, more "escape and evasion".

I tried to shut this down after my original terse and laconic reply. I only responded to your last post because you'd caught a mistake and it would have been dishonorable to fail to acknowledge that.

You aren't addressing the topic at all, and haven't yet. All you want is to nitpick and start quarrels. I don't waste time on that silliness. Since you can't actually reply to the topic, this discussion is over.

[Drayden]

88. You're not worth a response. You have

A nasty, confrontational attitude. Go rant elsewhere.

[neverforget]

50. I'm more concerned about the enterovirus or a really bad

flu than I am of Ebola. And even then, my concern is small

[elehhhhna]

54. DT, read up on the history of this dark stuff -

the South African Gov't did plenty of research and development of weaponized everything...super interesting ...but weaponiszing a virus is like the worst, most uncontrollable, not-worth-it, thing you can possibly do.

[kestrel91316]

55. I strongly suspect that if the idiots of ISIS began playing with Ebola virus, they'd all wind up

getting EVD in short order. These aren't rocket scientists, nor are they trained microbiologists and virologists.

[Hawke1]

57. Fear is useless.

I'm sure someone somewhere out there is trying to perfect their Biological warfare. This is not anything new. I'm sure our highly competent (not) CDC has been effectively working with our government for years on biological warfare (not restricted to Ebola). We shouldn't be afraid of ISIS. ISIS needs to be afraid of us.

[AngryOldDem]

59. No.

It would kill them just as dead as it would kill us. This isn't like anthrax or anything else that can be kept under containment until unleashed.

I think you need to be worrying more about how and why people can't seem to follow protocol in these cases, rather than wasting time dreaming up fantastical scenarios.

[RandiFan1290]

62. From RW radio to DU

So funny to see how fast RW talking points get posted on DU.

Ehermergherd! Werpernizerd Erberola!

[FreeJoe]

63. No concern

Aside from the ability to panic the easily frightened, I don't see this as worth worrying about. If someone wants to dabble in biological warfare, Ebola would be a pretty poor choice.

[HereSince1628]

65. That isn't weaponizing the virus it's weaponizing a person

And it seems like a way to build on common xenophobic fear that "immigrants are diseased"

Not cool.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

68. no, because there are real things to worry about. so i dont go around creating worries for myself.

[winter is coming]

69. No. <trashes thread> n/t

[ChisolmTrailDem]

70. Oh yea, I'm just shaking in my slippers, scared to fucking death of weaponized ebola...

[pipi_k]

71. I suppose

it could happen. I mean, anything is possible, right?

But why Ebola specifically?

Why not some other just-as-deadly/contagious disease as well?


Top most deadly infectious diseases...


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_human_disease_case_fatality_rates


Imagine someone getting hold of the prions for TSE, for example, and injecting them into our food. Prions are, as of now, indestructible. And they're 100% fatal.

[Erose999]

72. Using Ebola as a weapon would be pretty dumb, really. As likely to harm the person using it as the

intended target.

Also, ebola can't live outside a liquid and can't reproduce without living cells. So it'd be difficult to "weaponize".

Gas used in WWI was like that sometimes. They'd launch a gas shell and the wind would change and blow it back on them.

[Recursion]

75. No. Smallpox is a much more dangerous vector. So is modified influenza. So is cholera.

Actually the hemorrhagics are way, way down on my list of priorities.

[Blue_In_AK]

76. Ebola has been around for a long time.

If somebody was going to weaponize it, they would have done it already.

And what's all the talk about the border? That sounds so Fox News.

[SheilaT]

78. Of course not.

At the risk of being rude, it sounds like you've been watching far too much of Fox "News". Or too many TV and movies that take some barely plausible premise and make it seem quite likely.

[LiberalArkie]

79. I thought Ft Detrick had given up on it many years ago.

[ZombieHorde]

81. I am more concerned about the public reaction to Ebola than Ebola itself.

Hopefully, we all keep our cool.

[Lebam in LA]

82. Living in fear is a waste of time

911 turned this country into a bunch of cowering dolts. We as a nation seem to be afraid of everything now.

[Zen Democrat]

83. It's not an airborne disease.

I guess it could be weaponized if ISIS dropped blood, urine and feces from an airplane.

[yellowcanine]

85. For starters, someone with Ebola is not going to be "walking across the border from Mexico"

People with Ebola don't walk. They have to be transported. There is an incubation period but it is not long enough for the person to make the trek across the border. Even healthy people die trying to walk across the border. Yes it is theoretically possible that someone could infect people with Ebola and send them across the border but logistically it would be nearly impossible, particularly for any of the terror groups.

Just a few of the logistical hurdles.

Where are they going to get the volunteers? Volunteering to blow oneself up is one thing. Volunteering to die from an illness where all of your systems break down is another matter.

Where are they going to get the Ebola? It is not as if one can order up a vial of it on the internet.

How are they going to get the Ebola into Mexico once they have the virus? Anyone trying to collect Ebola virus from a patient in West Africa (where else are they going to get it?) is unlikely to make it to Mexico intact with virus in hand or in their bodies (and now you need another set of volunteers).

Even if they had the Ebola, who is going to take it and infect the volunteers with it? At some point you have to have someone being fairly coercive/persuasive with the volunteers and that kind of person is unlikely to also want to be exposed.

How are they going to get the infected volunteers into the U.S? Because of the logistics it is unlikely they can just walk in - they are either not going to make it or be quickly spotted. Coyotes aren't stupid. If they see someone displaying Ebola symptoms they are not going to give them a ride or even let the person anywhere near them.

As for your other scenario, Tea Party types are a lot of things but they aren't suicidal.

[KamaAina]

86. Did you forget something?

Like this?

[Iggo]

87. Nope.