Yesterday, a friend who is an epidemiologist for the CDCs said that the biggest difference between ebola and cancer is that ebola is viciously contagious. Basically, ebola, if left unchecked, will kill at least 6 out of every ten people in the world. While ebola is thought to be transmitted through direct contact with the bodily fluids of a person showing symptoms, it’s clear that while wearing approved clothing it is being transmitted. We’re told ebola isn’t airborne, which is a good thing, but what we don’t know is how easily it can be transmitted one person touching a surface previously touched by a person showing ebola symptoms. This is why, in Dallas, TX, the ambulance that transported the first U.S. ebola patient, as well as his apartment, was sanitized. Now that two nurses are confirmed with ebola, one of whom flew on a plane while exhibiting minor symptoms (a low-grade fever), health officials are contacting each person on the plane. These people won’t be quarantined, but they will be asked to curtail direct contact with others, and monitor themselves for possible symptoms. But being contagious may not be the worst of the ways ebola is killing us.
The pastor in Liberia who shared with me that all commerce has been shut down, also said he’s running out of food. How long can you stay in your house without going out to get food? I’ve talked about this before, when talking about my pantry. In the last few years, during winter months, we’ve been shut down for nearly a week three separate times. I know folks that would be hard pressed to find more than a box of cereal in their homes, let alone enough to go a week. I don’t really know how they made it during those winter-weather shut downs. Here in the States, as in Europe and many large cities throughout the world, food is available stored in jars, cans, or dried. But in more rural towns in most places in the world, food is brought fresh to the market. Sure, rice and beans are available dry, and easily stored, but not so available are vegetables or meat. Shut down commerce and people starve. So sure, we can stop the spread of ebola by isolation, but that success doesn’t ensure that anyone will be alive after the epidemic. What’s left to do?
Well, stock something up while you can, if you can. A bag of rice, a bag of beans. Some water. Prepare to hunker down for awhile.
Pray. Pray, too, for the people of Africa that are in the middle of this nightmare.
Lord Bless, Keep, and Shine. . .
JonahzSong 