Should You Worry
About an Ebola Outbreak in the US?
August 19, 2014
Story
at-a-glance
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
has raised its level of emergency alertness to
“Level 1” in response to the Ebola virus, following
outbreaks in West Africa
Affected areas include Guinea, Sierra Leone,
Liberia, and Nigeria. Two infected American aid
workers have been brought back to the US for
treatment
The outbreak involves Zaire ebolavirus, which
produces symptoms within six to 16 days of
infection. The virus leads to severe
immunosuppression, but most deaths are attributed to
dehydration caused by gastric problems
The West African outbreak is spreading via contact
with bodily fluids from an infected person. Those at
greatest risk are women caring for sick relatives,
those handling the dead, and health care workers
A number of fast-tracked vaccines are in the works.
There are tremendous hazards inherent with
fast-tracking vaccines, and US regulations already
place ALL the risk on the public receiving the
vaccine
y Dr. Mercola
For the third time in the history of the US Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC), the agency has raised its level of
emergency alertness to "Level 1"—this time in response to the Ebola
virus, following outbreaks in West Africa.
CDC Level 1 emergency response, reserved for the most dire health
emergencies, was declared for the first time in 2005 following
Hurricane Katrina, and again in 2009 for the H1N1 influenza
outbreak.1
On August 8, the World Health Organization (WHO) also declared
the Ebola outbreak an international public health emergency.2
The outbreak began late last year. Affected areas include Guinea,
Sierra Leone, and Liberia. At the time of this writing, of the 1,711
people infected 932 have died in these three areas. Nine people have
also been diagnosed with the disease in Nigeria.3
While the death rate for Ebola can be upwards of 90 percent, the
current outbreak has a death rate of about 55 percent.4
Two American aid workers, Dr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol,
have contracted the disease, and have been flown back for treatment
in the US, aboard a specially-equipped plane. At least one of the
victims is being treated at the Emory University Hospital in
Atlanta, Georgia.5,
6
What Is Ebola?
The Ebola virus7
was first discovered in 1976 when an outbreak occurred in Sudan. So
far, five subtypes have been identified:
Zaire ebolavirus (ZEBOV), identified in 1976, is
thought to be the most virulent
Sudan ebolavirus, (SEBOV)
Ivory Coast ebolavirus (ICEBOV)
Ebola-Reston (REBOV), isolated from monkeys in the
Philippines in 1989. In 2009, this variant was thought to have
been transferred from pigs to humans
Bundibugyo ebolavirus (BEBOV). The first outbreak
of this virus occurred in the Bundibugyo District, Uganda, in
2007.8
The virus was deposited with the CDC in November 2007, and was
patented in 2009.9
It is the most closely related to the ICEBOV strain, but it's
more virulent
The current outbreak involves Zaire ebolavirus, which
produces symptoms within six to 16 days of infection. The virus
leads to severe immunosuppression, but most deaths are attributed to
dehydration caused by gastric problems. Early signs of infection
include:
Non-specific flu-like symptoms
Sudden onset of fever, diarrhea, headache, muscle pain,
vomiting, and abdominal pains
Other, less common symptoms include sore throat, rashes, and
bleeding
As the infection sets in, shock, cerebral edema (fluid on the
brain), coagulation disorders, and secondary bacterial infections
may occur. Hemorrhaging tends to begin four to five days after onset
of the initial symptoms, which includes bleeding in the throat,
gums, lips, and vagina. Vomiting blood, excreting tar-like feces
indicative of gastrointestinal bleeding, and liver and/or
multi-organ failure can also occur.
How Ebola Spreads
According to Fabian Leendertz, an epidemiologist and disease
ecologist at the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin, the West African
outbreak is spreading via contact with bodily fluids from an
infected person. Those at greatest risk are women caring for sick
relatives, those handling the dead, and health care workers.
However, he notes that Ebola doesn't spread as easily as most
people might think. Again, person-to-person transmission requires
close personal contact with an infected individual or their body
fluids during the late stages of infection, or after death.10
Leendertz recently told Science News11
that "even if an infected person were to hop on a plane and fly
to the United States, Europe, or elsewhere, tight health care
measures would ensure that Ebola will never get far."
Researchers have also confirmed that Ebola is not airborne. Like
HIV/AIDS, the Ebola virus requires contact with bodily fluids of an
infected person.
Interestingly, the Ebola virus is inactivated by UV radiation.12
It certainly isn't the first time
sunlight has been shown to be beneficial in the fight against
disease, although bacteria appears to be more susceptible to UV
radiation than viruses.
Additionally, regular sun exposure will help optimize your
vitamin D, which is crucial for overall robust immune function.
Americans in particular may want to take that advice to heart,
seeing how most are
vitamin D deficient and therefore more open to infections of all
kinds.
Where Did the Ebola Virus Come from?
Potential hosts of the Ebola virus include humans, various monkey
species, chimpanzees, gorillas, baboons, duikers (a type of African
antelope), two species of rodents, one species of shrew, and three
species of fruit bats. The current outbreak in West Africa is
thought to originate from either bats or primates.
This is a Flash-based audio and may not be playable on
mobile devices.
In a recent NPR interview,13
David Quammen, author of Spillover, a book that traces the
evolution of viruses that move from animals to people, said:
"[T]here's a group of diseases, called zoonotic diseases,
which pass from nonhuman animals into humans. And spillover is
the moment when a new virus has the opportunity to leap from a
bat, monkey or rodent into its first human victim. We're pretty
sure that's what happened with the Ebola outbreak in West
Africa...
We don't know where Ebola lives permanently — its
so-called reservoir host. A reservoir is the animal in which a
pathogen or virus lives inconspicuously, without causing
symptoms...
There was one Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic
of Congo, where it was suspected that the first case involved
contact with a big fruit bat. There were some large, migratory
fruit bats roosting along the river in this area.
One man in particular bought a bat at a market and
carried it home. Then, I believe, the infection passed from him
to his daughter. There was a strong, but not definite,
implication that the killing of fruit bats, and the selling and
buying of them in the market, is what triggered an outbreak."
Fast-Tracked Ebola Vaccines Moving Into Human Trials
A number of vaccines are in the works, with human trials already
underway. One human trial is set to begin in September.14
According to Newsweek:15
"Once phase 1 testing is completed in January [2015],
Fauci expects phase 2 will be conducted on both American and
African populations. 'If it proves to be safe, you expand the
trial,' he says. 'All of that, the second phase, takes several
months. You need to scale up production of the virus.'
From there, if the vaccine is successful in both US and
African populations, it may skip the third phase of trials and
go directly to Africa. According to Fauci, the earliest this
might happen is 'sometime before the end of 2015'—a timetable he
describes as 'lightning speed.'"
According to Biotechnology Focus,16
Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corporation already began a Phase 1 human
clinical trial of a drug called TKM-Ebola back in January. This drug
is being developed under a $140 million contract with the US
Department of Defense (DoD). (Monsanto has also invested in Tekmira,
which is a developer of RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics.17)
In 2013, the Vanderbilt Vaccine Center at Vanderbilt University also
received a $4.4 million grant from the US DoD for Ebola vaccine
development and other Ebola treatments.18
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has also been working on an
Ebola vaccine for more than a decade.
Debate Grows Over Use of Experimental, Untested Drugs
A debate is now growing over the use of experimental drugs to
combat the Ebola outbreak. As noted by WebMD,19
an experimental treatment called ZMapp, formulated in January, is
based on genetically engineered tobacco leaves. The drug is a joint
venture between Mapp Biopharmaceutical and Kentucky Bioprocessing,
and is being developed in collaboration with LeafBio of San Diego,
Defyrus Inc. of Canada, the US government, and the Public Health
Agency of Canada.20
The two American aid workers who contracted Ebola both received
this drug, despite the fact that it's only been tested in monkeys.
The scientists working on the drug haven't even published the
initial findings of their research, and the drug has not gone
through the FDA drug approval process yet.
"Making the serum is slow, in part, because the plants
must be grown for several weeks before they are 'infected' with
a type of protein. 'Basically the plants act like a photocopier
of the proteins,' WebMD explains.21
Once they're infected... it takes a week for the plants to make
enough of the protein to harvest and distill into a useable
drug... [T]he compound... is a combination of three antibodies
that are thought to help in two ways.
One of the antibodies alerts the immune system to
infected cells so they can be destroyed... the other two
antibodies probably prevent the virus from making more copies of
itself. 'We're still trying to figure out exactly how it works,'
[Erica Ollmann Saphire, Ph.D., professor of immunology at the
Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, CA] says. 'But it seems
to neutralize the virus.'"
Dr. Kent Brantly is said to have recovered after receiving the
drug, Thomas Geisbert, MD, professor of infectious disease at The
University of Texas Galveston Medical Branch, who has studied the
Ebola virus for more than 25 years, urges everyone to be cautious
about interpreting the effect of the drug. It may or may not have
had anything to do with Brantly's recovery. There are still many
unanswered questions about the safety and efficacy of this
genetically engineered plant-vaccine. As noted by Dr. Ollmann above,
they don't even understand how it works yet! It should come as no
surprise then that they have no idea what the side effects
might be...
Such worries are not foremost on the mind of investors in
companies creating Ebola drugs however. As noted by NPR:22"Interest in drugs that might be used to treat Ebola virus has
hit a fever pitch, but the buzz isn't simply about fear of Ebola, or
about saving lives in poor nations of West Africa. It's also about
money... [Tekmira] trades on the stock market, so—no
surprise—there's a fair amount of chatter online by investors
pumping up the prospects of the putative Ebola drug and hoping to
make a buck." According to Time Magazine,23
the price of Tekmira stock shot up by 45 percent once the company
announced the FDA approved limited use of the drug in already
infected Ebola patients.
'New Drugs Are Not the Answer to Ebola,' Infectious Diseases Expert
Says
Meanwhile, common-sense basics like hygiene, nutrition, vitamin
D, and intravenous vitamin C are overlooked. Thomas E. Levy, MD, JD
recently published an article24
addressing potential Ebola remedies, noting that vitamin C may be of
particular importance:
"To date, not a single virus has been tested that is not
inactivated (killed) by a large enough dose of vitamin C
(ascorbic acid)...A primary way in which vitamin C
destroys viruses, or sets them up for destruction by the immune
system, is by activating the 'Fenton reaction.' In a nutshell,
this reaction can proceed inside the virus, inside cells in
which viruses are replicating, and on the surfaces of the
viruses themselves.
The result of this reaction that is stimulated by the
presence of vitamin C, one or more transition metal cations, and
the local presence of peroxide is the immediate production of
hydroxyl radicals. These radicals are the most reactive
oxidizing agents ever identified. As such, they radically
upregulate oxidative stress and end up destroying whatever is in
their immediate environment."
I've also interviewed
Dr. Ronald Hunninghake, an internationally recognized expert on
vitamin C, about its benefits in serious cases of H1N1 infection.
According to Anthony Fauci, director of the US National Institute of
Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the most powerful tool against
Ebola is basic medical care.25
"The real area of focus... should be setting up medical
infrastructure in the affected countries to provide sick people
with basic medical support such as replacement fluids and blood.
That will have a much bigger effect on health than a few batches
of experimental medications," he told USA Today.26
There's really no reason to suspect that Ebola would actually
become a major threat in the US, as airborne transmission is
unlikely.27
But scaring Americans is undoubtedly a profitable venture...
Fear-Mongering Is a Lucrative Business
The Ebola panic is very reminiscent of the 2005
bird flu hoax, and the 2009
H1N1 (swine flu) scare—another
Level 1 "emergency" that turned out to be
grossly hyped to promote the sales of unnecessary vaccines that
turned out to be riddled with horrible side effects, including the
devastating sleeping disorder,
narcolepsy.
In 2005, President Bush made the public prediction that two
million Americans might die from the
bird flu. Similar predictions were issued in
2006, 2007, and again in
2008. Those fears were exposed as little more than a cruel hoax,
designed to instill fear, and
line the pocketbooks of various individuals and industry. I
became so convinced by the evidence AGAINST the possibility of a
bird flu pandemic that I wrote a New York Times bestselling
book, The Bird Flu Hoax, revealing the massive fraud involved
with the epidemic that never actually happened.
Then, in 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned its 194
member nations to expect up to 1/3 of the world's population to be
infected with the swine flu (H1N1). Massive amounts of casualties
were again predicted; dangerous vaccines were fast-tracked, and
antiviral drugs later shown to be useless were stockpiled. The
antiviral flu drugs
Tamiflu and Relenza were found to shorten duration of symptoms
by less than a day, and had no effect on the number of
hospitalizations. One British study concluded that Tamiflu drugs
given for the swine flu was "a waste of £500 million," as it did
nothing to halt the spread of influenza.28,
29,
30 According to The Telegraph:31
"The review, authored by Oxford University, claims that
Roche, the drug's Swiss manufacturer, gave a 'false impression'
of its effectiveness and accuses the company of 'sloppy
science.' The study found that Tamiflu, which was given to
240,000 people in the UK at a rate of 1,000 a week, has been
linked to suicides of children in Japan and suggested that, far
from easing flu symptoms, it could actually worsen them."
In reality, the 2009 flu season turned out to be far milder
than average, despite the H1N1 variant of the influenza virus being
in circulation. An explosive
CBS News investigation published in October 2009 clearly showed
that the vast majority of "swine flu cases" were not even influenza
at all, let alone H1N1. Rather, based on lab testing, the vast
majority of people who reported flu-like symptoms actually had some
other type of cold or upper respiratory infection.
Now, health officials warn that an Ebola outbreak in the US is
just "one airline passenger away." While theoretically plausible,
panic should be tempered by the fact that the American medical
system is far better equipped to contain a non-airborne
virus like Ebola, compared to West Africa. According to Anthony
Fauci, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases,32
it would be "extraordinarily unlikely that it will be an
outbreak at all because of the way we take care of people, how we
have the capability of isolating them, how we understand what one
needs to do to protect the health care providers and the kinds of
health care facilities we have."
Why Does the CDC Promote Unreasonable Fear and Panic?
The fact is, the CDC is trumping up the fear factor, while
simultaneously downplaying its own role in potentially creating
a devastating outbreak through its own negligence. Mere weeks ago,
the CDC was found to have accidentally released two dangerous
pathogens:
anthrax and H5N1 avian influenza. Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, head of
the CDC, recently issued a report that admits to sloppy work ethics
at the lab.33
If you ask me, we should probably be more afraid of what the CDC
does with the Ebola virus than anything...
The CDC promoted and was intimately involved with the film
Contagion, which was in part filmed at the CDC headquarters in
Atlanta, GA.34
In the summer of 2011, the agency again gave a nod to Hollywood,
creating a Zombie Preparedness Campaign;35,
36 ostensibly to bring awareness to pandemic, hurricane,
earthquake, and other disaster preparedness.
Promoting Fear to Further Financially-Driven Agendas
As I've discussed many times previously, there are tremendous
hazards inherent with fast-tracking vaccines. By their very
definition, fast-tracked vaccines are those that have received very
little safety testing prior to being used, and US regulations
already place ALL the risk on the public receiving the vaccine,
regardless of whether the vaccine is mandated or voluntary. Vaccine
makers can more or less create a lethal vaccine and get away scot
free at this point; they're that well-protected against liability
for adverse events of pandemic vaccines.
The PREP Act removes your right to a trial jury unless you can
provide clear evidence of willful misconduct that resulted in death
or serious physical injury. But that's not all. But first you must
apply for and be granted permission to sue by the DHHS
Secretary. The most problematic aspect of the PREP Act is that it
removes all financial incentive to make a safe product. In fact,
vaccine makers now have a negative incentive to test it for
safety, because if they are aware of problems, then they could
potentially be held liable for willful misconduct!
As long as they can prove they "didn't know" of any problem, they
will not be liable for damages. Hence, it's in their best interest
to know as little as possible about the adverse reactions it might
cause. It seems unimaginable, but under these pandemic conditions,
you and your children are little more than unpaid human trial
subjects for experimental, fast-tracked vaccines (and other pandemic
drugs).
For the most part, most all of the conventional media portrays
the entire vaccine process as something heroic and vital to the
health of our culture, and they will be reluctant to ever promote
any news that contradicts this belief. But as recent history shows,
the GREATEST danger could actually be the
CDC and other bioterror labs.
I believe we need to consider the financial motives behind the
promotion of pandemics and the vaccines that go along with them. It
is vital for you to carefully research ALL sides of the vaccine
issue and not merely trust federal public health authorities, most
physicians, and the media, as they are largely influenced by massive
conflict of interest and collusion. Seek other independent and
objective views like those at NVIC before you make any important
decisions about deciding to vaccinate.
Protect Your Right to Informed Consent and Defend Vaccine Exemptions
With all the uncertainty surrounding the safety and efficacy of
vaccines, it's critical to protect your right to make independent
health choices and exercise voluntary informed consent to
vaccination. It is urgent that everyone in America stand up and
fight to protect and expand vaccine informed consent protections in
state public health and employment laws. The best way to do this is
to get personally involved with your state legislators and educating
the leaders in your community.
THINK GLOBALLY, ACT LOCALLY.
National vaccine policy recommendations are made at the federal
level but vaccine laws are made at the state level. It is at the
state level where your action to protect your vaccine choice rights
can have the greatest impact. It is critical for EVERYONE to get
involved now in standing up for the legal right to make voluntary
vaccine choices in America because those choices are being
threatened by lobbyists representing drug companies, medical trade
associations and public health officials, who are trying to persuade
legislators to strip all vaccine exemptions from public health laws.
Signing up for NVIC's free Advocacy Portal at
www.NVICAdvocacy.org gives
you immediate, easy access to your own state legislators on your
Smart Phone or computer so you can make your voice heard. You will
be kept up-to-date on the latest state bills threatening your
vaccine choice rights and get practical, useful information to help
you become an effective vaccine choice advocate in your own
community. Also, when national vaccine issues come up, you will have
the up-to-date information and call to action items you need at your
fingertips..
Share Your Story with the Media and People You Know
If you or a family member has suffered a serious vaccine
reaction, injury or death, please talk about it. If we don't share
information and experiences with each other, everybody feels alone
and afraid to speak up. Write a letter to the editor if you have a
different perspective on a vaccine story that appears in your local
newspaper. Make a call in to a radio talk show that is only
presenting one side of the vaccine story.
I must be frank with you; you have to be brave because you might
be strongly criticized for daring to talk about the "other side" of
the vaccine story. Be prepared for it and have the courage to not
back down. Only by sharing our perspective and what we know to be
true about vaccination will the public conversation about
vaccination open up so people are not afraid to talk about it.
We cannot allow the drug companies and medical trade associations
funded by drug companies or public health officials promoting forced
use of a growing list of vaccines to dominate the conversation about
vaccination. The vaccine injured cannot be swept under the carpet
and treated like nothing more than "statistically acceptable
collateral damage" of national one-size-fits-all mandatory
vaccination policies that put way too many people at risk for injury
and death. We shouldn't be treating people like guinea pigs instead
of human beings.
Internet Resources Where You Can Learn More
I encourage you to visit the website of the non-profit charity,
the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), at
www.NVIC.org:
NVIC Memorial for Vaccine Victims: View
descriptions and photos of children and adults, who have
suffered vaccine reactions, injuries and deaths. If you or your
child experiences an adverse vaccine event, please consider
posting and sharing your story here.
Vaccine Freedom Wall: View or post
descriptions of harassment and sanctions by doctors, employers,
school and health officials for making independent vaccine
choices.
Connect with Your Doctor or Find a New One That Will Listen and Care
If your pediatrician or doctor refuses to provide medical care to
you or your child unless you agree to get vaccines you don't want, I
strongly encourage you to have the courage to find another
doctor. Harassment, intimidation, and refusal of medical care
is becoming the modus operandi of the medical establishment in an
effort to stop the change in attitude of many parents about
vaccinations after they become truly educated about health and
vaccination.
However, there is hope.
At least 15 percent of young doctors recently polled admit that
they're starting to adopt a more individualized approach to
vaccinations in direct response to the vaccine safety concerns of
parents. It is good news that there is a growing number of smart
young doctors, who prefer to work as partners with parents in making
personalized vaccine decisions for children, including delaying
vaccinations or giving children fewer vaccines on the same day or
continuing to provide medical care for those families, who decline
use of one or more vaccines.
So take the time to locate a doctor, who treats you with
compassion and respect and is willing to work with you to do what is
right for your child.
Copyright 1997- 2014 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved.