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mk  ·  3700 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: One Powerful Illustration Shows Exactly What's Wrong With How the West Talks About Ebola

    As in, the idea is not that some virus is so strong it can be transmitted willy-nilly, but that the virus has developed to be more transmissible in it's current environment.

I wonder about this. When they start talking about infected clothing and sheets, it suggests to me that the virus is fairly stable at room temp. Also when I hear about eyes and mucous membranes as routes of transmission, it makes you wonder if a patient sneezing or coughing in an elevator is enough to infect bystanders.

The Spanish nurse that was infected related that she may have inadvertently touched her face with her suit or glove. That's not her eye, but her face.

If the virus is stable on surfaces and skin for extended periods of time, episodic outbreaks in developed countries seem possible. At least, I am not ready to dismiss the possibility.