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.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.
True, true, I had forgotten to take that new tidbit into account, but I am skeptical of the sneezing or coughing theory. Then again, if I was anywhere near Ebola, I wouldn't be taking a single chance. Hopefully (and this is probably the worst case in which I've ever felt compelled to use that word) there was further contact than she was aware of nearer her eyes/mouth/nose and this transmission isn't occurring the simple skin-to-skin contact.
There has been a new disturbing development. A healthcare worker in Dallas was infected while treating Thomas Duncan. Like the Spanish nurse, it is assumed that there may have been carelessness, although she was wearing protective clothing.