Editor’s note: This post originally appeared in 2014 but has been updated with more recent info.
This post is by Bernie Carr, apartmentprepper.com
The new Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is very much in the news. Over 1000 cases have been confirmed since the diseased resurfaced in August, 2018. It is now considered the second largest and second deadliest outbreak after the 2014 West Africa outbreak that killed more than 11,000 people.
The problem would be if someone were already infected and didn’t know it, gets on a plane and potentially exposed hundreds of people.
What’s different since the last outbreak?
There is now an experimental Ebola vaccine and new treatments that were not around back in 2014, that are being administered to affected residents.
Unfortunately, several treatment centers have come under attack by armed militia so some of these facilities had to close.
The communities continue to distrust health workers which prevents people from seeking treatment.
As of this writing, the World Health Organization has declined to declare the Ebola outbreak a global emergency.
Your city may be far away but it’s best to be aware
The current outbreak location is not far from the South Sudan with the borders of Rwanda and Uganda close by as well. With international travel, it is not hard to imagine someone with the virus boarding a plane. They arrive at their destination and feel sick enough to go to a hospital. Consider what could happen when a person who appears to have flu-like symptoms but has Ebola were to go an emergency room.
- The person signs in and sits down before getting called. If they appear to be in urgent need, they may get seen quicker than others, but either way, they sit in a waiting room with people on either side, in front and behind them. These people could potentially be exposed. I should state that all reports say they virus is not airborne, yet a few healthcare workers who have suits on still seem to catch it somehow. Let’s say just four people are exposed, being on the conservative side. There would be more if the hospital is in a busy urban area.
- The patient then gets called to speak to a billing person who interviews him or her regarding insurance and payment. That person could now be exposed.
- Finally, the patient is sent inside the emergency department. While waiting for the doctor, a nurse or assistant takes their blood pressure, temperature, questions them about symptoms, etc. None of these personnel were protective clothing. Now we have seen five people exposed, from the minute the patient came in.
- Finally, the person is seen by a doctor, who then orders that the patient be admitted. The doctor is now the 6th person who came in contact with the infected patient.
If the patient is not immediately identified as contagious, more workers will be taking x-rays, wheeling the patient around in elevators, etc. By now, there could be at least 10 or more people exposed. Unless the hospital is prepared and is on the lookout for Ebola, they may not identify the symptoms right away.
At a recent doctor’s appointment, I asked the doctor if he was at all concerned about the spread of Ebola in the U.S. The doctor indicated he was not too worried, “unless some grievous error were to happen,” in other words, a medical mistake, which can happen if there were more infected patients. I’ve worked in hospitals in the past and accidents do happen. Even the most careful, rigorous protocols occasionally fail. I don’t want anyone to panic by any means, but to consider the possibility and make a plan just in case.
A few things to think about:
- Are you at risk for infection if the virus spread to your town or city? Densely populated areas tend to have people living closer together, thus increasing the risk of exposure. If you live in an apartment building that has common areas such as coffee rooms, reception areas, swimming pool, management office and elevators, you may need to away from these areas should there be a pandemic.
- At what point would you keep everyone at home? When would you skip work, have your partner stay home, and keep kids from school?
- Would you stay in your apartment or home, or leave and go to a safer, less populated location? Many city dwellers do not have a bug-out location, but do have family or friends outside of town who may be in a less crowded area. Now is the time to think about this, before anything happens.
- Are you prepared for a lock-down? You’ll need enough food and supplies for a couple of weeks without having to shopping. You won’t want to run out of toilet paper, prescriptions and other essentials if you are trying to avoid crowds and exposure.
- If someone at home were to get sick, do you have supplies to get you through? You would need sick room supplies such as protective clothing (gloves, protective goggles) lots of disinfectant such as bleach, antibacterial wipes, basic first aid supplies, etc.
I don’t have all the answers, but I hope this exercise gets you thinking and getting a few supplies just in case. If nothing happens, then we can all be relieved and grateful. Just like with any other disaster, if the dreaded event happens, it’s best to be prepared. See What to Do If you are Worried about Ebola
Get updates from the CDC website
Apartment Prepper readers know I am not given to fear-mongering and I try to take a common sense approach to preparing for disasters. I pray the vaccine continues to be administered to more people. Hopefully, current measures are enough to contain this outbreak and it will burn out soon.
About the author:
Bernie Carr is the founder of Apartment Prepper. She has written several books including the best-selling Prepper’s Pocket Guide, Jake and Miller’s Big Adventure, The Penny-Pinching Prepper and How to Prepare for Most Emergencies on a $50 a Month Budget. Her work appears in sites such as the Allstate Blog and Clark.com, as well as print magazines such as Backwoods Survival Guide and Prepper Survival Guide. She has been featured in national publications such as Fox Business and Popular Mechanics. Learn more about Bernie here.
Ebola Survival Handbook
Ebola Human Disease is a short distance airborne distance (less than 6 feet away) not like LONG DISTANCE AIRBORNE DISEASE such as Tuberculosis. Spread by air droplets of cough, sneeze or heavy breath. If you can smell a person’s breath then you are too close and obviously breathing his/her own breathing molecules. Viruses are bigger than molecules. Odor is spread by ejection of molecules.
I’ve been thinking about this. The first “reaction” would be to shelter in and isolate yourself. The downside here, is that there are things I do not know. Can ebola be spread through the water supply since it can be incubated and passed through bodily fluids? i.e. can you ingest it and infect yourself?
Another consideration, being in the NYC area, is “how big does the outbreak have to be before getting out of Dodge?”
There is so much more to consider, and a tough call all the way around. Do you go as far as buying coverall suits (MOPS gear) for the family?
Honestly, I have a LOT of questions on this one…..
Can Ebola be spread through the water supply since it can be incubated and passed through bodily fluids? No, as long as the water supply has been properly treated with CHLORINATION process. During #SHTF scenario this Chlorination process may fail but if that is the case, Cholera & Disentery will come to you much earlier than Ebola if it were present. MSF (Doctors Without Borders) & WHO recommends a low solution of 5.25%. MSF recommends & USES a flexible double ORANGE fence 6 feet apart to prevent AIRBORNE INTERACTIONS AT SHORT DISTANCE BETWEEN VISITORS & PATIENTS. These are the CDC recommendations:
Ebola Virus is susceptible to 3% Acetic Acid (VINEGAR), 1% Glutaraldehyde (Metricide), alcohol-based products,
for bleach dilutions (1:10-1:100 for ?10 minutes) of 5.25% household Bleach (Sodium Hypochlorite), & Calcium Hypochlorite (Bleach Powder). I add: Bleach solutions need to be prepared daily BECAUSE IT WILL LOSE POWER & make sure that the solution is contained in a dark non-transluscent container to prevent light decomposing the bleach solution. So far HIV nor Ebola can be transmitted by mosquitoes nor any other insects. Few years ago, Canada found a bedbug with Hepatitis B virus inside but nobody affected. (only one in history so far). What all this tell us? What we know today can change tomorrow. Always be prepared. Ebola can be inactivated by heating clothes & linen for 30 minutes to 60 minutes at 60°C, boiling for 5 minutes, or gamma irradiation (1.2 x106 rads to 1.27 x106 rads) combined with 1% Glutaraldehyde. Ebola Virus has also been determined to be moderately sensitive to Ultraviolet Type C radiation (Sunlight if you are in a Third World Country).
Ebola Virus Zaire type can survive on glass surfaces such as trashed bottles for over 50 days at 39°F ( 4 °C) however it has not been found in nature as yet.
Can you ingest Ebola? Yes. Many of the citizens of those countries eat gorillas, chimpanzees, monkeys, & bats that carry the Ebola virus. They call these “BUSHMEAT”. Some people eat Bushmeat raw or dried up. Twitter: @EndTimeTuber
If you are a Prepper and you are in NYC: the first thing to do is get out now. Why wait? If you must stay, then plan leaving soon. Where to? Apalachian mountains.
If you buy Ebola suits, then you must remember that the suits are not exactly washable. They are made of Tyvek plus a lamination. Not cheap enough to buy every week. Extremely careful to make them last. You may bleach several times very careful in a tub. In a SHTF scenario you may have to bleach your latex gloves too if Walmart is no longer available and your supplies are gone or limited. n a Soon or later it will torn. Most viruses enter thru the mucous membranes: eyes, mouth, anus, ears, meatus, nose. As long as your skin is not broken, (scrap, laceration, paper cuts, etc.) your priority is to cover all those areas as well as your hands. Never touch your face or body with your hands. Handwashing: long 20 seconds, hard, both sides, under fingernails, etc.
Can Ebola be spread through the water supply since it can be incubated and passed through bodily fluids? No, as long as the water supply has been properly treated with CHLORINATION process. During #SHTF scenario this Chlorination process may fail but if that is the case, Cholera & Disentery will come to you much earlier than Ebola if it were present. MSF (Doctors Without Borders) & WHO recommends a low solution of 5.25%. MSF recommends & USES a flexible double ORANGE fence 6 feet apart to prevent AIRBORNE INTERACTIONS AT SHORT DISTANCE BETWEEN VISITORS & PATIENTS. These are the CDC recommendations:
Ebola Virus is susceptible to 3% Acetic Acid (VINEGAR), 1% Glutaraldehyde (Metricide), alcohol-based products,
for bleach dilutions (1:10-1:100 for ?10 minutes) of 5.25% household Bleach (Sodium Hypochlorite), & Calcium Hypochlorite (Bleach Powder). I add: Bleach solutions need to be prepared daily BECAUSE IT WILL LOSE POWER & make sure that the solution is contained in a dark non-transluscent container to prevent light decomposing the bleach solution. So far HIV nor Ebola can be transmitted by mosquitoes nor any other insects. Few years ago, Canada found a bedbug with Hepatitis B virus inside but nobody affected. (only one in history so far). What all this tell us? What we know today can change tomorrow. Always be prepared. Ebola can be inactivated by heating clothes & linen for 30 minutes to 60 minutes at 60°C, boiling for 5 minutes, or gamma irradiation (1.2 x106 rads to 1.27 x106 rads) combined with 1% Glutaraldehyde. Ebola Virus has also been determined to be moderately sensitive to Ultraviolet Type C radiation (Sunlight if you are in a Third World Country).
Ebola Virus Zaire type can survive on glass surfaces such as trashed bottles for over 50 days at 39°F ( 4 °C) however it has not been found in nature as yet.
Can you ingest Ebola? Yes. Many of the citizens of those countries eat gorillas, chimpanzees, monkeys, & bats that carry the Ebola virus. They call these “BUSHMEAT”. Some people eat Bushmeat raw or dried up. Twitter: @EndTimeTuber
If you are a Prepper and you are in NYC: the first thing to do is get out now. Why wait? If you must stay, then plan leaving soon. Where to? Apalachian mountains.
If Ebola hits NYC, then for sure you will have some power outage due to riots caused by panic which will make things much worst.
If you buy Ebola suits, then you must remember that the suits are not exactly washable. They are made of Tyvek plus a lamination. Not cheap enough to buy every week. Extremely careful to make them last. You may bleach several times very careful in a tub. In a SHTF scenario you may have to bleach your latex gloves too if Walmart is no longer available and your supplies are gone or limited. n a Soon or later it will torn. Most viruses enter thru the mucous membranes: eyes, mouth, anus, ears, meatus, nose. As long as your skin is not broken, (scrap, laceration, paper cuts, etc.) your priority is to cover all those areas as well as your hands. Never touch your face or body with your hands. Handwashing: long 20 seconds, hard, both sides, under fingernails, etc.
Twitter: @EndTimeTuber
Hi Qang, I can see you have given this a lot of thought. Thanks for offering helpful advice.
Yes, indeed. By the time you started this blog Ebola was ONLY in Africa only. Now #Ebola is in 3 continents including USA, SPAIN & NORWAY. Suspect in INDIA. I am sure there are more suspects worldwide by now. You are a great visionaire. We are on this together. Here is a Video link by Anderson Cooper on AC360 on CNN.
What would you if there was an Ebola cleanup feet away from your front door in your APARTMENT COMPLEX?
Troubling questions about the Ebola cleanup in Dallas
https://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2014/10/06/troubling-questions-about-the-ebola-cleanup-in-dallas/?hpt=ac_mid
Main stream media is not reporting an outbreak in Uganda, Africa of a Virus worst than Ebola called Marburg. So far 1 is dead, his brother has fever and 80 people are in quarantine. Of the 80 people, 60 of them are healthcare workers which is what makes this whole situation more troubling than usual. The Marburg virus is a cousin of Ebola (same family of filoviruses, which became a new exotic type of virus in the 1970’s never seen before). Marburg is just as hard to get as Ebola however it takes 10 times less body fluids including sweat to infect you, let’s say in some shaving nick on your face after someone shout at your face. Also because it kills so fast it has less chance to spread. Ebola used to be 80% to 90% chance of death but this West Africa version only kills 60% which means that the person live long enough to infect many more people. The Ebola has a 21 days to grow but Marburg takes only 14 days. Now, almost the entire middle of Africa is infected with Ebola & Marburg viruses, not to mention the high season of Malaria.
The lady assistant nurse was not wearing the LAMINATED HAZMAT TYPEK DUPONT EBOLA SUIT but was following the current #CDC Ebola standard precautions which I strongly oppose for the reasons above mentioned as they are insufficient. The person infected from Norway is a doctor that work for MSF (Doctors Without Borders) who also allegedly followed the CDC Ebola Standard Precautions. (Again: I emphasize as INSUFFICIENT)
Twitter: @EndTimeTuber
I’m gone to convey my little brother, that he should also go to see this web site on regular basis to get updated from hottest news.
I work at a Federal facility and have people who are returning from all over the world. I would not be going to work if there was any sign of an out break. I would hunker down and live off of my supplies till it was apparent that it was time to “get out of town”. That means have a car with a full tank of gas at all times and extra gas stored to use.
I have friend’s that live out in a very rural area that I can go to if need be.
Hi Oldguy, Glad you have considered this and have a good plan in place. Thanks for the comment!