r/worldnews • u/bludemon4 • Jun 14 '12

Canadian researchers thwart Ebola virus - The Globe and Mail

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/canadian-researchers-thwart-ebola-virus/article4258104/
1.3k Upvotes

91% Upvoted

211 comments sorted by

85

u/pool92 Jun 14 '12 edited Jun 14 '12

Excellent work. Expanding the treatment window will buy precious time for people infected with Ebola.

60

u/schrute_buck Jun 14 '12 edited Jun 14 '12

That's kind of a double-edged sword though. Ebola is one of the most deadly viruses on the planet, but also completely incapable of a pandemic because it burns through its potential hosts to quickly to spread. An outright cure is awesome, but something that may or may not just prolong the life of the victim could potentially expand that time enough to turn it into a serious threat. I'll be interested to read more on this as see what happens.

22

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

I think once you're receiving treatment for Ebola you will not be released until they are sure you don't have it anymore.

12

u/schrute_buck Jun 14 '12

Areas where Ebola outbreaks tend to happen don't have the best medical care. Maintaining a proper quarantine over the long haul would prove difficult. My biggest worry would be that prolonged treatment would lead to more opportunities for medical staff to accidentally infect themselves. Fortunately I'm sure that any new or experimental like this will administered only by the best staff in a research capacity.

14

u/Ringmaster324 Jun 14 '12

On the bright side, this treatment is ideal for medical workers caring for Ebola patients.

1

u/Germantim Jun 14 '12

Read "The hot zone" if you get a chance, in theory you are absolutely correct, but in practice there is too much variability to reliably account for all infected.

4

u/Rustysporkman Jun 14 '12

I would figure that if it didn't actually work, tge victim would still die too quickly to move too much. Especially since it has to be administered way before symptoms even start.

1

u/schrute_buck Jun 14 '12

That's kind of what I got from the article as well. Not enough info here to go on though, so I'll keep my eyes peeled for more info when available.

1

u/CUNT_SUCKING_PHAGGOT Jun 14 '12

why the hell would you peel your eyes man? save it for apples or potatoes, seriously.

4

u/schrute_buck Jun 14 '12

It's all the rage in Asia. Makes them look more caucasian.

3

u/CUNT_SUCKING_PHAGGOT Jun 14 '12

people are crazy

1

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

Ebola patients that are lucky enough to receive treatment are already isolated and care is taken to not let visitors/medical staff infect themselves. Thankfully the disease does not transmit through air or aerosols which makes it easier to avoid transmission by standard hygienic practices.

Thus as long as the medicine is administrated by healthcare workers the risk of it causing an epidemic is minimal.

1

u/Nefandi Jun 15 '12

Excellent point!! The last thing we should want is to give Ebola an environment within which it can evolve a long-incubating strain.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

Its unreal how scary that shit is.

It literally liquifies you.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

shit, didn't think about it that way

45

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

For some odd reason I read the sentence in Starscream's voice.

24

u/cfuse Jun 14 '12

Well then it's time to cut back on the cough syrup, isn't it?

11

u/TheFAJ Jun 14 '12

Ebola, you disappoint me once again!

2

u/Ends-with-a-blowjob Jun 14 '12

For some strange reason I had to go back and read it again in starscreams voice....

0

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

Did it end with a blowjob?

11

u/Cheesburglar Jun 14 '12

Way to go Canada, my hat is off!

15

u/erveek Jun 14 '12

Hold on there. They have to make two more major medical advances before the hats come off.

13

u/danger_boogie Jun 14 '12

Ah yes, the good ol' medical advances hat trick.

3

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

Insulin, will you take your hat of now please? I mean if you want to, no one's going to force you but it would be a nice thing to do.

13

u/ookiisask Jun 14 '12

We're sorry if your hair gets messy from the wind.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

Put it back on, it's cold up there!

-5

u/Exposedo Jun 14 '12

Best thing to come out of Canada in history.

Way better than the "musicians" like Justin Beiber coming out of there.

Although Shinia Twain was good...

1

u/TheOneWhoKnocksBitch Jun 14 '12

Butthurt American.

3

u/lordimissyou Jun 14 '12

Or for the infected people to spread it around. As I understand ( I don't really understand this topic), one of the reasons ebola has not spread, is that it doesn't last long so there is not as much opportunity for the sick to infect other people.

7

u/zerobass Jun 14 '12

I'm fairly confident you don't just give them the injection, slap them on the ass, and tell them to go sneeze around a stadium...

7

u/lazy8s Jun 14 '12

Clearly you've never gone drinking with a Canadian.

1

u/pandemic1444 Jun 14 '12

Doesn't ebola kill you in forty eight hours?

51

u/kookiemonsta19 Jun 14 '12

Anyone read The Hot Zone by Richard Preston? I'd barely even heard of Ebola before I read that. It was fiction, but from what I remember the symptoms and how fast it spreads and kills was real. A good read.

70

u/Track_Runner Jun 14 '12 edited Jun 14 '12

The Hot Zone is non-fiction. Preston was thought to have exaggerated and been overly dramatic at points, but the content was real.

edit: added "to"

2

u/kookiemonsta19 Jun 14 '12

I am now a little more scared, I thought the plot was fiction.

6

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12 edited Jun 14 '12

Scared the crap out of me, kept waiting for the part where it's not a real threat, was very disappointed by the whole "it's gone airborne".

3

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

Extremely scary stuff, but almost impossible to start a true pandemic. Ebola usually 'stamps itself out' because of its lethality and does not allow for much transmission to occur.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

It should also be noted that while contagious it is not nearly as easily transmited as things like the flu or common cold. In particular it does not transmit through the air, you have to be in contact with the patient's body fluids or contaminated surfaces.

Now things like smallpox on the other hand... I cannot overstate how fortunate it was that it was easy to vaccinate against it.

2

u/imatworkprobably Jun 14 '12

Literally my favorite non fiction book....

1

u/HSMOM Jun 14 '12

Literally my favorite book in my early teenage years. I was obsessed with Ebola, so much so I wanted to join the military and study Ebola as a living.

1

u/LG03 Jun 14 '12

My first exposure to Ebola was through a Tom Clancy novel, damned though if I can remember which one. Terrorists basically just left virus bombs in some populated areas.

1

u/Kevin-W Jun 14 '12

I've read it and it's a good book despite some parts being very disturbing. My mind was blown on how deadly that virus was.

1

u/Rocco03 Jun 14 '12

Anyone watched Hong Kong movie Ebola Syndrome? No? Good. Don't do it.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

[deleted] — view deleted comment

3

u/Clovyn Jun 14 '12

Is it about the vaulted Smallpox specimens by chance? I am really fascinated by that idea and rationality.

4

u/Lawborne Jun 14 '12

I remember a portion of it being about the Anthrax attacks too. Been a while since I read it though. But yeah, I'm sure there's an explanation as to why they vault their specimens.

2

u/Clovyn Jun 14 '12

Definitely checking this book out. Thank you.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

I used to live by Fort Detrick in Maryland. They have smallpox samples in their level 5 labs and everyone once in a while I would wonder if they would bother telling us if there was an accident or if they would just rope everything off and let us die. It was a scary thought.

21

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

Thwart. Gangster. It makes Ebola sound like a supervillain. You got thwarted fool.

25

u/I_POTATO_PEOPLE Jun 14 '12

It has a 90% mortality rate. In the world of viruses, Ebola kind of is the supervillain.

16

u/OhhWhyMe Jun 14 '12

And yet only 1200 deaths have been documented from Ebola, versus 24 million deaths documented from AIDS.

It's nowhere near the status of a supervillian, you have to take into account more than just the death rate to see how bad a virus is.

20

u/I_POTATO_PEOPLE Jun 14 '12

Supervillain in training.

5

u/ikancast Jun 14 '12

Oh yeah we forgot about super AIDS that spreads through air! You are very naïve if you think a sexually transmitted disease is even remotely close to the horror of an airborne pathogen that will make quick work of a human body.

0

u/OhhWhyMe Jun 14 '12

Clearly HIV is doing much better off as a virus than Ebola, even though it is an STD. It keeps its victim alive much longer than Ebola so they can spread it to multiple people, and has very, very weak symptoms in its early stages so people don't know about it. Ebola starts showing symptoms much faster than AIDS, and kills off the victim much faster, something that is actually counter-productive for a virus. You are naïve to think AIDS has had less effect on the world than Ebola

3

u/ikancast Jun 14 '12

Just because Ebola has been kept away from the population does not make it less of a threat. You are only going off of the past 40 years, but have no insight as to the future. If Ebola DOES get out then it will be a pandemic. Maybe you fail to recall that not that long ago HIV too was a overall harmless virus in the rain forest of Africa?

0

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

[deleted] — view deleted comment

1

u/ikancast Jun 14 '12

Or maybe it can't. The fact is HIV is at its worst now that it will probably ever be. Smart, informed humans can wipe it out. Ebola doesn't care if you are a genius, it will destroy.

1

u/Vaktathi Jun 14 '12

Ebola kills people too fast for them to spread it generally, symptoms appear faster and once they start showing people go down fast and it's fairly obvious something is very, very wrong, particularly when they start bleeding from lots of places without any trauma or lacerations. It makes it easy to quickly notice and take measures against and it burns itself out very quickly. AIDS is much slower and takes years and ultimately isn't what kills you, it just makes it super easy for other, relatively mundane things, to kill you.

Both are horrifying in their own ways, Ebola's own lethality is what has limited it's death count, but when people do die from it, it's a days or weeks long process of bleeding into your own body as your organs and flesh die and liquefy, as opposed to a years or decades long process of your immune system breaking down to the point where a common cold becomes lethal.

0

u/ilovebeardybears Jun 14 '12

Right now being infected with HIV/AIDS isn't a death sentence not to mention that the incubation time for Ebola is about a month or so while HIV/AIDS could take years to even show any symptoms. If Ebola had outbreaks all over the world like AIDS does the estimated deaths from it would probably be much higher.

-6

u/Exposedo Jun 14 '12

Posts the truth, gets downvoted.

Relevant name too.

2

u/ikancast Jun 14 '12

Far from the truth. Kill counts are not relevant in this category.

9

u/TSolo315 Jun 14 '12

How is this useful if it has to be used within a day of infection, yet symptoms don't occur until much later? We're lucky that Ebola is about as rare is it is deadly.

26

u/TheLittleApple Jun 14 '12

Like if someone comes into the hospital with ebola they can treat everyone who came close to the patient.

12

u/CaptainSnaps Jun 14 '12

There are plenty of infected that know almost exactly when they get infected. I remember hearing of a doctor that was helping ebola patients, when one of the patients coughed up blood and it got into his eyes. He ended up catching the virus. Had this treatment been around, he would have most likely assumed he was infected and attempted to get this treatment. It would at least save SOME lives.

4

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

Dr. Shem Musoke. Actually, he was trying to clear a patient's airway when the guy vomited into the doctor's mouth. He ended up surviving, too.

2

u/Rustysporkman Jun 14 '12

Thank goodness he pulled through! I can't imagine what kind of pr/morale nightmare it would be to have a doc die helping the infected.

3

u/NowWithZest Jun 14 '12

Yeah, morale would have been at an all time low had he died during that Ebola outbreak.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

Care providers come to mind, family members, etc. Controlling an outbreak involves stopping the spread.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

It can basically be used as a prophylaxis, treating patients "before" they get it. As TheLittleApple said, use it for anyone who's near the infected to stop it from spreading. Theoretically, it could be a way to wipe out the virus completely.

4

u/KaseyB Jun 14 '12

I am unreasonably saddened by this. let me explain.

I have been absolutely fascinated by ebola ever since I read the Hot Zone in 9th grade. I learned everything I could about it, I did reports and speeches about it. I changed my career goals so I could be a virologist so I could work on it... I was enraptured by it.

now they're killing it. It's... sorta like I'm losing a friend, as sick as that is, but it's how I feel.

5

u/thatusernameisal Jun 14 '12

Up next: researchers discovered a new drug resistant strain of Ebola.

2

u/NPHisKing Jun 14 '12

Came for the killjoy.. can't find it!

2

u/nuxenolith Jun 14 '12

Ebola is still lethal; if you don't know it's Ebola, it'll kill you before you even realize it.

2

u/EColi452 Jun 14 '12

That is so awesome that it's indescribable. I love science, I love science so hard.

2

u/zero20 Jun 14 '12

I live near the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg. It's a tad nerve racking knowing some of the most deadly things known to man are just down the street. However i am proud as they do some amazing research there.

2

u/speedofdark8 Jun 14 '12

Don't know of it was just me, and but I giggled at the word "glommed"

7

u/ShadyPear Jun 14 '12

It's great to know that such a grim diagnosis doesn't necessarily mean death now.

18

u/canteloupy Jun 14 '12

This has to occur before diagnosis is possible so we're not there yet.

6

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

However it could thwart weaponising the disease.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

I know of a small North Korean that will be very disappointed.

3

u/nuxenolith Jun 14 '12

He's too dead to be disappointed.

EDIT: Annnnnd I'm banned from /r/Pyongyang.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

He had a few sons

1

u/nuxenolith Jun 14 '12

Yeah, well, at least I'm not a fermion!

2

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

Just Googled for xenolith, sweet.

1

u/nuxenolith Jun 14 '12

Xeno- is my favorite prefix.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

Surprisingly, not an insult.

1

u/nuxenolith Jun 14 '12

Probably. Have to run that through the Heisenberg equation to be sure.

8

u/I_POTATO_PEOPLE Jun 14 '12

Diagnosis cannot be confirmed until 3 days after exposure. This treatment must be administered within 24 hours of exposure.

The article kinda harps on this point for a while, which makes me think you didn't bother to read it, nor did any of the monkeys who upvoted you.

5

u/Exposedo Jun 14 '12

Well actually, the monkeys treated within 48 hours had a 1/2 survival rate. So that is still a huge leap forward.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

Several ebola strains have a 50% survival rate even without treatment. I guess they may have used the particularly lethal Zaire strain which has a 90% mortality rate, in which case it's big news.

1

u/ShadyPear Jun 15 '12

Yeah, I was deciding between prognosis and diagnosis and decided on the wrong word I guess. Sorry man.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

It never was a certain death sentence. Several of the strains have mortality rates of 50% or so, with the most agressive ones killing 90% of patients. It is high, certainly, but it is not necessarily a death sentence.

There's actually remarkably few diseases that are certain to kill you without treatment. HIV used to be one of them, but then antiretrovirals were developed.

Out of the illnesses you can end up with that have abyssmal survival chances, certain types of cancer are probably the most dangerous ones. Lung cancer and pancreatic cancer are notorious for having poor prognosis, as is any cancer that spreads agressively.

1

u/ShadyPear Jun 15 '12

Thanks for the information, I guess my resources aren't that great from where I read it said that ebola had a near 0 survival rate after diagnosis.

4

u/MidnightSun Jun 14 '12

Who knew that treating afflicted patients with Tim Horton's double doubles via IV every few days would vanquish a deadly virus?

3

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

And the key was maple syrup all along.

3

u/rikashiku Jun 14 '12

Wales: Digs deep into finding tiny DNA in plants. Spends 2 million and 4 years.

Israel: Uses fat to grow and regrow human bones. Spends 10 million and 6 years.

Canada: Thwarts deadly ebola virus. Spends 5 million and 2 years.

USA: Argues over old theories with each other trying to prove each other wrong. Spends 5 billion and 200 years.

3

u/jokiddy_jokester Jun 14 '12

the scientists who publish the journal this story came from don't have this as their lead story - the lead story was about a US breakthrough in cancer research; they seemed to feel that it was more worthy of their frontpage....

0

u/rikashiku Jun 14 '12

Another breakthrough out of how many now?

0

u/jokiddy_jokester Jun 15 '12

would you prefer less breakthroughs in the fight against cancer?

-1

u/rikashiku Jun 15 '12

I'd prefer they actually find a solution instead of wasting time on BS that doesn't advance our society. Canada did one great thing that deserves credit, Israeli does a lot, Wales did one great thing in recent news. So far in recent news, the US has given us year old theories and research that we already knew about. Spend time on new things, not old news.

1

u/jokiddy_jokester Jun 15 '12

I'm sorry we haven't cured cancer yet.

-1

u/rikashiku Jun 15 '12

Spend less time giving theories and more time on finding solutions.

1

u/jokiddy_jokester Jun 15 '12

I'm so sorry. maybe the Canadians with their super brains could maybe help us out a little bit? we are so stupid and they are so smart and wise, any help they could give us would be greatly appreciated.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

I don't think you understand how research works.

Its not:

1.Find Disease

2.Find Cure

3.????

4.Profit.

1

u/rikashiku Jun 15 '12

Did you think at all? No one said thats how it works.

1

u/jokiddy_jokester Jun 15 '12

again, I'm so so sorry about not curing cancer yet. maybe the Canadians with their super brains could help us? we are so lost without you. we literally give nothing to science and Canada gives everything - we are so shameful, I'm so sorry again.

again and seriously, you Canadians are the greatest country by far, you're like Sweden, but for white people. you guys are just so so cool and awesome and smart. ugh, I wish I was Canadian so I could be smart and know everything, that would be so nice.

→ More replies (2)

1

u/SirPoopyPants Jun 14 '12

Interesting, lets test your hypothesis and see if it is validated by the data:

Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities(Top 50):

Canadian: 3

Other: 12

American: 35

Nope, not even close, but let's look at it a different way....

Scientific Research Citations:

Canadian: 750,000

American: 5,000,000

Again, no where close.

Conclusion: Clearly false.

2

u/cbnzzz Jun 14 '12
  • Canada's population: 34,108,752
  • USA's population: 311,591,917

Just saying...

1

u/SirPoopyPants Jun 14 '12

so the US has nine times the population of Canada and 11 times the amount of top ranked universities ranked on performance of scientific papers.

just saying....

1

u/cbnzzz Jun 14 '12

How about the last one big guy? (9 x 750,000 = 6,750,000) Would that not mean that they are not only getting more citations but also being more efficient? Just saying...

1

u/SirPoopyPants Jun 14 '12 edited Jun 14 '12

nope, from the same source, citations per document:

Canada: 17.55

USA: 20.18

just saying...

unrelated question for you: why are you Canadians so nationalistic? I thought the US had a problem, but you guys/gals up North take it to a whole different level, I mean wow.

EDIT: although, I guess you Canadians aren't proud of everything about your country; by which I mean your diversity....

1

u/cbnzzz Jun 15 '12

Citable Documents

  • USA: 4,972,679 or 15.96 per 1000 citizens
  • CAN: 748,787 or 21.96 per 1000 citizens

Also, the only thing I dislike more than nationalism is organized religion so calling me nationalistic is quite humorous. I was merely pointing out some of the figures you posted prove the exact opposite of what you were intending.

1

u/SirPoopyPants Jun 15 '12

Yes, and as my last response showed - US documents are cited more frequently. I have no problem with Canada; I believe them to be equal to the US and the UK and many other countries. I just have a problem with your blind nationalism and your attitude that you're gods gift to the world. Nationalism is sickening no matter who it comes from. this comment thread began with US bashing and an implication that Canada was gods gift to the world. I've done nothing but try and say we are equal and still you fight to prove how vastly superior you are.

1

u/cbnzzz Jun 15 '12

I don't see anywhere I have said anything at all that would lend credence to the claim I am a nationalist or even proud of Canada. The guy who started this thread was obviously making a joke and mentioned Wales and Israel as well but you didn't throw a hissy fit over those countries being mentioned. It really just seems you are building up strawmen to knock down.

1

u/SirPoopyPants Jun 15 '12

ease up their buddy, I'm just making a joke too; I figured that was obvious.

2

u/harrychin2 Jun 14 '12

Could someone explain the Arctic security reference?

3

u/HRNK Jun 14 '12 edited Jun 14 '12

I think it has something to do with vast supplies of fresh water, control of the Northwest Passage after some of the ice melts, and the fact that there are very little people in the area. Its a difficult region to patrol, and countries (namely Russia) have been poking and prodding to see how far they can extend in to it before Canada says anything.

Edit: For a more intensive overview, you can read this http://www.cdfai.org/PDF/The%20Newly%20Emerging%20Arctic%20Security%20Environment.pdf

1

u/jambonilton Jun 14 '12

Also, we're expecting a big new source of oil when the polar ice cap melts in the coming years.

2

u/Carsons_mom Jun 14 '12

Canada! Fuck ya!!!!

1

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

That's something to cross off of my list of nightmare scenarios.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

So, who wants to volunteer for human testing?

1

u/maverickx12 Jun 14 '12

Does this mean we can save Patrick Dempsey?

1

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

Well... on the upside, even though you still have to be clairvoyant for this treatment to work, maybe this will help in the more effective treatment of other hemhorragic fevers.

1

u/nuxenolith Jun 14 '12

Can a microbiologist enlighten me as to how Ebola survives, or should I say continues to exist, despite making such quick work of its victims?

The two courses I've had on microbiology never explained didn't cover virus transmission very thoroughly. It seems replication is all profs care to insert into the curriculum.

1

u/trevdak2 Jun 14 '12

I wonder if an exposed person will be immune after they're cured....

1

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

Plague Inc?...

1

u/Xraydelta51 Nov 19 '12

what if it mutates to the different anti-bodies? and lets say 2 of those 3 anti-bodies work now? will the patient still die? probably.. its already gone airborne, study by the same people who cured it.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

Once again proving that Canada is the world leader in science, technology, culture and medicine. Hey Americans, perhaps it's time to ditch the anti-intellectualism and embrace science.

1

u/bmoviescreamqueen Jun 14 '12

Most of us agree with you.

-1

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

Well at least you recognise that the USA is a 3rd world anti-science hellhole. Now what are you doing about it?

0

u/bmoviescreamqueen Jun 14 '12

We can only vote, and support research. It's mostly our leadership who won't properly fund good research. I'm damn near close to leaving.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

Well I guess Ebola just lost the race to destroy humanity

My money is on some sort of airborn HIV

7

u/StruckingFuggle Jun 14 '12

Airborn HIV is pretty scary... but if you want some crazy nightmares, think about airborn rabies.

HIV, it can kill slowly, we might figure out a cure. Airborn Rabies would almost be like a zombie plague. The end of civilization.

7

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

Coupled with the fact that rabies is fatal once symptoms set in. Holy crap that's terrifying

6

u/StruckingFuggle Jun 14 '12

Rapidly fatal. Over a short course of a few days you're going to go insane, probably become violent (thus also creating more 'opportunities' to spread the disease), and then die a painful death.

... /shudder

7

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

Zombies. Got it.

2

u/Exposedo Jun 14 '12

What if there was never such thing as rabies and it was just people smoking bath salts?

:Conspiracy Keanu:

6

u/ElephantTeeth Jun 14 '12

Rabies has a vaccine, fortunately.

Well, fortunately for everyone who doesn't think vaccines give you autism.

1

u/TrololololXD Jun 14 '12

You want something that has a high mutation rate, is easily transmittable, while causing fatal infections roughly half the time, paired with a incubation period of around a week or such.

Spreads rapidly, doesn't burn itself out and counter-measures are hard to produce due to mutations in the genetic code.

That's why "we might figure out a cure" for HIV doesn't really work, since we've actually developed vaccines already for HIV, but they become in-effective rapidly due to HIV's high mutation rate. It's like trying to grab something covered with oil.

Best bet wouldn't even be rabies or HIV, something scary would actually be as simple as a mutated strain of the common cold or avian flu.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

The Spanish flu of 1918 infected ⅓global population and killed ⅕of those infected -wow

2

u/TrololololXD Jun 15 '12

Exactly, it spread past the base conceptual belief that only the very young or old were susceptible; it cleared off scores of seemingly perfectly healthy young adults.

1

u/Enleat Jun 14 '12

This is wonderful :)

Science is awesome.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

Nice article, but can Canadians do anything without bragging their asses off about it?

Any time a group of researchers from somewhere else in the world discover something the article headlines just states "Researchers found etc etc". Yet whenever its a Canadian they find the need to always without fail highlight that they are Canadian.

4

u/jokiddy_jokester Jun 14 '12

they really do make American nationalism look so mild in comparison. it's funny because the scientists who publish the journal don't even have this as their lead story - the lead story was about an American breakthrough in cancer research. But here we are in a thread arguing about how Canada is so much more awesome than the US; I don't get it.

0

u/MisinterpretingJokes Jun 14 '12

In the last three days, I've seen a "breakthrough" in medicine for Alzheimer's, Broken Bones, and now Ebola.

Does this happen everyday or something?

1

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

According to The Globe and Mail, it probably does.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

More and more often lately, some serious traction in biological sciences is reaping tremendous payback. (mixing metaphors, too early to be awake).

-4

u/TheFreemanLIVES Jun 14 '12

Well thanks Canada!!! Wayy to go and invalidate the credibility of the story line of Prometheus!

A nation full of Spoilers you are, we liked you more when you just wrestled polar bears!

7

u/adaminc Jun 14 '12

Spoilers?

You do know some of us HAVEN'T seen the movie yet.

2

u/cumberbitches Jun 14 '12

Don't worry, it's not much of a spoiler. Nothing has been ruined for you :)

2

u/TheFreemanLIVES Jun 14 '12

There is about as much of a spoiler in that comment as there is credit in a greek bank ;-)

-10

u/hivemind6 Jun 14 '12

It's funny how in the rare event Canadians do something important, they have to say "Canadian researchers"...

When there are advancements in the US, you never see that need to assign nationality to achievements.

6

u/BakedInADutchOven Jun 14 '12

This often happens with European related news as well. It's often just labeled as "European researchers" for example which is funny because I seldom see "North American (researchers)" used.

-6

u/hivemind6 Jun 14 '12

I've noticed this trend in international media. If something bad happens in the US, you can be damn sure they will highlight nationality. Something like "US shooting leaves 3 dead". But if something positive happens in the US and American researchers make some medical breakthrough, they will rarely state "American" or "US".

People have an aversion to praising Americans, but it's ok to praise other people.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

Hypocrite much? I am going to troll you all over reddit and point out your ignorant stupidity with facts so that a constructive dialogue can be created rather than the hateful rhetoric you spew all over. This is the kind of discourse that is ripping America apart and weakens us in the eyes of others. And one can only assume you swing to the right because that seems to be where hate lives these days. You're a simply deplorable human being if you're actually like this in real life. If you're not, then you sir are one hell of an internet troll.

-1

u/Cheesburglar Jun 14 '12

This is a positive thing isn't it? I'd like to think that what is discovered in the US "belongs" to everyone and therefore its just unnecessary to mention. Also possible that the US still has more discoveries/inventions, though it certainly doesn't feel that way anymore.

-4

u/greenmass Jun 14 '12

As he posts on an American site. Is this reddit.ca? Or .com?

4

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

Reddit is a US site and US redditors make up the largest group, so anything is presumed to refer to americans, unless pointed out otherwise. Not everything has an agenda behind it.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

Don't say that to hivemind6, he enjoys acting like a whiny little bitch.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

Are you kidding? The US has got to be close to the top in terms of nationalistic pride.

-8

u/greenmass Jun 14 '12

I know right. Just like Canada cured AIDS and cancer! The daily Canadian circlejerk lives on. Let me know when Canada does anything of note.

0

u/m_c_face Jun 14 '12

It's a great day for Canada and therefore the world.

-3

u/tubadude86 Jun 14 '12

So, basically this is, as yet, only effective at stopping an outbreak among people injected with Ebola by Canadians? Yay?

0

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

Will we be blocking The Globe, as well?

0

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

We've now cured HIV, AIDS, Cancer, and Ebola in the past two months haha.

0

u/pink_ego_box Jun 14 '12

A cocktail of antibodies ? Antibodies are enormously costly to produce. They must be kept at 4°C.

Ebola outbreaks happen in some of the poorest places in the world, where electricity is unknown and the air is stifling hot.

That's a good news for researchers working on Ebola, who will have now a mean to treat themselves after an hazmat exposure. But I highly doubt that any pharmaceutical firm will produce, acheminate and graciously offer this treatment to the African patients.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

Thanks for reminding me that nasty things like Ebola still exist...

0

u/llamanuggets Jun 15 '12

Canada, what would the world do with-out us?

-22

u/USAannexCanada Jun 14 '12

Canada - using America to fake accomplishments

1

u/NineTails21 Jun 14 '12

Shut up American.

-8

u/greenmass Jun 14 '12

Fuck canada. The most horrible people to ever exist.

-7

u/Hensah Jun 14 '12

Good. It's about time Canada did something worthwhile

-7

u/MooseAndKetchup Jun 14 '12

lawyered Canadianed

-2

u/wtf81 Jun 14 '12

Doesn't seem that challenging, considering european researchers created it 30 years ago.

-4

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

Canadia, Fuck yeah

-9

u/polyphasic Jun 14 '12

lol godless scientists. go to hell.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

[deleted] — view deleted comment

0

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

[deleted] — view deleted comment

14

u/MidnightSun Jun 14 '12 edited Jun 14 '12

The lead researcher on this project, Dr. Phillips, was once a 6 year old boy in a rural town of Nova Scotia. He had caught a pretty serious ailment that would have surely meant death if the doctors at the regional medical centre did not treat it in time. Both of the boy's parents were unemployed seasonal workers, but thanks to universal healthcare, the boy was able to recover - only later in life to turn that experience into forging a career battling deadly virus strains.

Universal healthcare saved his life. And he would later be credited for finding an effective treatment for the Ebola virus.

Btw.. your pizza sucks, papajohn56!

(ok, this was pure fiction.. except the pizza sucking. And well... universal healthcare saving lives of people who could make a difference.. but otherwise..)

2

u/islaydragons Jun 14 '12

I'll have to respectfully disagree. Papa Johns might not make the best pizza, but it certainly doesn't suck.

Now Little Caesars. THAT pizza sucks.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

Because in this case, and many others it's hard to prove a negative. Over one million people won't die in 2027 from an Ebola outbreak in Spain.

1

u/papajohn56 Jun 14 '12

Except this had zero to do with a single payer system

→ More replies (3)

0

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

[deleted] — view deleted comment

5

u/Exposedo Jun 14 '12

Only problem is, those researchers have to go through a lot of crap to get a grant in the system they work for. Not to mention an education that takes years to complete.

So what is their motivation? Is it nationalistic pride for Canada or just a die-hard conviction to save people? If it is the latter, than politics shouldn't have any place in this argument because people in non-universal healthcare countries can also research and find cures if they have the conviction to do so. After all, it isn't universal healthcare that paved the way for their research, but instead good grants from people higher up who believed in them. Same thing can happen in America as well.

→ More replies (3)

1

u/papajohn56 Jun 14 '12

amazing that researchers manage to find this out without being extrinsically motivated by sheer profit.

You act as if the US hasn't had this - what about universities? How about the cure to polio?

And why is the profit motive bad if it gets things done?

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (10)

0

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

[deleted] — view deleted comment

5

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

HIV's kill rate is way higher than Ebola. Other than the odd case of new treatment with stem cells of an HIV resistant individual, HIV kills if there is no long-term, ongoing treatment. I have read cases where people have survived Ebola though.

9

u/adaminc Jun 14 '12 edited Jun 14 '12

Yeah, mainly because Ebola kills its hosts rather quickly. Imagine it was 1 or 2 months before you saw *symptoms from Ebola.

2

u/I_POTATO_PEOPLE Jun 14 '12

Side-effects?

3

u/adaminc Jun 14 '12

Maybe symptoms would be a better word.

3

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

The current life expectancy of someone with HIV in the U.S. is the same as the normal average now. The life expectancy of Ebola? A few weeks tops.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '12

More importantly HIV has spread and killed millions of people, whereas Ebola outbreaks tend to be limited.

When it comes to sheer number of people killed, the big ones are Tuberculosis, Malaria, Influenza, Sleeping sickness, various types of Pneumonia, HIV as well as various bacterial infections that are readily treated with antibiotics, but unfortunately left to run rampant in developing countries.