EBOLA Contract?

enysse said:

It will be a buyers market

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enysse, does this mean your seriously thinking of taking advantage of an opportunity for a hunt of a lifetime at a price of a lifetime?

ActionBob said:

enysse, does this mean your seriously thinking of taking advantage of an opportunity for a hunt of a lifetime at a price of a lifetime?

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As long as I can get into and out of Africa with out any problems travel wise, I'm not too worried about anything. I could have been killed a few dozen times already, if anything I'm more prepared and ready. To save a lot of money on a hunt is worth a risk, especially when it is a very small danger.

Gentleman, take the time to do the research on how the virus gets carried over from one person to the next.
The individual who carries the virus, must be at such an advanced stage where he is physically sick, before he is contagious. Once he gets to this stage with this virus, I can assure you that the chance is minimal that he will be walking around in the first place.

Its a very small danger indeed.
The world is on high alert. My opinion is that it won't get any worse than what it is now. Countries were just caught off guard.

Marius;
So if I'm interpreting correctly what your saying is that everyone along the way would have to be completely asleep at the wheel to allow someone in a contagious state to be on an airplane?

I wonder what the backup plan could be if a person flies over and then cannot get back because of travel restrictions?

When my wife started asking questions about our upcoming trip to the Kruger area, I Google mapped it and it came up with something like a 14 day trip by road from the infected areas to there.

ActionBob it's a risk, if the world stops now because of ebola, I'm not sure any good comes from it.
I'm more likely to die tonight from a drunken driver on the road....for example.

ActionBob said:

Marius;
So if I'm interpreting correctly what your saying is that everyone along the way would have to be completely asleep at the wheel to allow someone in a contagious state to be on an airplane?

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Correct Bob. Only once an individual is physically ill, will he be in a contagious state. If they allow someone like that onto a plane, very well knowing that Ebola is a serious problem at the moment, then there is no end to their stupidity.
Not to say that an individual boarding a plane has not have been infected by the virus, but if they are not showing any signs yet, its not contagious yet.
Not sure if they do the thermal screenings boarding the plane. If not, they should.

ActionBob said:

I wonder what the backup plan could be if a person flies over and then cannot get back because of travel restrictions?

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Take enough money for trophy fees for your extended safari.

IdaRam said:

Hey All,
A few years ago I read a book (fictional thriller) about an Ebola outbreak. For the life of me I can't recall the title. It made me really curious about Ebola & Marburg filoviruses and after some searching on Amazon I found an interesting looking non-fiction book, so I downloaded it to kindle and proceeded to read. The book is called "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston. It is very well written and extremely educational. It reads a lot like a novel, but is completely factual and contains stories of actual Ebola and Marburg virus outbreaks. Some of the information in this book will scare the living hell out of you, but some of it may prove reassuring, or at least de-mystifying. Understanding leads to rational thought and minimizes panic and fear. It is a very worthwhile read.
Here's a link in case anyone wants to check it out

http://www.amazon.com/Hot-Zone-Terrifying-Story-Origins/dp/0385479565/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1412916294&sr=1-1&keywords=the hot zone by richard preston

In my opinion, the US media coverage of this Ebola "event" has been irresponsible to say the least. Some of the reporting has been just plain ridiculous. Not to minimize the seriousness of this, it is extremely serious, but come on! I saw a reporter on tv the other day telling people that ebola has a 90% mortality rate. Well, yes, Ebola-Zaire in a past outbreak had a 90% death rate. The current rate of death with this strain is running about 40%. Still terrible and tragic and scary, but what happened to accurate responsible reporting?
It will be interesting to see how this go-round with Ebola plays out in the coming months.
I, for one, will be in SA and Zim next August and September without a backward look unless travel restrictions prevent it.
I will also have TravelGuard and Global Rescue
Good hunting everyone

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Sure. Previous outbreaks have had a nearly 90% mortality rate which is exactly why the contagion remained local and self-limited. The present outbreak may be different. Indeed, the mortality rate hovers around 50% which means that there is a greater possibility of widespread contagion. Nevertheless, the disease will likely run its course in the next several months or several years. The problem is that until we see a marked decline in contagion, everything is open-ended. We have no idea whether there will be a limited smattering of cases or whether many thousands will be infected.

The disease likely isn't acquired easily. As I write, members of the Duncan family in Dallas remain infection-free and that includes a girl friend. On the other hand, a Presbyterian Hospital nurse in Dallas, who wore full Hazmat clothing while caring for Duncan, has become infected. No doubt her exposure was to a minute quantity of blood or fluid. Certainly panic isn't warranted but it is foolish to permit individuals with West African passports, especially from Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia, to travel to other parts of the globe. Presently, South Africa, Israel and Saudi Arabia have established travel restrictions. Others will follow.

I returned from S.A. about--let's see-20 days ago. South Africa isn't a problem but South African Airways refuels in Dakar, Senegal. In Dakar, a number of West Africans--mostly Senegalese Muslims--get off the aircraft. Others board the aircraft. I understand that Delta has a direct flight from Atlanta to Joburg. Next time, I go on Delta.

Thanks to all for the continuing flow of useful and rational information.

We will be traveling Air France via Paris and on directly to Joberg and then back Joberg to Paris to home.... I think we are pretty safe, especially if RSA does not allow people from the infected areas into the Country. I would expect it to be very unlikely that infected people might be on the planes to Africa, but I honestly had some concern if they travel from West Africa via Joberg and could end up on the plane with us..... Even then, it would not stop me from going based on current info.

A

ActionBob said:

Thanks to all for the continuing flow of useful and rational information.

We will be traveling Air France via Paris and on directly to Joberg and then back Joberg to Paris to home.... I think we are pretty safe, especially if RSA does not allow people from the infected areas into the Country. I would expect it to be very unlikely that infected people might be on the planes to Africa, but I honestly had some concern if they travel from West Africa via Joberg and could end up on the plane with us..... Even then, it would not stop me from going based on current info.

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Agreed. You should be quite safe. It is also true that an African-travelor has a lot more to worry about than Ebola. I certainly wouldn't plan a hunting trip into Liberia, Sierra Leone or Guinea at the present time but other nations are probably safe--from Ebola that is. Certainly other diseases are more common but likely more survivable. Malaria--especially Falciparum malaria--is still a big killer. HIV is a big problem in Africa and it is very important to avoid any kind of blood contact with Africans, or anyone else, for that matter. I heard of an American in a multi-passenger taxi in Lusaka. There was a traffic accident in which the American was cut up. The American remembers that an African, with blood running down his arm onto the American, helped him up. The American got HIV.

Other diseases to worry about are African tick bite fever and Q-fever, both of which are borne by ticks. I've had both diseases and experienced years of ill-health because of them. Check your skin for ticks. One poster here, mentioned wading around in the water, I think, of Mozambique. Make no mistake about it, wading around in the still water [running water is probably safe] of any African country is to take an unacceptable risk. Bilharzia [Schistosoma haemotobium] is a huge problem. Many back country Africans have it and, via urination, contaminate the water. The larvae penetrate completely intact skin such as the skin of the feet or legs. Bilharzia is not only debilitating but causes most cases of urinary tract cancer in Africa.

This is our team submitting ourselves to "unacceptable risk" in Mozambique's Zambezi Delta. I truly think we can obsess over this sort of thing. In this case we are hunting DANGEROUS game in one of the really wild places in AFRICA. We have had our shots, but there are literally dozens of things which can bite, infect, or injure a hunter in this environment. If this bugs you (pun intended), then for God's sake do not go. Go to a nice game farm in South Africa or better yet Texas (no - oops - two confirmed cases in Texas). Maybe sit home and watch hunting DVD's?

Red Leg said:

This is our team submitting ourselves to "unacceptable risk" in Mozambique's Zambezi Delta. I truly think we can obsess over this sort of thing. In this case we are hunting DANGEROUS game in one of the really wild places in AFRICA. We have had our shots, but there are literally dozens of things which can bite, infect, or injure a hunter in this environment. If this bugs you (pun intended), then for God's sake do not go. Go to a nice game farm in South Africa or better yet Texas (no - oops - two confirmed cases in Texas). Maybe sit home and watch hunting DVD's?

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It doesn't bug me. Hopefully it doesn't "bug" you. DANGEROUS game is not nearly as risky as wading around in contaminated still water. Let me tell you and others a little more about bilharzia. The microscopic ova are peed into water where they hatch. Non-infective [non-infective to human beings], emerge. These larvae invade specific fresh water snails. They larvae mature and emerge from the snails as human-infective larvae. These larvae penetrate exposed human skin. They probably can't penetrate clothing but even if long pants are worn, they can penetrate wet skin by traveling up the ankle. They penetrate the skin producing a red bug type "bite". The larvae enter the blood stream and lodge in veins surrounding the urinary bladder. They mature here and, once mature, the females begin to lay ova.

The ova have small hooklets which evidently facilitate penetration of the urinary bladder wall into the urine of the bladder. Unfortunately, many of the ova don't make it. Some are swept back by the venous flow into the liver. Still others "lose their way" in the wall of the urinary bladder. Here they act like small foreign bodies. There is inflammation, scarring and, given enough time, calcification.

Most cases aren't fatal but neither is there a satisfactory cure. There is no preventative medication and mature, egg-laying females live as long as 20 years. The most severe cases are usually in people with multiple exposures like fishermen or people who irrigate fields. Moderate and severe cases are attended by long-term disability and, in a few cases, urinary tract cancer.

You all might not get infected wading around in still water but it is a 100% gamble. By the way, a person can certainly get the parasite on South African 'game farms'. I have a friend who got it by fishing in a pond--no wading in water. His line and the fish he caught were wet. The larvae entered the skin of his hands.

Oh yeah, although I scrupulously avoid still water, I've done a lot of tiger and vundu fishing in the white water of the lower Zambesi--up to my chest fishing with one eye out for crocs and the other eye on a big bull hippo 50 yards out.

I couldn't resist posting these pics I got today ....the African outlook on ebola...I know it's no laughing matter.

TMS said:

I couldn't resist posting these pics I got today ....the African outlook on ebola...I know it's no laughing matter.

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Simon,

I know my eyes are getting bad but you are scaring me!!!

I don't see anything.

All the best.

Wheels, did it post now?

TMS said:

Wheels, did it post now?

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It did post.

Cute kids!

If I was in the E-zone and running a fever of 40c and diagnosed with malaria I would be dancing too.....only I would be much uglier!

Wheels said:

It did post.

Cute kids!

If I was in the E-zone and running a fever of 40c and diagnosed with malaria I would be dancing too.....only I would be much uglier!

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PHOENIX PHIL said:

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Yea.....more like this.

Gentleman
Hope e bola does not spread to SA. Or to any other Afican countries. What a shame I could not see that sky, sunset or sunrise again. Beautiful beyond description unless you have been there. The lives lost to this saddens me beyond my comprehrnsion

Been off the computer for awhile . My earlier post was more about distrust for our government. I KNOW some private companies hold until it's beneficial for them to sell. Make no mistake, I support private companies and small business all the time. Don't forget, government loves to " make deals" with companies to help their agenda and with Obama not closing off flights from Liberia etc, you have to ask yourself some questions.