Prepare for an Airborne Ebola Outbreak in America

According to Anthony Banbury, UN Secretary General’s Special Representative on Ebola, we should all prepare for an airborne Ebola outbreak in America, and the rest of the world for that matter. Banbury, along with CDC (Centers for Disease Control) and WHO (World Health Organization) officials agree the virus going airborne is unlikely, but very possible, creating what Banbury referred to as ‘the nightmare scenario’ if the outbreak isn’t contained within four weeks.

Skeptics will claim Banbury’s statement was nothing more than ‘fear mongering’, while those stuck in the racial stratosphere will say Ebola was created by the white man to kill black men e.g. Louis Farrakhan. Instead of succumbing to racially charged meanderings and fear mongering, we will review the facts. After learning the facts on your own I’m sure you’ll see my point of view, which is – it’s time to prepare for an airborne Ebola outbreak in America…

What is Ebola?

Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), formerly known as Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever (EHF), is a disease that affects humans and primates caused by a virological taxon known as Ebolavirus. Ebola will incubate anywhere between two to three weeks after infecting its victim. During the incubation period the patient will not show symptoms, allowing a visibly healthy Liberian man to board a plane to America. After the incubation period the patient will then show a variety of symptoms that include; muscle pain, sore throat, fever, headaches, rash, diarrhea, vomiting, decreased liver and kidney function leading to internal/external bleeding.

How is Ebola transmitted?

In Ebola’s current state you can only contract the virus through the blood and bodily fluids (saliva, vomit, sweat, semen, urine, feces) of the infected, by the direct handling of bats and nonhuman primates in areas where an Ebola outbreak is present. Interestingly enough, male semen can transmit the Ebola virus for up to two months.

Will Ebola go Airborne?

When listening to public health officials, or any government employee for that matter, you have to remember they will always downplay a crisis, especially a crisis as grand as Ebola going airborne. Governments will always lie or downplay such incidents to maintain authoritative control while maintaining infrastructure. Americans are a spastic bunch, throw a virus in the mix and we’ll go ape shit. People will stop working; going to school, socializing, and the government’s power through infrastructure will surely wither away overnight.

The ebolavirus is nothing more than a scrap of genetic information wrapped up in proteins and lipids, and can only survive in eukaryotic cells (plants and animals). Once in its victim Ebola uses energy metabolism and biosynthetic machinery to continuously replicate by making a copy of its own DNA, along with encoded enzymes and proteins inside eukaryotic cells. It is during this process a mutation could occur in the nucleotide base pairs, and then copied in lieu of the original strain. Should this mutated copy not be fatal to the virus, and allows for it to survive longer in the absence of a eukaryotic cell to infect, then ladies and gentlemen – you now have an airborne Ebola Virus Disease.

Does this mean Ebola will just be floating along the air waiting to infect someone? Not really. The ebolavirus’ sugars and proteins would need a natural aerosol (sea breeze, cough, and sneeze) to bind with, or a mutation would need to occur that allowed the virus to infect the cells that line the respiratory tract. Either one of these mutations is a rarity, but do happen.

The risk is even greater now that the ebolavirus has jumped continents and has shown to be a fairly aggressive virus, and the longer it moves between humans, the greater the possibility. According to the UN and WHO we have four weeks to stop this, or it will spread beyond “completely out of control”, extrapolate your own translation. At the moment Ebola’s basic reproduction number is R₀ 1 – 4, and in the blink of an eye it could be up there with pertussis or measles at R₀ 12 – 18.

How to prepare for an Ebola outbreak in America

In this part of the article we’ll discuss preparing for an Ebola outbreak in America. Here’s the scenario – it’s December 15^th 3:00 p.m., you turn the T.V. on the talking heads can barely contain themselves as they broadcast to the world the dreaded news…EVD has gone airborne, and there are reports of infection in Nashville, Louisville, Vegas, New York, and seven other major cities. What do you do?

At this point you have one of two options; get the kids, wife and dog inside and shelter in place, or bug out. If you were one of the smart ones, you’ve been prepping for a while your BOV (bug out vehicle)/BOL (bug out location) are stocked and ready for any disaster. I highly advise against sheltering in place if you live in a major population center, too many people for things to go wrong in a hurry. With an entire nation infected, infrastructure will collapse, basic services like water and sewage will stop, and there will be no on around to burn the bodies, all the while creating the perfect conditions for the ebolavirus to thrive.

Prepping for the Ebola Outbreak

Regardless of what you decide I will tell you what you need to get prepared for an Ebola outbreak, and outline basic guidelines for you and your family to follow to prevent infection. Whether you shelter in place or bug out to your fortress in the woods makes little difference to your outbreak prepping. The following list includes all the essentials to survive an Ebola Outbreak.

• 3 months food for each member of the family – realistically speaking, we have no idea how long the outbreak will last, or what curveballs it will throw us, what we do know is the virus can be transmitted up to two months after infection.
• 3 months water storage for each member of the family – DO NOT USE UNFILTERED WATER OR TAP WATER – as we just read the ebolavirus can survive in water, ever see Cabin Fever?
• Family sized hygiene kit – things are going to get ripe in a hurry and you will need to maintain basic hygiene practices after the SHTF to prevent infection.
  • Antiviral soap – Defense Soap is some pretty aggressive stuff, or you can get antibacterial soap at your local grocery store
  • Portable toilet – the water will get shut off when you’re sheltering in place, instead of filling your toilet up and allowing for another biohazard, use a portable toilet that you can empty outside your home
• Full stocked first responder medical kit – things might get harry, and there might even be an accident in your home, but you can’t leave, having a kit like this on hand will keep your bases covered.
• N95 particulate masks – if you don’t have the funds to purchase a full on MOPP Level 4 suit, get these. They come in a 10 pack and will protect you from infection.
• NBC 40mm NATO SGE 150 mask – for those moments when you are surrounded by infected corpses, and need to scavenge, I wouldn’t leave the house without this.
• Two layer NBC protective gloves – standard military issued NBC (nuclear, biological, chemical) gloves to prevent infection.
• Pandemic quick-kits – to be used in bug out bags stored in vehicles in cases where infection is rapidly reproducing throughout the population and you are not near shelter.
• Deluxe pandemic 3 person quick-kit – to be stored in your home or BOL. This kit is awesome and comes with all the PPE (personal protective equipment) you could ask for, if you have the cash…get it.
• Industrial plastic sheeting – this stuff is fairly inexpensive and can be used to seal entryways and sally ports, keeping the virus from being able to jump from room to room.
• Intravenous IV kit – for treatment of infected family members
• Oxygen kit – for treatment of infected family members

Pandemic mental preparedness

When prepping for an Ebola outbreak we often think of the technical, and almost never think about the metaphysical side of things. To survive a global outbreak you need to be mentally prepared for the proverbial shit that is about to hit the fan if you want to survive;

• Be prepared for heartbreak – your son, daughter, mother, best friend, and worse enemy could (and will likely) get infected, with a 60/40 survival rate death must be expected, and mercy might be required. Accept what you have to do to keep you and your other family members alive and well
  • Comfort those infected any way you can without exposing yourself to the virus using walkie talkies, text messaging, and etc.
  • When surviving the outbreak, don’t lose your humanity
  • Respect the death of a loved one and comfort your remaining family members
  • Dead bodies removed and burned immediately, eulogies can be performed to comfort the living
• Be prepared for misery – an Ebola pandemic will be no walk in the park for anyone, your home or BOL will become acrid, smelling like a gym locker, and the walls will undoubtedly be closing in on you. After a month of sheltering in place trash gets stacked up, water’s shut off, and plumbing is no good, leading to a very stinky situation.
  • Keep a wealth of board games, DVD’s, and any other entertainment to keep spirits up
  • Keep ‘business as usual’ going with house chores, daily cleanings and waste disposal
  • Keep a positive state of mind

Surviving the Ebola outbreak

In the event of a viral epidemic you will need to quarantine you and your family away from the rest of the population. Theory being the rest of the population has been infected, and your family is the last one standing. Time to lock down the palace, no one in, and no one out..

• Lock down – we wrote an article a while back about home fortification listing simple and cost effective ways to lock down your home in a SHTF event. When people start dropping like flies, those remaining will go into survival mode, and when they run out of food or water they’ll be looking to pillage some homes;
  • Once the family is inside your home or BOL begin your preplanned lock down procedure
  • Prior to lock down remove all trash and waste from your home before waste services are shut down
  • All family members are to use N95 face masks for a minimum of 7 days after lock down in case of infection prior to lock down
  • Lock down all doors with 2x4s nailed to the floor and braced under the knob
  • Use plywood to secure all windows
  • Line the outer walls of your house with industrial plastic sheeting
  • Restrict air flow into your home by covering all ground level vents, if your AC unit is on the ground floor – shut it off, if roof mounted – leave it on
  • Create an isolation room using duct tape and industrial plastic lining with one way in and one way out
  • Use cellophane to cover all faucets to prevent use/consumption until reliable intelligence says tap water is ok for use
  • Stay self-contained
  • Use only the most inconspicuous entry to the home (back door, garage door) to remove of waste, and bio-hazards
    
• Infected family members – mental preparedness guys, this is a reality you may very well have to deal with. Should a family member show symptoms within the 7 day N95 period, or were at a high risk of infection location prior to lockdown e.g. school, restaurant, mall – they should immediately be quarantined, treated, and monitored;
  • Quarantine –quarantining little Jimmy because he was at school when you picked him up prior to lockdown doesn’t mean he is sick, it just means you’re protecting your other family members. Keep those quarantined positive, and continue to monitor them for aminimum of 7 days (20 if you’re serious about survival).
    • Prior to quarantine shut down all central heating and cooling
    • Ensure all vents have been sealed with duct tape and industrial plastic lining
  • Infected Quarantine – Jimmy developed a fever five days into quarantine, and he most likely has Ebola. Again, be prepared for this reality. Should a family member show symptoms while quarantined;
    • Quarantine should be maintained until death
    • No unprotected contact whatsoever can take place (MOPP Level 4)
    • Family members and friends should be at the furthest point of the home
    • In the event of recovery quarantine must be maintained for 20 days after symptoms go away
    • All waste such as feces, urine, and vomit should be treated as bio-hazards and immediately removed from the home, and labeled with bio-hazard stickers found in your pandemic quick kit
  • Ebola treatment – hate to break your heart here, but there is no cure for the ebolavirus. Basically, your only hope is your body’s immune system, and hopefully it’s strong enough to kill the virus before it kills you. Should a family member become infected you can opt to make that fight a little easier by;
    • Maintaining full body protection while treating the infected
    • Disinfecting your suit prior to leaving the isolation wing of your home by having one room for quarantine and one for exiting disinfection
    • When providing aid to the infected use extreme caution when handling needles
    • Administer intravenous (IV) fluids with electrolytes
    • Providing oxygen and maintaining blood pressure
    • Treating any other infections that may arise
  • Death – it’s a very real possibility your loved ones will die, be mentally prepared for this, and prepared for what you have to do afterwards.
    • Upon death, dispose of body and all contaminated materials; sheets, blankets, trash, plastic lining
    • After all bio-hazards have been removed decontaminate your quarantine room
    • Immediately reconstruct your quarantine room in case of further infection
    • Perform whatever eulogy you have prepared and burn your dead

Pandemic Aftermath

It’s been 48 days since lockdown, and there have been no deaths or signs of symptoms in your home. However, by using your second floor window as an observation post you can see your neighbors’ homes have been pillaged, and they are most likely dead, and there has been no broadcasts or government presence in a month. The thought may cross your mind ‘Are we the only ones left?’ No, probably not.

If you were smart you joined a militia or survival group and maintained communication throughout the duration of your quarantine. Say the government has collapsed, and only .0001% of the world population remains, how do you start fresh? Look out for my article ‘Rebuilding humanity’ to be released November 2014.

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US CROW

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