[stem-ebola] CDC: Ebola Airborne Droplet Spread 'Possible but Unlikely'

[alex@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

'The Ebola virus becoming airborne is a possible but unlikely outcome in 
the current epidemic, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 
Director Tom Frieden said Tuesday.

The outbreak involves Ebola Zaire, a strain that is passed through 
bodily fluids, not the air. But some experts have expressed fear about 
viral mutations due to the unprecedented — and rising — number of Ebola 
cases.

Frieden sought to allay those fears during a call with reporters.

"The rate of change [with Ebola] is slower than most viruses, and most 
viruses don't change how they spread," he said. Frieden is unofficially 
spearheading the U.S. response to Ebola. '

[Operon Labs Ed Note:  Our literature review indicates the 99 Ebola 
Zaire isolates from 2014 outbreak are mutating as fast as seasonal flu 
-- with the Ebola 2014 outbreak only exceeded in substitution rate by 
HIV-1, Enterovirus71, and a few other RNA viruses.]
http://operonlabs.com/?q=node/20 ]

sources:

http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/220046-cdc-airborne-ebola-possible-but-unlikely

http://nypost.com/2014/10/29/cdc-admits-droplets-from-a-sneeze-could-spread-ebola/