"Months of Misery" and Job's Friends

My wife and a friend are making bread, about 15 feet from my desk. They're having a great time, and I'm trying to not get distracted while writing this post. The results may be interesting. Or confusing. I'll let you decide which.

Thanks to some very powerful prescriptions, my ADD-inattentive and major depression isn't nearly as hard to handle as it was: which reminds me of this morning's first reading.

With Friends Like These - - -

When the book of Job was written, about two dozen centuries back, Edomites had a reputation for being wise. Edom means "red" in Hebrew; it'sa name, more like a nickname, given to Esau.

Edomites claimed Esau as their ancestor — he's the chap who sold his birthright; under oath, yet; for a bowl of lentil stew. That doesn't justify what Jacob did later, tricking their father into giving him the first-born son's blessing.

Quite a few folks mentioned in the Bible aren't good role models. Instead of getting upset about it, I take that as reassurance that God can and does work with folks who are sincerely imperfect.

Esau felt like killing Jacob after that, understandably, so Jacob hid out with Laban. Esau caught up with Jacob later, "accompanied by four hundred men."

By the time Jacob stopped talking, Esau had agreed to meet Jacob later, in Seir. Jacob headed for Shechem, with a stopover in Succoth, and that's another topic. Topics.

Since I like the occasional rip-roaring tales of adventure and conflict, I'd probably read Sacred Scripture even if it wasn't strongly encouraged. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 133)

The Esau-Jacob-birthright subplot is in Genesis 25:30-34, 27:1-46, 33:1-20, by the way. Rachel, one of Laban's daugters, became Jacob's wife. That part of the story picks up around Genesis 29:5.

Rachel is Joseph's mother: that's the Joseph who got sold as a slave and wound up running Egypt, and that's yet another topic. (Genesis 30:25, and 41:40-41, for starters)

Descendants of Joseph, understandably, think very highly of Joseph son of Rachel. In my culture, a great many Catholic boys have Joseph as either their personal or middle name: honoring Joseph, foster-father of our Lord — and that's yet again another topic.

That doesn't have much to do with Job 7:1-4, 6-7: which is from Job's response to Edomite wisdom.

- - - Who Need Enemies?

Eliphaz from Teman, Bildad from Shuh, and Zophar from Naamath, show up a few chapters earlier: Job 2:11.

They have Edomite names: and like I said, Edomites had a reputation for wisdom back in Job's day. Much of what they say makes sense, including one of my favorite bits from the Bible —

"² But man himself begets mischief, as sparks fly upward.
(Job 5:7)

But — and I've said this before — cherry-picking favorite verses from the Bible isn't always a good idea. That's why the Almighty gets confused with an action movie hero on occasion. (April 27, 2014)

Eliphaz started the first round of 'help' back in Job 4, Job's response starts in Job 6, and that gets me back to today's first reading. Finally.

"So I have been assigned months of misery, and troubled nights have been told off for me.

"If in bed I say, 'When shall I arise?' then the night drags on; I am filled with restlessness until the dawn.

"My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle; they come to an end without hope.

"Remember that my life is like the wind; I shall not see happiness again."
(Job 7:3-4, 7:6-7)

Job is not having a good day.

He'd been doing everything right, when Sabeans stole his oxen and killed Job's herdsmen. Then Chaldeans did the same with his camels and handlers, a freak storm killed his sons and daughters, and Job got a severe case of boils.

Small wonder that his wife told him to "curse God and die:" after which those four friends arrived "to give him sympathy and comfort." (Job 2:9, 11)

Sitting in ashes and scraping himself with a potsherd may have been his way of mourning his losses, or expressing sorrow. It occurs to me, though, that Job may have been employing a home cure, using Kshara, a Ayurvedic medicine.

That doesn't make Job a Hindu, any more than my household's learning Soo Bahk Do makes us Buddhists: and that's still another topic.

Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries: With Pits

Compared to Job, my life's been a bowl of cherries. "Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries" still gets recorded occasionally, and that's — what else? — another topic.

I was able to walk during most of my childhood; my mother had a stroke when I was 12, but it didn't kill her. Four of our six kids survived birth, and so did my wife the last time around.

Sure, it hurt to walk, or stand, or sit, or lie down: but it hurt in different ways, so I didn't get bored. Besides, I learned to sleep in the least-painful position, so that wasn't a problem.

Our surviving kids are fine; and my major depressive disorder and ADD-inattentive, or maybe Asperger's, got diagnosed a few years back.

It's nice, not struggling to make my brain work: but a potpourri of neurological glitches didn't keep me from learning skills for jobs ranging from delivery guy to radio disk jockey and advertising copywriter.

Depression and Death

On happily-rare occasions, I've felt like killing myself. The first time was in my teens. I decided I could out-endure the current crises. (December 14, 2014)

Turns out, I was right. It helps that I'm stubborn as a mule. Stubbornness isn't a virtue, fortitude is, and I've said that before.

Not everybody makes the same choice, though. Robin Williams apparently couldn't take it any more last year. (August 17, 2014)

Don't bother waiting for a rant about the evils of suicide, and how only bad or weak people do it. Suicide is a bad idea, we're not supposed to do it — but "we should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives." (Catechism, 2280-2283)

Besides, I might have decided differently, a very close friend killed herself, and I take Matthew 7:1-5 very seriously. (February 1, 2015; December 14, 2014)

Not everybody who has depression commits suicide. Vincent van Gogh almost certainly did, and Joseph Conrad tried to, but he apparently died of a heart attack.

Mark Twain died of a heart attack too, an assassin killed Abraham Lincoln, and J. Robert Oppenheimer's throat cancer probably helped start his terminal coma.

Major depressive disorder isn't lethal, by itself, probably. Folks with this disorder have shorter lives, on average, partly because we're much more likely than most to kill ourselves. We're also more likely to drop dead from heart disease and assorted other illnesses.

Feeling hopeless or irritable most of the time doesn't help us concentrate. Neither does the very real lack of enough neurotransmitters — serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine — we use for thinking. Not everybody with depression winds up homeless: but many do.

Nerves in the peripheral nervous system handle signals to the diaphragm, heart, and other vital systems.

These nerves use dopamine, one of the neurotransmitters that's in short supply with major depression. I'd be surprised if low neurotransmitter levels in our organs' control circuits didn't eventually kill us.

Praise the Lord and Pass the Prescriptions

While I'm typing this, my brain runs through about 20% of the oxygen and energy I'm using. That's a huge fraction of the body's energy.

I could worry about humanity facing extinction because our brains are 'too big,' but that doesn't make sense. (October 31, 2014)

God gave us brains: and expects us to use them. (Genesis 1:26, 2:7; Catechism, 355, 1730, 1778, 2292-2295)

God is large and in charge. I rely on the Almighty for my life, health: and continued existence. (Psalms 115:3; Proverbs 19:21; Catechism, 268, 301)

But "life and physical health are precious gifts entrusted to us by God...." I'm supposed to take care of my health, within reason. (Catechism, 2288)

That includes taking prescribed medications that keep my brain running smoothly: smoother, at any rate.

Could God miraculously sort out my glitchy neurochemistry, replace my appendix, and pull my hairline back to my forehead? Sure: like Job said to God, "...no purpose of yours can be hindered." (Job 42:2)

Do I think that'll happen? Not likely, and that's — another topic.


(Image from NASA, ESA, F. Paresce (INAF-IASF, Bologna, Italy), R. O'Connell (University of Virginia, Charlottesville), and the Wide Field Camera 3 Science Oversight Committee; used w/o permission.)
(Part of the 30 Doradus Nebula, a turbulent star-birth region in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a satellite galaxy of our Milky Way.)

More about my brain and getting a grip:

• "Suicide, Sin, and Dealing with Depression"
  (December 14, 2014)
• "Joy and Standing Orders"
  (October 5, 2014)
  Particularly
  • Joy, Zest, and Mud
• "Robin Williams, Suicide, and Hope"
  (August 17, 2014)
  Particularly
  • Major Depressive Disorder: Real; Serious — and Treatable
  • Getting a Grip About Health, Hair Shirts, and Hope
• "Fasting, Penance: and Infinite Depths of Joy"
  (June 3, 2012)
  Particularly
  • Despondency isn't a Virtue?
  • Emotions, Faith, and Something Indescribable
  • God, Rain, and Me
• "Why did God Do That to Me? "
  (February 12, 2011)
  Particularly
  • Oh, No! An Old Coot Rambling About His Symptoms
  • "Mild Central Nervous System Stimulant" - and "Psychotic Symptoms"
  • "I'm Not as Crazy as You Think I Moose"
  • Dishwater: Fascinating Stuff!
  • Born a Cripple, Afflicted With Mental Disease: IT'S NOT FAIR!!!!!!!!

Mutant Malaria, Designer Babies, and Ethics

Malaria that's resistant to a very successful anti-malaria drug is spreading. The good news is that scientists know where this particular strain's immunity came from.

Other scientists say that "society needs to be prepared" for designer babies, and that "it is time for a serious public debate on the issue."

1. Malaria: Keeping Ahead of the Microbes
   • Mosquitoes and Microbes
2. Getting a Grip About Designer Babies
   • 'Curing' Creativity?

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Technology and Using Our Brains

Maybe liking technology runs in the family. I've mentioned Arba Zeri Campbell, the first person in his part of the country to have a telephone, before. (August 12, 2012)

My first impulse is not fearing that we'll offend God by making lightning rods, or using the Internet. (January 25, 2014; April 27, 2014)

We've got brains, and are expected to use them. Part of our job is learning about the universe, and using that knowledge. Thinking is not a sin. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 154-159, 2292-2296)

Sometimes our curiosity gets us killed. Georg Wilhelm Richmann, for example, found out how an insulated rod reacts to a nearby thunderstorm. More accurately, other scientists did.

Professor Richmann is probably the first person to die while conducting electrical experiments.

Then there was the time scientists learned why "tickling the dragon's tail" is a bad idea. It wasn't a real dragon, survivors learned quite a bit about what extreme radiation levels do to humans, and that's another topic. (Apathetic Lemming of the North (October 17, 2014))

Thinking, Curiosity, and Ulysses

(From Google Maps, used w/o permission.)
(Casinal Pio IV, currently home of the Pontifical Academies of Sciences and Social Sciences, and the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas.)

I've run into the notion that religion, Christianity in particular, is against science — and pretty much any tech invented in the last few centuries. Some of my fellow-Christians seem dedicated to maintaining this stereotype. (April 4, 2014)

Folks who express concern about thinking 'too much' are, I'm sure, sincere.

We can use our brains to rationalize acts which are not good, like slavery or genocide. The problem isn't thinking. It's part of the mess we call "original sin." (Catechism, 396-412, 2313, 2414)

Curiosity isn't a sin, either. Yes, Dante's Inferno shows Ulysses in Hell: but Dante's Malebolge is where "simple" fraud is punished. That's fraud committed without particularly malicious intent.

Ulysses shows up in the eighth trench, reserved for deceivers. He's not there because he 'tampered with things man was not supposed to know.' (January 9, 2015; August 1, 2014)

Reasoning — thinking — is part of being human. We can use our ability to reason for good or ill. It's our decisions that make a difference. (Catechism, 35-39, 1704-1707, 1950-1960)

I didn't become a Catholic because there's a science academy at the Vatican. But I don't have to check my brain at the door when I go to church. (April 27, 2012)

Mad Scientists and Ethics

Mad scientists in the movies can be entertaining.

Their real-life counterparts, like Ilya Ivanovich Ivanov: not so much.

Medical experiments at Auschwitz and Dachau, the Tuskegee syphilis experiment, and Willowbrook State School's Hepatitis studies don't show that science is evil.

They are, however, reminders that ethics apply to science: or should. (Catechism, 2292-2295, 2415-2418)

Since I'm a Catholic, I must believe that human life is sacred: all human life. (Catechism, 2258, 2270, 2273, 2276-2279)

A big problem with in vitro fertilization, for example, is that usually only one of the people conceived live. The 'extras' — don't. (Instruction on Respect for Human Life in its Origin and on the dignity of procreation — Replies to Certain Questions of the Day, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (1987))

Wanting a child and not being able to conceive is distressing. Wanting to raise children is a good thing: but "the end does not justify the means." (Catechism, 1753, 2201-2203)

Expecting knowledge, or anything else, to take God's place would be daft: and against the rules. That doesn't make seeking knowledge bad. Being curious and developing new tools is part of being human. (Catechism, 2113, 2292-2295)

We're made in the image of God, rational creatures whose job description includes stewardship of the physical world. (Genesis 1:27-28, Psalms 19:2; Wisdom 7:17; Catechism, 282-289, 341, 373, 1730, 2375)

The trick is remembering that ethics matter: no matter how curious we are, or how much we want something.

"...if methodical investigation within every branch of learning is carried out in a genuinely scientific manner and in accord with moral norms, it never truly conflicts with faith, for earthly matters and the concerns of faith derive from the same God...."
("Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern Word-Gaudium et Spes," 36 (December 7, 1965))

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1. Malaria: Keeping Ahead of the Microbes

(From Science Photo Library, via BBC News, used w/o permission.)
("Malaria parasites - seen tightly packed in this red blood cell - have evolved resistance to artemisinin"
(BBC News))

"Genetics of malaria drug resistance revealed"
Rebecca Morelle (January 19, 2015)

"The genetics underpinning resistance to a frontline malaria drug, artemisinin, have been revealed, scientists say.

"In South East Asia, malaria parasites have developed tolerance to the treatment, and there are fears that this will spread.

"Now, in the largest genetic study to date, scientists have identified mutations in the parasite genome that are linked to resistance.

"The study is published in Nature Genetics.

"The researchers say the findings will help them to identify areas where artemisinin resistance could spread.

"Lead author Dr Olivo Miotto from the Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Research Unit (MORU), in Thailand, said: 'Artemisinin is the best drug we have had for a very long time, and we want to continue this success story.

"'And for that its effectiveness has to be protected and sustained.'

"When the first malaria drug, chloroquine, was developed, researchers thought that the disease would be eradicated within years.

"But the malaria parasite has proved far tougher than they ever imagined. Drug after drug has been rendered useless as the parasite has evolved to evade treatment...."

"Evolved?" I've been told that evolution is the "religion of the antichrist," some folks think the Pope is the Antichrist, and that's another yet topic. (January 2, 2014; July 17, 2011)

I'm a Catholic, so I believe that God created a good world: one that's getting better, changing. Scientists use the word "evolution" when discussing one facet of this "state of journeying." (Genesis 1:31; Catechism, 282-308)

That gets me back to malaria, almost.

Microbes evolve quickly, partly because their generations are very short. On top of that, bacteria can swap genes with quite a few other critters. It's called conjugation, transformation, and transduction: so bacteria evolve really fast.

About a century back, antibiotics looked like the ultimate answer to disease: then we found out about viruses, and microbes developed resistance to the drugs. Informed speculation about viruses started around 1880s, and that's yet again another topic.

Ancient Romans thought malaria was caused by noxious fumes form swamps. Folks in the Renaissance apparently figured the same thing. "Malaria" means "bad air," "mal aria" in Medieval Italian.

The Romans were right, sort of. Most mosquitoes lay eggs in stagnant water, and Anopheles mosquitoes spread malaria. Malaria was around long before we were. Scientists found malaria microbes in 30,000,000-year-old mosquitoes.

Mosquitoes and Microbes

Mosquitoes have been around a lot longer: about 260,000,000 years. Anopheles mosquitoes branched off upwards of 120,000,000 years ago. Anopheles is the type that carries Plasmodium microbes that cause malaria. (June 13, 2014)

The four or five species of Plasmodium that cause malaria in humans aren't bacteria. They're parasitic Protozoans: unicellular eukaryotic critters.

In other words, one Protozoa is a single cell with a membrane around its nucleus. There will not be test on this. I'm a recovering English teacher — emphasis on 'recovering.'

Malaria starts out feeling like the flu. Some folks who get malaria recover, some die. The disease messes with the brain, spleen, liver, lungs - - - among other major systems.

The BBC article focuses on efforts to understand an artemisinin-resistant sort of malaria microbe. It looks like mutations on a gene called kelch13 give microbes this resistance.

So far, these resistant microbes have reached Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar/Burma. The BBC article says that resistant malaria parasites show up in the same place: the Cambodia-Thailand border.

Preventing, or at least slowing down, the spread of artemisinin-resistant malaria seems like a good idea.

So, I think, is finding a way so eradicate malaria entirely. We've done that before, with smallpox: and I'm pretty sure that life on Earth will continue, even if we kill off one more disease microbe, or the five species of mosquito that infect humans with it. (February 12, 2014)

Was eradicating smallpox the right thing to do? After all, Edmund Massey, an English preacher, said that God wants us to be scared of getting sick. I am not making this up:

"...The fear of disease is a happy restraint to men. If men were more healthy, 'tis a great chance they would be less righteous. Let the Atheist and the Scoffer inoculate. Their hope is in and for only this life. Let us bless God for the Afflictions He sends upon us, and grant us patience under them...."
("Against the Dangerous and Sinful Practice of Inoculation," Edmund Massey (1722))

Then there was Pope Pius VII, who said vaccination is "a precious discovery which ought to be a new motive for human gratitude to Omnipotence." That was in 1814. (February 12, 2014)

Life and health are "precious gifts." We're expected to keep ourselves healthy: within reason. Healing folks who are ill is a good idea, too. So is caring for folks who are dying. (Catechism, 2278-2279, 2288-2289)

That reminds me of Father Damien of Molokai. He's Saint Damien now, and that's still another topic. (May 11, 2010)

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2. Getting a Grip About Designer Babies

(From BBC News, used w/o permission.)

"'Designer babies' debate should start, scientists say"
James Gallagher, BBC News (January 18, 2015)

"Rapid progress in genetics is making 'designer babies' more likely and society needs to be prepared, leading scientists have told the BBC.

"Dr Tony Perry, a pioneer in cloning, has announced precise DNA editing at the moment of conception in mice.

"He said huge advances in the past two years meant 'designer babies' were no longer HG Wells territory.

"Other leading scientists and bioethicists argue it is time for a serious public debate on the issue.

"Designer babies - genetically modified for beauty, intelligence or to be free of disease - have long been a topic of science fiction.

"Dr Perry, who was part of the teams to clone the first mice and pigs, said the prospect was still fiction, but science was rapidly catching up to make elements of it possible.

"In the journal Scientific Reports, he details precisely editing the genome of mice at the point DNA from the sperm and egg come together...."

At first glance, 'designer babies' sounds like a wonderful idea. Someone would go to a doctor, specify hair and eye color, intelligence, level of attractiveness, athletic prowess, and other traits: and get a 'perfect child.'

Maybe the kids would even come with a guarantee: so if they didn't meet expectations, they could be returned. Another, more expensive, option might be to order twins: take one home, and have the health service keep the other one as a source of spare parts, in case the 'real' child had a serious accident or disease.

Either way, that approach would treat people as commodities: property. That's unacceptable. Humans, no matter how old we are, are people. (Catechism, 357, 1929, 2258, 2270-2279)

Wanting to raise a child is a good thing. But children are people, not property. Nobody has a 'right to a child.' (Catechism, 2207-2208, 2378)

So, do I see research aimed at changing human genetic code as evil? It's not that simple.

'Curing' Creativity?

I see problems — and opportunities — with 'designer babies.'

Some genetic disorders like haemophilia and Tay-Sachs disease, are often fatal. Others, like Muenke and Williams are more like disorders or disabilities.

ADD, Asperger syndrome, or whatever it is I've got, may be a genetic glitch, too. So may be whatever went wrong with my hips. From some viewpoints, I'm a mess. (February 12, 2011)

I don't think I'd mind having lived with two normal hip sockets: but I'd have missed many learning experiences along the way.

At first glance, being 'cured' of ADD/Asperger's/whatever seems like a good idea. Maybe it would be. My attitude toward major depression is much less ambivalent. I'm certainly not going to stop taking the powerful antidepressant and other drugs that help me control my brain. (December 14, 2014; August 17, 2014)

But I wouldn't want to be "normal" if it meant losing the way I see the world.

I'm not in the same league as Paddy Considine, Johnny Dean, and Luke Jackson, but I suspect that some quirky neurological kits have an 'up' side. (September 1, 2013; December 9, 2012)

Then there's what Aristotle said: "There is no great genius without a mixture of madness," except my language wouldn't exist for a couple thousand years in his day. I don't think he'd have used Latin, either, although it sounds cool in that language: "Nullum magnum ingenium sine mixtura dementia."

Wrenching myself back on-topic: Since I'm Catholic, I must see humans as equal; and diverse. Each of us is a person, made in the image of God, creatures with rational souls. We're not all alike, though: and that's how it's supposed to be. (Catechism, 1934-1938)

I agree with Dr. Tony Perry: "...it is time for a serious public debate on the issue" of 'designer babies.'

I suppose discussion of genetics and bioethics among Catholics isn't 'public.' It's certainly not the sort of thing you're likely to hear on talk radio, and that's — what else? — another topic.

As far as I can tell, none of what I'll quote near the end of this post is definitive: but I think it makes sense.

Basically, learning more about how our genes work is a good idea. We're getting to the point where people conceived with disorders like Tay-Sachs disease can live past childhood. This is a good thing.

We're also close to being able to purge unwanted traits from humanity. This looks good on paper. In practice, applied eugenics has a bad track record. Really bad. (December 5, 2014; November 5, 2012)

Finally, here's part of what I found on the Vatican's website:

"...In theory, it is possible to use gene therapy on two levels: somatic cell gene therapy and germ line cell therapy. Somatic cell gene therapy seeks to eliminate or reduce genetic defects on the level of somatic cells, that is, cells other than the reproductive cells, but which make up the tissue and organs of the body. It involves procedures aimed at certain individual cells with effects that are limited to a single person. Germ line cell therapy aims instead at correcting genetic defects present in germ line cells with the purpose of transmitting the therapeutic effects to the offspring of the individual....

"...For a moral evaluation the following distinctions need to be kept in mind. Procedures used on somatic cells for strictly therapeutic purposes are in principle morally licit. Such actions seek to restore the normal genetic configuration of the patient or to counter damage caused by genetic anomalies or those related to other pathologies....

"...The moral evaluation of germ line cell therapy is different. Whatever genetic modifications are effected on the germ cells of a person will be transmitted to any potential offspring. Because the risks connected to any genetic manipulation are considerable and as yet not fully controllable, in the present state of research, it is not morally permissible to act in a way that may cause possible harm to the resulting progeny....

"...The question of using genetic engineering for purposes other than medical treatment also calls for consideration. Some have imagined the possibility of using techniques of genetic engineering to introduce alterations with the presumed aim of improving and strengthening the gene pool. ... Apart from technical difficulties and the real and potential risks involved, such manipulation would promote a eugenic mentality and would lead to indirect social stigma with regard to people who lack certain qualities, while privileging qualities that happen to be appreciated by a certain culture or society...."
("Instruction Dignitas Personae on Certain Bioethical Questions," William Cardinal Levada, Prefect; Luis F. Ladaria, S.I., Titular Archbishop of Thibica, Secretary; Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (September 8, 2008))

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"...The uniqueness of each human person, in part constituted by his biogenetic characteristics and developed through nurture and growth, belongs intrinsically to him and cannot be instrumentalized in order to improve some of these characteristics...."

"...Therapeutic interventions serve to restore the physical, mental and spiritual functions, placing the person at the center and fully respecting the finality of the various levels in man in relation to those of the person. Possessing a therapeutic character, medicine that serves man and his body as ends in themselves respects the image of God in both...."
("Communion and Stewardship: Human Persons Created in the Image of God, International Theological Commission (July 23, 2004))

Cloning, gene therapy, and being human; Catholic viewpoints:

• "Instruction Dignitas Personae on Certain Bioethical Questions"
  William Cardinal Levada, Prefect; Luis F. Ladaria, S.I., Titular Archbishop of Thibica, Secretary; Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (September 8, 2008)
• "Document of the Holy See on Human Cloning"
  From the Vatican (September 27, 2004)
• "Communion and Stewardship: Human Persons Created in the Image of God"
  International Theological Commission (July 23, 2004)
• "Reflections on Cloning"
  Prof. Juan de Dios Vial Correa, President; Monsignor Elio Sgreccia, Vice-President; Pontificia Academia Pro Vita; Libreria Editrice Vaticana (1997)

My take on what we can do, and what we're learning to do:

• "DNA Test Hype; and Studying Life's Origins"
  (December 5, 2014)
  Particularly
  • Applied Genetics: Technology is Technology
  • Social Darwinism, Eugenics, and Me
  • Being human
• "Regeneration: Getting Closer to Growing Lost Organs"
  (August 29, 2014)
  Particularly
  • Brand-New Tech, Same Old Challenges
  • New Tech, New Rules, Same Old Principles
  • Living in 'The Future'
• "Mutant Mosquitoes and a Made-to-Order Cancer Treatment"
  (June 13, 2014)
  Particularly
  • Health and Using the Brains God Gave Us
  • Mutant Mosquitoes: When Swatting Isn't Good Enough
    • Malaria, Mosquitoes, and Living in Minnesota
  • Made-to-Order Cancer Treatment
  • Biomarkers, Cancer, and the FDA
• "Getting a Grip About Dr. Moreau, Pigs, and Human Dignity"
  (February 14, 2014)
  Particularly
  • Olive Trees, Parapets, and All That
  • Serious News, Sensationalist Prose
  • The Pancreas of Pig 29
• "Transhumanism, Bioethics, and Me"
  (April 8, 2012)
  Particularly
  • Eugenics, Enhanced Humans: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
  • Stronger, Smarter, Prettier: But Should We?
  • Ethics: Simple, Sort of

Ebola: Scary, and Beatable

This year's Ebola outbreak has killed thousands of folks in West Africa: and one in the United States. By any reasonable standard, it's a very serious health problem.

1. Scary, Yes; Beatable? Also Yes
   • "Highly Contagious" and Hazmat Suits
2. Nurses, Torches, and Pitchforks
   • Assessments and Assumptions
3. Ebola Comes to Dallas
   • Not-Entirely-Bad News from the CDC
4. News from the BBC: Bad and Cautiously Hopeful
   • Fractions
   • Fear
   • Economics
   • Subsistence Agriculture and This Year's Epidemic
   • Looking Ahead
5. Learning About Ebola
   • Bats, Uncertainty, and Prayer

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Getting a Grip About Health

As I've said before, being healthy is okay. (June 13, 2014)

Not being healthy is okay, too: but I'm expected to take care of my health: within reason. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2274-2279, 2288-2289)

However, putting good health, money, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, or anything other than God, at the top of my priorities is a bad idea.

Replacing God with someone or something is called idolatry, it's against the rules, and that's another topic. (Catechism, 2112-2114)

Maybe that's obvious: or maybe not.

Now and again, I run into news about someone who decides that getting medical treatment is immoral. Folks who believe that may be sincere: but the notion that we can either use our brains or trust God, not both, is daft.

Since I'm a Catholic, I must believe that my continuing existence depends on God. But I also must believe that God made a world where the creatures in it — including me — play a role in making things happen. (Catechism, 301, 306-308)

Part of our job is learning more about this creation, and using our knowledge. We're supposed to use science and technology: and we're expected to use them wisely. (Catechism, 307, 2292-2296, 2415-2418)

Leviticus, Dubrovnik, and Typhoid Mary

One of the oldest ways folks protected themselves from disease is still in use: quarantine. Long before we knew about microorganisms, Leviticus 15:2-13 told the Israelites what to do about about an infected man: and anything he touched.

Back in the 1300s, Venice enjoyed the wealth — and risks — that come with global trade. They isolated ships and people entering Dubrovnik — it was called Ragusa then — for quaranta giorni (40 days), a phrase which became "quarantine" in my language.

When my country was still 13 English colonies, New York City started screening folks they thought might carry smallpox. That was the first quarantine here: in 1663.

United States quarantine laws are still on the books, but seldom applied. Folks with dangerous and contagious diseases generally decide to isolate themselves, without being forced.

Not always, though. Quarantine was enforced in the 1918 flu pandemic, for a suspected 1963 smallpox case, and again in 2007, when an attorney decided that quarantine law didn't apply to him. My opinion.

Then there was Typhoid Mary, who infected 53 people, three fatally: two after she'd promised to stop spreading the disease. It's likely that she thought washing her hands wasn't necessary: and that the government was just picking on her.

What We Know, What We Don't

Ebola feels like the flu, malaria, or dengue fever, in its early stages. I get the impression that fatigue, fever, headaches, and muscle pains, are early symptoms of quite a few diseases.

Later on, folks with Ebola may start bleeding, inside and out. Between 25% and 90% die.

This is a very serious, and scary, disease.

I've enjoyed somewhat-lurid movies like The Satan Bug and The Omega Man: including the scary parts. But when real diseases are involved: I'd rather stay calm, and stick to facts, not drama.

That's why I looked up what we know, and what we don't, about Ebola.

"Key facts

• "Ebola virus disease (EVD), formerly known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever, is a severe, often fatal illness in humans.
• "The virus is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission.
• "The average EVD case fatality rate is around 50%. Case fatality rates have varied from 25% to 90% in past outbreaks.
• "The first EVD outbreaks occurred in remote villages in Central Africa, near tropical rainforests, but the most recent outbreak in west Africa has involved major urban as well as rural areas.
• "Community engagement is key to successfully controlling outbreaks. Good outbreak control relies on applying a package of interventions, namely case management, surveillance and contact tracing, a good laboratory service, safe burials and social mobilisation.
• "Early supportive care with rehydration, symptomatic treatment improves survival. There is as yet no licensed treatment proven to neutralise the virus but a range of blood, immunological and drug therapies are under development.
• "There are currently no licensed Ebola vaccines but 2 potential candidates are undergoing evaluation."

(From Ebola virus disease Fact sheet N°103, WHO (Updated September 2014))

The new Ebola virus is a mutation.

Since I don't work for an editor who got his science education from watching Hell Comes to Frogtown and Jack Frost_2: Revenge of the Mutant Killer Snowman, I can point out that viruses mutate. A lot. Constantly. It's what they do: and why we need a new sort of flu vaccination each year. I've had mine, by the way. Flu vaccination, that is.

An article published August 29, 2014, says that the particular strain of Ebola virus that's causing this year's outbreak started in a single animal-to-human contact in late 2013, and has been spreading from human to human since. I'll get back to how it's spread.

I put links to a few resources at the end of this post.

Plagues and Change

I think it's important to remember what happened after a global plague, several centuries back.

Between 1346 to 1353, roughly half of the folks living in Europe died. Some spots in that subcontinent still haven't been resettled. Europe wasn't the same after that: which wasn't an altogether bad thing.

Surviving aristocrats still had obligations to their lieges, often without enough serfs and peasants to get the work done. Folks at the other end of the socioeconomic ladder did pretty well. If a lord of the manor didn't treat workers well, they could could move to where the boss had more sense: often with no questions asked.

It wasn't all good news, of course. Europeans are human, like anyone else, and some behaved badly: very badly. Then in 1583, Leonhard Rauwolf introduced Europeans to coffee, and we had the Renaissance.

I'm oversimplifying, of course.

If Europeans could rebuild — and reform — their societies, I'm pretty sure that anybody can. (August 31, 2014)

Now, my take on Ebola, people, and getting a grip.

---

1. Scary, Yes; Beatable? Also Yes

(From Forbes, used w/o permission.)
("The current Ebola outbreak has infected more than 400 healthcare workers and killed more than 200 of them."
(Forbes))

"Ebola's Very Contagious. Ebola's Also Hard To Catch. Confused? Here's How To Understand."
Dan Diamond, Pharma & Healthcare, Forbes (October 16, 2014)

"Ebola has infected just a handful of Americans, but millions of us are already sick with anxiety.

"More than half of U.S. adults worry that there will be a large-scale Ebola outbreak across the next year, according to a new Harvard poll conducted last week and released on Tuesday. Most of them are nervous that they’ll get sick with Ebola, or someone in their family will.

"Those numbers have climbed from an earlier Harvard poll, which found that about 40% of American adults this summer were worried about an Ebola outbreak. And this week’s anxiety-inducing news that two Dallas nurses had been infected with Ebola — with one Ebola-stricken nurse even flying a commercial airline between Cleveland and Dallas — is bound to drive fears even higher.

"Is there cause for concern? Sure; Ebola's one of the most dangerous diseases on the planet. The current outbreak has killed more than 4,000 people in West Africa, with a staggering 50% mortality rate.

"But at the same time, scientists and public health officials have repeatedly urged Americans not to panic about Ebola.

"Also See: Yes, Ebola Is Scary. But It's Also Beatable. Here s Why...."

There's more to the "...Ebola-stricken nurse ... flying a commercial airline between Cleveland and Dallas ... " situation — and I'll get to that a bit later.

I recommend reading Dan Diamond's op-ed, and his "Yes, Ebola Is Scary. But It’s Also Beatable. Here's Why."

I'd quibble over his "Why To Be Worried — But Not To Be Scared" heading, but I prefer the less-emotional "concern" approach over being worried: and I'm a recovering English teacher. Moving on.

Mr. Diamond echoes what many folks may wonder: 'If Ebola's hard to catch, how come we see healthcare workers in hazmat suits?' The flip side of that question is 'if Ebola's a big threat, how come more Americans aren't sick?'

Headlines like Reuter's recent "White House shifts into crisis mode on Ebola response" don't help clarify the situation — or encourage calm, rational, responses to Ebola.

"Highly Contagious" and Hazmat Suits

Ebola is "highly contagious" because fluids from an Ebola patient's body carry the virus. As the disease gets worse, patients can experience projectile vomiting and explosive diarrhea: spreading fluids that can infect others. Left on surfaces like doorknobs and countertops, the dried virus can live for several hours.

That's why folks near Ebola patients need hazmat suits. Getting the suit off without getting infected is tricky: which is why training is vital.

Getting breathed on by an Ebola patient won't hurt anyone: probably. But droplets expelled while breathing — like in a sneeze — those can spread the disease. Ebola isn't, as far as we know, airborne: but "splatter" from an Ebola patient can cause trouble.

Under the circumstances, maybe it's surprising that only about 6% of Ebola deaths in the current outbreak are health care staff.

Like any other virus, Ebola mutates: so by now it may be spreading in new ways. That's part of the bad news.

Part of the good news is that Ebola is, and almost certainly will keep being, hard to catch: for the average person.

Ebola doesn't stay in the patient's body for months, without symptoms. When someone gets infected, that person gets sick quite promptly: and visibly. Someone who doesn't seem to be sick almost certainly isn't spreading Ebola.

So far, the only two folks who caught Ebola in America have been nurses who were near the now-deceased patient. Interestingly, on average, one Ebola patient only infects two other people. That's on average, of course: some patients won't infect anyone, some will infect more.

More about Ebola and getting a grip:

• "Seriously, How Contagious Is Ebola?"
  Michaeleen Doucleff, Shots blog, NPR (October 2, 2014)

---

2. Nurses, Torches, and Pitchforks

(From FoxNews.com, used w/o permission.)

"Second Ebola-infected nurse flown from Dallas to Atlanta for specialized treatment"
FoxNews.com (October 15, 2014)

"The second nurse infected with Ebola at a Dallas hospital after treating a man who later died of the virus was flown by private jet Wednesday to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta for further treatment in a specialized isolation unit.

"The patient was identified earlier in the day as 29-year-old Amber Vinson as authorities expressed concern that she took a domestic flight — reportedly to prepare for her wedding in Cleveland — just one day before coming down with symptoms of the deadly disease.

" 'The second health care worker should not have been allowed to travel by virtue of being in an exposed group,' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Dr. Thomas Frieden said in a telebriefing Wednesday. 'Although she had no symptoms or fever [that met the threshold] of 100.4, she did report that she took her temperature and found it to be 99.5.'..."

Some reactions to news about the second health care worker suggest that a procession with pitchforks and torches to Emory University Hospital is imminent.

America has knaves and fools, like any other place. And in 20-20 hindsight, it's clear that Amber Vinson shouldn't have traveled. But as I'm writing this, we're still getting more information about what actually happened.

I think we don't have all the facts yet.

For starters, although 99.5 Fahrenheit is above the "normal" 98.6: that's more like an average temperature. An individual's temperature varies by nearly a full degree (F) over our 24 hour cycle: and healthy individuals have different "normal" temperatures.

With no symptoms, temperature that's at the high end of "normal," and an upcoming wedding — I'm not shocked that Amber Vinson traveled. I do not, from I've read, think that she's either a knave or a fool: just someone who didn't predict the future.

Life would have been simpler for everyone involved if she hadn't traveled; but I'm willing to believe that she was not, given what she knew, acting irresponsibly.

Assessments and Assumptions

I gather that there's considerable scrutiny now, of exactly what happened at the Dallas hospital: and why. I do not envy the hospital's administrator.

Obviously, nobody except the patient should have caught Ebola at that hospital. Something went wrong. That's why folks are taking such a close look at how Ebola spread there.

Eventually, I'm pretty sure we'll learn whether there were errors in following procedures, procedures that weren't adequate, or — quite possibly — 'all of the above.' Then, barring some freakish turn of events: corrections will get made.

I suspect that an underlying issue is that we've become a tad overconfident here in America. We've got pretty good healthcare; and the rare cases of toxins or disease in our food supply are just that, rare. Maybe it's easy to forget that attention to detail is still vital.

---

3. Ebola Comes to Dallas

(From Jaime R. Carrero, via Reuters, used w/o permission.)
("A member of the CG Environmental HazMat team disinfects the entrance to the residence of a health worker at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital who has contracted Ebola in Dallas, Texas, October 12, 2014."
(Reuters))

"U.S. needs to rethink Ebola infection controls says CDC chief"
Lisa Maria Garza,Terry Wade; Reuters (October 13, 2014)

"The case of a Dallas nurse who contracted Ebola while caring for a dying Liberian patient shows that the United States needs to rethink how it handles highly infectious diseases as an outbreak of the deadly virus spreads beyond West Africa, a U.S. health official said on Monday.

"Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said health authorities are still investigating how the nurse became infected while caring for Thomas Eric Duncan in an isolation ward at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital.

"Duncan died last week and the nurse is the first person to contract the virus on U.S. soil, taking concerns about containing its spread to new heights....

"...The family was in shock when it learned the young woman had contracted Ebola, said Tom Ha, a close friend of the Pham family who is also a Bible studies teacher at the Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church in Fort Worth.

" 'The mother was crying, very upset,' he told Reuters.

"The Dallas nurse is 'clinically stable,' Frieden said, and the CDC is monitoring others involved in Duncan's care in case they show symptoms of the virus...."

At the risk of seeming to be insensitive, the United States isn't Sierra Leone, and conditions in Dallas are not the same as those in Freetown.

As I said earlier, I'm reasonably sure that the United States has about as many fools and knaves per capita as Sierra Leone, or any other nation. But, happily, we've had a chance to get on our feet as a nation: and are not, I think, quite as likely to be overwhelmed by a disease.

Provided, of course, that we don't let the fools and knaves do as they like.

If the current outbreak really has been spread only by human-to-human contact, and stays that way, I think we'll very likely spot most if not all cases here in America, and keep the disease from becoming a national epidemic.

On Monday, October 14, 2014, the CDC reported that 11 people had definitely been exposed to the Ebola patient in Texas, and, 114 might have been exposed. I'd much rather not be one of the 125 folks on that list: particularly since at least two of them now have the disease.

Sadly, Thomas Eric Duncan, the Liberian citizen who traveled to Dallas, Texas, is dead. (BBC News (October 8, 2014)

Not-Entirely-Bad News from the CDC

"...CDC recognizes that any case of Ebola diagnosed in the United States raises concerns, and any death is too many. Medical and public health professionals across the country have been preparing to respond. CDC and public health officials in Texas are taking precautions to identify people who had close personal contact with the patient and health care professionals have been reminded to use meticulous infection control at all times...."
("Cases of Ebola Diagnosed in the United States," CDC (October 14, 2014))

---

"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), along with other U.S. government agencies, the World Health Organization (WHO), and international partners, is taking active steps to respond to the rapidly changing situation in West Africa. September 30, 2014, CDC confirmed the first travel-associated case of Ebola to be diagnosed in the United States. He died of Ebola on October 8 and was cremated. CDC and partners are taking precautions to prevent the spread of Ebola within the United States in addition to its activities abroad...."
("What CDC is Doing," CDC (October 9, 2014, 2014))

---

I don't blindly accept what politicos say, and realize that government agencies are run by human beings: with all the foibles that implies. But I also am reasonably sure that the CDC's reporting of the Texas Ebloa cases are accurate — with most of facts the CDC has discovered so far.

On the other hand, I've watched Warehouse 13, Independence Day, and The Invaders, so I can imagine that space-alien Illuminati and drug companies are behind this Ebola outbreak — but that seems unlikely, putting in mildly.

Getting back down to Earth, here's why I'm not terrified of Ebola spreading across America:


(From CDC, used w/o permission.)
(Infographic: Facts about Ebola in the U.S. (from www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/pdf/infographic.pdf).)

Terrified, no: concerned, a bit; and I'll get to that after taking a look at what's happening in Africa.

---

4. News from the BBC: Bad and Cautiously Hopeful

(From EPA, via BBC News, used w/o permission.)
("More than 4,000 people have died during the Ebola outbreak"
(BBC News))

"Ebola epidemic 'could lead to failed states', warns WHO"
BBC News (October 13, 2014)

"The Ebola epidemic threatens the 'very survival' of societies and could lead to failed states, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned.

"The outbreak, which has killed some 4,000 people in West Africa, has led to a 'crisis for international peace and security', WHO head Margaret Chan said.

"She also warned of the cost of panic 'spreading faster than the virus'.

"Meanwhile, medics have largely ignored a strike call in Liberia, the centre of the deadliest-ever Ebola outbreak.

"Nurses and medical assistants had been urged to strike over danger money and conditions. However, most were working as normal on Monday, the BBC's Jonathan Paye-Layleh in Monrovia said...."

Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea were the hardest-hit nations — toward the end of September, anyway. Although each has aboundant natural resources, including Guinea's "great potential" for hydroelectric power, a key word is "potential."

Liberia declared independence in 1847, Sierra Leone and Guinea have been independent nations since the mid-20th century. Despite, or perhaps because of, "help" from other nations: these three nations are among the least-wealthy on Earth.

Fractions

Although I'm not convinced that the situation is quite as dire as the United Nations executive says: These three countries are in very bad shape, and conditions may get worse over the next few months.

Upwards of 4,000 folks have died after catching Ebola: mostly in those three nations, whose total population is around 20,500,000.

That's a massive tragedy: but 4,000 is less than 1 of every 5,000 people in the hardest-hit nations.

If a similar fraction of Americans died from Ebola, the death toll would be around 62,000 of this nation's 318,000,000 population.

According to the CDC, more Americans die each year from diabetes: and the last I checked, Macy's next Thanksgiving Day Parade is still scheduled for November 27. Here in America, despite the diabetes death toll, it's business as usual.

Why isn't WHO's Margaret Chan warning of America's imminent collapse?

Fear

Mostly, I think, because the United States isn't Sierra Leone. We've had a different history, and right now we have what may be the biggest, most vibrant, economy on the planet.

(Comparative) poverty is still a problem here, and we're far from a perfect society — but most of us don't fear starvation. Our most common fears may seem trivial: like fear of dentists, dogs, or spiders.

I'm pretty sure that some Americans are in a blind panic over Eblola. With nearly a third of a billion of us: it'd be surprising if a few weren't bekloppt.

It probably doesn't help that graphs showing death from Ebola resemble asymptotic curves. It wouldn't take long for someone with a calculator and a certain innocence regarding statistics to determine that pretty soon everyone on Earth would die: several times.

Asymptotes are real enough. They're involved in the hyperbola of the Dupin indicatrix — which folks who know about Gaussian curvature and topology might find interesting: and that's yet another topic. Topics.

But headlines like "Ebola is spooking Wall Street" and "U.S. Ebola fears fuel new demand for protective gear" notwithstanding, I've yet to run into someone who's scared silly about Ebola. Granted, I live in central Minnesota — with our weather, anyone subject to chronic jitters will have moved out long ago.

Health care here is pretty good, too. For example, I've got diabetes: but I'll almost certainly be around next year, since I'm monitoring and controlling the disease's effects; and I've got a mild case.

Folks in West Africa — the next few years will be very rough. After that, their nations won't be the same. That could be bad news: or good news.

Economics

(From AFP, via BBC News, used w/o permission.)
("Many shops have been forced to close as part of quarantine measures"
(BBC News))

"Ebola crisis: The economic impact"
Richard Hamilton, BBC News (August 20, 2014)

"With more than 1,300 reported deaths from Ebola in West Africa, the virus continues to be an urgent health crisis, but it is also having a devastating impact on the economies of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

" 'The economy has been deflated by 30% because of Ebola,' Sierra Leone's Agriculture Minister Joseph Sam Sesay told the BBC.

"He said President Ernest Bai Koroma revealed this staggering and depressing news to ministers at a special cabinet meeting. 'The agricultural sector is the most impacted in terms of Ebola because the majority of the people of Sierra Leone - about 66% - are farmers,' he said.

"Twelve out of 13 districts in Sierra Leone are now affected by Ebola, although the epicentres are in the Eastern Province near the borders with Liberia and Guinea...."

Between half and two-thirds of Sierra Leone's working-age population depend on subsistence agriculture. The nation has good natural resources: and could have a thriving agribusiness and fishing industry.

But a succession of foreign powers held what's now Sierra Leone for about four and a half centuries. That ended about five decades back.

Since then, they've gone through several efforts at building a viable government and economy. A civil war, from 1991 to 2002, killed tens of thousands of people and displaced more than 2,000,000.

As of June of this year, Sierra Leone had — officially, at least — a constitutional democracy. Folks who had fled or been pushed out by the civil war were coming home when Ebola hit.

That article was written in late August, about a month and a half ago. I gather that since then the situation has gotten worse.

Subsistence Agriculture and This Year's Epidemic

"Food shortages

"...the chief co-ordinator for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), David McLachlan-Karr, thinks that the road blocks are absolutely crucial to containing the outbreak.

" 'A robust response to quarantining epicentres of the disease is absolutely necessary,' he told the BBC. But he admits agriculture in Sierra Leone has been brought to its knees.

"'We are now coming into the planting season which means a lot of agriculture is not happening, so down the line that will create food shortages and pressures on food prices. We are starting to see a rise in inflation and pressure on the national currency as well as a shortage of foreign exchange,' he said...."
(Richard Hamilton, BBC News)

Road blocks in Sierra Leone may make sense: particularly since this version of Ebola seems to be transmitted by people.

I sympathize with folks who want to get away from plague-ridden areas: but I can see why a nation's government might want to restrict travel.

If road blocks keep folks from getting supplies for the upcoming planting season: that could be very serious, when the harvest doesn't happen.

Subsistence agriculture is the sort of "self-sufficiency" my ancestors worked long and hard to get away from. Growing all the food your family needs, right there on your own land, and not having more than seed for the next season left over, is fine — until the next drought, or flood, or plague.

Looking Ahead

"...'Fundamentals'

"Meanwhile some international investors are nervously watching the Ebola outbreak unfold. Dianna Games, chief executive of Johannesburg-based consultants Africa@Work, says fears about the virus could damage Africa's economic revival of recent years.

" 'Ebola has made a dent in the Africa Rising narrative,' she told the BBC. 'The stereotypes of Africa as a place of poverty and disease have started to re-emerge again.'

"She thinks Nigeria is the only affected country that has the health system and infrastructure to deal with Ebola. At the moment there have only been 12 confirmed cases, all of which were linked to the death of one man from Liberia in July.

"In the long run, Ms Games believes history will view the 2014 Ebola outbreak as a temporary blip rather than a permanent U-turn in the continent's fortunes.

" 'The fundamentals pushing this Africa Renaissance are still there,' she said."
(Richard Hamilton, BBC News)

My guess is that op-eds have already dismissed Africa@Work's Dianna Games as delusional, depraved, or determined to oppress Africans by not thinking they're doomed.

I think she's right — in the long run. Thematic maps of Africa show a continent with abundant natural resources: and in many places, the most important of all 'resources:' people.

Mineral resources only last so long, and apparently wealth from Sierra Leone's diamond exports go mostly to corrupt officials, exporters who corrupt them, and assorted thugs.

I see this as a very serious problem: but I'm pretty sure the solution isn't for Sierra Leoneans to go back to an imaginary 'good old days' before they could export diamonds.

Judging from America's Oregon land fraud scandal, Teapot Dome scandal, and the Ulysses S. Grant administration, weeding corruption out of Sierra Leone — or any other country — will be a continuing process.

But — development isn't a four-letter word, folks can learn from mistakes, and using our brains is a good idea. (June 15, 2014; October 8, 2012; April 22, 2012)

---

5. Learning About Ebola

(From AFP, via BBC News, used w/o permission.)
("Healthcare workers are among those most at risk of catching Ebola"
(BBC News))

"Why Ebola is so dangerous"
(October 8, 2013)

"The Ebola outbreak in West Africa is the world's deadliest to date and the World Health Organization has declared an international health emergency as more than 3,850 people have died of the virus in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria this year.

"What is Ebola?

"Ebola is a viral illness of which the initial symptoms can include a sudden fever, intense weakness, muscle pain and a sore throat, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). And that is just the beginning: subsequent stages are vomiting, diarrhoea and - in some cases - both internal and external bleeding...."

About Thomas Eric Duncan and cremation. When my parents died, their remains were cremated, commingled, and buried in two different states. There's a bit of family history involved that doesn't have much to do with this post.

Neither of them were Catholics, but I'd joined the Church by then: and wasn't entirely comfortable with cremation. I did a little checking — and discovered that "...the Church permits cremation, provided that it does not demonstrate a denial of faith in the resurrection of the body." (Catechism, 2301)

That wasn't their motive for cremation, so I don't see a problem.

Getting back to Mr. Duncan's remains, cremation was probably the only reasonable way of dealing with the body. Ebola isn't all that easy to catch from someone else: but it is carried by body fluids, so a Western-style embalming process would have been very risky.

There's a great deal we still don't know about Ebola, but we're learning. For the sake of folks at the greatest risk from this disease, I hope we learn fast.

Bats, Uncertainty, and Prayer

(From CDC, via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.)
("Life cycles of the Ebolavirus"
(Wikipedia))

The odds are very good that Ebola lives in critters like bats, when it isn't passing from one human to another. Maybe non-human primates, other mammals, and bird, too. Maybe even plants. Like I said, we're still learning.

In Africa, fruit bats are the most-likely carriers. Maybe. The Americas have pygmy fruit-eating bats, but they don't come anywhere near Texas.

North America's little insect-eating bats include the ubiquitous little brown bat that ranges as far south as parts of Texas, and north to Hudson Bay. These bats might never come in contact with Ebola.

If they do, though: we could have a problem. Some of bats hibernate during winter, some migrate. The little brown bat does both: flying south in fall, then hibernating in a cave before returning to my part of the world.

If Ebola gets loose in North America's wildlife — I'll pay attention to the issue.

Meanwhile, I'll do what I can about this year's Ebola outbreak: keep track as new facts appear; and pray. And that's yet again another topic. (Catechism, 2558-2565, 2650-2651, 2652-2660, 2663-2679, 2759-2760, ...)

More of what I think about:

• Health
  • "Mutant Mosquitoes and a Made-to-Order Cancer Treatment"
    (June 13, 2014)
    Particularly
    • Health and Using the Brains God Gave Us
    • Beauty, Order, and the Universe
  • "Smallpox, Science, and Silliness"
    (February 12, 2014)
  • "Influenza, Nostalgia, Science, Ethics, and Me"
    (January 13, 2013)
    Particularly
    • Science, Technology, Religion, and the 'Good Old Days'
    • Using Our Brains
    • Health and Ethics
  • "Father Damien? Make that Saint Damien of Molokai"
    (May 11, 2010)
    Particularly
    • Father Damien, Leprosy, and a Dangerous Mission
• People
  • "Caesar, Civilization, Dealing With Change — and Building a Better World"
    (August 31, 2014)
    Particularly
    • Fear, Flappers, and Europe Flambé
    • It's the End of Civilization as We Know It: And About Time!
  • "Development: Done With People, Not to Them"
    (October 22, 2012)
  • "Population Explosion, Birth Dearth, and a Changing World"
    (June 9, 2012)
    Particularly
    • Fallout From "The Population Bomb"
    • More Statistics - or - The Incredible Shrinking Countries
    • Europe: It Could be Worse
  • "Upset Applecarts: A Hopeful Sign"
    (March 5, 2012)
    Particularly
    • Economic and Technological Progress: It's Not Enough
    • Politics, Ideologies, and Moving Ahead
  • "Sustainable African Development: And Swift's Modest Proposal"
    (May 6, 2010)

Background:

• Antigenic drift
  • In influenza viruses
  Wikipedia
• Ebola (Ebola Virus Disease)
  CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Ebola virus disease
  Wikipedia
• Ebola virus...
  • disease cases in Spain
  • epidemic in Guinea
  • epidemic in Liberia
  • epidemic in Sierra Leone
  • epidemic in West Africa
  • outbreak in the United States
  Wikipedia
• Economy of Sierra Leone
  Wikipedia
• Quarantine
  Wikipedia
• "A Short History of Quarantine"
  Peter Tyson, NOVA, PBS (October 12, 2004)
• Sierra Leone
  CIA World Factbook (Page last updated June 20, 2014)
• Sierra Leone
  Wikipedia
• "Seriously, How Contagious Is Ebola?"
  Michaeleen Doucleff, Shots blog, NPR (October 2, 2014)
• "Single animal to human transmission event responsible for 2014 Ebola outbreak"
  News & Events, National Institutes of Health (August 29, 2014)