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Friday, August 15, 2014

Out of Control and Catastrophic

Out of Control and Catastrophic - J.L. Robb - http://www.omegaletter.com/articles/articles.asp?ArticleID=7860 

 
''I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.'' ~ Revelation 6:8  NIV
 
There seems to be an extraordinary amount of stuff happening in the world, bad stuff.
 
Israel is in a permanent state of war, except for the intermittent ceasefires to let her sworn enemies have time to rearm. Last week the U.N. found 20 Hamas rockets in a U.N. school, and what did they do? Gave them back to Hamas to fire at Israel.
 
Actually the Middle East is at war, as yet another "extreme" Islamic terror group is taking over Syria and Iraq. This particular terror group, it is said, makes al Qaeda look like choir boys. They have told President Obama, "You're next." Lovely.
 
The four horses of the apocalypse inspire fear in those who have read the story in the last book of the Bible. There is nothing to rejoice when the supernatural powers of these beasts are unleashed on mankind. They portend almost certain death and destruction. Books have been written and movies made about this phenomenon.
 
The last horse, the Pale Horse, is particularly nasty as he gallops about the world bringing war, famine and pestilence to kill a quarter of mankind. I guess that sounds brutal, but that's the story. It will not be pleasant for anyone who has the experience of living at that time in the future.
 
Pestilence is defined as a contagious or infectious epidemic disease that is virulent and devastating. Please note the following headlines from the previous week:
 
 
Ebola virus: British aid worker's diary reveals horror as SIX nurses die from killer bug ~Mirror, August 2, 2014
 
Ebola outbreak could be much worse than thought ~ CBS NEWS, August 5, 2014
 
Senegal President: Ebola Outbreak Is 'A Threat Against Humanity' ~ CBS, August 6, 2014
 
The World Health Organization announced Wednesday that it was considering the declaration of an international public health emergency and would convene a panel of experts in coming days to explore the use of experimental treatments for the incurable disease. ~ New York Times, August 6, 2014
 
"This is the biggest and most complex Ebola outbreak in history," Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said. ~ CNN Health, August 6, 2014
 
Now that Ebola has made its way to Atlanta, it is a first for the United States. Two patients, victims actually, are in specially constructed isolation wards, Level 4 (the highest on the bio-worry scale) at Emory Hospital. At least we can feel comforted by this bit of news from the "experts:"
 
Experts say don't worry about Ebola outbreak in the U.S. ~ ABC, August 5, 2014
 
What? Me worry?
 
Ebola came on the scene in 1976 in Sub-Saharan Africa. The outbreak was small and contained to Zaire and Sudan, but it was very deadly. That particular strain had a fatality rate of approximately 90%. The virus is named Ebola because the first cases were along the Ebola River.
 
Ebola has no vaccine and no cure. The only way a person defeats death is to manage to stay alive long enough for the body's immune system to finally overcome. This is why the two U.S. citizens were brought to Emory, to keep them alive long enough to heal. That was not likely to happen in Liberia, Nigeria or Sierra Leone.
 
While Ebola cannot be spread by airborne means, according to experts, it can be spread through contact with an infected persons bodily fluids, including urine, saliva and perspiration. Higher concentrations of the virus seem to be in the blood, vomit and diarrhea.
 
Wait a minute! Isn't sputum and saliva the same? When one is sneezed upon, isn't one sometimes drenched in sputum? Wouldn't that be airborne?
 
According to a study from National Institutes of Health:
 
"Demonstration of fatal aerosol transmission of this virus in monkeys reinforces the importance of taking appropriate precautions to prevent its potential aerosol transmission to humans."
 
I'm not a rocket scientist or a virologist, but wouldn't "aerosol transmission" be airborne?
 
What? Me worry? Just because I live a few miles away from Emory?
 
Though the death rate in this particular outbreak is only 60%, those who manage to live through it pay a heavy price. Here are a few excerpts from the diary of a British aid worker in the current outbreak, the largest in history, Cokie Van der Velde:
 
Day 1:
 
I start by emptying buckets of faeces and vomit. Some people have terrible diarrhoea or are bleeding, so there's a lot of cleaning. I make sure they all have water - most are so weak, they can't even unscrew the lid of a plastic bottle; some can barely speak.
 
Soiled sheets go in bins, which are taken to the burning pits - once a day we burn the waste. Every day there are dead bodies, every day the number is increasing. When somebody dies, we put their belongings in bags and burn them, with the mattress cover and sheet.
 
Day 4:
 
I feel we've reached a tipping point. When I arrived in Liberia four weeks ago, there were four or five patients in the treatment centre. Now the centre is overflowing, we don't know where to put people, the morgue is full, people are turning up with sick relatives.
 
I am glad our two citizens are back and getting the best care possible. They are safe and contained, but there is the what if factor. What if the ambulance transporting a victim had an accident? What if people ran to help rescue the accident victims? They wouldn't know the patient being transported had Ebola if the patient happens to be thrown from the ambulance. There would certainly be big opportunities for fluid exchange in that situation.
 
The United States Navy has the latest and greatest medical technology on their USN Hospital Ships, Comfort and Mercy. They are usually on the scene for major disasters like the Haiti earthquake. It does seem, considering the consequences of the what if scenario, that the USS Comfort could have been set up and stationed off the coast of Africa to handle the situation.
 
Nurses and doctors who go to foreign lands to help the sickest of the sick are very special people. Doctors Without Borders and Samaritan's Purse seem to always be in these regions, working in extreme conditions and exposing themselves to whatever they are treating. To me, this is Godly. There are not many who would take up that task.
 
I am praying for the two victims of this dreadful disease that are receiving treatment in the best-of-the-best treatment centers. I am praying for those in Africa who are suffering through this dreadful disease with little medical technology available. I am praying that a what if doesn't happen. One what if could change the world. In 1918-19, the Spanish Flu became a pandemic that killed an estimated 50,000,000.
 
I don't know if this is one of the predicted biblical plagues, but it sure could qualify. Unfortunately, there are even worse viruses lurking around the corner. Invisible killers.
 
What? Me worry?
 
You betcha.
BE SURE TO CHECK OUT MY PROPHECY WEBSITES...............................
 

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