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Prepping for a Pandemic: Ebola
by Cat the HerbalPrepper (Herbal Prepper) • August 7, 2014 • 0 Comments
www.HerbalPrepper.com | Prepping for a Pandemic: Ebola | Herbs for ebola | Is Ebola Airborne | What Would Happen if Ebola broke out in USThe number one question I have been receiving from podcast listeners and from blog readers is this: “What do I do if Ebola comes to the US?”
Ebola is scary, deadly, and spreading. For better or worse, we have American ebola patients that have been brought back to the US from the front lines of the infection in West Africa for treatment. Ebola stories are flooding every form of media, alternative and mainstream alike. The quality of the information being shared runs the gamut from somewhat informative to alarmist garbage.
While Ebola is scary, I must repeat something I say often. I have never heard anyone ever say, “Thank goodness we panicked!”
Instead, let’s take a look at what is known, and how we can prepare ourselves for the hypothetical scenario of an Ebola outbreak here in the US.
Overview of Ebola
Ebola came on to the world scene in 1976 near the Ebola River in what is today called, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly known as Zaire). Ebola is a filovirus. So far, Ebolavirus and Marburgvirus are the only known members of the Filoviridae virus family. There is very little known about this viral family.
It is known, however, that it is an enveloped RNA virus. The virus is surrounded by proteins that bind with the host cell membranes, which then envelopes the virus. This allows the virus to enter the host without triggering the immune response. RNA viruses, as opposed to DNA viruses, have a much greater ability to mutate.
According to the CDC, there are five identified species of Ebolavirus. However, USA Today reported on April 16, 2014 that this current outbreak was, in fact, a new strain.
From USAToday.com,
“Earlier, health officials had said the Guinea Ebola was a Zaire strain, different from the kind that has caused cases in other parts of Africa. The Democratic Republic of Congo used to be called Zaire.
The new research analyzed blood samples from 20 patients in the current outbreak and found the strain was unique.”
Among the five strains acknowledged on the CDC’s website, four out of the five cause sickness in humans. Clearly, this sixth strain does as well. While it is believed that Ebola is transmitted to humans through eating infected animals or “bushmeat”, the natural reservoir host for Ebola is still unknown.
The mortality rate of Ebola is very high. Among all strains, the mortality rate can range from 25%-90%. This current outbreak has, as of August 1, 2014, resulted in 1603 confirmed infections and 887 deaths. That’s a mortality rate of 55%, though this fluctuates depending upon new cases being confirmed and additional deaths. This is higher than any influenza outbreak ever, and more on par with infectious illnesses like tuberculosis and MERS.
Ebola is a as deadly as it is because it has figured out how to sneak past our immune system’s warning mechanisms. A more technical description of the process can be found here. Ebola prevents cells called “neutrofils” from signaling the immune system to launch an attack. It will then infect immune cells, travel along for the ride, and then infect the spleen, kidney, liver, and brain.
Symptoms of Ebola
The CDC’s website lists the following as symptoms of Ebola HF (Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever) as follows:
Fever
Headache
Joint and muscle aches
Weakness
Diarrhea
Vomiting
Stomach pain
Lack of appetite
Some additional symptoms that Ebola may cause include:
A rash
Red eyes
Hiccups
Cough
Sore throat
Chest pain
Difficulty breathing
Difficulty swallowing
Bleeding inside and outside the body
Symptoms can take anywhere from 2-21 days to surface, while 8-10 days is more common. Death usually occurs between days 6-16.
How Is Ebola Spread
There is still a lot to learn about Ebola. We know that Ebola is spread through close contact with bodily fluids of an infected person. This means blood, saliva, sweat, and semen. The virus, at least for now, is not contagious until symptoms start.
There is, however, a lot of confusion regarding whether or not Ebola is airborne. The conventional warnings all stipulate that there must be close contact with bodily fluids, and adamant assertions that Ebola is not airborne.
While I have held that opinion myself, I have revised that opinion. After reviewing some of the latest Ebola warnings from the CDC and other CDC definitions, it appears their assertions that Ebola is not airborne are based on technicalities or preciseness in medical language, rather than the more broad usage such terms would be used by the general public, as in whether or not a coughing fit is capable of spreading the Ebola virus.
While you are free to disagree, I personally believe that Ebola is airborne. Here are the factors that have led to that change of opinion.
A 2012 study demonstrated that Ebola could be transferred without physical contact between pigs and macaque monkeys. It was theorized, not proven, that water droplets in the air may have been the reason. However, the theory was never tested, so one cannot say definitively that the airborne transmission was proven.
The above study was of the Zaire strain. This new strain causing this latest outbreak was at first mistakenly identified as the Zaire strain due to its similarities. If the Zaire strain demonstrated, at least, the ability to transmit without close contact, then it’s likely that this new strain has this capability as well.
Ebola can survive outside of the body on surfaces for up to a couple of days, during which time, it is possible to become infected through coming into contact with the virus on surfaces.
The CDC’s Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever Information Packet PDF states that, “While all strains of Ebola have displayed the ability to spread through airborne particles (aerosols) under research conditions, this type of spread has not been documented among humans in a real-world setting, such as a hospital or household.” This means it is possible. There just hasn’t been a case formally attributed to this form of transmission yet.
The same CDC PDF defines “Airborne Trasmission” and describes how infectious aerosols get into the air as follows:
“Airborne Transmission
In this type of transmission, infectious agents are spread as aerosols, and usually enter a person through the respiratory tract. Aerosols are tiny particles, consisting in part of completely of the infectious agent itself, which become suspended in the air. These particles may remain suspended in the air for long periods of time, and some retain their ability to cause disease, while others degenerate due to the effects of sunlight, dryness, or other conditions. When a person breathes in these particles, they become infected with the agent- especially in the alveoli of the lungs
How do infections aerosols get into the air?
Small particles of many different sizes contaminated with the infectious agent may rise up from soil, clothes, bedding, or floors when these are moved, cleaned, or blown by the wind.”
And regarding both small and large droplets…
“Both kinds of particles are very tiny. Larger droplets or objects that may be sprayed or blown but that immediately settle down on something rather than remaining suspended, are not considered to belong to the airborne transmission mechanism. Such sprays are considered direct transmission.”
The CDC has demonstrated concern for airborne transmission of Ebola in the guidelines given to airlines for handling passengers showing symptoms (facial masks or tissue) and for cleaning the aircraft (not to use compressed air). You can read more about those guidelines and the portions that highlight practices for managing airborne illnesses here.
During a CDC conference call on August 5, 2014, “What US Hospitals Need to Know to Prepare for Ebola Virus Disease”, those on the call were informed that Ebola can be transmitted by casual contact up to 3 feet away. The transcript should be available in a few days, but notes as the call was in progress were posted here.
So, while the definition of airborne transmission by tiny particles may be nothing more than splitting hairs, both large and small water droplets may indeed cause you to become sick. This is really a distinction of water droplet size and what constitutes airborne or direct transmission, and it is a distinction a without a practical difference.
Add to this the ability to transmit up to 3 feet away with casual contact. How can that happen if it is not airborne? The new warning that Ebola can be spread by casual contact from a distance of three feet is a major departure from all earlier warnings. While the official word remains that Ebola is not airborne, my personal view is that it is. If it can be coughed into the air and someone else can become ill, that’s all I need to know.
Why Is This Outbreak Different
Outbreaks of Ebola have typically occurred in remote regions of Africa, spreading and killing so quickly that the virus would simply burn itself out well before people could travel elsewhere.
This time, the epicenter of the outbreak was Canakry, Guinea. This is a well-populated location with a transportation hub. This is not a remote village, but a population center with the means to allow travel out of the area before symptoms develop. It has since spread to Sierra Leone, and Liberia. It has also spread to Nigeria, as a patient who was on a flight became ill and infected the Nigerian doctor who treated himself
As this outbreak progressed, the locals began to voice and act upon their distrust of foreign medical personnel. They became violent, and through their protests shut down one of the treatment centers. People have been hiding loved ones with symptoms in their homes rather than send them to the treatment centers. The outbreak is now moving from urban, populated areas into more rural areas, and it is likely that there are more cases and fatalities that are not being counted, as the locals literally chase physicians and volunteers out of their village.
It is hard for many of us to understand why there is such deep mistrust. However, they see their loved ones go in, but in the overwhelming majority of cases, they do not come back. Many people have come to believe that the volunteers are the source of the Ebola, and are what is bringing Ebola to their communities.
Could an Ebola outbreak happen here in the US?
One viewpoint is that an outbreak is highly unlikely. We are better equipped to handle isolation patients, we practice “universal precautions”, and decontamination here better than in makeshift treatment centers overseas.
Another view holds that field stations like these makeshift treatment centers are adhering to the same protocols as would be followed here in the US. The guidelines are the same, and yet more than one hundred health care workers have been infected since the outbreak began.
This may support the belief that Ebola is airborne, or at the very least, is transmissible in some way that we do not yet know. If a risk of transmission isn’t known, then it can be easy for people to become exposed without knowing they were putting themselves at risk in the first place.
Another possibility is that the virus could mutate, which wouldn’t be a surprise considering it is an RNA virus. It could mutate to be contagious before symptoms appear, and it could mutate to be transmittable in small water droplets as well as the large water droplets. In both cases, it would be easier to transmit before there was any indication a person was sick, especially on a flight, a train, a bus, and so on.
Of course, the virus could get out into the population due to human error. Someone doesn’t follow protocol, someone lets their guard down, someone is distracted, and so on.
So, as long as the virus doesn’t mutate, and as long as all of the safety protocols are followed to the letter, than an outbreak is unlikely. But, it cannot be ruled out.
What Would an Ebola Outbreak in the US Look Like
This would be a catastrophe unlike anything the US has ever known. Looking back into history for the closest comparison would be the Spanish Flu of 1918-1919. It infected about 30% of the entire population, and approximately 10%-20% of those who were infected died. Ebola, in contrast, has a range of 25%-90% mortality, with this current strain fluctuating between 55%-60%. As devastating as the Spanish Flu was, it didn’t even come close to the devastation an Ebola outbreak would cause.
Several things would happen, and they would happen quickly.
Hospitals would be overwhelmed.
Hospitals would be pushed to the point that they wouldn’t be able to function between patient overload, hysteria, and staff becoming ill themselves. If you became ill for any reason other than Ebola, you simply wouldn’t be able to be seen, but you probably wouldn’t want to be at the hospital anyway.
Part of a solid plan to prepare for a pandemic is to improve your overall health to lower your risk of needing medical care, and to learn alternative health care skills such as first aid and herbalism.
Hysteria and panic would set in.
The beginning signs of Ebola can look like the early stages of both the flu and tuberculosis (also very deadly without treatment). Every cough would make those nearby fearful. Schools, day cares, and children’s programs would shut down. As employees stayed home to care for children, businesses would shut down. Shipping would be delayed, and supplies would dwindle rapidly.
People would become desperate and fearful, which could lead to any number of possibilities including rioting, looting, raping, murdering, and burning. Mob mentality could kick in, and could overrun entire neighborhoods at a time. Whether they are taking advantage of other people’s fears, or are acting out of their own fears and desperation, it is not enough for you to simply have food storage. You would need a security plan.
www.HerbalPrepper.com | Prepping for a Pandemic | Ebola | Martial Law
Martial law in cairo. Photo credit Amr Farouq Mohammed
Expect martial law and imposed quarantines.
If the potential of spreading a deadly pandemic weren’t sufficient for our government to impose martial law, then the riots, looting, an mob violence would seal the deal.
Martial law would most likely be implemented in cities with the highest populations. This would quickly expand to smaller cities, then large suburbs, and so on. Rural and sparsely populated areas may have some restrictions on them, but there simply isn’t the man power to put the entire country on lock-down.
If you are planning on bugging out for a pandemic, especially one this deadly that just invites a measure like martial law, you should have already done so. Once imposed, travel will be cut off to prevent the spread of the disease. You won’t be going anywhere.
People would have few options. Individuals would be ordered to shelter-in-place. You may not even be allowed to go into your back yard. This may become problematic if things like electricity, gas, or water were shut off because not enough utility workers were healthy and available to keep these systems operational. Sanitation could become an issue and then a whole host of other health problems would materialize. This could lead to people being relocated to government facilities, and that’s the exact place you do not want to be. Such a camp would be a closed population, which would be a breeding ground for disease, Ebola or otherwise.
If you know that you won’t be able to leave or bug out somewhere, make plans now for your food, water, sanitation, first aid, security, back up power, and entertainment needs. Yes, entertainment. You will need to provide for your and your family’s mental and emotional health during the quarantine.
It should go without saying, a major metropolitan area is the LAST place you want to be.
What Can You Do to Protect Yourself from Ebola
If at all possible, bug out, and make that call as early as you can. Decide now, while times are still good, what your cues will be that will determine whether your stay or whether you will go.
www.HerbalPrepper.com | Prepping for a Pandemic | Ebola | Protective Clothing
USMC, Public Domain Image
Factors that will come into play in determining when you get out of dodge are distance to your bug out location, will you have to pass by any major metropolitan areas (they will be under martial law sooner), would you rather travel at night or during the day, and dozens more factors unique to your circumstances. Be sure to discuss your criteria for evacuating with everyone in your group, establish rally points, have your bags packed, and keep your vehicles in good working order.
If an Ebola outbreak were to happen, and hospitals were overrun, that will leave plenty of sick people in and around their homes where they will likely die. Currently, there is no definitive answer on how long the virus can still be transmitted from a dead body. The CDC is still working on guidelines for “best practices” in dealing with the remains of Ebola victims.
In this hypothetical scenario, if this were to happen and there were bodies to be disposed of, and I had to make the decision on how to handle the situation, I would likely burn the bodies before burying them in deep graves, away from any water source. That’s probably over the top, but without better information on how long the virus can survive and infect others from a deceased person’s body, coupled with a need to dispose of the bodies quickly, that seems the most prudent course to me. Your mileage may vary.
Any time there would be the potential of coming in contact with an infected person, you would need protective clothing. An image of what healthcare workers who are currently working with ebola patients can be found here. Try to make your protective gear look somewhat like that. Also, read the article, which covers what a suit like this can and cannot protect against.
Stock up on protective clothing. This is a basic element of pandemic preparedness. This would include rubber boots, eye protection, respirator mask, extra respiratory mask filters, face masks, Nitrile Exam Gloves, rubber gloves, and protective coveralls.
The really good protective gear can range into hundreds of dollars on a single suit. I’ve opted instead for disposable Tyvek suits. They come in a range of sizes, and I can order them as part of Amazon’s “Subscribe and Save” program which I use extensively for my preparedness purchases. This allows me to buy a set amount each month, stay on budget, and steadily increase my preps at a discount from the regular Amazon price. For example, this is the Tyvek suit we stock for my husband. A package of six arrives for him every other month.
With gloves, you would need to put on the Nitrile Exam Gloves then the Tyvek suit would go on next, and then rubber gloves. The sleeves for the Tyvek suit will be tucked into these outer rubber gloves. If you are just looking for protection from fluids, your typical rubber gloves for dishwashing should suffice. They offer little, however, in the way of protection from punctures. They do offer more in the way of tactile sensation, than something like these Nitrile Elbow Length Gloves.
This would still require a protective mask, preferably something that covers the neck and face. The last thing you want is to accidentally get the virus anywhere close to the mucus membranes of your mouth, nose, or eyes.
The face mask is probably the most important part of your protective gear. It is incredibly easy to touch the face. Make sure your head and neck are covered, your eyes are covered, and you have a protective mask. A lot of people choose the 3M N95 masks. And they are good, but we chose to go with the 3M P100 mask. The N95s will need to be replaced every 45 minutes, whereas the P100 filters will give you between 4-8 hours of use. Be sure to stock extra respiratory mask filters.
Beyond barriers like protective clothing, and other than putting distance between you and areas of heavy population, the absolute best thing you can do to protect yourself from Ebola is to get as healthy as possible starting today. It has been observed that people who become infected with Ebola have a much better chance of surviving the illness the healthier they were before getting sick.
This makes sense when you consider that Ebola attacks the internal organs. Someone with elevated liver function will definitely be more at risk for liver failure. Someone with high blood pressure and overworked kidneys will be at greater risk of kidney failure. Someone with diabetes or impaired immune function will have a more difficult time trying to survive Ebola than someone who was more robust.
It is unlikely that a nutrient-rich diet, lower stress levels, proper sleep, abundant clean drinking water, and plenty of exercise and sunshine, enhanced with supportive an nourishing herbal formulas would prevent an infection. However, each of those steps increases your odds of surviving it. This brings us back to germ theory vs terrain theory again. Is it the germ or the terrain that’s more important? The germ may infect, but if the terrain is not hospitable to the germ, the germ will likely fail. And since there’s no downside to improving your health, there is no reason not to implement a plan for increased health right now.
Standard Ebola Treatment
Currently, there are no known cures of any type. There are no vaccines and no antiviral medications for Ebola. Since this outbreak has started, there have been murmurs of a rush to push out a vaccine, including a vaccine that would address both Ebola and rabies together. However, that has yet to materialize.
For now, palliative care has been the standard of care. Make the patient as comfortable as possible, and address the symptoms as best as you can as they arise. According to the CDC, this typically includes:
balancing the patient’s fluids and electrolytes
maintaining their oxygen status and blood pressure
treating them for any complicating infections
The deaths from Ebola have been, not due to the hemorrhaging, but due to multi-organ failure, dehydration, and sometimes shock from internal/external bleeding. While an Ebola patient may bleed from their eyes, nose, ears, mouth, rectum, and at any puncture sites (like, from an IV), and while bleeding is a clear sign that this is Ebola and not another illness, not all patients bleed externally.
Are There Any Herbal or Natural Remedies for Ebola
I must reiterate that this is purely my opinion. I am unaware of any double blind study on any herbal treatments or plant medicine on Ebola patients. However, I will share my thought process on how one would devise an herbal protocol for such a hypothetical situation as a full-on Ebola outbreak in the US where the severity of the outbreak has shut down hospitals and there is no access to standard medical care.
Please keep in mind that if a person begins to exhibit symptoms of Ebola, and there is any reason to believe that the illness is in fact Ebola (as opposed to the flu), the patient must be isolated immediately. Normally, the admonition next would be to notify public health officials However, in our scenario, they are probably at home either infected with Ebola themselves, or hiding from it.
Prior to any outbreak, it would be important to address any other underlying health issues. Get as healthy as possible. Many of chronic diseases can be helped by eating nutrient dense foods and by moving regularly and frequently. Elevated blood pressure, Fatty Liver Disease, diabetes, and other chronic illnesses put you at greater risk with ebola. I have had my own health issues to overcome. While everyone’s situation is different, Deep Nutrition, Wheat Belly, and The Primal Blueprint have helped me improve my own health and along with herbs resolve issues like PCOS and Fatty Liver Disease, plus a host of random symptoms from heartburn to migraines.
Putting myself into the mindset of there being absolutely no outside medical help available, the first thing I would do would be to memorize the symptoms. Print and tape them up to a wall if you need to. There won’t be any diagnostics to rely on, so symptom recognition and awareness of the individual’s potential for exposure is what you must go on.
At the very first sign of symptoms, the person, or any who the person may have infected, must be quarantined. A quarantine is a separate area away from everyone else in your group (family, mutual support group, etc.), where a person who appears well but may not be goes until they either develop symptoms, or they pass the necessary time frame without becoming ill. If that person doesn’t develop symptoms, it is likely safe for them to join your group. If that person does become ill, they must then be put in isolation. Isolation is when a patient is separated from others until they recover from their illness. Both quarantine and isolation impede the spread of infectious disease.
Establishing a quarantine or isolation room is not difficult. The video below provides sound advice on establishing a “sick room”. Keeping with the tent idea, you could have a person’s tent for a quarantine become their isolation room if they became ill. If you have multiple tents, then you have multiple quarantine/isolation tents.
The next thing I would do is make sure I have all of my supplies- the protective clothing mentioned earlier, the extra linens, pillows, towels, and so on. While I’m not generally a fan of paper plates and cups and such (not plastic), perhaps it would be better in this case because they could be burned afterward. But, anything that could be boiled could be satisfactorily disinfected. Tess Pennington, author of The Prepper’s Blueprint, has an excellent article The Well-Stocked Sick Room, detailing what you need in setting up a sick room
Dehydration would be a primary concern. There are a number of things you can try.You can purchase or make your own rehydration salts. Try to keep the person drinking whenever possible. I like to use coconut water, a pinch of Celtic Sea Salt, honey, with either a little bit of fruit juice or flavored Jello packets for flavor. If you have the skill to start an IV, great. You may want to learn how to make your own saline. A Word .doc on how to make your own sterile IV fluids can be found here, in The Medic Shack archives.
If you do not have the skill to start a line, you can attempt to use an older technique, proctoclasis, sometimes called a “rectal IV”. This may be problematic with a person experiencing violent diarrhea, and there is certainly the added risk of infection from bodily fluids here. Consider the However, it is a legitimate way of rehydrating someone. If you want to try that, that’s a call that only you can make. If it were a member of my family, I would be trying whatever I could do to keep them alive.
With severe dehydration and the internal bleeding, there is a lot of fluid migrating out of the blood vessels. This could lead to a sudden drop in blood pressure, shock, and death. Rehydration can be vital to keeping the blood pressure in the safe range.
And now for the part that everyone has been waiting for, the reward for your patience, reading all the way through this article. Are there any herbs and natural remedies that would help with Ebola if we found ourselves in a worst case pandemic scenario with no medical help?
I cannot make any claim to these herbs being effective for Ebola. However, here is what I would choose to try (in no specific order) and why. My choices include antivirals, herbs that are supportive to various organs, herbs that support immune response, herbs to soothe the severely irritated tissues, and herbs to lessen
Local Lore
Garcinia kola nuts (aka bitter kola)
Back when this outbreak first started, and I started getting emails asking about herbs that might help for Ebola, Lori from Prepper Chicks sent me this article that mentioned Garcinia kola. However, I could not find any transcript or summary of the botanical conference referenced in the article. My efforts to learn more about this tree and it’s fruit have ended in dead ends. I’ve seen it available on Amazon for a crazy price- over $30 for a half pound of large nuts. However, the folk healers mentioned in the article had used it for a number of illnesses.
I wonder about some of the other species of garcinia which are easier to get, and if any of them would have a similar enough makeup to be a substitute for Garcinia kola, like G. cambogia, G. Indica, or G. mangostana. There are quite a few health claims attributable to each. But, I don’t know if they are similar enough to function like Garcinia kola. Anyhow, it is a remedy that is from the Congo. If you happen to have a source of it in quantity, it may not be a bad idea to get some.
