The Mathematics of Ebola – what are the biggest dangers?

How the Root causes of Stupidparty thinking endanger the USA, and thus everyone:
Approximately 95% of Ebola cases coming from three Countries

Most Medical professionals feel that the limited cases occurring outside these Countries are presently containable.
 
·        Ebola is spreading in the poorest of countries
·        These are areas where people distrust health Workers.
·        The countries have very limited medical facilities
·        The countries have very limited government infrastucture
·        The countries are extremely religious and have limited education. 

The problem is that the growth is presently exponential in these three Countries

But as long as numbers of people who get Ebola remains in small isolated pockets in other better developed countries that have better health systems and protocols—such countries should be able to contain the disease and prevent a global pandemic.  

But one must be cognizant that with exponential growth, comes a danger of the virus mutating.

Until one sees a flattening of this curve, future trends are extremely difficult to predict. It is vital to work tirelessly to flatten the curve. The longer it takes for the curve to flatten – the greater the danger to those outside the region. Under normal circumstances Ebola—not being an airborne pathogen, is a containable virus.

The problem is— it is tough to imagine a worse place for such a disease to take hold.

Because to control infectious diseases one needs an educated public that does not rely on Myth –and have sufficient resources to tackle the epidemic. But here, we are fresh out of luck, it seems:
                                List by Poorest in the World – Sorted by Education first

Poverty http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_percentage_of_population_living_in_poverty
Religion http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Importance_of_religion_by_country

This above table shows: 

1)    How desperately poor these three countries are
2)    This leads to equally poor education, healthcare etc
3)    Poor Government infrastructure
4)    This also corresponds with extraordinary levels of religious belief.

These factors make it especially hard to control the epidemic
(Key items to poverty also being male dominated societies with lack of birth control)

Regarding religion – it is quite possible to be highly intelligent and well educated and believe in God – or what ever—but such beliefs should surely not be so excessive as to believe that Jesus walked around with Dinosaurs, or when you get diagnosed with Cancer—you should simply pray. i.e. You still need to defer to expertise not faith.  Expertise should trump dogma.

But it is not like “third” Countries can not counter Ebola. Ebola has been beaten several times in the past – with the help of international expertise. As I write this—Nigeria just a few weeks ago had an outbreak when eleven healthcare workers contracted the disease. This could have become catastrophic. By lucky chance there happened to be a team of polio experts at hand, and they soon got cracking, isolating hundreds of people, contacting and talking to tens of thousands of people—building an atmosphere of trust. Right now Nigeria appears to be on the cusp of becoming Ebola free. One must bare in mind, that not single ember must be left untended. Progress may be being made in one of the “big three” discussed above.

The USA theoretically should be quite safe – but there are some issues to be concerned about. Already people like Donald Trump are saying silly things about Ebola and it worth figuring out why stupidity resonates with so many. Many of the following statistics might shock people from across the political spectrum. 

The USA theoretically should be quite safe – but there some issues to be concerned about.
             First  – it is not as if the USA has the best Health care system itself:

But the United States would be even lower down the International tables in healthcare and virtually every other metric, if one excluded the Blue States regarding the adequacy of healthcare and other lifestyle issues:

                                Stupidparty states relative to Blue States in % uninsured.

Without reform the uninsured numbers were projected to keep rising significantly.
Lack of healthcare leads to lack of preventative care – more bankruptcy’*s etc:

Then there is less access to healthcare, education etc. Healthcare related bankruptcy’s is simply not an issue in many European Countries.
                            More poverty in Red States – see below

By extrapolating data one can estimate that only 20% of people who vote for the GOP in Red States believe in Evolution. http://stupidpartyland.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Views_on_Evolution.jpg

It is this combination of confused Christianity and big money—that has created an environment that is unique to the USA. The “Struggling Class” (for, like Lord Voldemort, their name can never be mentioned) voting for right leaning parties—that everyone else, in other Countries would view as voting against one’s own interests. 

This form of absurdity is given a great deal of weight by the following types of obvious Ignorance – regarding GOP voters:
1)      69% Between 2009 and 2011 refused to believe that Global Warming had begun.* (Gallup)
http://www.gallup.com/poll/161714/republican-skepticism-global-warming-eases.aspx
2)      58% Believe Global Warming is a hoax. (PPP 2013)
http://www.triplepundit.com/2013/04/poll-58-republicans-believe-gloabal-warming-hoax/
http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/articles/brunitedstatescanadara/87.php Oct 21, ’04 (after 9/11 Commission Report)
3)      63% Believed—even in 2012—that Saddam had WMDs.
http://thinkprogress.org/security/2012/06/21/504201/poll-republicans-iraq-wmd/
4)       51% Are “birthers.”
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0211/49554.html
5)       57% Believe Obama is a Muslim.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2010/03/22/scary-new-gop-poll.html
6)       66% Believe Obama is a socialist.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2010/03/22/scary-new-gop-poll.html
7)      71% Believed in poll “skewerism” before the 2012 election.                      http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2012/10/02/unskewed_polls_pollsters_manipulating_data_to_favor_obama        plurality_of_americans_say_.html
8)      67% Believe video games are bigger threat than guns.
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/poll-67-percent-of-republicans-think-video-games
9)      62% In Ohio (not the silliest state) do not know whether Mitt deserved equal or more credit than Obama for Bin Laden’s death.
http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2011/PPP_Release_OH_9912.pdf
10)  90% Are oblivious to the fact that 95% of population had tax cuts at time of 2012 election.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/19/us/politics/19taxes.html
11)      73% Believe raising the debt ceiling is for future expenditures, 54% Believe the debt ceiling is no big deal. http://www.nationaljournal.com/congressional-connection/coverage/poll-most-americans-don-t-understand-the-debt-ceiling-20131008

 This is just a partial list. 

When a deadly new virus truly hits the USA – and it will, whether it be Ebola, or something much more contagious – then these people will turn to the people or the infrastructure that they presently spurn.

 1)      Access to healthcare workers
2)      Scientists to find the vaccine
3)      The mathematicians that will direct the preemptive measures.
4)      Teachers who can educate the public
5)      The Government that provides the resources, the police, the army, the funds to fight a catastrophe.

It is not like the Stupidparty lead Congress has helped:

“Budget cuts have hit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) in recent years. For fiscal 2014, CDC’s budget was $5.9 billion, down from the $6.5 billion allotted in 2010.

Last year, the CDC suffered as a result of the sequester, which required the agency to cut 5 percent, or more than $285 million, from its fiscal 2013 budget.

The sequester resulted in a $195 million cut that year to the National Centers for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, a CDC program that tries to prevent illness and death from infectious disease”http://thehill.com/policy/finance/220324-warren-blames-congress-for-slashing-ebola-research-funding

But in the meantime germ of Stupidparty thinking still allows Donald Trump to stand in for the CDC in determining the fate of American Citizens:

Oh – and for any one still simmering regarding any unfair assertions you feel that I may have made about religious dogma—here is the league table of the least Religious countries linked to their Educational ranking.