Thread: how a virus spreads - help

Originally Posted by The Backward OX

Phooey - I thought this was a thread about computer viruses.

Computer viruses are spread because not everything inserted into a floppy drive has adequate protection.

Originally Posted by Olly Buckle

E-bola and bubonic plague are both bacterial diseases, you might get a nasty outbreak but modern medicine should be able to control them. A virus is not an independent being that divides to increase, though bacterial division can get quite complex, sharing DNA between many individuals. A virus injects a body cell with a small strand of DNA, this subverts the cell function and it starts producing more of the virus, in simple terms this makes it hard to hit without hitting the body cells as well.

Quarantine has always been tried, keep the disease contained, it has never worked. People trapped inside a quarantine area have a very strong motive to escape from it, and those supposedly containing them have strong motives not to get too near, or even to desert and get much further away. It may sound logical, but it does not take the human element into account.

Ebola is a virus, there is no proven treatment.

Medscape: Medscape Access

Ebola virus is one of at least 30 known viruses capable of causing viral hemorrhagic fever syndrome.
Presently, no specific therapy is available that has demonstrated efficacy in the treatment of Ebola hemorrhagic fever.

Encephalitis Kills 200 in Bihar, India « Fire Earth this is ongoing , but a nice virus ,
Acute viral encephalitis is most often caused by a viral infection from a large list of viruses that include rabies virus, herpes simplex virus (the virus that causes cold sores and the sexually transmitted infection, STI, genital herpes), poliovirus, measles virus, JC virus, West Nile Virus, mumps, varicella zoster virus (the virus which is responsible for chickenpox in children and shingles in adults), and rubella.

Exposure to viruses can occur through

• Breathing in respiratory droplets from an infected person
• Contaminated food or drink
• Mosquito, tick, and other insect bites
• Skin contact (Source A.D.A.M. Medical Encyclopedia and others

Other causes may include an allergic reaction to vaccinations, autoimmune disease, bacteria, such as Lyme disease, complication of an existing infectious disease such as syphilis and tuberculosis, parasitic infestations, such as malaria, roundworms, cysticercosis, and toxoplasmosis in AIDS patients and other people who have a weakened immune system, or the effects of cancer.
For a list of other acute infections and symptoms click HERE.

Originally Posted by Olly Buckle

Quarantine has always been tried, keep the disease contained, it has never worked. People trapped inside a quarantine area have a very strong motive to escape from it, and those supposedly containing them have strong motives not to get too near, or even to desert and get much further away. It may sound logical, but it does not take the human element into account.

Interestingly, there was a town in... England... maybe... a tailor received a spool of silk had ticks with bubonic plague in it and infected the town. When the townspeople learned it, they decided to cut themselves off from neighbouring towns. To get supplies in and minimize contact, they would drop money off in vinegar filled bottles to exchange for goods.

Originally Posted by guy_faukes

Interestingly, there was a town in... England... maybe... a tailor received a spool of silk had ticks with bubonic plague in it and infected the town. When the townspeople learned it, they decided to cut themselves off from neighbouring towns. To get supplies in and minimize contact, they would drop money off in vinegar filled bottles to exchange for goods.

It sounds doubtful to me, knowledge of the means by which it was spread only came after Louis Pasteur for a start, the fleas would not have been significant, everyone had them anyway, (Fleas by the way, not ticks, different beast). Of course there were some remarkable stories, people who visited and tended the sick with apparent immunity, a village in Yorkshire where everybody except one woman died, she buried the rest.

Interestingly there was a case in America the other day, someone bitten rescuing a mouse from a cat, apparently there are a small number each year but only a small percentage of people die nowadays, modern antibiotics can cope on the whole, as I said, it is the viral diseases we need to fear. That and don't rescue vermin.

Originally Posted by writerinCA

I am writing a television series either about a deadly virus outbreak that leaves the main characters isolated in an American city trying to keep themselves and family healthy. My questions are, how long would a deadly virus have to spread before it affects transportation, schools, water, electricity, basically the break down of society. also, I want them to be in quarantine inside Los Angeles where they can not leave at all but I do not know how to keep the virus inside the city? and anything else you'd like to add. Thank you!

You really need to read this book : "The Hot Zone"

It's a best-seller and is a true "page turner." It's also a true story. Wiki - The Hot Zone Once read, you'll have all the material necessary to build believable references for your story.

As far as storyline believability and how to "keep the virus in the city", the simple answer is that you can't. A true outbreak that had such effects on a large, popular and populous city would quickly spread to other regions. You will have to use some sort of creative, entirely fictional, method to keep the virus isolated and keep infected people and/or animals from spreading it.

Hot Zone......*chills* loved that book.

Named my kid's musical stuffed giraffe Ebola in honor of that book. His nickname was Typhoid.

Originally Posted by Euripides

Hot Zone......*chills* loved that book.

Named my kid's musical stuffed giraffe Ebola in honor of that book. His nickname was Typhoid.

Genius! Now I gotta go out and have a kid, just so I can name their stuffed animals. Hmm, maybe I can borrow a friend's and name their kid's stuffed animals?

"Yes, that's "Chlamydia, the Adventure Bunny" and her sidekick bear, "Syphilis the Fair," little Janie."
"Cool! I'll tell Mom we named them."
"Good girl, I'm sure she'll be pleased."

Well, since this is fiction you don’t need to use any known virus. You can invent a virus. And if you want it to happen in LA you should think about this city and what it has that is unique for this virus to have appeared in there. You can borrow from the known virus some features, but the rest you can customize to fit in your story.

Thank you all!

Is there a reason it has to be a virus? In my story I used some alien nanotech technology to produce something virus-like in a society. Since I invented the technology I could make it do whatever I wanted (which is some pretty nasty stuff). Just throwing it out there. Good luck on your story. I'm all about the apocolypse-style stories!