by Susanne Posel
October 10, 2014

from OccupyCorporatism Website

Tom Frieden, director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told the audience at the World Bank event entitled, "Financing Development Post-2015: Towards a Shared Vision" that the Ebola virus outbreak could become a global pandemic bringing to mind the explosion of the AIDS virus in the 1980s.

Frieden said:

"In the 30 years I've been working public health, the only thing like this has been AIDS, and we have to work now so that this is not the world's next AIDS. Speed is the most important variable here.

 

This is controllable and this was preventable. It's preventable by investing in core public health services, both in the epicenter of the most affected countries, in the surrounding countries, and in other countries that might be affected."

By 1989, an estimated 27,408 people had died from AIDS.

This virus was first reported on in 1981 when 121 men were said to have died from a "strange disease". The CDC is using social media to inject issues into minds knowing how powerful websites like Twitter can be.

One report described the mission of "Ebola experts" at the CDC headquarters in Atlanta as a campaign to,

"inoculate the public against ignorance".

The social media team (SMT) at the CDC is focusing on dealing with the "inaccurate" information being shared online about how the Ebola virus is spread.

Carol Crawford, member of the SMT said:

"The top 3 misconceptions I have observed on social media are the fact,

• that Ebola could potentially be airborne

• that it's spread through general, casual contact

• that they can get Ebola from people who are not displaying symptoms."

Thanks to the internet rumor mill, a fake story about Ebola being engineered for white Caucasians only has sparked a flood of shares and tweets.

The satirical website that originated the hoax claimed that the CDC issued this statement (without citing their source):

"Early tests of an experimental drug, which would effectively combat the spread of Ebola, have proved successful only in those with white skin - We are working diligently to improve the sample to be able to help all those who are in need."

Ironically, the author of the fake article, who is the current driving fuel of questionable sources and untrue information, ended by saying:

"With the disease seeming to only work on those with white skin, the conspiracy theorists certainly have been provided with more fodder for their beliefs."

In Dallas, Texas, Michelle Peninger, director of infection control at Inova Health System has been running Ebola drills with hospital staff to examine,

"the screening process, waste disposal, how we're going to disinfect the room, post-mortem care, everything. We're still adding more people as we identify more issues."

Peninger herself has posed as "a fake patient" to give staff members a chance to perfect their skills in anticipation of properly "coping with the virus".

A popular video on YouTube depicts a US Airways flight from Philadelphia that was met with Hazmat crews because a passenger said he had Ebola after coughing and had been to Africa.

This prank prompted the passenger's removal from the plane by inspectors.

Speaking of hazmat suits, thanks to the terrifying media coverage of Ebola, Lakeland Industries, a manufacturer of hazmat suits, has announced their stocks have risen 160% in the last 9 days (since October) and 50% of this can be attributed to the public's fear of contracting Ebola.

Incredibly, the surge in purchases of hazmat suits mirrors the public panic that contributed to the run for gas masks in 2001 after the attacks on the World Trade Center (WTC).

At the time, Colin Griffith with Thatchreed Ltd (an army surplus wholesaler) commented:

"We've sold literally thousands to shops in the UK since yesterday morning and it's continuing today. We're totally gobsmacked."

Charles Roberson, vice president of international sales at Lakeland declined to speak to the media "right now" because of the sensitive nature of the emotional panic surrounding the rise in their product's sales.