Dr. Chris Woolverton of Kent State University will be our special guest speaker at seminar, this coming Friday, April 1st (NO FOOLING!). The title of his presentation is:
Prepping for Zombies, Ebola, and More (Oh My!)
I am looking forward to seeing all of you at the seminar. Come dressed as your favorite zombie!
That was a nice presentation by Dr.Chris!
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to hear that Kent State teaches the course "Zombies outbreak" and I would love to attend one of the lectures if granted an opportunity.Having been born and raised in Africa ,Ebola topic has always not been new to my ears as a killer disease, and it's a fact that Ebola has terrorized some parts of Africa and killed thousands of people.First it started in central Africa in 1976 and in 2013 that's when it broke out again in West Africa. What usually happens in Africa is that boarders are closed in case of an outbreak ,whereby you are not supposed to travel to another country until the disease has been combated,and I think this one way of prepping for Zombies in Africa.What do you think happens to Ebola virus before a new outbreak takes place? because research shows an outbreak in 1976 and 2013, but right now everything is calm about the disease.
Although the natural reservoir of Ebola has not been identified, it has been suggested that some species of animals serve as reservoirs and can harbor Ebola at low levels. When these animals are exposed to an external stressor such as a chemical or climate change this can trigger a rise in virus levels. The animal becomes sick and is more likely to transmit the virus to humans. African bats are a potential reservoir. Outbreaks often occur during the transition from rainy to dry seasons and it is possible that the drier conditions somehow influence the number of bats infected with Ebola or their frequency of human contact.
ReplyDeleteI also read about bats being reservoirs for the ebola virus and other deadly viruses such as Marburg and rabies. A bat's genes that code for proteins that protect and repair DNA are much more prevalent. This is important because these genes are the ones that an invading virus is most likely to attack during infection. These genes seem to be always turned on in bats, compared to humans that will only respond after immediate threat. Because these mammals are often a food source for humans and NHPs (that humans also consume) in this part of the world, the virus can easily be transmitted. It's interesting to think about how the role of climate change could have an effect on the spread of this virus.
ReplyDeleteVice had an interesting video on the subject at the time of the epidemic
Deletehttps://youtu.be/XasTcDsDfMg
That video is very interesting! It's funny to see all the people talking about Ebola not being real. You want to make fun of them, but then you realize that there are lots of people in this country that believe similar conspiracy theories, such as vaccines causing autism.
DeleteThis was definitely an incredibly interesting seminar, so thank you very much to Dr. Woolverton! Several of us were lucky enough to ask him questions in the hallway after the presentation, which was very kind of him. He informed me that there are only 13 biosafety level 4 facilities in the U.S., which highlights how difficult it would be to contain a more easily transmitted disease (such as one that was airborne).
ReplyDeleteIt’s always amazing how people (and the media especially) blow things out of proportion. I couldn’t believe how many phone calls Kent State received in just the short time that it operated a call center on the issue! On a personal note, I attended Kent State for my undergrad degree and literally had conversations with friends about where we would go and what we would do if an outbreak was to occur on campus. This made Dr. Woolverton's "zombie outbreak" map of campus quite interesting to me!
I agree that the presentation was quite astounding. In high school, I read "The Hot Zone" and learned that Kitum Cave in Mount Elgon National Park in Kenya is a location frequently associated with the Marburg virus. The cave is one of five in which elephants are frequently found "mining" salts but the author details the potent scent of bat droppings and their sounds as well, so it is logical that the bats are the reason the cave is considered a host of the virus, as many people contracted disease after visiting the cave in the 1980s. I have been intrigued by all of these topics so I was so glad to be able to hear Dr. Woolverton's lecture. I also recommend reading "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston if you have an interest. It is non fiction and details other events, like outbreaks in animal labs, as well as first person accounts from people in African hospitals and biocontainment units here. It was truly an amazing read.
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting guest lecture! Back to Rosalins and Michelles comments, I do believe that ebola can lay dormant until "provoked" to cause infection.
ReplyDeleteIt's really awesome that there is a public health class dealing with zombies. I like the premise "if you can deal with zombies you can deal with anything". I'm sure it does a lot to inspire and encourage students to get involved with public health.
ReplyDeleteI really liked this lecture! I also found it (although most of the time obvious) how skewed the media made the entire Kent State case and how out of proportion it became from what actually happened. Guess that's just the media these days, huh? I do also like, like Aaron said, that there is a class offered about zombies and preparation just in case. It was also interesting to learn that during this class, they brought in real bags and supplies to show the students how much they actually didn't need, because they wouldn't be able to carry everything they wanted.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Nina's comment, I believe that is the case as well. I've read a few papers that have suggested that it can lay dormant for years before causing new infections, I'll see if I can find any of them again and post them here if people would be interested in reading them. Also, that was a great presentation.
ReplyDeleteI also found this to be a very interesting lecture and would've like to take this class if it were available at YSU or if I went to Kent. It was also very informative as it cleared up some inaccuracies about ebola. It also reminded me of a internet game that is biology related that some of us may have come across in the past about pandemic diseases. Heres the link if anyone wants to take a look...
ReplyDeletehttp://pandemic3.com
I thought at first it would be a funny lecture and not really informative but I was wrong. Thanks Dr. Woolverton for presenting this. I believe if we are prepared like the Ebola outbreak we could possibly be prepared for a zombie outbreak as well. While listening in the lecture what reminded me the most which I put down is how Rabies effects animal brains and wonder if that would be similar to a zombie outbreak disease.
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