Current Events > Are there any other viruses that kill roughly half of the people they infect?

(+) Yeah! (+)

The DRC Ministry of Health announced the latest outbreak this week after laboratory testing confirmed two cases had occurred in the northwestern part of the country, near the its border with the similarly named Republic of the Congo. This is DRCs ninth Ebola outbreak since scientists first identified the disease.

Most of the countrys outbreaks burn out quickly because they occur in relatively remote areasbut each has had a high fatality rate. The worlds first-known Ebola cases occurred in the DRC in 1976 (when the country was called Zaire), killing 280 of the 318 people known to have been infected. Last year eight cases were reported, and half of the infected people died.

It's unsettling that there's this virus just waiting to kill half or more of the population of the entire world if it goes unchecked and it happens to pop up every couple months. Wiki puts it at 20-90% fatality rate for among those who have been infected.
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It's not that horrible in 1st world countries.
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ligma
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thanos
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They weren't getting treatment for it is why it was so lethal.

Staph infections (not a virus but w/e) have pretty close to 100% mortality if untreated.

Probably the deadliest virus I can think of is smallpox. That shit will murder you and everyone you love.

Good thing we have vaccines.
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orangefire25 posted...

It's not that horrible in 1st world countries.

Assuming everyone is able to get vaccinated faster because of the infrastructure, sure.

From the statistics I'm seeing on Wiki 5759% of hospitalized patients died compared to 7071% of the general population that wasn't (during the 2013-2016 outbreak). Still seems pretty grim. There haven't actually been any real outbreaks in 1st world countries to get a gauge on what would happen because they're generally good at catching them early enough.
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HIV: "hey, hold my beer"

Questionmarktarius posted...

HIV: "hey, hold my beer"

HIV in the 80s, sure. Medicine has come a long way.
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Oh.

I did a little bit of snooping around.

It appears that rabies is viral and if treated you have an astonishing survival rate of 8%

That's.... Really bad.

That's like "I'll take my chances with brain cancer" bad
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Kombucha posted...

Questionmarktarius posted...

HIV: "hey, hold my beer"

HIV in the 80s, sure. Medicine has come a long way.

Fine.

HPV: "wait for me, guys!"

Rabies has a near 100% mortality rate if left untreated. I think theres been like three people who have ever survived without treatment in the US
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Rabies is no joke. Its one of those "If you get it youre fucked" viruses.
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Tyranthraxus posted...

They weren't getting treatment for it is why it was so lethal.

Staph infections (not a virus but w/e) have pretty close to 100% mortality if untreated.

Probably the deadliest virus I can think of is smallpox. That shit will murder you and everyone you love.

Good thing we have vaccines.

Visited the smallpox wiki page and the pic freaked me out. So glad we don't have that shit going around anymore, looks terrifying.

Also this was not comforting to learn:

In 2017, Canadian scientists recreated an extinct horse pox virus to demonstrate that the smallpox virus can be recreated in a small lab at a cost of about $100,000, by a team of scientists without specialist knowledge.

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Kombucha posted...

Also this was not comforting to learn:

In 2017, Canadian scientists recreated an extinct horse pox virus to demonstrate that the smallpox virus can be recreated in a small lab at a cost of about $100,000, by a team of scientists without specialist knowledge.

Yeah, but why?

Questionmarktarius posted...

Fine.

HPV: "wait for me, guys!"

Nowhere near close to 50% mortality rate for those infected.
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Rabies? Is that a virus?

Its killed everyone whos ever showed symptoms, right? Read a story about one girl being saved after a bat bite by inducing coma and shutting down several of her bodily systems to prevent her body from destroying itself. She lived, but came out of it with physical and speech impediments.

Just checked, this method, "the Milwuakee Protocol", has saved six people after extensive treatment.

These are the only six human beings to survive rabies in recorded history.
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^Rabies is totally a virus too
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Two_Dee posted...

ligma

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Bandit_Keith posted...

Questionmarktarius posted...

Fine.

HPV: "wait for me, guys!"

Nowhere near close to 50% mortality rate for those infected.

Not immediately. Then it turns into cancer about thirty years later.

NeuralLaxative posted...

Rabies has a near 100% mortality rate if left untreated. I think theres been like three people who have ever survived without treatment in the US

Yeah Rabies always creeped me out, because it basically gets the host to become aggressive so it can continue to survive and spread into new hosts. It's probably the closest thing we'll ever have to a true "zombie" virus unless there's something else out there that more closely fits that.
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Questionmarktarius posted...

Bandit_Keith posted...

Questionmarktarius posted...

Fine.

HPV: "wait for me, guys!"

Nowhere near close to 50% mortality rate for those infected.

Not immediately. Then it turns into cancer about thirty years later.

Still not anywhere close to 50% mortality rate.
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