This following study concludes:
http://jid.oxfordjournals.org/content/196/Supplement_2/S142.full
"Taken together, our results support the conventional assumptions and field observations that most EBOV transmission comes from direct contact with blood or bodily fluids of an infected patient during the acute phase of illness. The risk of casual contacts with the skin, such as shaking hands, is likely to be low. Environmental contamination and fomites do not appear to pose a significant risk when currently recommended infection control guidelines for the viral hemorrhagic fevers are followed. Prospective studies with the collection of a greater number of clinical samples from patients at different stages of EHF, as well as environmental samples analyzed with an assay validated for EBOV detection in such samples, should be performed to confirm our results.
"
What I wondering though, is it possible this outbreak could cause Ebola to last longer outside of a host by natural selection. In a large urban environment, wouldn't there be a higher probability that stronger (sit and wait) mutations of Ebola would be passed on? (Much larger human traffic patterns around nodes)
In a rural environment there wouldn't be many forces at play to encourage this, but in an Urban environment - wouldn't it be the perfect breeding ground?
I know the number and pace of the mutations have been documented for this outbreak - but has anyone read about any differences at all in for any of the mutations attributes, other than CFR?
http://jid.oxfordjournals.org/content/196/Supplement_2/S142.full
"Taken together, our results support the conventional assumptions and field observations that most EBOV transmission comes from direct contact with blood or bodily fluids of an infected patient during the acute phase of illness. The risk of casual contacts with the skin, such as shaking hands, is likely to be low. Environmental contamination and fomites do not appear to pose a significant risk when currently recommended infection control guidelines for the viral hemorrhagic fevers are followed. Prospective studies with the collection of a greater number of clinical samples from patients at different stages of EHF, as well as environmental samples analyzed with an assay validated for EBOV detection in such samples, should be performed to confirm our results.
"
What I wondering though, is it possible this outbreak could cause Ebola to last longer outside of a host by natural selection. In a large urban environment, wouldn't there be a higher probability that stronger (sit and wait) mutations of Ebola would be passed on? (Much larger human traffic patterns around nodes)
In a rural environment there wouldn't be many forces at play to encourage this, but in an Urban environment - wouldn't it be the perfect breeding ground?
I know the number and pace of the mutations have been documented for this outbreak - but has anyone read about any differences at all in for any of the mutations attributes, other than CFR?