Judo and ebola

I was curious to hear people's thoughts about judo and ebola. Do you already have your own judo doomsday scenario ? Will the rules of judo have to be changed to prevent ebola being spread through judo ? Does the risk for ebola provide the definitive justification for the rashguard as mandatory judo wear together with IJF-approved rubber gloves ? Should there be additional health screening prior to participating in international judo contests of camps for athletes from countries at risks ? What are your thoughts about the existence of a deadly disease that poses a risk for everyone, young and old, healthy and less health, men and women of any ethnicity, and for which there currently is no cure ? What will you personally do to protect yourself ?

A couple of years ago, on the old forum, there was a rather fierce discussion about the H1N1 "swine flu" which amounted to mass hysteria in some. My answer was that people were exaggerating. Time has proven they were, although obviously that is of no consolation to those, most people who were already weakened or immuno-compromized, who died from it. Ebola is a whole different kind of animal though, and you will not hear me saying that people are exaggerating. As always though the answer to any disease lies in our own immune system, which theoretically can cure any disease. Communicating with the immune system is not an easy task though. In the mean time we will have our own fears, speculations and questions. While they likely will not have any significant effect on what eventually may happen, they are of historic interest to look back on in some future when things will have evolved and we can look back and wonder about either how close or how far our thoughts were removed from what actually transpired.

In the mean time, the connection between sport and ebola has started to reach the media. In the recent Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, the term ebola came into the picture in a variety of situations:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2712699/Commonwealth-Games-athlete-speaks-terror-quarantined-four-days-fear-hed-contracted-deadly-Ebola-virus.html

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/ebola-outbreak-sierra-leone-athletes-3952386

We have begun pinning posies of dried herbs to the fronts of our gi.

Well, I'm not any more likely to fly to Africa to practice judo than I was before. And if anyone flies to me from Africa, I'd have to wonder....

The outbreak of SARS got several dojo in Japan to put soap in the bathrooms and hand disinfectant around the walls, place reminders around to wash your hands, etc. Lately you can see neglect coming back (i.e., neglecting to replace soap, etc.) some places.

DougNZ wrote:We have begun pinning posies of dried herbs to the fronts of our gi.

I assume that this is the national strategy which was recommended by your Ministry of Health to deal with any eventual Ebola cases ? The advantage is that where you live by the time the plane arrives there most people infected with ebola will be dead anyway.

NBK wrote:Well, I'm not any more likely to fly to Africa to practice judo than I was before.  And if anyone flies to me from Africa, I'd have to wonder....  

The outbreak of SARS got several dojo in Japan to put soap in the bathrooms and hand disinfectant around the walls, place reminders around to wash your hands, etc.  Lately you can see neglect coming back (i.e., neglecting to replace soap, etc.)  some places.  

Another interesting thing, is that there are a lot of reports in the medical literature on skin disease such a fungi, especially those affecting the scalp, due to judo. Virtually all those reports are Japanese and they go back quite some time. It is not clear if such incidences are simply a lot less prevalent abroad or otherwise have not received that much interest.

Luckily, also, few Africans or Americans know where NZ is!

In addition to wearing posies to ward off the evil vapours, we are confident that our wearing white gi only will spare us from God's wrath.

Cichorei Kano wrote:

DougNZ wrote:We have begun pinning posies of dried herbs to the fronts of our gi.

I assume that this is the national strategy which was recommended by your Ministry of Health to deal with any eventual Ebola cases ?   The advantage is that where you live by the time the plane arrives there most people infected with ebola will be dead anyway.

DougNZ wrote:Luckily, also, few Africans or Americans know where NZ is!

In addition to wearing posies to ward off the evil vapours, we are confident that our wearing white gi only will spare us from God's wrath.

Alright Doug, just drop us a note when start feeling like scoring ippon on foreign visitors goes remarkably easy ...

DougNZ wrote:Luckily, also, few Africans or Americans know where NZ is!

In addition to wearing posies to ward off the evil vapours, we are confident that our wearing white gi only will spare us from God's wrath.

Cichorei Kano wrote:

DougNZ wrote:We have begun pinning posies of dried herbs to the fronts of our gi.

I assume that this is the national strategy which was recommended by your Ministry of Health to deal with any eventual Ebola cases ?   The advantage is that where you live by the time the plane arrives there most people infected with ebola will be dead anyway.

I believe there is a conspiracy underway to send a food server from Africa over to NZ to infect the rugby teams to give other Africans a chance in the rugby. Her name is Suzie. Be afraid.... be very afraid

On a serious note, living in Africa has its challenges - and some very tough illnesses

Some believe Ebola is very far removed from them and maybe correctly so. Just remember, AIDS started in more-or-less the same area...
The thing with Ebola though is that it takes rather sub-standard living conditions and "traditions" that assist it in spreading. The local traditions of how they treat dead bodies (such as washing by the family) and also superstitions (don't take the sick to hospital where all the foreign doctors are, because they kill you, not the disease) are but some of the reasons.

My heart goes out to all the folks affected by this very scary monster and I only hope it can be contained soon. They need all the help they can get.

Cichorei Kano wrote:

NBK wrote:Well, I'm not any more likely to fly to Africa to practice judo than I was before.  And if anyone flies to me from Africa, I'd have to wonder....  

The outbreak of SARS got several dojo in Japan to put soap in the bathrooms and hand disinfectant around the walls, place reminders around to wash your hands, etc.  Lately you can see neglect coming back (i.e., neglecting to replace soap, etc.)  some places.  

Another interesting thing, is that there are a lot of reports in the medical literature on skin disease such a fungi, especially those affecting the scalp, due to judo. Virtually all those reports are Japanese and they go back quite some time. It is not clear if such incidences are simply a lot less prevalent abroad or otherwise have not received that much interest.

I think that high number of Japanese reports may be due to several factors.

In Japan there are professional judo instructors in any number of universities, some in lower schools. The uni level instructors have an incentive to publish - or perish - perhaps not found in other countries.

In most other countries there are plenty of studies on football, soccer, basketball injuries. Judo is not so widespread in most countries, or the dojo are at a club rather than college team level.

NBK

Sierra Leone Sports: Ebola deters Judo athletes from Ivory Coast competition:
http://awoko.org/2014/08/20/sierra-leone-sports-ebola-deters-judo-athletes-from-ivory-coast-competition/

Ebola virus forces African judokas to skip 2014 Judo World Championship in Russia:
http://en.itar-tass.com/sports/745836

Coming back to the topic of Swine flu; relatives of mine (who'd been in rural parts of Indonesia) managed to bring it back with them. Didn't affect them much but nearly killed me. Pneumonia, hospitalisation, thoracotomy, multi-organ shut, loss of 20kgs in 3 weeks and a $25K medical bill (thank god for private insurance).

3rd world is just ripe with all sorts of horrible crap :/

Creamy creamy baileys wrote:Coming back to the topic of Swine flu; relatives of mine (who'd been in rural parts of Indonesia) managed to bring it back with them.  Didn't affect them much but nearly killed me. Pneumonia, hospitalisation, thoracotomy, multi-organ shut, loss of 20kgs in 3 weeks and a $25K medical bill (thank god for private insurance).

3rd world is just ripe with all sorts of horrible crap :/

Thoracotomy, are you serious, ouch ! Sorry to hear about your misfortune. Glad to hear you have now fully recovered. My best wishes to you.

I hear that for ultimate Judo Ebola protection, salt is the new starch.

Cichorei Kano wrote:

Creamy creamy baileys wrote:Coming back to the topic of Swine flu; relatives of mine (who'd been in rural parts of Indonesia) managed to bring it back with them.  Didn't affect them much but nearly killed me. Pneumonia, hospitalisation, thoracotomy, multi-organ shut, loss of 20kgs in 3 weeks and a $25K medical bill (thank god for private insurance).

3rd world is just ripe with all sorts of horrible crap :/

Thoracotomy, are you serious, ouch !  Sorry to hear about your misfortune. Glad to hear you have now fully recovered. My best wishes to you.

Thanks CK. Apart from some residual (permanent) numbness and some weakness around the ribs in that area, there seem to be no lasting effects.

Also - fentanyl is proof the God is real and that he loves us.