Strip clubs would be highly effective catalysts for spreading ebola. The virus spreads through human-to-human contact or by contact with objects contaminated by the virus, Bodily fluids that could spread the ebola virus include saliva, blood, mucus, vomit, feces, sweat, tears, breast milk, urine, and semen. Entry points include the nose, mouth, eyes, or open wounds, cuts and abrasions. Lets face it, unless you go to strip clubs for air dances or the three-foot rule, bodily contact is going to happen. The virus can also live for several hours outside of a host, but in cooler and darker environment it can survive a couple days outside of a host.
Now imagine Thomas Duncan (Patient 0) flies into Dallas from Liberia and hits Baby Dolls. Strippers and customers alike are exposed to ebola. Infected strippers infect customers. Infected customers infect strippers. Infected PL's travel to other clubs. Transient strippers travel to other clubs across the country. Johns also get infected through the OTC/prostitution market some dancers participate in. By the time the CDC figures things out and needs to trace where the infected persons were and who they exposed to the virus, it becomes impossible to trace the paths of the carriers. Infected PL's do not want to admit they were cheating on their wives, engaging in prostitution, or are scared to admit they were in a strip club. Infected dancers can't remember the customers they had bodily contact with or are afraid to admit they were engaging in prostitution.
Just a hypothetical. I do not know of too many other places outside of gentlemen's clubs where there is so much bodily contact between complete strangers.
I was actually thinking of starting a thread about this.
As sinclair mentioned; there is a lot of close contact in most strip clubs - just the sweat alone from some of the dancers would pose a danger.
Not that I think it will happen or anticipate it happening – but a U.S. Ebola breakout would def put a big dent on SCs from a custies’ and dancers’ perspective (i.e. neither showing up at the SCs) – that would be about the only thing that would keep this PL out of the SCs..