View Full Version : Ebola: "Out of Control in West Africa"
The tragedy which is Iraq and the threat that is ISIS may soon bow to a much bigger elephant in the room. This may be a greater threat.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/06/20/africa-ebola-outbreak/11110943/
Ebola called 'out of control' in West Africa
By Michael Winter, USA TODAY
" The deadliest-ever outbreak of the Ebola virus has surged in West Africa after slowing briefly, and the pandemic is now "out of control," according to Doctors Without Borders.
Nearly 600 infections and 340 Ebola-related deaths have been recorded in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, the most since the virus was discovered in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan almost 40 years ago, the World Health Organization said this week. There's no cure or vaccine for the highly contagious disease, which has mortality rate of up to 90%.
"The reality is clear that the epidemic is now in a second wave," Bart Janssens, the medical charity's operations director, told the Associated Press on Friday. "And, for me, it is totally out of control."
He criticized the WHO and African governments for not doing more to contain the outbreak and to thoroughly trace everyone who has had contact with the sick or the dead.
"There needs to be a real political commitment that this is a very big emergency," he said. "Otherwise, it will continue to spread, and for sure it will spread to more countries."
As of Friday, the WHO was not recommending any travel or trade restrictions to the three countries.
"We think that the situation can be controlled with the measures that are being vigorously implemented," Francis Kasolo, the director for disease prevention and control at the WHO's regional office in Republic of Congo, told the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle.
The virus, one of the world's most virulent, is transmitted by contact with the blood, fluids or tissues of infected animals or people. It causes high fever, vomiting, muscle pain and diarrhea, and can result in unstoppable internal bleeding and organ failure.
Transmission risk is especially high among doctors, nurses and other health care workers.
The latest outbreak began in January or December in the forests of southeastern Guinea and spread to urban areas. Guinea has been the hardest hit, with 264 deaths recorded by Wednesday. Sierra Leone has reported 49 deaths and Liberia 24.
"This is the highest outbreak on record and has the highest number of deaths, so this is unprecedented so far," Armand Sprecher, a public health specialist with Doctors Without Borders, told the AP.
Sierra Leone has stepped up measures to prevent and contain the disease, the country's health minister said Thursday.
In Liberia, nurses fearful over the Ebola death of a colleague abandoned a hospital in New Kru Town, forcing it to close. During a solidarity visit to the hospital Tuesday, President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf declared the outbreak a national emergency. "
I''m no epidemiologist, but I'm guessing Ebola simply burns far too quickly and doesn't transmit well enough to be a global or even major regional threat.
But it's certainly yet another warning indicator of the very real risk and near inevitability of a truly global viral fire that could burn a significant percentage of monkeys off this rock via 1st and 2nd order effects.
It makes me hope that the likes of DARPA, CDC, and DHS are coordinating and investing in rapid/real-time mass testing for air travel.
Instead of looking at my junk on a scanner maybe they should be checking if Passengers are ticking viral bombs.
Trapper John
06-21-2014, 05:52
I''m no epidemiologist, but I'm guessing Ebola simply burns far too quickly and doesn't transmit well enough to be a global or even major regional threat.
But it's certainly yet another warning indicator of the very real risk and near inevitability of a truly global viral fire that could burn a significant percentage of monkeys off this rock via 1st and 2nd order effects.
It makes me hope that the likes of DARPA, CDC, and DHS are coordinating and investing in rapid/real-time mass testing for air travel.
Instead of looking at my junk on a scanner maybe they should be checking if Passengers are ticking viral bombs.
Ebola, although highly virulent, contagious, and lethal it is not transmissible like influenza (low infectivity rate). Ebola requires direct contact with infected bodily fluids, like HIV. Containment measures will prevent widespread spread of this disease. At highest risk are the health-care workers.
If any travel is necessary into the West Africa areas please take precautions.
Greatest respects for the comments below, but still ...
Originally Posted by Flagg View Post
I''m no epidemiologist, but I'm guessing Ebola simply burns far too quickly and doesn't transmit well enough to be a global or even major regional threat.
But it's certainly yet another warning indicator of the very real risk and near inevitability of a truly global viral fire that could burn a significant percentage of monkeys off this rock via 1st and 2nd order effects.
It makes me hope that the likes of DARPA, CDC, and DHS are coordinating and investing in rapid/real-time mass testing for air travel.
Instead of looking at my junk on a scanner maybe they should be checking if Passengers are ticking viral bombs.
(Posted by Trapper John) Ebola, although highly virulent, contagious, and lethal it is not transmissible like influenza (low infectivity rate). Ebola requires direct contact with infected bodily fluids, like HIV. Containment measures will prevent widespread spread of this disease. At highest risk are the health-care workers.
Just be damned careful, y'all.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/23/health/ebola-virus-outbreak-west-africa/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
Trapper John
06-24-2014, 05:41
What are the chances of something like this morphing into something that has a higher infectivity rate? I understand viruses tend to adapt over time sometimes quickly. Is it holiweird fantasy to think this may turn to something that is worse?
I'm not a virologist nor a gene jockey, but I did sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night. :D So my short answer is - "I don't have a f'n clue" :p
My guess is though, it's going to be a rare event and hard for this virus to naturally mutate. I say that because their is no driving force to do so and there are fewer opportunities. We are talking about a zoonotic disease that is quite well adapted to its primary host. A deliberate contact (monkeys as a food source) with a closely related species was the only reason Ebola emerged in humans. This is not at all like a swine or avian virus adapting to an unrelated species to find a new host.
Of greater concern to me is the intentional mutation to make Ebola transmissible via the airborne route, to survive outside a host for longer periods of time, increase the prodromal period (lag time between infection and outbreak of symptoms), etc.
There are folks operating in this AO that would have such intentions and could acquire the capability. That's the greater threat IMO.
BrokenSwitch
06-27-2014, 00:47
Someone's been reading too much Tom Clancy (Executive Orders and Rainbow Six).
With that said... I suppose some of his ideas were prescient.
DJ Urbanovsky
07-31-2014, 14:20
The White House says it's not a threat, and will be continuing plans to host a three day summit of African leaders. Meanwhile, the CDC has this to say about the Ebola:
http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/warning/ebola-guinea
http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/warning/ebola-liberia
http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/warning/ebola-sierra-leone
And then they published this:
http://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/air/managing-sick-travelers/ebola-guidance-airlines.html
But it's not a threat, right?
I'm no medic, and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, but I do know that Ebola is incredibly virulent, and is present in all of the host's bodily fluids and excretions. Including sweat. Sweat!
I'm not trying to be alarmist here, but this is kind of a big deal. UK and US residents (aid workers) have already been infected and are dead.
Usually an outbreak starts in the hinterlands, and burns itself out quickly. This time, it started in major population centers, and hosts have boarded aircraft and traveled...
Do a Google search and start reading.
Just sayin'...
Emory University Hospital is expected to receive a patient infected with the deadly Ebola virus within the next several days, the university announced Thursday.
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/breaking-news/emory-healthcare-to-treat-ebola-patient/ngrtm/
Why bring it home?
DJ Urbanovsky
07-31-2014, 20:42
Seems, I don't know... Insane. Right?
I might be wrong about this, but I don't ever recall a case of it being knowingly allowed on aircraft, let alone one destined for the United States.
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/breaking-news/emory-healthcare-to-treat-ebola-patient/ngrtm/
Why bring it home?
I am sure the US has much better medical and CDC facilities than else where in the world and this person or persons will get the best care possible....
But Ebola is nasty and there is no cure. I do not believe we have ever had a case in the US so why even risk it. All it would take is one individual to become infected then running around a city like NYC and we would have a f-ing mess that spreads to 50 states overnight.
But Ebola is nasty and there is no cure. I do not believe we have ever had a case in the US so why even risk it. All it would take is one individual to become infected then running around a city like NYC and we would have a f-ing mess that spreads to 50 states overnight.
Sort of describes that gem Ebola Pelosi.
Old Dog New Trick
07-31-2014, 21:42
Back in the 90s when I was an 18D, I read "The Hot Zone" (Richard Preston) about Ebola and thought right there and then to not just walk away from medicine, but run!
The fact that this disease is going wild now is or should be seen as a testament that organizations like the CDC, WHO, and anyone else involved don't have a clue as to how to isolate it and prevent its worldwide infection in a global environment.
Recent revelations that the CDC lost control of live viruses and stored others in a non-secure research facility should tell you they may have the best of intentions but lack the fortitude to live up to their charter of protecting the public.
Whatever protocols are in place in Georgia and the route there from Africa, I hope that nothing goes wrong. I hope that they find a cure without infecting others and that they have the best controls to protect anyone and everyone that comes into contact with this person and those in the host county.
Ebola as a bioterrorism weapon is on the horizon so for their part a cure and vaccine is needed...Godspeed.
The World Health Organization chipping in resources to fight it is good, but containment seems like the only successful approach.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-28593987
The head of the World Health Organization and leaders of West African nations affected by the Ebola outbreak are to announce a joint $100m (£59m; 75m euro) response plan.
They will meet in Guinea on Friday to launch the initiative aimed at tackling a virus which has claimed 729 lives.
Sierra Leone's president has declared a public health emergency over the outbreak after 233 people died there.
Ebola spreads through human contact with a sufferer's bodily fluids.
Initial flu-like symptoms can lead to external hemorrhaging from areas like eyes and gums, and internal bleeding which can lead to organ failure.
Ebola kills up to 90% of those infected, with patients having a better chance of survival if they receive early treatment.
'A new level'
"The scale of the Ebola outbreak, and the persistent threat it poses, requires WHO and Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone to take the response to a new level, and this will require increased resources, in-country medical expertise, regional preparedness and coordination," she said in a statement released on the WHO website on Thursday.
"The countries have identified what they need, and WHO is reaching out to the international community to drive the response plan forward."
Key elements of the WHO's new plan are:
Stopping transmission in the affected countries through "scaling up effective, evidence-based outbreak control measures"
Preventing the spread of Ebola to "the neighboring at-risk countries through strengthening epidemic preparedness and response measures"
The WHO says that the scale of the ongoing outbreak is "unprecedented", with about 1,323 confirmed and suspected cases reported in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone since March 2014.
It says that improving prevention, detecting and reporting suspected cases, referring people infected with the disease for medical care, as well as psychosocial support, are of paramount importance in battling the illness.
The WHO is also deploying two survivors of the outbreak in Guinea as informal Ebola ambassadors, working with community groups to show that the disease can be prevented if people take recommended precautions.
The US health authorities have warned against traveling to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone as they strive to tackle the Ebola outbreak.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention "recommends against non-essential travel [to these countries]," director Tom Frieden said.
Liberian people read an information sign about Ebola set on a wall of a public health centre in Monrovia (31 July 2014) The WHO says that more emphasis need to be put on strengthening epidemic preparedness and response measures.
The US sending is sending 50 extra specialists to affected areas.
An American doctor with Ebola in Liberia has taken a "slight turn for the worse", the Samaritan's Purse aid agency said on Thursday.
Kent Brantly and another American worker, Nancy Writebol, "are in stable but grave condition", the agency said in a statement.
The statement said that Dr Brantly had been offered experimental serum - using blood form a child whose life he saved - but he had insisted that Ms Writebol should receive it instead.
In other developments:
President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia - one of the worst hit countries - told the BBC the Ebola outbreak was catastrophic, and more help was needed to contain its spread
Seychelles have cancelled Saturday's 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Sierra Leone because of fears over the Ebola virus
Nigeria has ordered the temperature screening of passengers arriving from places at risk from Ebola while simultaneously suspending pan-African airline Asky for bringing the first Ebola case to Lagos
In London, the ActionAid charity said that the battle against Ebola was being hampered because of the spiralling price of hand sanitisers.
A spokesman said that the cost of some hygiene products had gone up sevenfold, making them too expensive for many people in the region.
Sierra Leone's President Ernest Bai Koroma announced earlier that the epicentres of the outbreak in the east would be quarantined and he asked the security forces to enforce the measures.
Symptoms include high fever, bleeding and central nervous system damage
Fatality rate can reach 90%
Incubation period is two to 21 days
There is no vaccine or cure
Supportive care such as rehydrating patients who have diarrhoea and vomiting can help recovery
Fruit bats are considered to be virus' natural host
I could imagine this being a rather sticky situation to manage, even though Ebola can only be transmitted by the exchange of bodily fluids.
Corrupt host nation partners
Local fear/hostility stemming from ignorance
Poor governance/security/health/utility/transportation infrastructure
I'm guessing we don't see an apocalyptic spread to the 1st world(decisive intervention if reached), but if Ebola established in a Lagos megaslum, that's the stuff of nightmares.
Also, the concurrent risk and distraction from questionable Islamic charities coming to "help", or even just one competent and malignant lab technician isolating and reproducing it.
Hopefully everyone trying to scrape up some of mother nature's biological weapon is destroyed along with the virus.
The Reaper
07-31-2014, 22:29
If bodily fluids transmit it, why can mosquitos not be a vector?
TR
Old Dog New Trick
07-31-2014, 22:40
If bodily fluids transmit it, why can mosquitos not be a vector?
TR
Good question, IIRC Mosquitos are not a susceptible host/carrier of the virus. Also I have not heard that domestic animals have been susceptable as hosts. So just bats and humans and only the humans die far as I can remember.
If bodily fluids transmit it, why can mosquitos not be a vector?
Direct contact with the host - mosquitoes are not the natural host of ebola.
I'm glad I'm not in Bomi Hills.
Richard
Two folks in our area contracted Ebola who were working with Samaritans Purse. I'm certain they were using and were trained in standard precautions at a minimum... One was a physician.
As open as this POTUS has allowed our borders to be, it's not too far fetched an idea to imagine someone who has the determination to strap on a suicide vest, purposely infect themselves, and fly to this country via South America...
. Open Borders Invite Threat Of Ebola Terrorism
War On Terror: As the Ebola disease spreads in Africa and detainees from that continent are apprehended, the question must be asked: What if terrorists already willing to die try to bring the disease across our porous southern border?
The Ebola outbreak that has killed at least 672 people in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone could land in the U.S., according to John O'Connor, a spokesman for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"It's true," he says, "that anyone with an illness is just one plane ride away from coming to the U.S." Indeed, a Liberian man infected with Ebola boarded a plane and brought the disease to Lagos, Nigeria, Africa's largest city, with 21 million people.
But what if in the future it's no accident? Nigeria is the home of Boko Haram. The Islamic terrorist group ISIL has long been recruiting terrorists in the West and is known to have members with Western, even American, passports.
Deliberately spreading the disease to the U.S. might not even require a plane ride, and it's possibile that terrorists already willing to strap bombs to their bodies might just as willingly get infected and pay a coyote to get them across our open southern border.
We remember the 9/11 Commission saying that terrorist attack was due in part to our lack of imagination. We couldn't imagine young Middle Eastern males learning to fly, but not land, passenger jets as part of a plan to fly them into skyscrapers.
The spreading of Ebola to the U.S. could be intentional, given the virus' relatively long incubation period of up to three weeks without symptoms, and no shortage of terrorists willing to die for their cause. It would be easy for an infected terrorist to slip in among the OTMs (Other Than Mexican) who have also been crossing our border.
"Central Americans are not the only ones being smuggled through Mexico to the United States," said a 2012 report by the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, a fact regularly reported by the U.S. Border Patrol.
"Irregular migrants from the Horn of Africa (Eritrea, Somalia and Ethiopia), as well as South Asia (Bangladesh, Nepal, India), China and other African and Asian states are being smuggled through Central America."
Albert Spratte, a spokesman for Local 3307 of the National Border Patrol Council, has repeatedly noted how the Rio Grande is being crossed by more than just Central Americans, including individuals from Africa. On one weekend, a group of Chinese females was apprehended.
Dr. Elizabeth Lee Vliet, a preventive medicine specialist, told Breitbart News recently that the dispersal of illegal aliens, including unaccompanied minors, throughout the U.S. without proper medical screening "is the ideal condition for a viral outbreak."
"A public health crisis, the likes of which I have not seen in my lifetime, is looming," Vliet wrote recently for World Net Daily. "Drug-resistant tuberculosis is the most serious risk, but even diseases like measles can cause severe complications and death in older or immunocompromised patients." And possibly Ebola?
"There's nothing to prevent someone traveling here asymptomatically during the incubation period," said ABC News' chief health and medical editor, Dr. Richard Besser, who served as acting director of the CDC during the swine flu outbreak.
GlobalSecurity.org says that there is evidence that the former Soviet Union's biological weapons program researched and weaponized the Ebola virus — and that Japanese terrorist group Aum Shinrikyo reportedly sent members to Zaire during an outbreak to harvest the virus. So its use as a bioterror weapon is not a new idea.
The prospect of terrorists hacking their way through the Mall of America or LAX carrying a weaponized container of the Ebola virus is a very real possibility unless we secure our borders and let in only the invited — and the healthy.
http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/073014-711061-ebola-virus-could-be-spread-by-terrorists.htm?p=full
Here's an interesting twist from Mr. Jones.....
Disease, natural disaster, and man-made crises are routinely exploited by government as pretexts to enlarge and extend its power and reach. The state and its propaganda media thrive on one manufactured crisis after another as part of a systematic effort to ramp up the police state. The goal is not protection of the people. It is an all-encompassing surveillance state with a militarized component designed not to save us from evil terrorists or scary diseases, but control the population and maintain through fear and violence its political monopoly.
Getting away from the conspiracy, Jones lays out some potential facts...
It is difficult to contract the deadly viral disease Ebola.
In order to get it, you have to be in direct contact with blood and other body fluids from an infected person or animal. Aerosol transmission is not possible. The possibility of widespread transmission is extremely low due to a high fatality rate and the remote areas where infections usually occur.
As Jon Rappoport told Alex Jones on Thursday, the death rate from Ebola is nearly infinitesimal when compared to seasonal flu, which kills between three and five million people every year. Like previous “pandemic” diseases like Swine Flu and West Nile, Ebola is being exploited and exaggerated as part of a psychological operation by government.
http://www.infowars.com/dont-fear-ebola-fear-the-state/
I don't know what is fact, so I did some quick searching from 'trusted' sources.....
DHHS States:
Influenza, or flu, is a contagious respiratory illness caused by viruses. Flu kills more than 36,000 Americans each year and afflicts between 5 and 20 percent of the U.S. population, according to Federal estimates. Experts endorse vaccinations through November and December since most flu activity occurs during January or subsequent months of most years.
The CDC says:
CDC estimates that from the 1976-1977 season to the 2006-2007 flu season, flu-associated deaths ranged from a low of about 3,000 to a high of about 49,000 people.
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/disease/us_flu-related_deaths.htm
WHO states that there have been 1334 deaths associated to Ebola from 1976 through 2012
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs103/en/
So what is more dangerous Ebola or Influenza?
Trapper John
08-01-2014, 08:08
Paslode- exactly correct. On a population scale Influenza is far more serious. However, on an individual basis, Ebola's 60% -90% mortality rate and the manner of death (bleeding to death) has a very significant psychological impact. Just watch this thread as it goes off the rails if you don't believe me. You'd think we are facing the Zombie Apocalypse. :p
DIYPatriot
08-01-2014, 08:33
You'd think we are facing the Zombie Apocalypse. :p
No kidding...I know a guy that is a major conspiracy theorist and he's so fun to mess with. Back when the CDC added their Zombie Preparedness marketing campaign to their website (http://www.cdc.gov/phpr/zombies.htm), I sent him the link and told him that it was for real and that it was about to hit the fan. His reply? "I f@cking knew it!!!"
Back to the thread, this same acquaintance was up in arms when he found out that the infected American doctor was making his way back to the states. He firmly believes that it is an attempt by the government to create a large scale epidemic so they can do something sinister without the public's knowledge. And no - he is not a friend. He's a neighbor and I love to mess with him. Especially when he sees me reloading in my garage or dehydrating food or canning it. He honestly thinks that I know something is about to go down and that it has nothing to do with me being resourceful, thrifty and old fashioned. :rolleyes:
Old Dog New Trick
08-01-2014, 09:16
Remember Influenza vs. Ebola -
Method of transmission and state of person. Deaths from influenza are mainly attributed to the elderly and very young children who have weakened or not fully developed immune systems. Ebola kills otherwise healthy people. While transmission rates are significantly higher with the flu and many people treat their symptoms themselves at home and continue to spread the virus during daily contact with others in confined spaces. Ebola tends to have a nearly 100% transmission rate to anyone in contact with the blood or body fluids of an infected person - even after death of the host.
We have vaccines to mitigate the effects of influenza and yet some people still die from it. Mostly because they don't get immunized or don't recognize the threat until it's too late. Far as I know, only the lucky survive Ebola even when early identification and symptomatic treatment is given.
Trapper John
08-01-2014, 10:47
Far as I know, only the lucky survive Ebola even when early identification and symptomatic treatment is given.
Interesting that you brought that point up, ODNT. When we look at key biomarkers in the blood of EBOLA survivors it looks as if these survivors had a co-infection on board at the time of infection with EBOLA. Specifically, a parasitic infection IMO. The co-infection would have conferred a pre-infection activated innate immune response that would have reduced or eliminated infecting EBOLA virus. Incidentally, I seem to recall a similar effect and resistance to HIV infection.
My advice to you guys worrying about getting an EBOLA infection, rub some dirt in it. :p
Interesting that you brought that point up, ODNT. When we look at key biomarkers in the blood of EBOLA survivors it looks as if these survivors had a co-infection on board at the time of infection with EBOLA. Specifically, a parasitic infection IMO. The co-infection would have conferred a pre-infection activated innate immune response that would have reduced or eliminated infecting EBOLA virus. Incidentally, I seem to recall a similar effect and resistance to HIV infection.
My advice to you guys worrying about getting an EBOLA infection, rub some dirt in it. :p
Interesting.
Trap,
One thing that I'd question is, where Ebola is normally found, those people are pretty much living in "the dirt." They don't have the best sanitation facilities and their kids, when young (ie growing up) usually play in the dirt, not like back here where if little Johnny or Susie want to play at the park they need to be wearing a "crash helmet", knee pads, elbow pads, and are slathered in some sort of antibacterial ointment, hell, they're this close from having to wear a full body condom just to play in the front yard now-a-days.
So it would reason that the West African people who are in the Ebola "hot zone(s)" would have that immune system "up and running" to help fight off the virus, to I believe what you are referring to.
They just really have to learn to stop eating infected fruit bats and monkeys, or what ever else it is they do with monkeys that would warrant them catching the disease.
I seen a program once that talked about the bubonic plague in western Europ that killed so many people. Long story short they looked into the genetics of survivors and found they had a higher resistance to and infection. (I know that is not exactly right but you get the idea) Has this been explored with the ebola?
Bringing up the point of parasitic infection. I read/heard somewhere they found people with intestinal parasites have lower rate of diverticulitis and other intestinal problems, food allergies etc. The point was perhaps we are meant to have some types of intestinal parasite for proper body function like the intestinal bacteria. Is that true and what do you know about it.?
That does make some sense, having an intestinal parasite help fight the virus, seeing that the virus usually attacks the soft organs (stomach, liver, intestines, etc.) would seen plausible.
I'd be interested in hearing from our resident experts on this as well.
Trapper John
08-01-2014, 12:13
SD & BO- I was being facetious wrt to the 'rub dirt in it" comment, but only somewhat.
The survivors of EBOLA probably had malaria co-infection.
We are, however, supposed to have a variety of bugs on board (commensals and symbiots) to have normal resistance to infections and be generally healthy. That's no news to either of you I am sure.
However, what is new is the notion of modulating the initial (innate) immune response to fight on-going infections or prevent infection from progressing to disease.
If it were me and I had a team mate that I suspected to be infected with EBOLA, I would treat him with multiple doses of a vaccine over 3-5 days- don't really care what vaccine either. BCG vaccine or Freund's Complete Adjuvant would be particularly useful or even Coley's Toxin. Just trying to induce an innate immune response (mimic the biological response of survivors) and hopefully eradicate virus in the process. In fact just about any foreign protein would be better than nothing.
So yeah, rub some dirt in it. :p
DJ Urbanovsky
08-01-2014, 12:56
Not an airborne pathogen, they said?
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-20341423
I drew the same conclusion on my own prior to reading that article. If the pathogen exists in an infected host's bodily fluids, and that person sneezes or coughs on you, what are you now covered with? That infected host's bodily fluids, that's what. The virus is transmitted how, again? Bodily fluids, you say?
The two patients that are being transferred to GA for treatment, they were both medical workers, and both had full knowledge of what to do to protect themselves from infection. These were people who knew the risks, supposedly knew what they were doing, and who should have been wearing head to toe protective gear, and yet both were still infected? How did that happen?
You cannot compare this virus to influenza because it isn't influenza. Influenza does not have a mortality rate that is between 50% and 90%. A vaccine for influenza already exists. And, as has been mentioned, influenza does not tend to kill people who are in generally good health.
CDC is issuing advisories telling people not to travel to three African nations. This disease has jumped at least four borders that we know of (not counting countries that are "importing" it on their own). WHO is saying that it is "out of control" in Africa. Meanwhile, other medical authorities are saying "It's not a threat. It's not that transmissible. Air travel is not a big deal." Really? OK. Do you want to share an armrest with that poor fucker on the airplane, breathing his recycled air? Guess what? He has to go use the potty. Does he wash his hands afterward?
How can we afford to confront this with a cavalier attitude? "It's only 600 dead, the flu kills 30,000 each year in the USA" or likening it to that whole zombie meme bullshit is exactly how pandemics start. You don't realize the corn is growing all summer, until suddenly you look up and realize that it's over your head. And then it's too late...
MOO, if you believe everything WHO says, you would never leave your house. I'm not trying to minimize the danger, but just because "Health Care Professionals" are trained in PPEs doesn't mean they PRACTICE them.
Is there a threat? Yes. Is it going to end life as we know it? No.
DJ Urbanovsky
08-01-2014, 13:15
I do not disagree. I'm just saying, this isn't something that should be marginalized by likening it to fake things like zombies, or real things, like the flu.
MOO, if you believe everything WHO says, you would never leave your house. I'm not trying to minimize the danger, but just because "Health Care Professionals" are trained in PPEs doesn't mean they PRACTICE them.
Is there a threat? Yes. Is it going to end life as we know it? No.
SD - I was being facetious wrt to the 'rub dirt in it" comment ....
So yeah, rub some dirt in it. :p
Ohhhh ... you waskly SF medic you. I should have known. I mean someone whose training in treating a femur Fx consists of telling their Pts., "Take a couple of Ibuprofens, drink some water and change your socks", might be a bit facetious. :p
I do not disagree. I'm just saying, this isn't something that should be marginalized by likening it to fake things like zombies, or real things, like the flu.
DJ,
We're on the same page, can not ignore this or we're going to be looking up at tassles. But I cannot force myself to agree with WHO (even if they're right).
Not an airborne pathogen, they said?
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-20341423
Interesting link. One thing I would like to question the researchers is, they say that the infected pigs were separated from the macaques only by a "wire fence." That spread of the virus "One possibility is that the monkeys became infected by inhaling large aerosol droplets produced from the respiratory tracts of the pigs."
What about the waste (urine/feces)?
How was that waste disposed of from the pens/cages?
Did they just lay down some newspapers and change those or was there some type of "run off channel" coming from the enclosure?
We all know that animals in cages/pens have to have those pens/cages cleaned out periodically. But could not the monkeys somehow become infected through that route? Either playing in (we all know how much monkeys LOVE poop), somehow having it run over to their cage/pen, somehow getting mixed into their food/water after the infected waste has dried and dust particles travel through the air?
As we all have been saying to people, the way to keep from getting infected with Ebola, is DON'T play in an infected persons ick or poop.
Just like the number one rule in EMS states .... "If it's wet, sticky and NOT yours, don't touch it."
Now if, and I say IF while wearing my tin foil hat .... if Ebola has indeed become aerosoled, would that not show some sort of weaponization of the virus? If that be the case, TR's "Be Prepared" threads will be re-read with even more due diligence.
I will say I did recently have a discussion (re. argument) with a young lady who stated that the virus had indeed become airborne.
I asked her for her proof/links, to which she provided the link of the airline passenger who flew between the two African nations, who both have the outbreak within their boarders. This was her proof that the virus had become "Airborne."
I informed her about the different ways in which a virus is transmitted (Flu: Airborne pathogen v. Ebola: Bloodborn pathogen), to which she stated she was correct and that I didn't know what I was talking about.
I just rolled my eyes and told her to say it was all Bush's fault and call me a racist and go away. That her level of stupidity was starting to infect me. :rolleyes:
DIYPatriot
08-01-2014, 14:07
I do not disagree. I'm just saying, this isn't something that should be marginalized by likening it to fake things like zombies, or real things, like the flu.
I feel you on that. I didn't mean to marginalize it. If my sentiments came across that way then my bad. My point was that I feel that there are greater threats to us than this. Two planes can take out 3k or more lives on what felt like a normal business day in NYC. That being said, I do wonder about the logic of bringing someone with ebola into this country. Not being a health expert, my opinion is relegated to common sense.
Trapper John
08-01-2014, 14:07
Ohhhh ... you waskly SF medic you. I should have known. I mean someone whose training in treating a femur Fx consists of telling their Pts., "Take a couple of Ibuprofens, drink some water and change your socks", might be a bit facetious. :p
I see you've been reading the SF medics field manual again haven't ya? :D
Not an airborne pathogen, they said?
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-20341423
One possibility is that the monkeys became infected by inhaling large aerosol droplets produced from the respiratory tracts of the pigs..
Did a google seach and found this:
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-20341423
BO .. It's that SAME link/story that DJ posted. :facepalm: :D
I guess what I'm trying to get at is, instead of the virus being transmitted via the aerosol route (sneezing, coughing, pffffftttttttttt), that it could have been transmitted via another way, between the test subjects in yours (and DJ's) link(s).
I see you've been reading the SF medics field manual again haven't ya? :D
I do my best to follow the advice of two of the greatest minds in human history ....
Old Dog New Trick
08-01-2014, 14:51
SD & BO- I was being facetious wrt to the 'rub dirt in it" comment, but only somewhat.
The survivors of EBOLA probably had malaria co-infection.
SNIP
If it were me and I had a team mate that I suspected to be infected with EBOLA, I would treat him with multiple doses of a vaccine over 3-5 days- don't really care what vaccine either. BCG vaccine or Freund's Complete Adjuvant would be particularly useful or even Coley's Toxin. Just trying to induce an innate immune response (mimic the biological response of survivors) and hopefully eradicate virus in the process. In fact just about any foreign protein would be better than nothing.
So yeah, rub some dirt in it. :p
If the cure doesn't kill you, it might just save your life! :D
"How to properly use a defibrillator - shock the patient until you have a cardiac rhythm you can recognize!" :p
Old Dog New Trick
08-01-2014, 14:57
Yea like asytole. Now that is a stable rhythm.
Depends on the expansion joints and speed bumps! :D
I would like to think that the CDC is the height of professionalism on all this, but in lieu of the scandals regarding the Secret Service (partying), the IRS, the NSA, etc...and the fact that back in the 1990s, the CDC got caught red-handed engaging in biased anti-gun research, and now reading that the CDC also has made mistakes in storing viruses, really makes me concerned.
Many Doctors, Scientists, Bankers, CEO's, Politicians, etc....many people in general for that matter have a tendency to push the limits of better judgement and common sense while ignoring the potentially serious consequences their actions may render. Like many substance abusers and gambling addicts these people don't believe they have a problem, they believe they can control whatever the situation and they ignore the potential ramifications.
Logically reasoned and stated position.
An interviewer asked Johns Hopkins School of Public Health's Dr. Diane Griffin ( http://www.jhsph.edu/faculty/directory/profile/929/Griffin/Diane ) about the current ebola outbreak in West Africa. "One of the problems is that West Africa has not really experienced Ebola before," Dr. Griffin notes. "Whereas Uganda and a few other countries have had multiple outbreaks and they're a little more schooled in these control measures."
http://www.vice.com/read/we-asked-an-expert-if-the-ebola-virus-will-kill-you-730
And an interesting graphic in the news...
Ebola is outstripping control efforts, top WHO official warns
LA Times, 1 Auf 2014
http://www.latimes.com/world/africa/la-fg-guinea-ebola--20140801-story.html
Richard
Trapper John
08-02-2014, 08:30
Broadsword, hence, my Zombie Apacolypse analogy. :D
Folks, to keep this in perspective really it is not that many deaths. Granted the victims it is significant but here is something to compare it to. The number of influenza deaths in the UNITED STATES ALONE every year:
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/disease/us_flu-related_deaths.htm
That is a drop in the bucket. Before the media starts a panic bla bla bla remember no one gets out alive.
And the flu preys mainly on the young, old and weak. You've survived many a flu season.
If Ebola Season hits the US your survival rate might be a lot, lot, lot lower,
A couple issues with that. First African village medicine vs US medical treatment.
Second Its spread is not a easily as the flu.
Third, I am going to die someday and quite frankly it does not scare me anymore. I have been around enough death and came close enough many times I am not afraid of it per say. While I am not looking forward to it by any means I am at peace with it due to some experience in my past. Like a member here that has passed on used to say. Everyone wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die. It is something we must all do but the media detracts from issues of importance by fanning the flames of fear.
What is going on at the border?
What about Iraq?
Is Russia going into Ukraine yet?
These have a bigger chance of causing a large impact on our lives than ebola yet they have seems to disappear when the POTUS stares jacking up the way he deals with the situation. What to see lots of death? Let the another large European war start and Ebola will be very unimportant in the amout of deaths in the world. Hell how many people will killed today in wars and crime around the world? A lot more than ebola killed and most were young healthy people that died.
You're right in the spirit of your argument, sir. Death creates its own perspective, and all the world can ever do is react to it.
The total number of military and civilian casualties in World War I was over 37 million. There were over 16 million deaths and 20 million wounded ranking it among the deadliest conflicts in human history. The total number of deaths includes about 10 million military personnel and about 7 million civilians.
Previous lesson on perspective:
The 1918 flu pandemic (January 1918 – December 1920) was an unusually deadly influenza pandemic, the first of the two pandemics involving H1N1 influenza virus.[1] It infected 500 million[2] people across the world, including remote Pacific islands and the Arctic, and killed 50 to 100 million of them—three to five percent of the world's population[3] —making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in human history.
So, today some more news.
Samaritan’s Purse doctor Kent Brantly, who contracted the Ebola virus while treating patients in Liberia, is now back home in the United States. A medical evacuation plane equipped with a special containment unit arrived at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Atlanta today at 11:20. Dr. Brantly was then transported to Emory University Hospital. Emory has an isolation unit set up in collaboration with the CDC to treat patients who are exposed to certain serious infectious diseases.
American Nancy Writebol, a missionary with SIM who also contracted Ebola in Liberia, is expected to arrive in Atlanta within the next few days.
“We thank God that they are alive and now have access to the best care in the world,” said Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse. “We are extremely thankful for the help we have received from the State Department, the CDC, the National Institute of Health, World Health Organization and, of course, Emory Hospital.”
Seems that where death comes from don't matter a hill of beans. Death is gonna have its way in the end. All we seem to be able to do is react to it. Grieve it, fight it, and move on. Right now is a time to fight.
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: (Ecc 3:1)
Given the constant "hyperbole" in the MSM:
"You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it's an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before." - Rahm Emanuel
frostfire
08-03-2014, 13:28
Back in the 90s when I was an 18D, I read "The Hot Zone" (Richard Preston) about Ebola and thought right there and then to not just walk away from medicine, but run!
Yep, I read that too in late 90's and thought it was more horrifying than all Stephen King novels combined. Reston, Marburg, Sudan...and the Zaire strain. What other disease out there than turns you literary to a soup?! I remember we are taught in the disaster response class that emergency worker s(ER MD, RN, EMT, tech, etc.) are akin to the canaries used in the mining industry. When those guys start dropping dead, then it's truly SHTF.
In the 90's, there was also a tv show called Millennium that showed what a (bird-borne) ebola outbreak in the US might look like.
Prayers out to the doctor and the missionary.
Well, Gatwick had a good scare today. But they say it was nothing and Ebola is not involved.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-28634903
The Reaper
08-03-2014, 17:27
Well, Gatwick had a good scare today. But they say it was nothing and Ebola is not involved.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-28634903
Yeah.
And they said that the patient was not contagious a few hours on the flight before she dropped dead.
This is not looking good.
TR
My ATC buds say that the aircraft bringing the infected doc back to the US was called The Ebola Gay. ;)
Pat
Yeah.
And they said that the patient was not contagious a few hours on the flight before she dropped dead.
This is not looking good.
TR
Does anyone else feel like they are in a B-movie as the prologue starts playing out?
mark46th
08-03-2014, 18:56
The next announcement will be about mutant mosquitos escaping from a research facility.
Yeah.
And they said that the patient was not contagious a few hours on the flight before she dropped dead.
This is not looking good.
TR
Maybe they were just getting her out of the country so, they didn't have to deal with her condition?:eek:
Golf1echo
08-03-2014, 19:30
Nothing to worry about with containment facilities http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2014/s0619-anthrax.html certainly not the first incedent in ATL eek:
Constant
08-03-2014, 21:54
If she dropped dead, wouldn't that be a good thing? Not her dying, but I mean how she died? As doesn't Ebola kill in a more slow, gruesome fashion? And they say that this version of Ebola has a longer incubation period, which makes it more dangerous. If a person appears fine and then boom, drops dead, wouldn't that mean it has a short incubation period?
If she was infected with Ebola it doesn't matter. It's still active after death and the potential for infection remains high if precautions aren't taken. She was vomiting a lot according to the article, due to her age I would suspect hypovolemia helped in her passing. Hypoxia, dehydration, vibrations causing motion sickness, etc could all have led to her getting suddenly ill along with her age. I'm not saying 70 year old are prone to suddenly dying, but throw in other issues, stress, etc, and she could.
Bottom line - no worry as long as standard precautions were taken.
**Edit to add** I'm not saying don't be prepared or pay attention to what is going on. I'm saying you as an individual, can only control you and what you're around. This has the potential of getting worse thanks to technology and travel ease.
Now 50 American medical experts are headed to West Africa to fight this thing.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-28631777
Looking at the graph re: reported cases since 1976 makes me wonder why none were reported from 1980-1993. Was this a biologic phenomena or just shitty record keeping / data collection? I am a skeptical kind of sailor and am more curious about what I don't know than what I think I might know.
Also, America sent several SF fighters into the region a few weeks ago to help locate and recover the kidnapped girls. Where's that at?
I pray for the success and safe return of all our heroes. They're sure in the toilet of the world.
MOO, if you believe everything WHO says, you would never leave your house. I'm not trying to minimize the danger, but just because "Health Care Professionals" are trained in PPEs doesn't mean they PRACTICE them.
Is there a threat? Yes. Is it going to end life as we know it? No.
seems like you are correct...
"11 scientists from biosafety panel FIRED as CDC reveals bird flu breach"
http://www.georgianewsday.com/news/regional/263268-11-scientists-from-biosafety-panel-fired-as-cdc-reveals-bird-flu-breach.html?print
ProudGSMom
08-05-2014, 22:15
A man, having recently returned from West Africa was admitted through the emergency department with a fever and symptoms. But, no worries, it is "unlikely" he has Ebolaa.
That was more than 24 hours ago.
Supposedly, the test to confirm Ebola has a rapid return of 30 minutes, according to a report presented to Comgress in April. These test kits have been deployed to NG units in all 50 states.
So, why is it that after 24 hours there is no definitive answer?
Interestingly, when the announcement was made that this man was admitted, it was also said from the time he walked into the ER until he was in isolation was 7 minutes. Therefore, there is no 'realistic" risk to the public, staff or other patients who may have been in the ER
Most interesting, to me, has been the choice of words. The statements have continued to state it is "unlikely" this man has Ebola. Likewise, there is no "realistic" risk.
Unlikely, yes. It would be very unlikely for anyone to walk into a NYC hospital with Ebola. And, because it is "unlikely", there would be no "realistic" risk.
This does not mean it did not happen, nor does it mean he has not tested positive, nor does it mean that since the "unlikely" seems to have happened that the risk is not "realistic".
I like words and word games. I don't like when they are being played as a way to obfuscate the truth or create plausible deniability. From what was said, it can be later said that it was never denied, just that it was said to be "unlikely".
Bottom line, it is unlikely that more than 24 hours later, it is not known if this man has Ebola. If he did not, that would be announced. Instead, we are told it is "unlikely". But not to be concerned people, there is no "realistic" threat. Go back to watching the Kartrashians.
I can't decide if I should invest in Alcoa or P&G.
Fighting the Ebola outbreak is challenging enough in a country with state-of-the-art facilities and protocols. In West Africa the population density, lack of facilities, but most tragically the culture, fear, and ignorance of the general population exacerbates every solution. The cost associated to world organizations to fund this war is another factor that doesn't support a quick resolution. IMHO, the estimate of this taking "many months" to be stopped is extremely optimistic. The reported case in Saudi Arabia brings to mind the season for Hajj (early October 2014) and how well the world will react.
This is a long way from being over.
Ebola health worker: 'Sierra Leone is not able to deal with this outbreak'
http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/05/health/west-africa-ebola-outbreak/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
Atlanta (CNN) -- One of the countries hard hit by the Ebola outbreak in West Africa is not able to cope, a health worker said, calling on the international community to step up support.
Anja Wolz, emergency coordinator for Doctors Without Borders, spoke to CNN on Tuesday from an Ebola facility in Kailahun, Sierra Leone.
"I think that the government and the ministry of health here in Sierra Leone is not able to deal with this outbreak. We need much more help from international organizations -- as WHO, as CDC, as other organizations -- to come to support the government," Wolz said.
"Still we have unsafe burials; people who are doing the burial without disinfection of the body; still we have patients who are hiding themselves; still we have patients or contacts of patients who are running away because they are afraid."
The global concern over the spread of the virus has reached Saudi Arabia, where a man is in critical condition after recently returning from Sierra Leone.
The 40-year-old man has symptoms of a viral hemorrhagic fever, the Saudi Health Ministry said Tuesday. The source of his infection is unknown, but Ebola cannot be ruled out, the ministry said.
"This is the biggest and most complex Ebola outbreak in history," Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a statement.
"It will take many months, and it won't be easy, but Ebola can be stopped," he said. "We know what needs to be done."
The virus has already been confirmed outside of the three main countries.
A Nigerian doctor has been diagnosed with Ebola nearly three weeks after a Liberian-American man with Ebola died after traveling to Lagos, Nigerian officials said Monday.
Nigerian Minister of Health Onyebuchi Chukwu told reporters that the infected physician had been treating Patrick Sawyer, a top government official in the Liberian Ministry of Finance who died of Ebola in a Nigerian hospital July 20.
Eight other people are being quarantined and three are awaiting Ebola test results, the health minister said.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization reports an outbreak of the virus in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Nigeria is believed to have infected 1,603 people and killed more than 887 this year, as of Friday.
The United States is planning to send 50 health experts to West Africa to help contain the outbreak, which President Barack Obama addressed in remarks Tuesday, saying the citizens of the affected countries are in Americans' thoughts and prayers.
Frieden said the 50 experts from the CDC will work to combat the outbreak and help implement stronger systems to fight the disease.
The Ebola virus causes viral hemorrhagic fever, which affects multiple organ systems in the body and is often accompanied by bleeding.
Early symptoms include sudden onset of fever, weakness, muscle pain, headaches and a sore throat. They later progress to vomiting, diarrhea, impaired kidney and liver function -- and sometimes internal and external bleeding.
An Ebola patient had not been treated within U.S. borders until last week, but the CDC has spearheaded efforts to prepare for the deadly virus.
It helped create an isolation unit at Emory University Hospital, which is being used to treat American doctor Kent Brantly, who contracted Ebola in Liberia and was evacuated to the facility in Atlanta over the weekend.
A second American patient, Nancy Writebol, arrived from Liberia on Tuesday. She will undergo treatment at the same unit.
Emory is one of four U.S. institutions capable of providing such treatment.
But in the nations hardest-hit and not as prepared, the reality is grim. Even in the best-case scenario, it could take three to six months to stem the epidemic in West Africa, Frieden said.
Ebola spreads through contact with organs and bodily fluids such as blood, saliva, urine and other secretions of infected people. It has no cure. The most common treatment requires supporting organ functions and maintaining bodily fluids such as blood and water long enough for the body to fight off the infection.
Ebola also claimed the life of a medical director at a hospital in Liberia's capital, Monrovia. Dr. Patrick Nshamdze tested positive Tuesday after being sick for two weeks. He died Saturday.
In Sierra Leone, where government officials have asked citizens to stay away from work, the military has deployed at least 750 medical officials to 13 locations, military spokesman Col. Michael Samura said.
Health officials are screening incoming and outgoing passengers at the country's main international airport with a device that takes people's temperature from their eyes at a distance.
People showing signs of fever are quarantined and their blood is tested.
On Tuesday, Liberia responded to British Airways' decision to suspend service to Monrovia because of the outbreak.
"The government of Liberia regrets that British Airways has suspended flights to and from Liberia until the end of August. However, we fully understand that international airlines must keep the safety of customers and crew as their highest priority," it said.
"We will continue to work around the clock with our international partners to ensure all our key international ports of entry are secure from any transfer of Ebola, both incoming or outgoing."
ProudGSMom I can't decide if I should invest in Alcoa or P&G.
Not an easy decision, is it?
A man, having recently returned from West Africa was admitted through the emergency department with a fever and symptoms. But, no worries, it is "unlikely" he has Ebolaa.
That was more than 24 hours ago.
Supposedly, the test to confirm Ebola has a rapid return of 30 minutes, according to a report presented to Comgress in April. These test kits have been deployed to NG units in all 50 states.
So, why is it that after 24 hours there is no definitive answer?
Interestingly, when the announcement was made that this man was admitted, it was also said from the time he walked into the ER until he was in isolation was 7 minutes. Therefore, there is no 'realistic" risk to the public, staff or other patients who may have been in the ER
Most interesting, to me, has been the choice of words. The statements have continued to state it is "unlikely" this man has Ebola. Likewise, there is no "realistic" risk.
Unlikely, yes. It would be very unlikely for anyone to walk into a NYC hospital with Ebola. And, because it is "unlikely", there would be no "realistic" risk.
This does not mean it did not happen, nor does it mean he has not tested positive, nor does it mean that since the "unlikely" seems to have happened that the risk is not "realistic".
I like words and word games. I don't like when they are being played as a way to obfuscate the truth or create plausible deniability. From what was said, it can be later said that it was never denied, just that it was said to be "unlikely".
Bottom line, it is unlikely that more than 24 hours later, it is not known if this man has Ebola. If he did not, that would be announced. Instead, we are told it is "unlikely". But not to be concerned people, there is no "realistic" threat. Go back to watching the Kartrashians.
I can't decide if I should invest in Alcoa or P&G.FWIW, <<LINK (http://online.wsj.com/articles/mt-sinai-hospital-in-new-york-city-tests-patient-for-ebola-1407187730)>>NY REGION
Ebola Virus: Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City Tests Patient
Male Patient, Who Has Ebola-Like Symptoms and Returned From West Africa, Has Been Placed in Isolation
By WILL HUNTSBERRY
Updated Aug. 5, 2014 7:18 a.m. ET
A male patient who recently returned from West Africa with symptoms consistent with the Ebola virus is being tested for the disease at Mount Sinai hospital in New York City, where he was admitted early on Monday morning, officials said. WSJ's Dipti Kapadia reports.
A man who recently returned from West Africa with symptoms consistent with the Ebola virus is being tested for the disease in New York City, where he was admitted to a hospital early on Monday morning, officials said.
A blood sample was being sent Monday to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, where it will take 24 to 48 hours to determine if he has the disease, officials said.
The man presented at Mount Sinai Hospital with a high fever and gastrointestinal problems, officials said. Authorities wouldn't identify the man or the country he had been to and the reasons for his visit.
A hospital spokeswoman said: "All necessary steps are being taken to ensure the safety of all patients, visitors and staff."
The city's health department said in a statement, "After consultation with CDC and Mount Sinai, the Health Department has concluded that the patient is unlikely to have Ebola. Specimens are being tested for common causes of illness and to definitively exclude Ebola."
Ebola is spread through close contact with bodily fluids, not casual contacts, officials said.
More than 700 people have been killed by Ebola in West African countries including Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone in recent weeks, according to the World Health Organization. Symptoms include fever, fatigue and diarrhea.
Ross Wilson, the chief medical officer for the city's Health and Hospital Corp., said people would be less likely to die from the disease in the U.S. than rural West Africa, because of treatments like breathing machines and anticlotting medication.
"The ability to survive Ebola is based on the level of life support that can be offered while it's attacking various organs," Dr. Wilson said.
Mt. Sinai Hospital had begun planning for potential Ebola cases over the weekend.
Last week, a different male patient came back from West Africa with Ebola-like symptoms, according to Ian Michaels, a spokesman for the Health and Hospitals Corp. He arrived at Kennedy International Airport last Wednesday and had the sudden onset of symptoms, which included a high fever and headache.
He was admitted to Bellevue Hospital Center, where he was immediately placed in isolation and tested for the virus. Doctors were able to rule out Ebola before the test results came back, because the patient experienced a quick recovery, inconsistent with the virus, according to Mr. Michaels.
The CDC outlines its testing options for Ebola here (http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/diagnosis/index.html). A CDC FAQ on Ebola dated 1 Aug 14 is available there (http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/pdf/ebola-qa.pdf).
IRT to the testing capabilities of NG units, Carmen J. Spencer, joint program executive officer for chemical and biological defense, clearly stated on 8 April 2014 the following (http://docs.house.gov/meetings/AS/AS26/20140408/102001/HHRG-113-AS26-Wstate-SpencerC-20140408.pdf) (emphasis added).By partnering with the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command and the Food and Drug Administration, we have made accessible additional diagnostic assays for high consequence, low probability biological threat agents for use during declared public health emergencies.
It's getting worser and worser. Nearly 1,000 dead (that we know of) and ~ 1,800 reported cases (meaning at least another 900 dying). The health care systems in these countries is not able to manage such an outbreak, but is especially ill equipped to manage the panic that goes along with it.
Ebola virus: Liberia health system 'falling apart'
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-28731633
The charity Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) has told the BBC that Liberia's medical services have been completely overwhelmed by the Ebola outbreak.
The MSF co-ordinator in Liberia said official figures were "under-representing the reality", and that the health system was "falling apart".
Nearly 1,000 people have died and 1,800 have become infected in West Africa.
Meanwhile, neighbouring Guinea has denied earlier reports that it had sealed its borders.
On Saturday Liberian police broke up a protest against the government's response.
The Ebola outbreak - the worst ever - is centred on Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, but has spread to other countries in recent months.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday that the virus was a global health emergency.
The MSF co-ordinator for Liberia, Lindis Hurum, told the BBC: "Our capacity is stretched beyond anything that we ever done before in regards to ebola response."
She said five of the biggest hospitals in the capital Monrovia had closed for more than a week.
"Some of them have now started to re-open but there are other hospitals in other counties that are just abandoned by the staff.
"We are definitely seeing the whole health care system that is falling apart."
(Cont.)
This is just a curious question to those doctors here. No one knows about insect vectors (like mosquitoes, ticks, etc.); but my question is about flies. There are many bodies of Ebola victims lying in the streets of Monrovia. These bodies are decomposing as others walk by them. We all know how flies love things like vomit, blood, feces. (That's why I hate friggin' flies.) What if one of those nasty little suckers decided to "chow down" and then landed on other people - or food?
Apparently only a few viral RNA strands of this strain are necessary (according to what I have read about this new (?) strain) for contamination to take place. No, I am not trying to be an alarmist. I would just like to know.
This is just a curious question to those doctors here. No one knows about insect vectors (like mosquitoes, ticks, etc.); but my question is about flies. There are many bodies of Ebola victims lying in the streets of Monrovia. These bodies are decomposing as others walk by them. We all know how flies love things like vomit, blood, feces. (That's why I hate friggin' flies.) What if one of those nasty little suckers decided to "chow down" and then landed on other people - or food?
Apparently only a few viral RNA strands of this strain are necessary (according to what I have read about this new (?) strain) for contamination to take place. No, I am not trying to be an alarmist. I would just like to know.
I reckon that's a really good question, and I'm no doctor/virologist/epidemiologist, just an interested amateur.
I've read the ebola virus is "non enveloped" unlike many others like the common fly virus, which makes transmission harder.
But I'm thinking there is a big difference between 1 or 10 bodies lying around in the heat and humidity than 100 or 1000.
Good point about flies though. I had a discussion with a fellow soldier recently about how Rommel's Afrika Korps' reportedly poor hygiene practices(just taking random dumps over the next sand dune) helped lead to public health problems amongst soldiers(flies were a big problem) sapping operational strength and impacting on their campaign.
Containment of this will be like solving the problem of world peace. This thing stalks the poor and hapless with gay abandon. It's not going away by itself. Bet it's still with us a year from now but with a different priority.
Ebola spread fears rise as clinic looted, Liberian officials say
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2014/08/17/liberia-expands-ebola-treatment-centers-as-more-airlines-halt-flights-to/?intcmp=latestnews
MONROVIA, Liberia – Liberian officials fear Ebola could soon spread through the capital's largest slum after residents raided a quarantine center for suspected patients and took items including blood-stained sheets and mattresses.
The violence in the West Point slum occurred late Saturday and was led by residents angry that patients were brought to the holding center from other parts of Monrovia, Tolbert Nyenswah, assistant health minister, said Sunday.
Up to 30 patients were staying at the center and many of them fled at the time of the raid, said Nyenswah. Once they are located they will be transferred to the Ebola center at Monrovia's largest hospital, he said.
West Point residents went on a "looting spree," stealing items from the clinic that were likely infected, said a senior police official, who insisted on anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the press. The residents took medical equipment and mattresses and sheets that had bloodstains, he said.
"All between the houses you could see people fleeing with items looted from the patients," the official said, adding that he now feared "the whole of West Point will be infected."
Some of the looted items were visibly stained with blood, vomit and excrement, said Richard Kieh, who lives in the area.
(Cont.)
Looting bedsheets of victims spattered with blood, vomit, and shit is probably not the best containment strategy.
There are also reports that as many as 37 Ebola patients escaped or were forcibly removed from the clinic in Monrovia when the stained and contaminated bed linens were looted. Stand by to stand by.
Liberia creates ‘plague villages’ with Ebola quarantines
http://nypost.com/2014/08/18/liberia-creates-plague-villages-with-ebola-quarantines/
To try to control the Ebola epidemic spreading through West Africa, Liberia has quarantined remote villages at the epicenter of the virus, evoking the “plague villages” of medieval Europe that were shut off
With few food and medical supplies getting in, many abandoned villagers face a stark choice: Stay where they are and risk death or skip quarantine, spreading the infection further in a country ill-equipped to cope.
In Boya, in northern Liberia’s Lofa county, Joseph Gbembo, who caught Ebola and survived, says he is struggling to raise 10 children under 5 years old and support five widows after nine members of his family were killed by the virus.
Fearful of catching Ebola themselves, the 30-year-old’s neighbors refuse to speak with him and blame him for bringing the virus to the village.
“I am lonely,” he said. “Nobody will talk to me and people run away from me.” He says he has received no food or health care for the children and no help from government officials.
Aid workers say that if support does not arrive soon, locals in villages like Boya, where the undergrowth is already spreading among the houses, will simply disappear down jungle footpaths.
“If sufficient medication, food and water are not in place, the community will force their way out to fetch food and this could lead to further spread of the virus,” said Tarnue Karbbar, a worker for charity Plan International based in Lofa county.
Ebola has killed at least 1,145 people in four African nations, but in the week through Aug. 13, Lofa county recorded more new cases than anywhere else — 124 new cases of Ebola and 60 deaths.
The World Health Organization and Liberian officials have warned that, with little access by health care workers to the remote areas hidden deep in rugged jungle zones, the actual toll may be far higher.
(Cont.)
ProudGSMom
08-19-2014, 17:55
I'm not fishing for compliments - or asking for a kick in the teeth - but I respect the opinions here. I've done my best to be both factual and realistic, but I'm afraid it still smacks of alarmist tin-foil-hat-brigade.
http://www.chicagonow.com/uncommon-sense/2014/08/ebola-is-on-the-loose-08192014/
I'm not fishing for compliments - or asking for a kick in the teeth - but I respect the opinions here. I've done my best to be both factual and realistic, but I'm afraid it still smacks of alarmist tin-foil-hat-brigade.
http://www.chicagonow.com/uncommon-sense/2014/08/ebola-is-on-the-loose-08192014/
Yes, Mam, I'm no fan of the tin hat bunch either. I guess one of my many weaknesses is that I generally feel better when things are under some kind of control. Or if I can see that there's someone with a plan for getting them under control. IMO the Ebola thing isn't under control and there doesn't appear to be anyone in town or on the horizon that's willing to risk whatever it will take to change that. Can I or anybody here do anything about it? No.
Maybe I just worry for no reason. I'd like to trust fate more. I'd like to trust people more. What was it Reagan said? "Trust but verify." I just can't see a way to verify anything positive about the news coming out of west Africa. JMHO, Mam.
Tin hat? Size 7 3/8, please.
Trapper John
08-20-2014, 13:41
IMO the Ebola thing isn't under control and there doesn't appear to be anyone in town or on the horizon that's willing to risk whatever it will take to change that. Can I or anybody here do anything about it? No.
Wrong on both counts Larry. ;)
mark46th
08-20-2014, 14:16
Yeah, I don't see it popping up all over sub-Saharan Africa. I would be looking for the bad guys who stole bedding, etc. A small piece of a contaminated sheet in a local water source could make a lot of people sick...
Some good news. Not often you hear about “good news” in the same discussion as “Ebola”.
Samaritan’s Purse Doctor Recovered from Ebola
http://www.samaritanspurse.org/article/samaritans-purse-doctor-recovered-from-ebola/?utm_source=SPFacebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=m_Y000-SOCM_SocialMedia
Dr. Kent Brantly, the Samaritan’s Purse doctor who contracted Ebola while caring for patients in Liberia, will be released from Emory University Hospital in Atlanta today after completing his recovery from the deadly virus.
“Today I join all of our Samaritan’s Purse team around the world in giving thanks to God as we celebrate Dr. Kent Brantly’s recovery from Ebola and release from the hospital,” Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham said in a statement. “Over the past few weeks I have marveled at Dr. Brantly’s courageous spirit as he has fought this horrible virus with the help of the highly competent and caring staff at Emory University Hospital. His faithfulness to God and compassion for the people of Africa have been an example to us all.”
Dr. Brantly survived the virus that typically causes massive internal bleeding and has a mortality rate of 60 to 90 percent in most situations. The current outbreak of Ebola has claimed more than 1,350 lives in the west African countries of Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.
(Cont.)
ProudGSMom
08-21-2014, 07:32
But, some research has indicated Ebola may still be found in breast milk for up to two months and semen for over three months after all other signs of infection are clear. I'm assuming Emory has tested, uhm, all of his body fluids.
I'd hate for him to infect his wife while celebrating his recovery. Maybe she should just go in Enfamil for a while ;)
But, some research has indicated Ebola may still be found in breast milk for up to two months and semen for over three months after all other signs of infection are clear. I'm assuming Emory has tested, uhm, all of his body fluids.
I'd hate for him to infect his wife while celebrating his recovery. Maybe she should just go in Enfamil for a while ;)
Exactly!
Imagine the challenge in monitoring the follow-up condition of a person recovering from Ebola in a place like Liberia. IMO it’d be impossible. You’d have to hold the patient for 60+ days after they have been declared to be “Ebola free” before turning them loose. How hard would that be?
“Trust but verify” will demand a lot more of a commitment in recovery than it did in fighting the outbreak.
We ain’t heard the last of this. It ain't over 'til it's over, and it ain't over.
Exactly!
Imagine the challenge in monitoring the follow-up condition of a person recovering from Ebola in a place like Liberia. IMO it’d be impossible. You’d have to hold the patient for 60+ days after they have been declared to be “Ebola free” before turning them loose. How hard would that be?
They've effectively conceded defeat in West Africa. The military have cut road/rail/air communication around the affected region, establishing the first cordon sanitaire since 1918. There are still local quarantine zones being established within the cordon, like West Point in Liberia, but no one expects them to succeed anymore. The public health wonks will hold their collective breaths while the disease hopefully burns itself out without spreading any further. Good luck with that.
<snip> Ebola’s fatality rate in the current outbreak is slightly over 50% — with 2,473 cases and 1,350 deaths — and previous outbreaks have hovered up to 90%. So it may seem hard to understand how someone can survive the disease, which attacks people’s organs and thins blood vessels. But the physicians at Emory University Hospital, where the American patients were treated, tell TIME that even though Ebola’s death rates are frankly terrifying, it’s key to remember that those are in countries — Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone — with comparatively weak health care systems. Multiple patients are kept together in a single space and health care workers have neither enough protective equipment nor resources to provide the supportive care that patients need — like isolation, clean linens and replenished fluids and electrolytes.
Still, some people in the U.S. and elsewhere manage to survive the deadly disease.
There’s no cure or treatment for Ebola, but some drugs are being tested. That includes ZMapp, which Brantly and Nancy Writebol received in Liberia. But, their physicians say since they were the first human patients to get the drug, there’s no way to tell what impact it had.
Experimental drugs aside, what doctors can provide Ebola patients is supportive care, like monitoring their heart rate, blood pressure and breathing, as well as replenishing fluids, which can help keep the body as stable as possible so it can fight the virus. (A lack of protective equipment and high demand make this type of care difficult in some of the hardest-hit areas of the outbreak.)
When a person is infected with a virus, their immune system starts to create antibodies to attack it. If the person is strong enough and their body sustains that strength long enough, their immune system can eventually neutralize and clear the virus on its own. Ebola can be detected through blood tests, the results of which only take a day or two to get back. The doctors at Emory said they were able to determine through both blood- and urine-diagnostic tests — and with the help of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — that the virus was no longer in the patients’ systems and that they were both symptomless for at least two or three days.
(Cont'd) http://time.com/?xid=newsletter-brief#3154277/ebola-virus-health-africa/
And so it goes...
Richard
The Reaper
08-22-2014, 10:30
Again, not a medic, but asymptomatic, and non-infectious are two different things entirely.
If they screw this up, the results are going to be significant.
TR
Monsoon65
08-23-2014, 19:07
Every since I read that book, Ebola has scared the crap out of me. Sounds like a nasty way to go.
They mentioned a doc that was working with Ebola patients in Africa. Seems that some nuns were vaccinating people with the same needle, spreading the disease around.
While he was treating them, he noticed he had torn his suit. Dude checks it out, says, "Screw it, I'm dead", takes it off and continues treating. He lived.
The Reaper
08-24-2014, 11:56
Given what seems to be the incredible character of this doctor and also his probably being knowledgeable himself about Ebola having been a doctor treating people with it, I am assuming that he probably is safe to be out and about. If he felt there was any risk he could still have it in him and could spread it, I think he would refuse to have come out in public yet. It isn't like say Joe Blow having caught it.
There are some big assumptions, and a huge risk, in that statement.
I am sure Typhoid Mary thought she was low/no-risk as well.
TR
There are some big assumptions, and a huge risk, in that statement.
I am sure Typhoid Mary thought she was low/no-risk as well.
TR
Interesting that Typhoid Mary had a sit down with Dr.'s who explained to her what she was doing. She didn't believe them, kept changing her name, moving around and getting new jobs as a cook. She never could make that "Gee, everywhere I start cooking people start dying" connection.
The Reaper
08-24-2014, 19:30
Had to Google her, but she was not a medical doctor, and had to be forcibly isolated. I get what you are saying about assumptions, but if the doctor thought there was any chance he might infect people, I would think, judging from what we know of him, that he would not willingly go out into the public yet.
In this instance, I hope you are right.
TR
I wonder if any of those 160,000 hazmat suits are ear marked for staying here in the U.S.?
State Department orders 5,000 BODY BAGS and 160,000 hazmat suits for African Ebola outbreak
*State Department orders 5,000 BODY BAGS and 160,000 hazmat suits for African Ebola outbreak as Obama sends 100 CDC experts
*Two government contracts were completed this month, sending 5,000 cadaver bags to Liberia
*The State Department's U.S. Agency for International Development spent more than $89,000 to buy the bags and fly them to Liberia
*World Health Organization says 2,400 Africans have died as the deadly virus travels through Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and other nations
*President Obama will travel to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday to announce new U.S. commitments to help
*CDC warns about US impact and sends 100 personnel to Africa; Obama government has allocated more than $100 million in resources
The U.S. Agency for International Development ordered 5,000 body bags from a Florida company last month as part of its planned response to an outbreak of the Ebola virus in western Africa.
And as President Obama prepares to enlarge America's aid to affected countries, a company that makes protective clothing says the State Department, which oversees USAID, has invited bids for 160,000 hazmat suits.
The body-bag purchase came on August 19, just after the World Health Organization said the epidemic had killed 1,000 people. That death toll is now greater than 2,400.
The size of the contracts indicates how seriously governments are taking the threat, especially considering that all 5,000 body bags were destined only for Liberia – one of three countries whose citizens have been hammered with new disease cases and paralyzed with fear.
And the purchase says nothing about what resources might be coming as part of other nations' contributions.
Barack Obama will travel to Atlanta on Tuesday for a briefing with experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. His chief spokesman said Monday that the president will announce new levels of support from the U.S. to fight the disease.
The CDC has begun to warn health care workers and hospital administrators to be on the lookout for potential Ebola cases. 'Now is the time to prepare,' reads part of a six-page 'checklist' being distributed nationwide.
The agency has already deployed about 100 of its own workers to Africa, White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters during his daily briefing.
'This is, if not the largest, among the largest deployments of CDC personnel – ever,' he said.
America, Earnest added, 'has a unique responsibility to step up in the midst of an international crisis. ... Our doctors and scientists are some of the best in the world.'
The federal government as a whole has allocated $100 million in financing and other resources to assist what has become a continent-wide race against the clock to stamp out a crafty pathogen before it can spread beyond hope of containment.
<snip>
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2756832/State-Department-orders-5-000-BODY-BAGS-160-000-hazmat-suits-African-Ebola-outbreak-Obama-sends-100-CDC-experts.html
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/09/16/president-obama-announces-plan-for-ebola/
So, basically, DOD is going to be a uniformed version of AID. Great. We can't warfight, but we can send 3000 soldiers to be a high speed "doctors without borders".
What a tool our president is.
The Reaper
09-16-2014, 17:17
Some say it is a good thing to do because otherwise it could destroy West Africa and also there is the very slight chance that it could mutate into a form that becomes more easily spread, and if so, we want to keep in contained in Africa and not get out.
Great, now we can spread it to our own country.
Brilliant! :rolleyes:
TR
Great, now we can spread it to our own country.
Brilliant! :rolleyes:
TR
It worked in 1918.
Pat
The Reaper
09-16-2014, 17:32
Well I would assume the soldiers have special training and equipment for dealing with this.
A: No, they don't.
Should we just let the disease continue to get more and more out-of-control in West Africa?
A: Yes. The current situation is NOT our problem.
Better to start getting it under control now I would think, then have it maybe mutate and then make its way here.
A: Just how do you think we are going to "get in under control." This is another sinkhole. "Maybe mutate?" How about the only way to catch it now is directly from contact with someone who has it. How to control it? Perhaps we should be playing keep away. Quarantine is used because it works.
TR
Well I would assume the soldiers have special training and equipment for dealing with this. Should we just let the disease continue to get more and more out-of-control in West Africa? Better to start getting it under control now I would think, then have it maybe mutate and then make its way here.
Your fears, or perhaps concerns, seem a bit discordant. You are concerned about nuclear power, which is a threat that you can easily avoid, but you are not concerned about the spread of a disease that is transmitted human to human and thus far more difficult to avoid.
Pat
The Reaper
09-16-2014, 18:05
What if it gets into our country via a flight somehow, or maybe to a European country and then into our country? To get it under control, I would imagine you treat and quarantine and care for those infected, and thus reduce the spread of the disease, and thus it dies out easier. I agree that the way to get it is if someone has it, but it will be more difficult to control the more people that get it. Also, what happens if it does mutate and then the numbers of people getting it go up exponentially? It probably would be unrealistic to think it would stay in Africa forever.
How does putting 3,000 American soldiers on the ground in the hot zone where they CAN contact people with ebola help, exactly?
They are not going to cure it. How do you ensure they are infection free when they redeploy?
I would think that it would be much safer to take a chance on the possibility of it mutating than to put our people in direct contact now.
TR
I am very concerned about the spread of ebola, hence why I think it is important to try to address it now.
What was the primary vector for the 1918 Flu Pandemic? Returning soldiers from Europe.
Pat
Well I would assume the soldiers have special training and equipment for dealing with this. Should we just let the disease continue to get more and more out-of-control in West Africa? Better to start getting it under control now I would think, then have it maybe mutate and then make its way here.
Do you not understand the hypocrisy of "no boots on the ground" in Syria but putting 3000 on the ground in Africa? Soldiers are for breaking things and killing people, not for social programs in Africa. He wants to do that, send USAID and/or the Peace corp
NurseTim
09-16-2014, 19:15
I heard on the radio this morning that Ebola is expected to double every 3 months. That really does not sound good.
Infuriating. How are 3000 American troops going to cure West African ignorance, superstition, and corruption? More PC BS.
The Reaper
09-16-2014, 19:40
Peace Corps and USAID probably do not have the training to properly handle something like Ebola in that sense.
Please use your vast military knowledge and experience to elaborate on what training you think they will have to render them immune to ebola?
TR
Putting soldiers into Syria though could probably get them killed a lot more easily than being sent to West Africa (or at least that is how the thinking goes, I imagine some would rather be sent into combat than around Ebola). I wouldn't say though that this is just a social program, it is a program in which the United States has a national security interest. It isn't like the military is being sent in to just build huts or something for the sake of it. Peace Corps and USAID probably do not have the training to properly handle something like Ebola in that sense.
Many of your posts make those 3000 personnel sound expendable...to which they are not. They are being sent there based on a "possibility" or "what if" scenario. That doesn't necessitate sending 3000 military personnel over there simply because our government feels they can if they call it a "national security incident."
I take Ebola as serious as you do. But, sending our troops over there to try to fix their issue isn't the answer.
Totentanz
09-16-2014, 19:55
Infuriating. How are 3000 American troops going to cure West African ignorance, superstition, and corruption? More PC BS.
It's this administration's response to "OMG, do something!"
I want to make it very clear that I do not see those 3,000 soldiers as expendable. My assumption was that the government and military had the knowledge to send them there safely. According to TR though, this is not the case.
I suspected that you didn't actually think they were expendable, it simply sounded that way. :) However, even if our military had that capability...we still don't need to be there.
The only Ebola issues that we have had here were the ones we brought here. Currently, Ebola isn't a threat to our national security...nor is it a situation that deserves having 3,000 of our personnel being sent there to "possibly" contract the virus and either die there or be forbidden from returning to the US.
Personally, I would think some form of effort/investment to keep such a nasty threat at arms length make sense if it could help mitigate it from reaching home.
But I would be a bit worried about an effort that includes a significant and costly dog and pony show component to appear to be doing something, rather than actually achieving something.
I'm thinking at the very least it represents a real world/real time example for some specialised folks in/out of uniform to conduct some big picture planning considerations in the background while OGAs/NGOs handle the workload.
I do wonder if there's a risk that harsher measures(like creating "viral firebreak" equivalents to out of control forest fires) that may be necessary are deemed politically unpalatable under the mass media spotlight?
I wonder how quickly NEO training scenarios will be adapted to include a pandemic aspect?
ProudGSMom
09-16-2014, 20:13
Putting soldiers into Syria though could probably get them killed a lot more easily than being sent to West Africa (or at least that is how the thinking goes, I imagine some would rather be sent into combat than around Ebola). I wouldn't say though that this is just a social program, it is a program in which the United States has a national security interest. It isn't like the military is being sent in to just build huts or something for the sake of it. Peace Corps and USAID probably do not have the training to properly handle something like Ebola in that sense.
This is the Bergdahl Brigade mentality, in my opinion. Our troops are not the Peace Corp with guns.
Everyone I know would rather go to Syria, Iraq or Afghanistan. If you 'get it' there, your chances of survival are higher. And you'd be shooting at bad guys, not scared, superstitious, potentially infected civilians. Then again, the same ROE would probably apply and our troops would be told to take them into protective custody, Ebola and all.
As harsh as it sounds the only use I can see for troops, any troops not just ours, is to enforce a quarantine, with extreme long range and very lethal measures. Sadly, the area that would have to be included is a large part of the continent.
For weeks, Doctors Without Borders and others have said this is going to get very, very bad before it gets better. So far, nothing has worked. 3000 troops will do nothing but create more victims and facilitate the spread to this continent. Unless they quarantine those 3000 on a ship, then hold the ship at sea for an additional 30 days to insure no one was a carrier who then infected someone already on the ship. Do you really think our government will take those extreme precautions?
Because some in our government may know what to do does not mean that the actions of our government will align with that knowledge.
Putting soldiers into Syria though could probably get them killed a lot more easily than being sent to West Africa (or at least that is how the thinking goes, I imagine some would rather be sent into combat than around Ebola). I wouldn't say though that this is just a social program, it is a program in which the United States has a national security interest. It isn't like the military is being sent in to just build huts or something for the sake of it. Peace Corps and USAID probably do not have the training to properly handle something like Ebola in that sense.
Syria is just the current bright, shiny object. What part of "soldiers are for breaking things and killing people" did you not get?
Old Dog New Trick
09-16-2014, 21:46
This is a horrible and ill conceived idea from the current people in government that brought you failed states in Libya, Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Mali, Sudan, Ukraine, soon to be Afghanistan and places in Southeast Asia that China is exploiting by the numbers, while the Middle East burns!
If the DOS, CIA and DOD couldn't protect an Ambassador and three contractors from an ambush on a consulate with known threats against it. What makes you think those agencies and the CDC, UNHCR can provide force protection and anti-stupidity to 3000 medical, engineer and support soldiers while combatting a deadly outbreak of a virus with no known cure.
If you get it, you either die or survive it! (The treatment if available is "EXPERIMENTAL" and in short supply!)
While "nobel" and providing world class leadership this operation is doomed and will lead to untold complications for hundreds if not thousands of these deployed soldiers, their families, and the VA down the road from now.
Someone will contract something they didn't want to bring back home!
BTW: I hope they kill and trash the hell out of Boko Haram while on this misguided tour of Western Africa!
"See the shiny ball! Keep watching the shiny ball!"
Old Dog New Trick
09-16-2014, 22:10
Soldiers, Marines, Sailors and Airmen, do stupid things with their dicks while away from home and without constant adult supervision. It's a fact of life!
They may not get Ebola, but they will get something for less than an MRE pack of Skittles.
I guarantee it!
I do get that Sir, however I had thought that soldiers also could be used for other things too, just that destroying enemies is their main job. For example, how the U.S. has provided help throughout the world when natural disasters have occurred.
Amigo, you are starting to sound like a troll.
Pat
Old Dog New Trick
09-16-2014, 22:19
I do get that Sir, however I had thought that soldiers also could be used for other things too, just that destroying enemies is their main job. For example, how the U.S. has provided help throughout the world when natural disasters have occurred.
This is different! (Or, at least I hope it is.)
I don't know the make up of the force yet, but it sounded like medical and horizontal engineers with their collective support units. And also probably a small security force which may or may not be armed with much more than light personal weapons.
Don't be surprised if no US troops have guns or ammo on this "Humanitarian Mission."
Don't be surprised if no US troops have guns or ammo on this "Humanitarian Mission."
:eek::eek:
(Got it. OK, sure, but add one or two Apache Brigades for logistic support.)
Amigo, you are starting to sound like a troll.
I am not trolling.
Troll...
Trapper John
09-19-2014, 08:57
This is the Bergdahl Brigade mentality, in my opinion. Our troops are not the Peace Corp with guns.
Everyone I know would rather go to Syria, Iraq or Afghanistan. If you 'get it' there, your chances of survival are higher. And you'd be shooting at bad guys, not scared, superstitious, potentially infected civilians. Then again, the same ROE would probably apply and our troops would be told to take them into protective custody, Ebola and all.
As harsh as it sounds the only use I can see for troops, any troops not just ours, is to enforce a quarantine, with extreme long range and very lethal measures. Sadly, the area that would have to be included is a large part of the continent.
For weeks, Doctors Without Borders and others have said this is going to get very, very bad before it gets better. So far, nothing has worked. 3000 troops will do nothing but create more victims and facilitate the spread to this continent. Unless they quarantine those 3000 on a ship, then hold the ship at sea for an additional 30 days to insure no one was a carrier who then infected someone already on the ship. Do you really think our government will take those extreme precautions?
Because some in our government may know what to do does not mean that the actions of our government will align with that knowledge.
Well said! :lifter
ODT: BTW: I hope they kill and trash the hell out of Boko Haram while on this misguided tour of Western Africa!
I thought the same thing, but learned from an expert and most recently a member of the "country team" that Boko Haram operates almost exclusively in the northern regions and is hated by the tribes in the southern region which is the current AO of concern for EBOLA. It's unlikely that the troops that are being sent in will encounter Boko Haram.
Anybody ever see this flash or hear of FEST?
We medics did. Although FEST was no longer around, this sort of medical surveying was still on-going during my time in SF with teams deploying on MTTs to areas in LA, Africa, SWA, and SEA as many of us with a 91B4S PMOS also had a 91S4P SMOS and dealt with such add'l mission taskings.
One reason we used to have SF Medics in support cycle manning the ER and certain clinics at Womack Army Hospital was to use that expeience to help the medical staff there recognize the signs and symptoms of those exotic diseases afflicting personnel who had been on MTTs to such regions.
Have things really changed so much we no longer do such things? :confused:
Richard
The U.S. Army Special Forces — Walter Reed Army Institute of Research Field Epidemiological Survey Team (Airborne)
http://www.jsomonline.org/Publications/2009254Dorogi.pdf
Richard:
The corporate knowledge atrophies and all the tough lessons have to be re-learned every few years. That's been my experience, sir, and I can't defend it as to why, neither do I have any solution (other than re-teach the dunder-heads). There was a time in our military when before an operation was executed leaders were apt to look up the experienced guy and ask a few stupid questions, thereby mitigating some of the risk in making stupid mistakes. They didn't always do that, but the good leaders did. JMHO...
Trapper John
09-19-2014, 12:16
Anybody ever see this flash or hear of FEST?
We medics did. Although FEST was no longer around, this sort of medical surveying was still on-going during my time in SF with teams deploying on MTTs to areas in LA, Africa, SWA, and SEA as many of us with a 91B4S PMOS also had a 91S4P SMOS and dealt with such add'l mission taskings.
One reason we used to have SF Medics in support cycle manning the ER and certain clinics at Womack Army Hospital was to use that expeience to help the medical staff there recognize the signs and symptoms of those exotic diseases afflicting personnel who had been on MTTs to such regions.
Have things really changed so much we no longer do such things? :confused:
Richard
The U.S. Army Special Forces — Walter Reed Army Institute of Research Field Epidemiological Survey Team (Airborne)
http://www.jsomonline.org/Publications/2009254Dorogi.pdf
That post should be worth a couple hundred cross-thread points with Post #7 in the "Ebola outbreak: Health team found dead in Guinea". :D
:munchin
North Texas Hospital Evaluating Patient For Potential Ebola Exposure
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – A North Texas hospital has a patient in isolation as they evaluate them for potential exposure to the Ebola virus.
Officials with Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas released the following statement Monday night:
“Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas has admitted a patient into strict isolation to be evaluated for potential Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) based on the patient’s symptoms and recent travel history. The hospital is following all Centers for Disease Control and Texas Department of Heath recommendations to ensure the safety of patients, hospital staff, volunteers, physicians and visitors. The CDC anticipates preliminary results tomorrow.”
It is unclear what specific symptoms the patient has or what the patient’s travel history was.
CBS 11 News spoke with Dallas County Health and Human Services Director Zachary Thompson who confirmed the patient had been in an area where the Ebola virus exists. “Looking at the travel history is the first indicator and then the next step is [treatment or non-treatment] once we get lab results,” he said.
Thompson definitely felt that there should be a heightened sense of awareness in North Texas, based on what has happened internationally. “With what we’ve seen in the media and how deadly the Ebola virus is, it is a concern.”
Thompson stressed that there are certain procedures that will be followed if tests for the ptient come back positive. “We [health professionals] all had been planning to look at what our next steps are if there is a confirmed case. Again, we have to do the public health follow up, to see what contacts… where this individual has gone since they arrived here in Dallas. There are a number of things that have to be looked at.”
As far as possible infection to others here in North Texas Thompson said, “The key point is, if there’s been no transmission, blood, secretion, any type of bodily fluids by the infected person to someone else, then that risk is low to none.”
The Ebola virus has killed more than 3,000 people across West Africa and infected several Americans who have traveled to the region, including Fort Worth Doctor Kent Brantly who contracted the disease while doing missionary work in Liberia.
http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2014/09/29/north-texas-hospital-evaluating-patient-for-potential-ebola-exposure/
... follow up to my previous post ...
First Ebola Case in U.S., But CDC Vows 'We Will Stop It Here'
The first Ebola case has been diagnosed in the United States, but a top health official said there is "no doubt... we will stop it here."
Dr. Tom Frieden, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the patient left Liberia on Sept 10 and arrived in the U.S. on Sept. 20. The patient sought medical help on Sept. 27 and was put in isolation on Sept. 28, Frieden said.
Tests confirming the Ebola diagnosis came back today.
Frieden stressed that the patient was not sick on departure from Liberia or upon arrival in the U.S. and the disease can only be contracted by someone exhibiting symptoms of the disease.
Frieden said he was confident there would not be an Ebola outbreak in the U.S.
"There is no doubt in my mind we will stop it here," he said.
Although American Ebola patients have been treated in the United States prior to this diagnosis, they all contracted Ebola in West Africa. Ebola has killed 2,917 people and infected 3,346 others since the outbreak began in March.
The patient arrived at the Dallas hospital Sunday with possible Ebola symptoms "days" after returning from West Africa, according to the Texas state health department. The patient was placed in isolation until the CDC could confirm the diagnosis.
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/ebola-case-diagnosed-us-confirmed-cdc/story?id=25873850
Even with some folks running the show that couldn't successfully manage a circus side-show, I'm thinking the US health care, transport, communication, and security infrastructure is more than capable of dealing with Ebola(as we know it today) decisively.
I don't think any first world country has heaps to fear about Ebola in its current iteration as long as the aforementioned health care, transport, communication, and security infrastructure is allowed to execute necessary tasking.
Unless of course first world countries have gaping holes in their border security posture due to efforts to gerrymander and politically re-engineer the country?
"Glass half full"" I wonder if a small number of Ebola cases along the border states will create a "forcing function" to compel effective border security?
This one came in on a flight from Liberia - and was asymptomatic at the time of the flight. So were all of the others on that flight. That pos that infests our White House should have barred ALL flights from countries where there is currently an outbreak of the Ebola virus. Why wasn't that done? (Also, IMHO, our troops should never have been put in harm's way to be sent into countries infested with this virus.)
:mad::confused:
Detonics
09-30-2014, 19:10
The good thing is that they can just cut and paste the word "ebola" in place of "ISIS" and substitute the Surgeon General's name for James Clapper and have a teleprompter ready speech, if there's an outbreak.
(I can’t even think of words to say about this goat-rodeo. Listen to the video.)
First diagnosed case of Ebola in the U.S.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/30/health/ebola-us/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
Atlanta (CNN) -- A patient being treated at a Dallas hospital is the first person diagnosed with Ebola in the United States, health officials announced Tuesday.
The unidentified man left Liberia on September 19 and arrived in the United States on September 20, said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
At that time, the individual did not have symptoms. "But four or five days later," he began to exhibit them, Frieden said. The individual was hospitalized and isolated Sunday at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital.
Citing privacy concerns, health officials declined to release any details about how the patient contracted the virus, what he was doing in Liberia or how he was being treated.
"I can say he is ill. He is under intensive care," Dr. Edward Goodman of the hospital told reporters.
The patient is believed to have had a handful of contacts with people after showing symptoms of the virus, and before being isolated, Frieden said. A CDC team was en route to Texas to help investigate those contacts, and Texas Gov. Rick Perry will be in Dallas on Wednesday to hold a news conference.
Crew members who transported the patient to the hospital have been isolated, the chief of staff for Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings told CNN. None have shown symptoms of the disease so far.
The ambulance that carried the patient - ambulance # 37 --- was in use for two days after the transport but was adequately decontaminated, said Dallas city spokeswoman Sana Syed.
"I do want to stress that the paramedics followed national standards, as they do after each transport, in decontaminating the ambulance," she said. "The Dallas County health department has confirmed that paramedics did follow proper guidelines to avoid contaminating additional patients."
Frieden, too, sought to play down the risk to public health. There are currently no other suspected cases of Ebola in Texas.
"It's a severe disease, which has a high-case fatality rate, even with the best of care, but there are core, tried and true public health interventions that stop it," Frieden said.
"The bottom line here is that I have no doubt that we will control this importation or this case of Ebola so that it does not spread widely in this country," he said.
(Cont.)
https://twitter.com/TwitchyTeam/status/517154393288740864
CNN: Ambulance 'in use for two days after the EBOLA patient was transported' http://
http://kdvr.com/2014/09/30/reports-cdc-confirms-1st-ebola-case-diagnosed-in-u-s/
The ambulance that carried the patient – ambulance # 37 — was in use for two days after the transport but was adequately decontaminated, said Dallas city spokeswoman Sana Syed.
The Reaper
09-30-2014, 21:49
Here we go....:rolleyes:
TR
Old Dog New Trick
09-30-2014, 21:59
Here we go....:rolleyes:
TR
No, no, no, Director Frieden, of the CDC says there is absolutely, positively, nothing to worry about!
Constant
10-01-2014, 03:47
Bottom line - no worry as long as standard precautions were taken.
I'm not saying don't be prepared or pay attention to what is going on. I'm saying you as an individual, can only control you and what you're around. This has the potential of getting worse thanks to technology and travel ease.
So who is ready? The worst isn't here, yet. If clusters of outbreaks happen, then the panics will start rising. If some more cases happen in Dallas, well that's old news. But if a small town has an outbreak, just one patient, then folks will freak I believe.
Hospital reviewing why patient wasn't properly diagnosed on Friday when he was evaluated and sent home. Dismissed with antibiotics
— ScottGordonNBC5 (@ScottGordonNBC5) September 30, 2014
https://twitter.com/ScottGordonNBC5/status/517084532420661248
There is no evidence the patient infected anyone else...YET. But none the less between the ambulance ride and this 48 hour period where the patient could have passed it on......the person, or the persons fluids could have come into contact and passed on the virus to many others.
Hopefully this is an isolated case and it has been contained in full.....if not, and it goes wild in a city we can look on August 4, 2014
"There are in place a lot of precautions to ensure the safety of the American public and the traveling public," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Monday at a press briefing.
Asked if the administration would block flights from the affected countries, he said, "No, not at this point."
The comments follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) allowing airlines to deny boarding to passengers who are exhibiting Ebola symptoms.
The CDC has also stepped up training for Customs and Border Patrol personnel in order to identify people who should be quarantined for the illness.
Earnest noted that people leaving the affected countries must undergo screening before departure and then again upon arrival in the United States.
"We are in a position to ensure the public health is protected," he said.
The Obama administration is under pressure to describe its response to Ebola, which has killed nearly 900 people in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone since March.
Experts have described the outbreak as the worst on record and say it is still growing despite efforts to contain the virus.
Although two Americans have contracted the disease in West Africa, there is no evidence that Ebola is active and unidentified on U.S. soil, according to the CDC.
"The CDC has assessed that there is no significant risk to the United States from the current Ebola outbreak," Earnest said.
http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/214247-white-house-us-wont-turn-back-flights-over-ebola
Well, that was fast...
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/10/01/texas-ebola-patient/16525649/
The Reaper
10-01-2014, 11:45
Well, that was fast...
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/10/01/texas-ebola-patient/16525649/
Might be four in the next day or two.
All of the standard practices are being ignored for this.
No limits on travel, no quarrantine, and no apparent tracking and isolation of contacts.
Almost like they wanted this to happen.
Ignore the man behind the curtain, everything is under control....
TR
Might be four in the next day or two.
All of the standard practices are being ignored for this.
No limits on travel, no quarrantine, and no apparent tracking and isolation of contacts.
Almost like they wanted this to happen.
Ignore the man behind the curtain, everything is under control....
TR
Yep! No problemo, nothing to see here!
You're right, TR...ignore the turd behind the curtain...
Speaking of POTUS, how effectively is the sewage being managed? Thru the plumbing of the hospital to the Dallas Water Treatment facility? Anybody downstream working on that system? Any leaks? Emmmmm...
No, no, no, Director Frieden, of the CDC says there is absolutely, positively, nothing to worry about!
Absolutely! Not even a smidgen of a risk...
Might be four in the next day or two.
We are up to 18 exposed including 'at least' 5 schoolchildren in North, Texas.
America isn't Liberia - but...
http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2014/10/dallas_isd_ebola.php
DISD letter:
http://www.dallasisd.org/cms/lib/TX01001475/Centricity/Domain/386/October%201%20parent%20-%20Conrad.pdf
And so it goes...
Richard
Sorry. I couldn't resist... :D
Yes, America isn't Liberia -- Liberia doesn't see the low temps and low humidity that many parts of the U.S. experience in winter.
Move a disease out of its home environment and interesting things can happen. I would be surprised if Ebola infection rates via surface fomites didn't pick up during winter.
A novel virus breaking into a naive population during the start of the viral disease season has to be keeping the infectious disease guys up at night.
Try to take a tomato (fruit not woman) from AZ to CA!
Pat
:munchin
Hawaii patient in isolation over Ebola concerns
HONOLULU -- A Hawaii patient was being held in isolation in a Honolulu hospital Wednesday, and officials have not ruled out the possibility that the person may have contracted the Ebola virus, CBS Honolulu affiliate KGMB-TV reports.
A man who was checked into the hospital Wednesday morning was undergoing testing, state Health Department officials said. The patient had not yet been tested for the Ebola virus late Wednesday afternoon.
"We don't know why this person is ill," said Dr. Melissa Viray of the Department of Health. "But because we have concerns regarding Ebola as a possibility, even as a distant one, they are taking all the precautions that are necessary to keep people safe."
Hospitals across the state have been briefed by the Department of Health about standing operating procedure in the event of a possible Ebola case, Viray said.
The Department of Health would not confirm whether the man had traveled to or from West Africa in recent weeks but said that Ebola was just one of several conditions the man was being or would be tested for.
On Tuesday, a man in Texas who had recently arrived in the U.S. from Liberia became the first person on American soil to be diagnosed with the Ebola virus. The man was sent home from a Dallas-area emergency room last week despite having told a hospital employee that he had recently traveled to the United States from West Africa.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ebola-concerns-prompt-hawaii-patient-to-be-placed-in-isolation/
Wonderful. So when do we as individuals say when? These are some questions that have been tossed around the campfire recently.
When do we stop going to work?
When do we bug-in or out?
What warning signs are needed in order to consciously make those decisions?
When do we don the MOPP gear?
Who do we listen to when the talking heads are still maintaining that "Everything is fine"?
Natural disasters and/or man-made disasters are one thing, but biological hazards are another animal all together. My first instinct is to bug-in once Ebola cases start being confirmed in my state. That may seem hasty, but I'm not taking any chances when it comes to my family. I'd rather us be broke and alive than take that particular risk.
Wonderful. So when do we as individuals say when? These are some questions that have been tossed around the campfire recently.
When do we stop going to work?
When do we bug-in or out?
What warning signs are needed in order to consciously make those decisions?
When do we don the MOPP gear?
Who do we listen to when the talking heads are still maintaining that "Everything is fine"?
Natural disasters and/or man-made disasters are one thing, but biological hazards are another animal all together. My first instinct is to bug-in once Ebola cases start being confirmed in my state. That may seem hasty, but I'm not taking any chances when it comes to my family. I'd rather us be broke and alive than take that particular risk.
It is being worked on as we speak
Four weeks to stop Ebola: 34 global organisations will warn international conference we have ONE MONTH to stop epidemic 'spiralling completely out of control'
The International Rescue Committee (IRC), on behalf of 34 NGOs, will warn we have a 'window of opportunity' to halt the 'exponential rise' in cases
IRC statement will call for a six-point action plan to tackle the epidemic
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2777623/Four-weeks-stop-Ebola-34-global-organisations-warn-international-conference-ONE-MONTH-stop-epidemic-spiralling-completely-control.html
I got one for them.......restrict travel to and from the hot zones!
A novel virus breaking into a naive population during the start of the viral disease season has to be keeping the infectious disease guys up at night.
Yeah, I am afraid though there some of those guys, some guys in Big Pharma and some guys in DC who can't sleep due the anticipation of the big bump up they plan on seeing in their stock portfolios....some of which will get kicked back in campaign donations for 2016.
You are about as likely to be infected by Ebola as you are to get AIDS. The government wants you to be afraid. Then you look to them for help. This is a non-crisis, IMHO.
Go Devil
10-02-2014, 06:57
You are about as likely to be infected by Ebola as you are to get AIDS. The government wants you to be afraid. Then you look to them for help. This is a non-crisis, IMHO.
I agree with your assessment on the "Fear Factor", but I counter your application to AIDS, as AIDS trends towards a culture/vice that can be avoided.
This virus propagates on the care of the infected which crosses culture and vice.
I agree with your assessment on the "Fear Factor", but I counter your application to AIDS, as AIDS trends towards a culture/vice that can be avoided.
This virus propagates on the care of the infected which crosses culture and vice.
Unless you are a nurse or doctor (PA, etc) you don't have anything worry about. Actually AIDS is more likely as the US Census estimated there to be 9,000,000 homosexual adults in the 2010 census.
There are only an estimated 56,000 Nurse Practitioners, 30,000 PAs (http://www.ahrq.gov/research/findings/factsheets/primary/pcwork2/index.html), and 209,000 Primary Care Physicians (same site). I know there are more, such as other types of doctors, orderlies, LPNs, etc, but I don't think it rises to anywhere near 9,000,000.
So, BL, if you aren't fucking someone in the ass and you don't work in direct contact with sick people, which most people don't, you have nothing to fear.
Smoke and mirrors. Lets get the public worried about Ebola so they don't worry about how stupid the government is in every other aspect.
Rumblyguts
10-02-2014, 07:56
John Stewart poked some fun at the "crisis" last night. His take-away was there are other things out there as well that can kill us...like pumpkin lattes, stray voltage, and nuclear power plants.
Just the crisis du jour.
Okay, so this guy in Dallas, "Patient Zero" as they're calling him, leaves Liberia after being in direct contact with CONFIRMED people with Ebola. Is cleared to fly to the US a few days later.
Comes here to the states. After a few days starts feeling "sick", goes to the hospital and is then SENT AWAY with antibiotics.
Several days after his initial visit, goes back to the same hospital and is admitted and later confirmed to have the virus in his system.
Yep, our hospital system has this covered and are prepared to handle an outbreak. :rolleyes:
U.S. Ebola patient helped carry convulsing pregnant woman who later died of the virus days before he flew to Texas. Four more of his neighbors died too: So how was he allowed to board a plane?
Four days before he boarded a flight for the U.S., Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan carried an infected woman to a hospital in Liberia
That sick pregnant woman, her brother and three neighbors later died of the disease
Because he wasn't displaying any symptoms of the sickness, Mr Duncan was allowed to board a flight out of the country on September 19
Ebola can hide in the system for up to 21 days, raising questions about how hot-spot countries will stop the spread of the disease
Mr Duncan first admitted himself to the hospital on September 24, but was turned away with antibiotics despite telling staff he arrived from Liberia
He then spent two days getting sicker and sicker, and coming into contact with several family members - including five school children
Number of people with indirect contact to Ebola patient now more than 80
He is currently in 'serious but stable condition' at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital
Mr Duncan will reportedly not receive experimental serum ZMapp, which helped save the lives of three American aid workers, because stock of the drug has run out
It appears an act of compassion led Thomas Eric Duncan to contract Ebola, and become the first patient diagnosed with the deadly disease on U.S. soil.
Just four days before he boarded a plane bound for Dallas, Texas, Duncan helped carry his landlord's convulsing pregnant daughter to a Liberian clinic to be treated for Ebola, The New York Times reports.
The woman, named by The Times as 19-year-old Marthalene Williams died the next day, after being turned away from the overcrowded hospital that didn't have room for her.
The landlord's son and three neighbors who came in contact with the woman also died soon afterwards.
But Mr Duncan wasn't showing any symptoms when he arrived at a Monrovia airport on September 19, and therefore was allowed on a flight out of Liberia bound for the U.S.
Current policy dictates that only those displaying symptoms of the disease are barred from flying. But Ebola can hide in the system for up to 21 days, raising serious concerns the disease will start turning up around the world.
In Liberia, Mr Duncan worked moving cargo for FedEx, but had recently quit his job when he acquired a visa to visit the U.S. where his son reportedly lives.
<snip>
Rest of the article here .... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2777366/U-S-Ebola-victim-helped-carry-convulsing-pregnant-woman-later-died-virus-four-days-flew-Liberia-Texas-Four-neighbors-died-So-allowed-step-flight.html
Team Sergeant
10-02-2014, 09:19
John Stewart poked some fun at the "crisis" last night. His take-away was there are other things out there as well that can kill us...like pumpkin lattes, stray voltage, and nuclear power plants.
Just the crisis du jour.
I think it's quite amusing that millions of TV viewers enjoy the political opinion of "comedians"......... rates right up there with "celebrity" opinions. I can't wait until porn stars rule the tv airwaves and are giving political advice to the UN.
The Reaper
10-02-2014, 09:23
John Stewart poked some fun at the "crisis" last night. His take-away was there are other things out there as well that can kill us...like pumpkin lattes, stray voltage, and nuclear power plants.
Just the crisis du jour.
Maybe he could tell us how many people in the U.S. have died from nuclear power plant accidents, ever?
TR
I can't wait until porn stars rule the tv airwaves and are giving political advice to the UN.
Depending on your definition of porn, they already are...
I can't wait until porn stars rule the tv airwaves and are giving political advice to the UN.
Depending on your definition of porn, they already are...
Jenny McCarthy comes to mind .... :rolleyes:
The onion is being peeled and the core shows again that our Government has no clue in how to deal with people. They don’t know shit from wild honey and all the bees are either stupid or loaded.
The CDC is the headquarters for the Keystone Cops!
U.S. Ebola patient's partner quarantined in apartment with family members
http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/02/us/texas-woman-quarantine-ebola-thomas-duncan/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
(CNN) -- The partner of Ebola patient Thomas Duncan is quarantined in her Dallas apartment where Duncan became sick with the virus after his trip to Liberia, the woman told CNN's Anderson Cooper.
The woman, who asked to be identified only by her first name, Louise, is quarantined with one of her children under 13 and two nephews in their 20s because they were in apartment when Duncan became ill, Cooper said.
Duncan, a 42-year-old Liberian citizen, is now hospitalized in Dallas.
But Louise remains in her apartment, and she's worried, not knowing what to do and waiting on federal health officials, Cooper said.
"She doesn't know how she's going to get food into the apartment. She was told she said maybe the Red Cross would come by. She's still waiting for that," Cooper said.
"Some health officials brought sandwiches last night, but she hasn't had anything today," Cooper said Thursday. "She's certainly kind of at loose ends and is obviously extremely worried."
Cooper's interview with Louise will air Thursday evening on CNN's "AC360˚."
Louise "does not feel that she came into any contact with any (bodily) fluids" from Duncan, Cooper said.
"She says he didn't vomit on her. She wasn't cleaning up after him. She said he was very much sort of prideful, would take care of himself, go into the bathroom when he had diarrhea," Cooper said.
Louise and her family are in isolation with sheets and towels used by the Ebola-stricken Duncan, Cooper said. Louise did use bleach to clean her apartment, "but it's not clear to me how systematic the cleaning was," he said.
The sheets Duncan used are still on the bed, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hasn't taken away those materials, Cooper said.
CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta said the continuing presence of the sheets, on which Duncan may have transmitted the virus through sweating, are disturbing.
"With the sheets still being on the bed, that obviously is a concern," Gupta said. "We've talked about the fact that this virus can live outside the body, can live on surfaces. It's unlikely for it to be transmitted to someone else that way.
"But why take a chance?" Gupta added.
Louise told Cooper that "she's not clear what she's supposed to do with this," Cooper said. "She seems to think she should wait for the CDC to tell her what to do."
Louise has stowed Duncan's towels in a plastic bag, Cooper said.
She has a poor plan for food...
She has not disposed of the sheets...
She is waiting for someone from CDC to come along and help...
Poor woman, Darwin may visit first.
The Reaper
10-02-2014, 12:36
Having said that, in the interest of national health, a team should have been there as soon as possible to strip the apartment, decontaminate it, quarrantine the family, and burn all of the apartment contents, if not the entire apartment unit.
And maybe prohibit people entering the country from the infected zone.
TR
Having said that, in the interest of national health, a team should have been there as soon as possible to strip the apartment, decontaminate it, quarrantine the family, and burn all of the apartment contents, if not the entire apartment unit.
And maybe prohibit people entering the country from the infected zone.
TR
Concur.
Our current political leaders and most of the bureaucratic acolytes appear incompetent and dangerous.
I'd say there was a breakdown in the existing process somewhere.
Yeah, the government was in charge.
Oldrotorhead
10-02-2014, 14:38
Having said that, in the interest of national health, a team should have been there as soon as possible to strip the apartment, decontaminate it, quarrantine the family, and burn all of the apartment contents, if not the entire apartment unit.
And maybe prohibit people entering the country from the infected zone.
TR
And present a bill for the services. I will bet these people are not US citizens. Oh wait silly me we are all citizens of the world.
Oldrotorhead
10-02-2014, 15:46
Note to protective suits worn by those cleaning outside the apartment in Dallas.:rolleyes:
https://twitter.com/wfaachannel8/status/517739906211528704
Note to protective suits worn by those cleaning outside the apartment in Dallas.:rolleyes:
https://twitter.com/wfaachannel8/status/517739906211528704
The woman with the long dress looks to be walking through wash so she can drag it around the hood. If it wasn't semi-serious it would be funny.
You may remember this guy down in Texas....
(CNN) -- The quarantined partner of Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan should be moved with her family out of the Texas apartment where Duncan became sick with the virus and where his sweat-stained sheets were still on the bed, the Dallas County director of homeland security said.
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, also director of the county's Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said officials are working on that relocation after Duncan's girlfriend told CNN of being forced to live with distressing living conditions.
Jenkins acknowledged "some hygiene issues" in the apartment.
"I would like to see those people moved to better living conditions," Jenkins told CNN's Jake Tapper on Thursday afternoon. "We are working on that. I would like to move them five minutes ago."
http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/02/us/texas-woman-quarantine-ebola-thomas-duncan/
back in July...
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins went door-to-door in the neighborhood surrounding the Lamar Alternative Education Center and told residents police plan an extensive presence to discourage protests.
Residents told CBS 11 News they are disturbed by the prospect of protests like the one at the Murrieta Border Patrol station in California.
"I live right here so I don't want to look out the back window and see people protesting every day," said Nathan Smith, who lives adjacent to the school.
Jenkins reassured residents the city will not tolerate a similar situation to the one in California where demonstrators blocked Homeland Security buses and demanded the federal government secure the border.
"As long as they make their statement in keeping with the law," Jenkins said. "This is America and everybody is entitled to an opinion. If they break the law or impede the care of these children, then we'll enforce the law."
http://freedomoutpost.com/2014/07/texas-judge-clay-jenkins-not-going-to-tolerate-1st-amendment-protests-against-illegals/
Old Dog New Trick
10-02-2014, 16:18
Time for a thread name change.
Ebola: "Got Out of West Africa - and showed up in America FIRST"
I always knew we were a first rate country! But it appears that even second world countries have been screening arrivals from the infected countries in question for weeks if not longer.
Don't worry the CDC is on top of this!
The Reaper
10-02-2014, 17:14
This should be on the sub-normal IQ test.
You want to leave corrupt, impoverished, disease-infested Country L, and go to the land of milk and government assistance, let's call it Country A.
Before being allowed to depart, Country L's immigration officials ask you if you have had any recent contact with a person infected with a deadly, highly contagious disease.
Unbeknownst to them, you knowingly helped carry an infected pregnant woman around a few days before.
Clearly, if you respond with a truthful answer, you will be required to stay there until you likely die, or will have to pay a large bribe.
Do you a) admit your contact and stay, or b) lie and fly to Country A, where you can infect your fellow travellers, people at the airports you stop at, and your friends and family once you arrive, but have access to a world class medical facility for your care?
Note: We should have already stopped allowing flights from, or connecting from West Africa, and people who have been in a nation with an ebola problem, for the duration of this outbreak.
The Obama Adminstration has repeatedly refused to close the door.
Why?
TR
Old Dog New Trick
10-02-2014, 17:24
This should be on the sub-normal IQ
The Obama Adminstration has repeatedly refused to close the door.
Why?
TR
Isn't this obvious. They need the votes next month. :eek:
The Obama Adminstration has repeatedly refused to close the door.
Why?
TR
October Surprise.
"I became aware of this horrible disease on CNN..."
"Let me be clear..."
"Infected Africans will NOT be the only folks to die of Ebola..."
"Not even the CDC could predict the advance and movement of Ebola..."
Jeeeesssshhhhhh !
Wacists !
Our political leaders are incompetent.
This should be on the sub-normal IQ test.
You want to leave corrupt, impoverished, disease-infested Country L, and go to the land of milk and government assistance, let's call it Country A.
Before being allowed to depart, Country L's immigration officials ask you if you have had any recent contact with a person infected with a deadly, highly contagious disease.
Unbeknownst to them, you knowingly helped carry an infected pregnant woman around a few days before.
Clearly, if you respond with a truthful answer, you will be required to stay there until you likely die, or will have to pay a large bribe.
Do you a) admit your contact and stay, or b) lie and fly to Country A, where you can infect your fellow travellers, people at the airports you stop at, and your friends and family once you arrive, but have access to a world class medical facility for your care?
Note: We should have already stopped allowing flights from, or connecting from West Africa, and people who have been in a nation with an ebola problem, for the duration of this outbreak.
The Obama Adminstration has repeatedly refused to close the door.
Why?
TR
Absolutely on target.
But why? A: Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans testicles.
Every roll-out associated with our Windbag- and-Chief has the hallmark of piss-poor planning without benefit of leadership. He has no skillset, there is no value added.
We have just begun to see the horror of what Ebola will be in the next several years or what this will portend when viewed as an effect on our country's readiness.
As for his "legacy"? Before his tour of duty is over Obama is going to wish he was Hoover!
Oldrotorhead
10-02-2014, 18:06
And now we hear from race whore Louie, Now we hear rhe facts!!!:D
Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation if Islam, is warning his acolytes that Ebola and AIDS were created by the US government to "depopulate" the world's black population.
In a new missive, Farrakhan wrote that Henry Kissinger created a plan in 1974 to kill black people and now Ebola and AIDS are weapons being used to fulfill that policy.
Farrakhan told followers that Kissinger said in 1974: "Depopulation should be the highest priority of foreign policy towards the Third World."
Farrakhan went on to claim that "bio-weapons such as Ebola and AIDS" are "targeting weapons" that have been loosed by the "forces of Satan" to kill blacks both in the USA and abroad.
Now, the 1974 study that Farrakhan cites was titled "Implications of Worldwide Population Growth for the United States Security and Overseas Interest." However, this study was not "written" by Henry Kissinger. He was merely the man overseeing the effort to study world population growth that Nixon assigned to the Secretaries of Defense and Agriculture, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the Deputy Secretary of State, and the Administrator of the Agency for International Development.
The study was controversial because it suggested that the US should adopt a policy of urging abortion and family planning on Third World nations to help keep in check unstable revolutions abroad. It was a policy briefly implemented by President Ford in his foreign policy but was ended in 1980 when Ronald Reagan became President. Reagan halted the policy, working with the Catholic Church to end US support of abortion abroad.
While "The Kissinger Report" was controversial, one must remember that in the 1970s, a trendy line of thinking warned that the world was about to become dangerously overpopulated. Many western governments were frightened and tried to find solutions to the problem. In 1968, environmentalist Paul Ehrlich had only just published his highly influential--and now thoroughly debunked--blockbuster book The Population Bomb, a book that warned of the deaths of billions by starvation due to overpopulation.
This Third World abortion policy plan was declassified in 1989 and is now available for anyone to read online, so it is hardly a secret.
In his very next paragraph, Farrakhan quickly segues to a discussion of another policy paper, this one by the Neocon group The Project for a New American Century. This white paper, titled "Rebuilding America’s Defenses: Strategy, Forces and Resources for a New Century," explains that warfare in the future might include bio warfare. In fact, it warns that there may be bio weapons in the future "that can 'target' specific genotypes"--in other words, designer weapons that will kill only particular types of people.
The PNAC report additionally noted that warfare in the future might also be waged in cyber-space and maybe even in outer space. So, the PNAC paper is an exploration of things that might be and how we might defend ourselves against these changes in warfare, not one suggesting that bio warfare is a good idea nor one suggesting that we create weapons that can kill specific types of people.
Regardless, Farrakhan takes this policy white paper from the PNAC--which has no force of law or policy in the US government--and links it with a defunct abortion policy idea from over three decades ago and voila: Ebola was manufactured to kill blacks.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/10/02/Nation-of-Islam-Leader-Louis-Farrakhan-Ebola-Was-Manufactured-to-Kill-Blacks
Just doing Gods work or candidates for the Darwin Awards....I don't know.
An American freelance cameraman working for NBC News in Liberia has tested positive for Ebola and will be flown back to the United States for treatment.
The infected freelancer was hired Tuesday to be a second cameraman for NBC News Chief Medical Editor and Correspondent Dr. Nancy Snyderman. Snyderman is with three other NBC News employees on assignment in Monrovia, reporting on the Ebola outbreak.
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ebola-virus-outbreak/nbc-news-freelancer-africa-diagnosed-ebola-n217271
Oldrotorhead
10-02-2014, 19:04
Just doing Gods work or candidates for the Darwin Awards....I don't know.
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ebola-virus-outbreak/nbc-news-freelancer-africa-diagnosed-ebola-n217271
I didn't see where NBC is picking up the tab for this. If I as a tax payer (yes I still PAY taxes) have to pay he can die.
This bit was posted 9/16/2014 on website named Vocativ titled BONE HEADED ISIS THREAT: WE INFECT THE US WITH EBOLA
Here's one terror threat you can ignore
Author: Sarah Kaufman
Posted: 09/16/14 16:24 EDT
Deep Web Reporting By: Saar Fresco
Nor is it possible to send Ebola through the mail like anthrax. Whereas anthrax is a bacteria that can be transmitted via powder, Ebola is unlikely to live outside a host. “I don’t know that the virus can even survive in the mail,” says Schaffner.
First he say it is not possible to send Ebola through he mail, but by the end he hedges with 'I Don't know'.
Schaffner also believes it’s doubtful that an ISIS soldier could start an Ebola outbreak in the U.S. The most likely way to spread Ebola would be for an infected fighter to head to an emergency room without telling anyone he’s carrying the disease. That could potentially spread the virus to health care workers, Schaffner says, but even that scenario is far-fetched. Ebola symptoms can surface after just a couple days. By the time a would-be martyr reached the U.S., he’d probably be too ill to make it past customs. “Once the serious symptoms begin, the patient typically becomes too incapacitated and cannot go further,” Chow points out.
http://www.vocativ.com/world/isis-2/isis-ebola-threat/
http://shoebat.com/2014/10/01/isis-plans-sending-muslims-infected-ebola-america-infect-kill-americans/
Jack Chow is the Distinguished Service Professor at Carnagie-Mellon University Heinz College: (http://www.heinz.cmu.edu/faculty-and-research/faculty-profiles/faculty-details/index.aspx?faculty_id=21)
William Schaffner is professor of preventive medicine and medicine (infectious diseases) at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tenn (https://medicine.mc.vanderbilt.edu/node/451)
Based on the fact that in less than a month from the time that article was posted Thomas Eric Duncan made to the US from Liberia.....it is now been proven a Ebola carrier can indeed make into the US.
I am not worried about contracting Ebola....well not until I see the folks running the show, then it becomes a scarey proposition...this whole thing about Ebola (actually it is pretty much everything Zero touches) in the US like a tragic comedy and none of the so-called Highly educated have a lick of f-ing common sense.
I heard a guy on the radio say today in regards to the Ebola Response.....I am watching a parade of lies!
I didn't see where NBC is picking up the tab for this. If I as a tax payer (yes I still PAY taxes) have to pay he can die.
You read my mind! :D
Oldrotorhead
10-02-2014, 19:55
Meanwhile back in Sierra Lione. Ane the US still honors Visas?
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2014/10/ebola-spreading-like-wildfire-sierra-leone-201410213832994348.html
Five people are being infected with Ebola every hour in Sierra Leone and the rate is expected to double by the end of October, the Save the Children charity has warned.
Justin Forsyth, the chief executive of Save the Children charity, said on Thursday that "the scale of the Ebola epidemic is devastating and growing every day".
"We need a coordinated international response that ensures treatment centres are built and staffed immediately," Forsyth said.
Infographic: Just how deadly is Ebola?
The charity issued the appeal as Britain hosted a conference in London to gather support for the fight against Ebola in Sierra Leone, its former colony.
Britain has provided 143 new treatment beds so far and promised almost 600 more in the coming months, but Save the Children said other countries must join the fight.
There were an estimated 765 new cases last week, the charity said, but only 327 beds across the country.
The number of cases was likely to be "massively" under-reported, as "untold numbers of children are dying anonymously at home or in the streets", it said.
"We are facing the frightening prospect of an epidemic which is spreading like wildfire across Sierra Leone, with the number of new cases doubling every three weeks," said Rob MacGillivray, the charity's country director in Sierra Leone .
"It's very difficult at this stage to even give accurate figures on the number of children who are dying from Ebola, as monitoring systems cannot keep pace with the outbreak."
No worries...core Ebola has been decimated.
No worries...core Ebola has been decimated.
:D
frostfire
10-02-2014, 20:23
Let's see, ISIS and ebola.
ISIS draws recruits from all over the world...
Are you thinking what I'm thinking :D ?
Let's "sponsor" a dozen or two disenfranchised youth from West Africa to go to al-sham land and help build the caliphate. It just "so happens" they carry the zaire strain. I heard the healthcare system in Syria and Iraq is not well-versed in decontamination and containment protocols.
"Ebola outbreak in ISIS camp"
How many of you want to see this headline all over MSM?
The Reaper
10-03-2014, 11:03
Let's see if this brings it closer to home, especially for the politicians who could / should address it.
Of course they are asymptomatic, the incubation period for ebola has not been reached yet.
I think those who choose to go stand in a fire can expect to be burned, and should not be allowed to enter my house while still ablaze.
But that's just me.
TR
http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Patient-With-Ebola-Like-Symptoms-Being-Treated-at-Howard-University-Hospital-278025181.html
Patient Being Tested for Ebola at D.C.'s Howard University Hospital
Patient had traveled to Nigeria recently; is being isolated and tested
Howard University Hospital has yet to confirm whether or not the patient is infected. The patient had traveled to Nigeria recently.
Friday, Oct 3, 2014 • Updated at 12:54 PM EDT
A patient with Ebola-like symptoms is being treated at Howard University Hospital in Washington, D.C., a hospital spokesperson confirmed late Friday morning.
The patient had traveled to Nigeria recently.
That person has been admitted to the hospital in stable condition, and is being isolated and tested. The medical team is working with the CDC to determine whether the patient has Ebola.
"In an abundance of caution, we have activated the appropriate infection control protocols, including isolating the patient," said hospital spokesperson Kerry-Ann Hamilton in a statement. "Our medical team continues to evaluate and monitor progress in close collaboration with the CDC and the Department of Health."
Hamilton did not share further details about the patient, citing privacy reasons, but said the hospital will provide updates as warranted.
The D.C. Department of Health released a statement shortly before 1 p.m. Wednesday, saying that the department has been working with the CDC and Howard University Hospital to monitor "any patients displaying symptoms associated with the Ebola virus."
There are no confirmed cases of Ebola in D.C., said the statement.
As public health advocates had warned, the raging Ebola outbreak in West Africa has begun to affect Westerners, though the disease is difficult to spread casually.
Thursday, news broke that a freelance NBC cameraman covering the outbreak in Monrovia, Liberia had tested positive for Ebola after experiencing symptoms of the disease.
The cameraman, Ashoka Mukpo, had been working with chief medical correspondent Dr. Nancy Snyderman. NBC News is flying Mukpo and the entire team back to the U.S. so Mukpo can be treated and the team can be quarantined for 21 days.
Snyderman told MSNBC's Rachel Maddow that she and the rest of her crew have shown no signs of the disease and have taken precautions while covering the outbreak, including washing their hands with bleach.
The crew are quarantining themselves as a precaution.
Ebola is contagious only when infected people are showing symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. People who have been exposed to Ebola will show signs of it within 21 days of exposure, the CDC said.
"There is no risk to people who have been in contact with those who have been sick with Ebola and recovered, or people who have been exposed and have not yet shown symptoms," said Dr. Thomas Frieden of the CDC.
On Tuesday, the CDC confirmed the first case of Ebola to be diagnosed in the United States. The patient, Thomas Eric Duncan, flew from his hometown of Monrovia, Liberia, and through Brussels, Belgium on Sept. 20 before entering the United States via Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia. He then traveled on to Dallas-Fort Worth.
Duncan, a Liberian man with family in the United States, first went to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Sept. 25 but was sent home. He returned to the hospital via ambulance Sunday.
On Friday, he was listed in serious but stable condition.
Old Dog New Trick
10-03-2014, 17:46
Let's see if this brings it closer to home, especially for the politicians who could / should address it.
Of course they are asymptomatic, the incubation period for ebola has not been reached yet.
I think those who choose to go stand in a fire can expect to be burned, and should not be allowed to enter my house while still ablaze.
But that's just me.
TR
http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Patient-With-Ebola-Like-Symptoms-Being-Treated-at-Howard-University-Hospital-278025181.html
Patient Being Tested for Ebola at D.C.'s Howard University Hospital
Patient had traveled to Nigeria recently; is being isolated and tested
Howard University Hospital has yet to confirm whether or not the patient is infected. The patient had traveled to Nigeria recently.
Friday, Oct 3, 2014 • Updated at 12:54 PM EDT
A patient with Ebola-like symptoms is being treated at Howard University Hospital in Washington, D.C., a hospital spokesperson confirmed late Friday morning.
The patient had traveled to Nigeria recently.
That person has been admitted to the hospital in stable condition, and is being isolated and tested. The medical team is working with the CDC to determine whether the patient has Ebola.
"In an abundance of caution, we have activated the appropriate infection control protocols, including isolating the patient," said hospital spokesperson Kerry-Ann Hamilton in a statement. "Our medical team continues to evaluate and monitor progress in close collaboration with the CDC and the Department of Health."
Hamilton did not share further details about the patient, citing privacy reasons, but said the hospital will provide updates as warranted.
The D.C. Department of Health released a statement shortly before 1 p.m. Wednesday, saying that the department has been working with the CDC and Howard University Hospital to monitor "any patients displaying symptoms associated with the Ebola virus."
There are no confirmed cases of Ebola in D.C., said the statement.
As public health advocates had warned, the raging Ebola outbreak in West Africa has begun to affect Westerners, though the disease is difficult to spread casually.
Thursday, news broke that a freelance NBC cameraman covering the outbreak in Monrovia, Liberia had tested positive for Ebola after experiencing symptoms of the disease.
The cameraman, Ashoka Mukpo, had been working with chief medical correspondent Dr. Nancy Snyderman. NBC News is flying Mukpo and the entire team back to the U.S. so Mukpo can be treated and the team can be quarantined for 21 days.
Snyderman told MSNBC's Rachel Maddow that she and the rest of her crew have shown no signs of the disease and have taken precautions while covering the outbreak, including washing their hands with bleach.
The crew are quarantining themselves as a precaution.
Ebola is contagious only when infected people are showing symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. People who have been exposed to Ebola will show signs of it within 21 days of exposure, the CDC said.
"There is no risk to people who have been in contact with those who have been sick with Ebola and recovered, or people who have been exposed and have not yet shown symptoms," said Dr. Thomas Frieden of the CDC.
On Tuesday, the CDC confirmed the first case of Ebola to be diagnosed in the United States. The patient, Thomas Eric Duncan, flew from his hometown of Monrovia, Liberia, and through Brussels, Belgium on Sept. 20 before entering the United States via Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia. He then traveled on to Dallas-Fort Worth.
Duncan, a Liberian man with family in the United States, first went to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Sept. 25 but was sent home. He returned to the hospital via ambulance Sunday.
On Friday, he was listed in serious but stable condition.
You know, when I finished 300F1 and continue to this day teaching First Responder training. I learned and bring up for others to understand that:
Signs - are objective they are something you can see, touch or feel. They are real and can be definitive.
Symptoms- are subjective they are the "clueless" ramblings of a sick patient trying to describe how they feel inside.
I'm glad the good Doctor Freiden, of the CDC knows the difference between someone telling him he has a fever, diarrhea, and vomiting and utterly "feels" like shit, and someone who actually has a fever, diarrhea and vomiting and some funky virus crawling around in his blood stream.
:rolleyes:
The Reaper
10-03-2014, 18:23
What happens when you are showing symptoms, and the doctor or hospital sends you away anyway?
TR
Old Dog New Trick
10-03-2014, 18:33
What happens when you are showing symptoms, and the doctor or hospital sends you away anyway?
TR
Blind or in denial. :eek:
Blind or in denial. :eek:
They weren't looking for it. This blindsided them.
Oldrotorhead
10-04-2014, 16:51
Possible? I didn't see any other source.
Ebola Virus Infecting ISIS Members
By joelleyden | September 29, 2014
3 Comments
ebola
By Israel News Agency Staff
Jerusalem — September 29, 2014 … Israeli security sources say that the deadly Ebola virus may be spreading among member of ISIS (Islamic State) in Syria. The report states that dozens of ISIS terrorists have come down with symptoms identical to the killer virus which has claimed over 6,574 victims in five West African countries – Senegal and Nigeria are the other two – with 3,091 deaths reported.
The UN mission to combat Ebola opened its headquarters today in Ghana, where it will co-ordinate aid for the accelerating West African crisis.
The spread of Ebola has spiraled into the worst-ever outbreak, as the World Health Organization says it is has associated more than 3,000 deaths to the disease, although that is likely an underestimate of the real toll. Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea have been hit hardest. Senegal and Nigeria have also been affected, but have not reported a new case in weeks.
“We know that ISIS has training camps in Africa and it is highly possible that this is where contact with the disease was made,” said Avi, a commercial, global, anti-terrorism consultant. “This would add new meaning to the US stating that “no boots would be on the ground as both missiles and Ebola penetrates one of the worst evils the world has ever known.”
The success of Islamic State (ISIS) could shape the thinking of African Islamists, said Andrew Muzonzini, Zimbabwe’s head of external intelligence and a member of the African Union’s Committee of Intelligence and Security Services of Africa (CISSA).
http://israelnewsagency.com/ebola-virus-infecting-isis-members/
Who knows? Maybe Boko Haram will have something else to keep them occupied, instead of just murdering Christians. One can only hope...
Old Dog New Trick
10-04-2014, 19:06
They weren't looking for it. This blindsided them.
This shouldn't be "blindsiding" anyone at this point. While not nearly in the same category as say the bubonic plague or typhoid fever. The first medical question should be, "have you traveled outside the United States recently, say to West Africa?"
Not to go off topic, but we once had a guy return from a deployment to Southeast Asia and developed all the S/S of malaria. He went to the hospital twice with no diagnosis or treatment. Blood test negative...
A few of us team medics ran his blood under a microscope in the team room and there it was, P. Falciparum malaria clear as the day we were in school.
Sent him back over to the the hospital and told them to do a manual blood exam...duh! The "machine" they were using did not identify malaria so he went undiagnosed for two weeks. Modern medicine!
He got better shortly thereafter. 'Cept that for a few weeks he was a U.S. present host to an eradicated disease in America. Blindsided medical doctors, or just blind!
:eek:
Believe it or not, there are many people in the U.S. who have not been really watching this - or know that our Usurper-in-Chief absolutely refuses to ban all flights originating from the Ebola-infected nations. That is something that he should have done as far back as June, when it was apparent that this particular Ebola outbreak was different from all of the earlier ones and was just not going to dry up and go away, as all of the earlier outbreaks had done.
Remember, too many said: "It can't happen here.", including the CDC. A lot of people believed that rubbish. Many still do.
BTW, in a case similar to the malaria case you described in your post, a Vietnam vet was having problems breathing at night, and also had terrible swelling in his legs. This was many years after his return from Southeast Asia. No doctor he went to initially could diagnose his problem. This mis-diagnosis crap went on for quite some time. Many thought he was suffering from CHF. It took a doctor familiar with the signs and symptoms he presented to suspect filariasis. When his blood was collected - at night - when the little buggers are active. A positive diagnosis was possible with the identification of microfilariae by microscopic examination. But it took a doctor that was familiar with this particular disease to be able to recognize what this man was most likely suffering from.
BrokenSwitch
10-05-2014, 00:07
. The patient, Thomas Eric Duncan, flew from his hometown of Monrovia, Liberia, and through Brussels, Belgium on Sept. 20 before entering the United States via Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia. He then traveled on to Dallas-Fort Worth.
The guy came to the US via Europe, so stopping direct flights from Africa wouldn't have caught him. (Yes, the flights should be stopped, but this is a new problem that IMHO should be discussed, given all the responses about stopping direct flights.)
Additionally, he went through 2 US airports. Any connection to that sick guy in DC?
And if so, does that mean even asymptomatic people are still contagious?
And if so, does that mean even asymptomatic people are still contagious?
Simple answer to your question is NO.
Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with saliva, sweat and blood. It is not contagious until the symptoms begin.
Here's a link that follows the Dallas Pt. pretty much from the time he first comes in contact with the person he contracted the disease from to the time he checks into the Dallas hospital ... the second time.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_THE_EBOLA_PATH?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-10-04-15-35-19
A big problem with the Ebola, probably the biggest problem is the government bureaucracy, it is like watching the ICC (International Code Commission) gone bad.
Last Friday I heard on the radio (ABC News I am pretty sure) that the reason the Ebola clean up in Dallas had not taken place for days was because.....none of the companies had the proper Licenses and Permits to perform the work.
How do you get a license to perform work so you can pull a permit....... Find a 'Qualified' company or person that offers the course, pay a fee, take a class 1-5 days in duration, pass a test, get a piece of paper that verifies you passed a test, then you head to the federal, state and/or local licensing office, pay more fees, fill out more paper work, prove you have insurance, get you picture taken for an ID card and then given a temporary ID.
If they are lucky one person in the company can take the course which will then allow them teach the others in the clean up crew without the expense of sending every employee.
Until all that is accomplished no one can clean up the mess.
And MuMbO jUmBO from one of the bureaucrats....CDC director Tom Frieden:
In terms of the entry process, we really need to be clear that we don't inadvertently increase the risk to people in this country by making it harder for us to respond to the needs in those countries, by making it harder to get assistance in and therefore those outbreaks would become worse, go on longer, and paradoxically, something that we did to try and protect ourselves might actually increase our risk.'
Considering that line of thought....maybe the US should eliminate terror watch lists and let ISIS, AQ and others travel freely into our country??? OH I forgot....WE DO!
In the area of Actions & Consequences Dr. Tom had this to say:
Though we might wish we can seal ourselves off from the world, there are Americans who have the right of return and many other people that have the right to enter this country he said.
If Dr. Nancy Snyderman or any of these other entitled persons just happens to infect someone in my family......will I have the right to do harm to Dr. Tom for his negligence? Probably not because he followed SOP......I mean by Dr. Tom's logic Dr. Nancy and many others have the 'Right' to be here in the US regardless of what disease or virus they may be carrying........even one that has the potential to wipe out vast populations.
By his own words, Dr. Tom would put 300+ million people at risk in the US for the sake of a single person.
This should be revealing...
Video: “We’re Screwed”: MSM Caught on Hot Mic at White House Ebola Press Briefing
http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/video-were-screwed-msm-caught-on-hot-mic-at-white-house-ebola-press-briefin
:munchin
This should be revealing...
Video: “We’re Screwed”: MSM Caught on Hot Mic at White House Ebola Press Briefing
http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/video-were-screwed-msm-caught-on-hot-mic-at-white-house-ebola-press-briefin
:munchin
if we are screwed it is because we have too many luncheons, meetings and actions groups to kick it around and slap each other on the back...
if we are screwed it is because we have too many luncheons, meetings and actions groups to kick it around and slap each other on the back...
Absolutely.
I am no expert, but it would seem my simple thinking that if you cut off all commercial modes of transportation in and out of Africa, and you made the US border a far less inviting place they could drastically cut the contagion from spreading into the US and beyond.
If Ebola is truely as bad as they say....Worst case scenario they could do as mentioned earlier....nuke it
By Jim Garamone
DoD News, Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON, Oct. 8, 2014 – The potential spread of Ebola into Central and Southern America is a real possibility, the commander of U.S. Southern Command told an audience at the National Defense University here yesterday.
“By the end of the year, there’s supposed to be 1.4 million people infected with Ebola and 62 percent of them dying, according to the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention],” Marine Corps Gen. John F. Kelly said. “That’s horrific. And there is no way we can keep Ebola [contained] in West Africa.”
If it comes to the Western Hemisphere, many countries have little ability to deal with an outbreak of the disease, the general said.
“So, much like West Africa, it will rage for a period of time,” Kelly said.
This is a particularly possible scenario if the disease gets to Haiti or Central America, he said. If the disease gets to countries like Guatemala, Honduras or El Salvador, it will cause a panic and people will flee the region, the general said.
“If it breaks out, it’s literally, ‘Katie bar the door,’ and there will be mass migration into the United States,” Kelly said. “They will run away from Ebola, or if they suspect they are infected, they will try to get to the United States for treatment.”
Also, transnational criminal networks smuggle people and those people can be carrying Ebola, the general said. Kelly spoke of visiting the border of Costa Rica and Nicaragua with U.S. embassy personnel. At that time, a group of men “were waiting in line to pass into Nicaragua and then on their way north,” he recalled.
“The embassy person walked over and asked who they were and they told him they were from Liberia and they had been on the road about a week,” Kelly continued. “They met up with the network in Trinidad and now they were on their way to the United States -- illegally, of course.”
Those men, he said, “could have made it to New York City and still be within the incubation period for Ebola.”
Kelly said his command is in close contact with U.S. Africa Command to see what works and what does not as it prepares for a possible outbreak in the area of operations.
Go Devil
10-09-2014, 07:13
Don't trust what the TV tells you to believe.
The papers go all the way back to 1975 when Ebolavirus was first noticed.
Below is a link to hours of warm and fuzzy reading.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/17848072/related/
Don't trust what the TV tells you to believe.
The papers go all the way back to 1975 when Ebolavirus was first noticed.
Below is a link to hours of warm and fuzzy reading.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/17848072/related/
Good resource information.
POTUS will never close the borders against west African travel (too insensitive to Valerie's lust for PC-isms) any sooner than he'd close the border with Mexico (doesn't know why and has no cajones). He's going to do the very least he can do. Right now he can say, "Hey, I sent in the Marines, didn't I? What more do you people want? Besides, what difference does it make now?"
(spit)
How did Yugoslavia handle the 1972 Smallpox outbreak? How long did it last? Was it draconian? Clearly, it was successful.
Pat
This aired last night (Wed 8Oct) on PBS.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/surviving-ebola.html
Fairly up to date information.
It's 53 minutes long, but well worth the time to watch.
We had our scare just the other day:
http://www.wsoctv.com/news/news/local/sick-patient-admitted-boone-hospital-uses-ebola-pr/nhf57/
But it makes one curious, if all the protocols are being followed, how could a healthcare worker in this country contract the virus?
> http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/10/12/texas-health-worker-who-cared-for-first-u-s-ebola-patient-contracts-the-virus/
An interesting story from one of the hospitalists we work with. Something is different from this particular strain, via Dr. Plyler:
http://www.glennbeck.com/2014/10/07/god-moves-people-how-did-the-first-american-infected-survive-ebola/
^Edited to add, fast forward to 6:20 in the 1st GB TV Video with Dr. Plyler.
A possible Ebola suspect in flyover country doesn't make major headlines ;)
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A man in his 40’s who complained of a high fever and other serious symptoms contacted and then entered The University of Kansas Hospital at about 6 a.m. on Monday. The hospital says that the patient recently worked as a medical officer on a commercial ship off the west coast of Africa and has a low-to-moderate risk of Ebola.
http://fox4kc.com/2014/10/13/university-of-kansas-hospital-reports-patient-at-risk-for-ebola/
We were told it was all under control, we were told it couldn't happen, we only have had two known cases of Ebola and now the CDC bureaucracy wants cash in by creating Ebola hospitals in all 50 states.......this smells like all those body scanners we had to have for the airports in the name of Public Safety.
Dedicated Ebola Hospitals Sought After Nurse’s Infection
U.S. and local health officials want to set up dedicated hospitals in each state for Ebola patients, part of a new emphasis on safety for health-care workers after a nurse caring for an infected patient in Dallas tested positive for the virus.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is also reconsidering its existing infection control protocols and will boost health-worker training with a series of calls and online seminars :munchin, officials said today.
“We’d like to have at least one hospital in every state that does feel they could manage a patient from start to finish,” said Abbigail Tumpey, the CDC official in charge of the education outreach. So far, the new system is only in the discussion stage, and one issue is that there are currently only four U.S. hospitals with top-level bio-containment units.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-10-13/ebola-monitoring-to-include-medical-staff-after-infection.html
The Reaper
10-13-2014, 20:38
Wouldn't it be much easier to just keep people from Ebola infested areas out of the US until it burns itself out?
Oops, sorry, what was I thinking....
TR
Wouldn't it be much easier to just keep people from Ebola infested areas out of the US until it burns itself out?
Oops, sorry, what was I thinking....
TR
Very un-Kumbayah of you to even propose that.
Question: How do you remove isolation garments contaminated with Ebola-laden sputum, feces, urine, and/or blood without exposing yourself? How do you decontaminate the room in which you remove the garb? Dispose of said garments? If anyone knows, please circulate the protocol to all US hospitals, because no one seems to know bugger-all about it.
The Reaper
10-13-2014, 21:18
Very un-Kumbayah of you to even propose that.
Question: How do you remove isolation garments contaminated with Ebola-laden sputum, feces, urine, and/or blood without exposing yourself? How do you decontaminate the room in which you remove the garb? Dispose of said garments? If anyone knows, please circulate the protocol to all US hospitals, because no one seems to know bugger-all about it.
You have to suit up like you are dealing with a lethal agent and strictly follow procedures. Layer by layer.
All contaminated material gets triple bagged and incinerated.
Chlorine is a great disinfectant if flame is not acceptable.
Remember the DS2 sprayers and boxes full of STB to stomp through?
TR
Dealing with something like Ebola is like following the -10 on a SADM, there are NO deviations. Period. Or else. :eek:
Richard
My daughter works at a major university medical center (one with biological safety level 3 -- BSL3 -- accreditation, about $17M and 36 months away from attaining BSL4). Hospital staff have gotten only the most rudimentary direction on how to handle an Ebola patient.
Ebola is a Classified as a BSL4 pathogen. There are only 14 BSL4 facilities in the US (most gov't labs) and only a subset are allowed to study Ebola. This is how you're supposed to handle contact with an Ebola patient:
When dealing with biological hazards at this level the use of a positive pressure personnel suit, with a segregated air supply is mandatory. The entrance and exit of a level four biolab will contain multiple showers, a vacuum room, an ultraviolet light room, and other safety precautions designed to destroy all traces of the biohazard. Multiple airlocks are employed and are electronically secured to prevent both doors from opening at the same time. All air and water service going to and coming from a biosafety level 4 (or P4) lab will undergo similar decontamination procedures to eliminate the possibility of an accidental release.
Note that none of these safeguards were in effect with the Dallas patient. And they're saying the nurse who contracted Ebola in Dallas "breached established protocols", as if she's to blame. Taping your pants cuffs with duct tape might work for deer ticks, but not a BSL4-level virus.
That patient was intubated, routinely suctioned, was on dialysis, had diarrhea, and they even attempted resuscitation at the end (WTF? Multiple catastrophic organ failure? BSL4 virus?). There must have been virus slung all over that ward. Good thing this isn't something that's easy to catch. That said, I'll be shocked if more cases don't spawn from that admission.
PedOncoDoc
10-14-2014, 01:35
My daughter works at a major university medical center (one with biological safety level 3 -- BSL3 -- accreditation, about $17M and 36 months away from attaining BSL4). Hospital staff have gotten only the most rudimentary direction on how to handle an Ebola patient.
Ebola is a Classified as a BSL4 pathogen. There are only 14 BSL4 facilities in the US (most gov't labs) and only a subset are allowed to study Ebola. This is how you're supposed to handle contact with an Ebola patient:
When dealing with biological hazards at this level the use of a positive pressure personnel suit, with a segregated air supply is mandatory. The entrance and exit of a level four biolab will contain multiple showers, a vacuum room, an ultraviolet light room, and other safety precautions designed to destroy all traces of the biohazard. Multiple airlocks are employed and are electronically secured to prevent both doors from opening at the same time. All air and water service going to and coming from a biosafety level 4 (or P4) lab will undergo similar decontamination procedures to eliminate the possibility of an accidental release.
Note that none of these safeguards were in effect with the Dallas patient. And they're saying the nurse who contracted Ebola in Dallas "breached established protocols", as if she's to blame. Taping your pants cuffs with duct tape might work for deer ticks, but not a BSL4-level virus.
That patient was intubated, routinely suctioned, was on dialysis, had diarrhea, and they even attempted resuscitation at the end (WTF? Multiple catastrophic organ failure? BSL4 virus?). There must have been virus slung all over that ward. Good thing this isn't something that's easy to catch. That said, I'll be shocked if more cases don't spawn from that admission.
Those are protocols for research on the ebola virus(es) - not for clinical management of patients with ebola.
IMO, this is an example of how not to react. The panic is becoming the backstory of this macabre dance. Anyone who declares they have a sniffle and that they’ve come from a tour of Liberia becomes the central point of corporate and public attention. What the hell: Who would want to risk having a cavalier attitude about this crap? It won’t be long before the attention deprived/depraved (both corporate and social) will start coming out of the woodwork to nurse at the nipple of the media.
In the meantime the response to the spread of this thing has all the earmarks of being orchestrated by the Marx Brothers. There needs to be a disciplined response to this smoky crisis, and no one in the theater knows the way out. The question will be: What do we do if Ebola comes to a theater near you?
Richmond patient being evaluated for Ebola
By TAMMIE SMITH, MICHAEL MARTZ AND BILL MCKELWAY Richmond Times-Dispatch
http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/local/city-of-richmond/richmond-patient-being-evaluated-for-ebola/article_cb28d73a-5320-11e4-97f5-0017a43b2370.html
A woman who dropped by a South Richmond clinic with a low-grade fever Monday found herself being evaluated as the city’s first potential Ebola patient and was transferred to VCU Medical Center last night after being isolated most of the day at the clinic where she had sought treatment.
The unidentified patient was transferred from the CrossOver Healthcare Ministry clinic on Cowardin Avenue in a private car accompanied by the CrossOver physician who had assessed her.
“We’re trying to follow what is a logical process,” said Richmond Health Director Donald Stern, who worked with state and local caregivers to monitor the patient and assess her condition throughout the day.
The woman had a low-grade fever and had recently traveled to Liberia, one of the West African nations hard hit by the deadly virus.
Stern stressed that the patient did not fully meet entry-level criteria for establishing the presence of Ebola, but nevertheless would undergo further testing at the hospital as a precaution.
“Since the additional testing recommended cannot be performed at CrossOver, the patient was transferred to a local hospital for further clinical and laboratory evaluation,” Stern said in a statement Monday night.
“Depending the on the results of the emergency department evaluation (Monday night), the CDC will advise regarding any further testing,” Stern said.
He praised the CrossOver clinic’s “high degree of professional expertise,” noting that the patient had not come to CrossOver out of fear of Ebola but that clinicians there placed the patient in isolation after determining that she had traveled to Liberia and showed a low-grade fever.
Patients with Ebola tend to show far more serious symptoms, such as vomiting and high fevers.
“We immediately put the person in isolation and immediately called the health department,” said Julie Bilodeau of CrossOver, a faith-based free clinic whose patient population includes many immigrants.
A sign posted on the clinic’s front door Monday afternoon read: “Clinic closed for emergency.”
Stern said the case is the first instance in Richmond where local, state and national health experts have taken steps to confirm whether a patient in fact has contracted the Ebola virus.
It was not immediately clear what precautions that clinic workers took in handling the patient.
Stern declined to reveal more specific information for patient confidentiality reasons.
Bilodeau said that the names and contact information for others who may have been in close contact with the patient were obtained. The patient left the clinic about 8:30 p.m. after being kept in isolation since the early afternoon.
Virginia Health Commissioner Marissa J. Levine confirmed that the state had activated its process for assessing a patient for potential symptoms of Ebola, but she cautioned against drawing any conclusions about the outcome.
The process involves the health provider and health officials at the state and local levels, as well as the federal Centers for Disease Control and the state Department of Consolidated Laboratories. The Virginia Department of Health and the CDC must approve of testing for Ebola if a person meets the criteria.
“The process of assessing the situation has been activated,” the commissioner said.
Levine said the criteria are “whether a person is considered a high-risk exposure and also has symptoms that are consistent with the disease,” but she would not comment on the details of the case at CrossOver. Two people have been tested previously for the disease in Virginia; in both cases, the results were negative.
“There are a lot of concerns out there, but not all of them are Ebola,” the commissioner said.
Levine has discussed the situation with Secretary of Health and Human Resources Bill Hazel. “The health department will keep the community informed and will ensure if there is any risk the appropriate public health actions are taken,” she said.
The commissioner would not confirm whether the state had communicated with any hospital about potentially treating the patient. “We’ve had many conversations with local hospital systems, and that is ongoing, especially as the situation evolves around the country,” she said.
Hazel, a retired orthopedic surgeon, said the public should not rush to judgment each time health officials assess someone who potentially has been exposed to the disease.
“The big thing here is we’ve got to try to stick to facts as best we can,” he said, “because rumors can be dangerous, too.”
Southcom Commander Warns of Potential Ebola-Driven 'Mass Migration' from South of Border
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/penny-starr/southcom-commander-warns-potential-ebola-driven-mass-migration-south-border
(CNSNews.com) – Marine Corps Gen. John Kelly, commander of the U.S. Southern Command, predicted last week that the Ebola virus will not be contained in West Africa, and if infected people flee those countries and spread the disease to Central and South America, it could cause “mass migration into the United States” of those seeking treatment.
“If it breaks out, it’s literally, ‘Katie bar the door,’ and there will be mass migration into the United States,” Kelly said in remarks to the National Defense University on Tuesday. “They will run away from Ebola, or if they suspect they are infected, they will try to get to the United States for treatment.
“The potential spread of Ebola into Central and Southern America is a real possibility,” the article written about the general’s speech and posted on the Department of Defense website on Wednesday stated.
In his speech, Kelly cited the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s prediction that 1.4 million people could be infected with Ebola by the end of the year, with 62 percent of those infected dying from the disease.
“That’s horrific,” Kelly said. “And there’s no way we can keep Ebola [contained] in West Africa.”
Kelly said the scenario of another widespread breakout is particularly possible if the disease reached countries like Guatemala, Honduras or El Salvador.
“It will cause panic, and people will flee the region,” Kelly said.
Kelly also spoke about the danger of transnational criminal networks smuggling people into the U.S. that could be infected with Ebola.
He spoke about his recent visit to the border of Costa Rica and Nicaragua with U.S. Embassy personnel where they saw men lined up waiting to enter Nicaragua.
“The embassy person walked over and asked who they were and they told him they were from Liberia and they had been on the road about a week,” Kelly continued. “They met up with the network in Trinidad, and now they were on their way to the United States -- illegally, of course.”
Kelly said the men could make it all the way to New York City within the incubation period for Ebola of 21 days.
The D.O.D. article stated that Kelly was in “close contact” with his counterpart in the U.S. Africa Command.
:munchin
Go Devil
10-14-2014, 04:48
More warm and fuzzy about our gift from the heart of darkness.
http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2014/09/commentary-health-workers-need-optimal-respiratory-protection-ebola
Those are protocols for research on the ebola virus(es) - not for clinical management of patients with ebola.
Those are the protocols for not catching Ebola in a lab where the virus is tightly controlled. The infection/fatality rate in health care workers who are following the clinical protocols would indicate that they're somewhat lacking.
PedOncoDoc
10-14-2014, 09:34
Those are the protocols for not catching Ebola in a lab where the virus is tightly controlled. The infection/fatality rate in health care workers who are following the clinical protocols would indicate that they're somewhat lacking.
Your expectation of protocol adherence and my daily observations are unlikely to be concordant.
Are you proposing we relocate any patient that may have ebola (which starts with very nonspecific symptoms) to a BSL4 facility? What means of transport and precautions used during transport? Feasibility and cost are entirely preventative.
More warm and fuzzy about our gift from the heart of darkness.
http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2014/09/commentary-health-workers-need-optimal-respiratory-protection-ebola
There is critical truth in this article.
Everyone please read.
There is critical truth in this article.
Everyone please read.
So, why is it important if I am not a healthcare worker?
Go Devil
10-14-2014, 11:40
So, why is it important if I am not a healthcare worker?
Maybe due to math?
29020
Go Devil
10-14-2014, 11:46
.
Those patients are:
1) Reporter in Africa reporting on Ebola (transported to the US)
and
2) A healthcare worker
So, I guess you have officially become part of the Great Ebola Scare of 2014?
Go Devil
10-14-2014, 11:54
Those patients are:
1) Reporter in Africa reporting on Ebola (transported to the US)
and
2) A healthcare worker
So, I guess you have officially become part of the Great Ebola Scare of 2014?
1. The deceased individual that came from Africa.
A. His physical contacts.
2. Healthcare worker.
A. Her physical contacts.
1. The deceased individual that came from Africa.
A. His physical contacts.
2. Healthcare worker.
A. Her physical contacts.
.....like I said. The more we talk about the virtually non-existent Ebola threat, the less people are focused on real issues in the upcoming elections.
Go Devil
10-14-2014, 12:19
.....like I said. The more we talk about the virtually non-existent Ebola threat, the less people are focused on real issues in the upcoming elections.
There is no voting our way out of the rash of affairs covering this nation.
We are outnumbered.
Team Sergeant
10-14-2014, 13:15
If you like your Ebola you can keep it!!!!!
Should be the campaign slogan of the liberal/democratic/progressive/socialist party.
So, why is it important if I am not a healthcare worker?
'Course you know that this disease won't discriminate based on vocation. The protocols being followed are marginally effective at best, and the US is supposed to be the best of the best in dealing with this crap. No telling how good the protocols are in other 3rd world countries who have wonderful travel freedoms with the US.
But, your point is well taken, sir. Son and I had a warm kitchen table discussion on this subject less than 2 hrs ago. I agreed with his point that all the hype about Ebola and ISIS in an election year keeps everyone's attention away from the shithead behind the curtain or the duffer in the WH. And, of course there's not a damned thing I can do about either of them. Guess all I can do is keep alert and know when to hunker down and when to bug out. I have enough rice and red beans to last me 'til potato harvest next year.
Your expectation of protocol adherence and my daily observations are unlikely to be concordant.
Are you proposing we relocate any patient that may have ebola (which starts with very nonspecific symptoms) to a BSL4 facility? What means of transport and precautions used during transport? Feasibility and cost are entirely preventative.
No. What I'm saying is there is a gross disconnect between the protocol that is in place to prevent Ebola infection in a lab setting and the airy-fairy Ebola PPE "guidelines" that have been proven to be ineffective in stopping even C. Diff.
I've read this afternoon that they're proposing to assign an expert team leader to each hospital with a confirmed case. One major responsibility will be training and supervision of donning and doffing PPE. I've also heard from a guy working at a BSL3 facility that the CDC is scrambling to put together a protocol that includes "shower stations" and spraying the healthcare worker with an antiviral spray before removing the PPE. Steps in the right direction.
The current PPE removal procedure is shown below. Hooking off a glove with an exposed finger after suctioning an airway and cleaning up diarrhea seems a teensy bit cavalier. Obviously they're going to be scrubbing like mad, but still...
[QUOTE=sinjefe;565341
So, I guess you have officially become part of the Great Ebola Scare of 2014?[/QUOTE]
I agree that the hype is overblown. The average person has little to fear from Ebola. Healthcare workers, unfortunately, do have legitimate concerns.
Most of us visit a hospital at some point, and they're already a focal point of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. We don't need to be contending with a dangerous virus as well.
The problem is that this disease is likely to become endemic in the third world and there will be serious social and economic consequences.
Imagine the media if this was a high-mortality influenza and there were corpses in the streets.
The Reaper
10-14-2014, 19:10
The CDC Director just stated that all you need to wear for personal protective gear in an Ebola patient's treatment is a surgical mask and one pair of gloves.
Does he know something that we don't?
TR
Go Devil
10-14-2014, 19:41
As for drinking the cool aid, I don't watch TV; I turned off my cable at least 10 years ago. As far as news goes, I do not trust any information on this issue except for legitimate first hand Studies which I have been providing on this site.
My concern is that this virus is surviving outside of it's origin in an environment that is foreign to its nursery.
This virus is not like any flue that our medical environment has lost the appreciative risk for. This virus is indiscriminate of age and physical robustness.
A correlation could be similar to the Emerald Ash Borer transferred to our soil:
The American population would have a greater risk of susceptibility versus an organism that has evolved at 5 degrees above the equator in Africa.
In my opinion, this situation supersedes political rivalry and political correctness, and should be addressed in a black and white manner.
The CDC Director just stated that all you need to wear for personal protective gear in an Ebola patient's treatment is a surgical mask and one pair of gloves.
Does he know something that we don't?
TR
He has said a lot of things in the past few weeks....
NurseTim
10-14-2014, 20:38
As far as doffing PPE, why don't they spray down with a 10% clorox solution! then take off the PPE? Tends to kill the little critters and cut down on accidental exposure, that's how I see it anyway.
The CDC Director just stated that all you need to wear for personal protective gear in an Ebola patient's treatment is a surgical mask and one pair of gloves.
Does he know something that we don't?
TR
We know something he doesn't. He's an idiot.
Pat
EBOLA has gone airborne?
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-10-13/cidrap-we-believe-there-scientific-evidence-ebola-has-potential-be-airborne
I agree that the hype is overblown. The average person has little to fear from Ebola. Healthcare workers, unfortunately, do have legitimate concerns.
Most of us visit a hospital at some point, and they're already a focal point of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. We don't need to be contending with a dangerous virus as well.
The problem is that this disease is likely to become endemic in the third world and there will be serious social and economic consequences.
Imagine the media if this was a high-mortality influenza and there were corpses in the streets.
All that planning works great when the patient calls ahead as was the case at KUMC, but what happens when the person doesn't call in and walks into one the many KUMC Urgent Care facilities or walks into the ER Admissions Desk, or they make an appointment and visit one of the many satellite branches?
At present HAZMAT gear is not worn by the staff and people come and go as they please.
If they keep it contained as they have everything will be okay, but it appears to me that it would not take a whole lot to overwhelm the system and potentially they are one person away from losing control. With the Flu season arriving those waiting rooms will be full of people with all kinds of symptoms.
And in all seriousness, when Flu season arrives it is not uncommon for Office visits to be 2 weeks out and if you feel you need immediate assistance you are directed to walk in to Urgent Care which opens at 5 PM or to the ER.
If there is anything to fear it is people like Tom Frieden who keep repeating there is no danger and we have it under control.
If my wife, who works at KUMC were to contract the virus, came home and infected myself and our two kids there is the potential to continue the transmission in two schools, several soccer facilities, various Home Depot & Lowes and a large number of households I visit each and every week.
Could it happen, Yes.
Do I worry about it happening, No.
Does it consume my thoughts during the day, No.
Normal social interaction with the infected doesn't appear to be dangerous. Up to your elbows in stool and changing bed linen--dangerous.
Go Devil
10-15-2014, 09:43
Second nurse with Ebola.
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/nurse-infected-ebola-jetliner-diagnosis/story?id=26206090
So now that a second health care worker has been confirmed to have contracted the virus from 'Patient Zero', the question I have is ..... What about his family and those with whom he was staying with in Dallas?
What happened to them?
Where are they?
Are they in isolation somewhere being monitored?
They surely had a longer exposure time with Mr. Dalton them either one of these nurses.
:munchin
Team Sergeant
10-15-2014, 10:29
So now that a second health care worker has been confirmed to have contracted the virus from 'Patient Zero', the question I have is ..... What about his family and those with whom he was staying with in Dallas?
What happened to them?
Where are they?
Are they in isolation somewhere being monitored?
They surely had a longer exposure time with Mr. Dalton them either one of these nurses.
:munchin
Seriously "What Does It Matter Now?"
Until ebola affects a high level liberal, or liberal politician no one really cares. Even Zero was playing golf when the first ebola patient was discovered and even when he did find out he did nothing. Well except open the borders to allow the free flow of Africans in affected countries to visit America. And send 3000 "soldiers" to "fight" a virus....... brilliant move.
"If You Like Your Ebola You Can Keep It."
Campaign Slogan of the Democratic/progressive/socialist party....
The markets are crashing, down over 2%. I just saw an interview with a Federal Reserve governor (Sixth District IIRC) who said they think the Ebola scare was the straw that broke the camel's back. Europe's a mess financially, China is slowing, the Saudis have started a full-blown price war and OPEC is in shambles, and there was disappointing news about the American economy this morning. All true. But at least one Fed official is blaming Ebola.
The start of the market crash coincided with release of info that the second healthcare worker diagnosed with Ebola flew on a Frontier flight the day before she was admitted for treatment.
Continuing their despicable MO, the CDC is blaming the nurse, saying she shouldn't have taken public transportation after caring for an Ebola patient. Other nurses on the team are livid, saying they received no such a directive...just assurances that there was minuscule risk that they could contract the disease.
Just goes to show how a "black swan" event can have an effect disproportionate to its true risk.
So now that a second health care worker has been confirmed to have contracted the virus from 'Patient Zero', the question I have is ..... What about his family and those with whom he was staying with in Dallas?
What happened to them?
Where are they?
Are they in isolation somewhere being monitored?
They surely had a longer exposure time with Mr. Dalton them either one of these nurses.
:munchin
If they're really stupid they'll start to withhold info, citing HIPAA. Wouldn't put it past them; this hasn't been public health's finest hour.
To keep things in perspective, about 50,000 people die of seasonal flu each year.
For you preppers out there, this is a fascinating exercise that's unfolding before us. All diseases exist in an ecological and sociological context. We're seeing how the media and the 24-hour news cycle contribute to that context.
I said it before in the panflu thread: cultures can generally hold things together until there are unprocessed bodies in the street. In 1918 there were bodies placed curbside in Boston, Philly, Chicago, etc, but the mortuary carts kept rolling and picked them up. There are bodies rotting in the street in West Africa -- that's what has the WHO spooked.
There's no reason for events to progress to that point in the US -- barring the MSM whipping public perception into a frothing panic.
If they're really stupid they'll start to withhold info, citing HIPAA. Wouldn't put it past them; this hasn't been public health's finest hour.
My wife cited HIPAA the other day and told me she could lose her job if she told me, if word traveled and if it came back to her.
PedOncoDoc
10-15-2014, 14:43
My wife cited HIPAA the other day and told me she could lose her job if she told me, if word traveled and if it came back to her.
Hopefully this wasn't in reference to an inquiry about a previously unnoticed rash on her person. :D
Well from my back porch I can see Tallmadge, Ohio. Now, it has been transferred to Cleveland and now Tallmadge. The male in question that is suppose to be quarantining himself in his own house is here fiance. Here family members work at nearby Kent State. The patient who is now infected had contact with patient zero. Accordingly our numnut Director for the CDC says she shouldn't have traveled because she was one of the 70+ who took care of patient zero. WOW, really doc?
The news says that all of the Summit County has been trained for this for decades. Really, I received my own suit and respirator and 8 hours of training 15 years ago? We in Akron, are not prepared for this if it should suddenly blow up in our face.
She, states that she took her temperature before the flight and after the flight and her temperature was circa 99.5. Personally, I think she is lying. Why would I say that she is lying? Well because she was not to leave Dallas or even travel. Now her mother, mother-in-law, and her fiance may have it and the only one of the three that are doing anything about it is the fiance. Her other members of her family which might include the other two are allowed to travel back in forth to Kent State and back to who knows where.
Oh, and the plane she flew on back to Dallas was disinfected supposedly twice before its flight to Denver that has already taken off from what I see on the news.
Supposedly, they (Summit County Health Department/CDC expert for Ohio) says that they are taking the temperature of the fiance twice daily.
Where is mugwump when I need him?:munchin Any other Docs here on this forum?
Now they have disinfected the concourse where the plane took off from and came in at.
My question to the Docs and mugwump is this. How do you disinfect an airliner twice in one day? They assure the passengers going to Denver have to be a little concerned. Cleveland just found out at approximately 0600 Hrs. this morning of her having full blown Ebola from Dallas. Akron was notified at approximately 1010 Hrs. today. I am just mystified on how you would do this and what you would use to clean the airplane. By the way, they moved that plane to a vacant part far from the concourses there and cleaned it.
Now they are saying that she has three relatives that work at Kent State and they (KSU) have asked them probably politely, please don't come to work. Still, they are trying to determine where these people have been including Amber Vinson within the last 4 days.
They are also talking about possible charges against Ms. Vinson if she lives.:mad:
Go Devil
10-15-2014, 16:13
To keep things in perspective, about 50,000 people die of seasonal flu each year.
For you preppers out there, this is a fascinating exercise that's unfolding before us. All diseases exist in an ecological and sociological context. We're seeing how the media and the 24-hour news cycle contribute to that context.
I said it before in the panflu thread: cultures can generally hold things together until there are unprocessed bodies in the street. In 1918 there were bodies placed curbside in Boston, Philly, Chicago, etc, but the mortuary carts kept rolling and picked them up. There are bodies rotting in the street in West Africa -- that's what has the WHO spooked.
There's no reason for events to progress to that point in the US -- barring the MSM whipping public perception into a frothing panic.
The numbers that you provided concerning death from the flu each year.....
What is the demographic of the deceaced and common ages?
What is the survivability rate?
They are also talking about possible charges against Ms. Vinson if she lives.:mad:
What a joke......It's the the Obama Administrations fault she has Ebola in the first place......Tom Frieden is guilty of spreading lies and disinformation....if she dies they are guilty of murder.
Hopefully this wasn't in reference to an inquiry about a previously unnoticed rash on her person. :D
:D
The numbers that you provided concerning death from the flu each year.....
What is the demographic of the deceaced and common ages?
What is the survivability rate?
This is your assignment for the week. Report back to the class.
Let's review the bidding:
1) Not a lot of research regarding the aerosol transmission of the virus, and CIDRAP is taking a "better safe than sorry" approach (e.g., N95 masks, gloves and eyepro don't cut it)
2) Not a lot of research or scientific certainty on cross species transmission, but has been observed in dogs, pigs and rodents (with some evidence of asymptomatic infection)
3) One supposedly isn't contagious until symptoms present, yet early symptoms are very similar to the flu (and we're entering flu season); a nagging cough and low grade fever can be symptoms
4) The virus can live outside a host on contaminated surfaces for varying times, depending on conditions and what research you choose to endorse
5) Transmission has been shown through experimentation to occur through contact with body fluids up to 7 weeks following patient "recovery"
6) It's a virus; they tend to mutate to adapt to changing environments rather handily
Sounds like there's still a great deal we just don't know about the virus, despite all the reassurances from the talking heads (Sheppard Smith, until you can show me a med school diploma with your name on it, shut the F up).
To keep things in perspective, about 50,000 people die of seasonal flu each year.
How many of those are health care workers who treated them?
Pat
BREAKING>> Emergency Dallas Commissioners Ct. Meeting Set for tomorrow at 2pm to declare Local State of Disaster
https://twitter.com/MeredithNBC5/status/522541395899609088
While the message from the President is 'keep calm and avoid bodily fluids', it appears the commissioners in Dallas are slightly more concerned at the potential for Ebola to escalate:
*DALLAS COMMISSIONERS TO DECLARE LOCAL STATE OF DISASTER TOMORROW: NBC-TV
*DALLAS COUNTY CONSIDERS DECLARING STATE OF DISASTER FROM EBOLA
*DALLAS DISASTER DECLARATION WOULD ACTIVATE EMERGENCY PLAN
While we are not sure where a "state of disaster" ranks relative to a "public health emergency" such as the one in Connecticut, we are certain of one thing - it will mean civil liberties will be reduced as government takes control.
BREAKING>> Emergency Dallas Commissioners Ct. Meeting Set for tomorr
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-10-15/dallas-commissioners-will-declare-state-disaster-tomorrow-over-ebola-fears
Go Devil
10-15-2014, 20:09
This is your assignment for the week. Report back to the class.
Based upon my readings from the CDC, comparing the flu to Ebola is an off the cuff comparison as in "Apples to Oranges", and I believe that you understand this.
Over a 30 year period, mortality rates range from 3 - 40 thousand with the flu exacerbating existing conditions such as heart and respiratory disease. The aged and children being the primary victims.
http://m.cdc.gov/en/HealthSafetyTopics/DiseasesConditions/SeasonalFlu/About/keyFacts
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/disease/us_flu-related_deaths.htm?mobile=nocontent
Ebola doesn't kill it's host by preying on existing physical conditions or ailments.
Ebola's victims cover the spectrum of age.
Just want to make sure I am not misunderstanding something, but how can an event have an effect disproportionate to its true risk? Wouldn't it's "true risk" be the disproportionate effect itself?
Things could change, but right now the risk of you or me or any average Joe catching Ebola appears minuscule. But if the markets crash there will be a lot of misery out there. If people stop traveling there will be a lot of people out of jobs. If everyone is consumed by this issue when there are other serious issues being ignored, it could have serious consequences. If healthcare workers stay home in droves then a lot of sick folk are going to die who might otherwise have lived. That's what I mean by an effect disproportionate to its true risk. Large consequences from a small risk.
Based upon my readings from the CDC, comparing the flu to Ebola is an off the cuff comparison as in "Apples to Oranges", and I believe that you understand this.
Over a 30 year period, mortality rates range from 3 - 40 thousand with the flu exacerbating existing conditions such as heart and respiratory disease. The aged and children being the primary victims.
http://m.cdc.gov/en/HealthSafetyTopics/DiseasesConditions/SeasonalFlu/About/keyFacts
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/disease/us_flu-related_deaths.htm?mobile=nocontent
Ebola doesn't kill it's host by preying on existing physical conditions or ailments.
Ebola's victims cover the spectrum of age.
Over the last five years flu mortality averaged about 36k in the US, with most epidemiologists thinking it's under reported by 100-200%. I'd wager a mortgage payment that 50k is closer to reality than 3k. I'll also bet you that more healthy young adults, 18-35 years old, without a single co-morbidity factor, die of flu in 2014 than die of Ebola in the same cohort. Influenza is the scariest disease on the planet. If the wrong one breaks out it could end civilization.
Ebola is also a scary disease and the public health agencies have bungled things badly. But unless the attack rate changes pretty drastically this just doesn't seem to be a major threat. We'll know more in the next few weeks. But if the symptomatic "second nurse" who flew to Kent state and back only spawns two new infections, or less, then this disease is going to burn out in the US. My opinion only.
Ahhh, okay, I see now. Basically a mountain out of a molehill.
Ha. Yes. Never use a two dollar word when a fifty-center will do.
The Reaper
10-15-2014, 21:26
Over the last five years flu mortality averaged about 36k in the US, with most epidemiologists thinking it's under reported by 100-200%. I'd wager a mortgage payment that 50k is closer to reality than 3k. I'll also bet you that more healthy young adults, 18-35 years old, without a single co-morbidity factor, die of flu in 2014 than die of Ebola in the same cohort. Influenza is the scariest disease on the planet. If the wrong one breaks out it could end civilization.
Ebola is also a scary disease and the public health agencies have bungled things badly. But unless the attack rate changes pretty drastically this just doesn't seem to be a major threat. We'll know more in the next few weeks. But if the symptomatic "second nurse" who flew to Kent state and back only spawns two new infections, or less, then this disease is going to burn out in the US. My opinion only.
That assumes that the government somehow keeps additional Ebola carriers from arriving here in the US, correct?
How do you think they will accomplish that?
TR
If everyone is consumed by this issue when there are other serious issues being ignored, it could have serious consequences. If healthcare workers stay home in droves then a lot of sick folk are going to die who might otherwise have lived. That's what I mean by an effect disproportionate to its true risk. Large consequences from a small risk.
You're right. Guess our Government needs to get its head out of its ass and start managing emergency responses instead of waiting until after the situation is turning to crap. "Prior planning prevents, etc, etc..."
What we've seen to date out of CDC and our Dear Leader for Life reeks of the roll out of Obamacare. "Nothing new, here. Same old shit. Move along. Period."
(For cryin' out loud!)
Over the last five years flu mortality averaged about 36k in the US, with most epidemiologists thinking it's under reported by 100-200%. I'd wager a mortgage payment that 50k is closer to reality than 3k. I'll also bet you that more healthy young adults, 18-35 years old, without a single co-morbidity factor, die of flu in 2014 than die of Ebola in the same cohort. ....
Hey Mugwump;
I did a fast search and could only find the stats where they lumped the 18 - 65 people into the adult category and that it was up last flue season from 47% to 61%.
You have any stats on death rates from flue broken down by like 1 - 18, 19 - 35, 36 - 65 and older than 65?
I'm just hoping that this thing doesn't go much further than it already has. The nurse diddly-bopping into Cleveland knowing full well she just aided in the direct treatment of an Ebola patient, was indeed a dumb ass move. Wedding or not, she should have stayed her ass home just in case. That's what Skype is for.
Go Devil
10-16-2014, 08:17
Maybe the TSA can reprogram their body scanners to check for body temperature as well as pathogen?!!
Last night's news stated that she was in touch with the Dallas Presbyterian Hospital and called in her temperature readings while she was here. I believe the last temp before she left was supposedly 99.5. I still do not believe her.
I have had several viruses that I have never had a temperature but I still was sick as you know what. Why is the temperature of the person so important when I know people who will run a temperature and others that do not while being sick with a virus. Plus using Tylenol, Motrin, and Advil can lower the temperature so effectively? Right?
Plus people around here are still in shock because they haven't been able to fully trace her whereabouts yet?
I don't know if she was trying to hide anything because otherwise, why call the CDC in the first place? Why not just hop onto a plane and not say anything?
It turns out now that she might of been infectious on Friday of last week. Accordingly, more people who had been in her presence at the Bridal Shop (around the corner from me), and more of her family and including a person who had contact with her and sent her child to school are now being quarantined. If you watch the CDC's version she was lying and shouldn't of been allowed to travel here. There is so much BS going on around the CDC and this nurse that you need wings just to stay above it all. So who's really telling the truth is beyond me. All I know is that if another person contracts the disease either here where I live or in Dallas, I think we will now have a very real dangerous situation. If this person gets the disease and had contact with Ms. Vinson, people here are really going to go nuts!
Old Dog New Trick
10-16-2014, 22:23
Watching this calamity unfold is like watching a slow motion train wreck and the Diector of the CDC (Dr. Tom Frankenstein, (sic) the Engineer driving the train right now) much like the last Director of HHS (ObamaCare) and fill in the blank for a few other three and one four (USSS) letter agency directors' making decisions that affect all Americans is becoming farcical.
This train is going to run off the tracks pretty soon and it's going to crash in a well populated under prepared location.
I hope FEMA has finished building some of those "camps" they are going to be needed to house either the sick or the healthy. :rolleyes:
Somebody on here, maybe not this thread mentioned the creation of an "Ebola Czar".....
Guess what I heard on the news this AM???...yup, he's thinking about it.
Do we really need another highly paid "appointee" to manage this?? Why not just hold the persons acountable who can direct measures now???
Holy crap....
But, it does make him (POTUS) feel good, so therefore, it will work...:rolleyes:
Someone else to put the blame on, and buffer himself...
Somebody on here, maybe not this thread mentioned the creation of an "Ebola Czar".....
Guess what I heard on the news this AM???...yup, he's thinking about it.
Do we really need another highly paid "appointee" to manage this?? Why not just hold the persons acountable who can direct measures now???
Holy crap....
But, it does make him (POTUS) feel good, so therefore, it will work...:rolleyes:
Someone else to put the blame on, and buffer himself...
We have an Ebola Czar.....Tom Frieden
This train is going to run off the tracks pretty soon and it's going to crash in a well populated under prepared location.
This is what the O-Show is hoping for, and they are hoping an antidote miraculously appears just in time to save humanity and to prove that Obama is President of the World.....if it doesn't work out that way the O-Show will have proved that America is not exceptional, Americans can get Ebola just like everyone else and that now America can truly feel the pain of Africa.
*snip*
By Kelly Riddell - The Washington Times - Thursday, October 16, 2014
Top public health officials have collected $25 million in bonuses since 2007, carving out extra pay for themselves in tight federal budgetary times while blaming a lack of money for the Obama administration’s lackluster response to the Ebola outbreak.
U.S. taxpayers gave $6 billion in salaries and $25 million in bonuses to an elite corps of health care specialists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention since 2007, according to data compiled by American Transparency’s OpenTheBooks.com, an online portal aggregating 1.3 billion lines of federal, state and local spending. The agency’s head count increased by 23 percent during that time, adding manpower and contributing to higher payrolls despite relatively flat funding.
From 2010 to 2013, all federal wages were frozen because of budgetary constraints, but CDC officials found a way to pay themselves through bonuses, overtime, within-grade increases and promotion pay raises.
SEE ALSO: Obama OKs military reserves for Ebola fight
Donald Shriber, deputy director of policy and communication at the CDC’s Center for Global Health, received the highest bonus in the six years analyzed — $62,895 in 2011 — netting $242,595 in take-home pay in a year when wages were supposed to be frozen.
Mr. Shriber was one of 54 employees governmentwide, and one of four in the Department of Health and Human Services, recognized with the Presidential Rank Award for his leadership abilities that year, which accounted for the bonus, said Donda Hansen, a media representative for the CDC.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/oct/16/cdc-blames-cuts-for-ebola-response-pays-millions-i/
And the hits keep coming....you can't make this shit up!
BioFire Diagnostics, a Utah-based firm that produces disease detection technology, confirmed that the Dallas Presbyterian Hospital did in fact have one of the machines (possibly for as long as two years) sitting on the shelf when Duncan came in.
But unless hospitals agree to use the machine specifically for research purposes, rather than actually diagnosing patients with Ebola, they can’t look for Ebola in samples.
The FDA rules in what are called “research use only” machines are far more lax than for machines that must provide clinical diagnosis. According to representatives from BioFire, even after the FDA approved the use of the machine for Ebola screening and allowed workers at the hospital to acquire the proper kit for Ebola testing, a 10-20 day “validation” procedure would kick in before they could change the machine’s use from diagnostics to research — and the results would have to go to the Centers for Disease Control for confirmation.
http://www.defenseone.com/threats/2014/10/dallas-hospital-had-ebola-screening-machine-military-using-africa/96713/?oref=d-river
We have an Ebola Czar.....Tom Frieden
This is what the O-Show is hoping for, and they are hoping an antidote miraculously appears just in time to save humanity and to prove that Obama is President of the World.....if it doesn't work out that way the O-Show will have proved that America is not exceptional, Americans can get Ebola just like everyone else and that now America can truly feel the pain of Africa.
'Murica, facing down the Obola outbreak since 2008...;)
Lots and lots of rings in this circus - sounds vaguely familiar - and so it goes...
Richard
A Guide To The Ebola Blame Game
Time, 16 Oct 2014
The Ebola crisis in Texas has resulted in the death of one patient, the infection of two health care workers, and an endless round of finger-pointing—all of which is yielding a flurry of conflicting news accounts and a very confused public.
Here’s a rundown of who has been blaming who, and when.
The player: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Who they’re blaming: Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, an infected nurse, and the CDC itself
•CDC Director Tom Frieden on Sunday blamed a “breach in protocol” for allowing the infection of nurse Nina Pham.
•Frieden admitted on Tuesday the CDC could have done more: “We did send some expertise in infection control but think in retrospect, with 20-20 hindsight, we could have sent a more robust hospital infection control team, and been more hands on at the hospital on day one about exactly how this [case] should be managed. We will do that from now on any time we have a confirmed case.”
•Frieden, commenting on the infection of the second nurse, Amanda Joy Vinson, said: “She should not have flown on [a plane].”
•But a CDC spokesman later explained to TIME that the agency had actually asked Vinson to travel: As officials widened the net of people who needed to be monitored, Vinson was in Ohio and the CDC told her to go back to Dallas. Her temperature was 99.5°F, the spokesperson said. “Most doctors would call that a slight temperature, not a fever,” he said. “At that point, she was asked by CDC to come back to Dallas so she could be monitored, and she came back.”
The player: Dallas nurse Amber Joy Vinson
Who they’re blaming: The CDC
•Vinson said she was cleared by the CDC for travel, which a spokesman later confirmed. She traveled to Cleveland to plan her wedding.
The player: Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital
Who they’re blaming: Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital and National Nurses United
•The hospital originally released Thomas Eric Duncan, the first patient diagnosed in the U.S., who later died. Later, after his diagnosis, the hospital offered a number of reasons for not treating him immediately. At first, the hospital said a computer glitch was responsible for his travel history not being communicated to staff, and then said a nurse did not provide Duncan’s travel history to a physician. Finally, the hospital admitted it made a mistake.
•The hospital refuted claims from a nurses’ union that nurses weren’t adequately trained: “The assertions [of National Nurses United] do not reflect actual facts learned from the medical record and interactions with clinical caregivers. Our hospital followed the Centers for Disease Control guidelines and sought additional guidance and clarity.”
The player: Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital
Who they’re blaming: Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital and National Nurses United
•The hospital originally released Thomas Eric Duncan, the first patient diagnosed in the U.S., who later died. Later, after his diagnosis, the hospital offered a number of reasons for not treating him immediately. At first, the hospital said a computer glitch was responsible for his travel history not being communicated to staff, and then said a nurse did not provide Duncan’s travel history to a physician. Finally, the hospital admitted it made a mistake.
•The hospital refuted claims from a nurses’ union that nurses weren’t adequately trained: “The assertions [of National Nurses United] do not reflect actual facts learned from the medical record and interactions with clinical caregivers. Our hospital followed the Centers for Disease Control guidelines and sought additional guidance and clarity.”
The player: Emory University Hospital
Who they’re blaming: The CDC
•Sean G. Kaufman, who oversaw infection control at Emory University Hospital, told the New York Times that the CDC’s guidelines are “absolutely irresponsible and dead wrong,” and that he tried to warn that they were not stringent enough and “they kind of blew me off. I’m happy to see they’re changing them, but it’s late.”
The player: National Nurses United
Who they’re blaming: Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, the CDC
•A statement from the union cites “confusion” and “frequently changing policies and protocols” at the hospital: “No one knew what the protocols were or were able to verify what kind of personal protective equipment should be worn and there was no training.”
•RoseAnn DeMoro, the union’s head, contested the CDC’s claim that nurses didn’t follow protocol: “The protocols that should have been in place in Dallas were not in place, and that those protocols are not in place anywhere in the United States as far as we can tell.”
The player: Republicans
Who they’re blaming: Frieden, an open border, Democrats, President Barack Obama
•Mitt Romney, the 2012 presidential candidate: “Look this administration couldn’t run the IRS right, and it apparently isn’t running the CDC right. And you ask yourself what is it going to take to have a president who really focuses on the interests of the American people.”
•Republican Rep. Thom Tillis, a Senate candidate in North Carolina: “Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve got an Ebola outbreak, we have bad actors that can come across the border. We need to seal the border and secure it.”
•New Hampshire Senate candidate Scott Brown addressing his opponent’s record: “I think it’s naive to think that people aren’t going to be walking through here who have those types of diseases and/or other types of intent, criminal or terrorist. And yet we do nothing to secure our border. It’s dangerous. And that’s the difference. I voted to secure it. Senator Shaheen has not.”
The player: Democrats
Who they’re blaming: Republicans
•The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, in an ad targeting GOP congressional candidates: “Republicans voted to cut CDC’s budget to fight Ebola.”
The player: Dallas Nurse Briana Aguirre
Who they’re blaming: Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital
•Aguirre told NBC that she “can no longer defend [her] hospital at all.” She said infection control was far too lax, waste was not properly taken care of, and the hospital didn’t provide any mandatory education or information about Ebola outside of an optional seminar before Thomas Eric Duncan arrived at the hospital.
They player: National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins
Who they’re blaming: Budget cuts, Congress
•“NIH has been working on Ebola vaccines since 2001. It’s not like we suddenly woke up and thought, ‘Oh my gosh, we should have something ready here,'” Collins told The Huffington Post. “Frankly, if we had not gone through our 10-year slide in research support, we probably would have had a vaccine in time for this that would’ve gone through clinical trials and would have been ready.”
http://time.com/3513274/ebola-cdc-obama-blame/?xid=newsletter-brief#3513274/ebola-cdc-obama-blame/
Snaquebite
10-17-2014, 09:24
I find it strange that none of Patient 0's family or friends who were in close contact with him after he arrived have yet to show any signs of contracting the disease. They were definitely in contact with him unprotected longer than anyone who treated him after he was diagnosed.