[LarryW]

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/lo...7a43b2370.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.”