Ebola: "Out of Control in West Africa"

[Trapper John]

Originally Posted by Richard

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?

Richard

The U.S. Army Special Forces — Walter Reed Army Institute of Research Field Epidemiological Survey Team (Airborne)

http://www.jsomonline.org/Publicatio...9254Dorogi.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".

[Sdiver]

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/n...bola-exposure/

[Sdiver]

... 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-c...ry?id=25873850

[Flagg]

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?

[Stobey]

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.)

[Detonics]

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.

[LarryW]

(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...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.)

[Paslode]

https://twitter.com/TwitchyTeam/stat...54393288740864

CNN: Ambulance 'in use for two days after the EBOLA patient was transported' http://

http://kdvr.com/2014/09/30/reports-c...gnosed-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]

Here we go....

TR

[Old Dog New Trick]

Originally Posted by The Reaper

Here we go....

TR

No, no, no, Director Frieden, of the CDC says there is absolutely, positively, nothing to worry about!

[Constant]

Originally Posted by Constant

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.

[Paslode]

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/...84532420661248


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...hts-over-ebola

[BryanK]

Well, that was fast...

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...ient/16525649/

[The Reaper]

Originally Posted by BryanK

Well, that was fast...

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...ient/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

[LarryW]

Originally Posted by The Reaper

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...