Ebola outbreak - general thread #2

[trigger]

Seriously,,, I cant !


WFAA-TV
7 mins ·
UPDATE: Cleanup at the home, where family members remain quarantined, has been placed on hold due to a permit problem.

This is just insane....

 

[AlwaysShocked]

It was reported earlier that the haz waste people are sitting outside the apartment "awaiting a transport permit". Whaaa? What kind of legitimate haz waste removal company doesn't already have a transport permit?

Who is running this circus?

 

[popsicle]

"An inmate in the Cobb County jail who said he recently traveled to Africa and was found to have “flu-like symptoms,” has been transferred to WellStar Kennestone Hospital for further testing, the Cobb Sheriff's Office reports." The MDJ, sourcing a Cobb County official, details:

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/story/26698613/1-examined-after-cobb-jail-ebola-scare

 

[Ladylub]

Why doesn't the CDC have a cleaning crew in their back pocket? One that is fully trained to go in and clean up infectious diseases. Doesn't even have to be a full time crew but one that they can call on when needed.

 

[SCHMAE]

Hey guys, I am trying to figure out the percentage of people that are in direct contact with a person ill with ebola with active symptoms, that then goes on to become infected with symptoms. I have tried googling but all I get are mortality rates. Does anyone here know? tyia

Do you mean if you took a sample of ebola virus and put it on the hands of 10 people, how many would get sick? Or had 10 people ingest it ? I do not know the answer, but I would say this is going to depend on each person's immune system, maybe? You know there are those people who ' NEVER' get sick literally even though their whole family has the flu once a year and 3 colds a year . I don't know the answer, but it would be good to know.

 

[SCHMAE]

"An inmate in the Cobb County jail who said he recently traveled to Africa and was found to have “flu-like symptoms,” has been transferred to WellStar Kennestone Hospital for further testing, the Cobb Sheriff's Office reports." The MDJ, sourcing a Cobb County official, details:

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/story/26698613/1-examined-after-cobb-jail-ebola-scare

This has the potential to get stupid really quickly because at any given time, don't probably a few million citizens have ' flu like ' symptoms from FLU or other bugs? At what point do you draw the line or will they quarantine everyone who has diarrhea ? Or a fever? Messy!

 

[Peliman]

Cleaning crew must be drawing straws to figure out who's doing what or if they really want that job.

 

[popsicle]

This has the potential to get stupid really quickly because at any given time, don't probably a few million citizens have ' flu like ' symptoms from FLU or other bugs? At what point do you draw the line or will they quarantine everyone who has diarrhea ? Or a fever? Messy!

If he is showing symptoms it is simple to get a test done. But just imagine if the result is positive, what that will entail.. o.m.g.

 

[LinasK]

The hospital is blaming the break down in communication the first time he went to the hospital on a "tech flaw." What happened to nurses actually talking to the doctors to fill them in on a patients' status? http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ebola-d...lectronic-records-glitch-for-patient-mistake/

Well, the national healthcare system has gone to electronic records, so maybe the nurse didn't ask him about his travels to countries that have Ebola. Somehow a lightbulb didn't go off when he said he was from Liberia. I'm thinking the nurse is more at fault for not catching that info. rather than the doctor, but the doctor should have been the safety net to isolate him the first time.

 

[Le Singe]

I am wondering if the virus is more or less likely to spread quickly in the U.S.

Yes, we have hospitals and medical infrastructure, but I would hazard to guess that the average person in the U.S. comes into contact with many more people on a daily basis than a lot of people in Africa which would make it harder to identify all points of contact of an infected person.

Any thoughts from anyone on whether this would be easier or harder to contain in the U.S. than other areas?

Your thoughts on less people in Africa would be true for previous outbreaks (which is why they were easily contained) BUT this time it has gotten in to cities that are every bit as dense as Americans if not more (part of the reason it has gotten so bad). But it will not spread so quickly over here for several reasons:

1. General hygiene and sanitary conditions are so much better here.
2. Most Americans trust the healthcare system and will listen to their advice; also hospitals will save many more people here so everyone will realize that their best chance to live is to go to the healthcare system immediately after feeling symptoms which means they will be isolated very soon after becoming contagious. In Africa in many cases seeking the healthcare system is simply going away somewhere to die so even some educated and most uneducated people think what’s the point I’ll just stay home. This causes them to infect many members of their family and if they die at home their dead body is super dangerous.
3. I have followed the Ebola outbreak closely for several months to the point of reading African newspapers (oi vey), and there is something that I can't quite understand but is very real. There is a huge stigma on Ebola and many even educated people, who should know better, refuse to acknowledge that Ebola is real and around. One of the nurses who got it in Nigeria and eventually died gave it to her husband (possibly fiancé I don’t remember) who got very sick, but survived. I saw and interview with this guy and he totally refuses to believe he had Ebola and you can tell he believes it to his core ... He even totally accepts that his wife had it and he got sick after tending to her but cannot even entertain the thought that he had Ebola ... he was a university graduate and worked in marketing for an oil company so we're not talking about some dude in the bush with a bone through his nose. It’s almost like some of the people think if they just refuse to accept that they are getting sick they won't. Needless to say this causes them to go around and expose many more people.
4. In the US culturally we have little contact with dead bodies, often they will die in a hospital and then they are taken to a morgue. I don't think there is even such a thing as a morgue in Africa. People bury their own and tradition is that the family washes the body and people kiss the corpse at the funeral. The body of someone who just died of Ebola is massively filled with the virus and is the most contagious thing there is. But again there is the stigma and all kind of people try to hurry up and quickly bury their family members because they refuse to accept that they died of Ebola and it’s almost like if they can bury them before the crews come to test them they won't have to accept that they died from Ebola. And if they don’t accept they had Ebola they wash the body and kiss the corpse.

The stigma is weird this one village refuse to acknowledge Ebola was there, but were super pissed off because they were certain someone had poisoned there well causing all these people to die. I don’t doubt this guy from Liberia didn't think he had been exposed the family told him she didn't have it and he believed them because he didn't want to believe otherwise or just couldn’t. Now he has spread it here, so you see what a problem this is.

 

[SweetT]

If he is showing symptoms it is simple to get a test done. But just imagine if the result is positive, what that will entail.. o.m.g.

I think if he hadn't recently been in Africa they may not have worried so much.

 

[Lyra500]

I am wondering if the virus is more or less likely to spread quickly in the U.S.

Yes, we have hospitals and medical infrastructure, but I would hazard to guess that the average person in the U.S. comes into contact with many more people on a daily basis than a lot of people in Africa which would make it harder to identify all points of contact of an infected person.

Any thoughts from anyone on whether this would be easier or harder to contain in the U.S. than other areas?

I have just got back from work and am catching up, so please forgive me if this one has already been done to death.

I don't think that people in US come into contact with more people that in the capitals of Nigeria and Senegal - yet both of these countries managed to contain their outbreaks. Lagos is one of the most over populated cities on earth isn't it - yet they managed to do the required contact tracing and isolation.

 

[Le Singe]

The longer this goes on the more I feel the Feds need to move in and take management of this out of the hands of the locals. The locals seem clueless and disorganized. I have to wonder if political considerations are delaying this- as well as delaying a ban on flights from the affected areas.

the problem is like in many things the feds. don't have the man power to go in and take over. CDC is supposed to be there basically as an expert source of information to advise locals what to do.

 

[cobalt sky]

This has the potential to get stupid really quickly because at any given time, don't probably a few million citizens have ' flu like ' symptoms from FLU or other bugs? At what point do you draw the line or will they quarantine everyone who has diarrhea ? Or a fever? Messy!

I think the key here is that he has recently traveled to Africa, I imagine they have determined proof of this and that is why they are taking precautions with him in particular .

 

[cady]

Why doesn't the CDC have a cleaning crew in their back pocket? One that is fully trained to go in and clean up infectious diseases. Doesn't even have to be a full time crew but one that they can call on when needed.

I believe that they do, but Texas Law trumps the CDC. Texas is running the show, for now. JMO

 

[Le Singe]

JMO Just WHY is it that we can save the day in other countries, but are bumbling fools in saving ourselves domestically??? I won't go into a long rant, but we were all told how manageable Ebola would be here, because of our superior abilities..........Perhaps we need to take a few lessons from Nigeria in disease crisis management. aargh. JMO

it's been a rocky start but the ship hasn't gone down just yet hopefully this will scare them into better action. I know thats a joke about Nigeria but TBH they totally bungled things for the first couple of days too they just weren't having to do things under the spotlight. So there is yet hope.

 

[Sonya610]

well heck, reckon I'm going to drink wine from now on..lol

the laughter is because I need a way of venting...nervous laughter..

chit, double chit,,

I agree, wine is a good idea.

But seriously I don't think there will ever be a MAJOR outbreak in the U.S.

And no that isn't cause of our great hospitals....

We have a different culture, a different population, and a different climate.

If this chit starts invading the U.S. most folks will take measures. That means disinfectants, not casually touching strangers (i.e. brushing against sweaty people in a crowd), not having unprotected sex with strangers (HIV isn't a huge big deal anymore, and we all remember that it signaled the "end of times" 30 years ago).

I don't think Ebola will ravage any other regions outside of Sub-Saharan Africa. Unless....it mutates and becomes airborne. If it goes airborne then we are living in one of those apocalyptic disaster/zombie movies.

LOL.

 

[ClaireNC]

This has the potential to get stupid really quickly because at any given time, don't probably a few million citizens have ' flu like ' symptoms from FLU or other bugs? At what point do you draw the line or will they quarantine everyone who has diarrhea ? Or a fever? Messy!

You and I are thinking alike today, Schmae. The media is creating panic with all these reports and why are the hospitals releasing the information at all. They should wait and only report if there are confirmed cases.

 

[txanmom]

Your thoughts on less people in Africa would be true for previous outbreaks (which is why they were easily contained) BUT this time it has gotten in to cities that are every bit as dense as Americans if not more (part of the reason it has gotten so bad). But it will not spread so quickly over here for several reasons:

1. General hygiene and sanitary conditions are so much better here.
2. Most Americans trust the healthcare system and will listen to their advice; also hospitals will save many more people here so everyone will realize that their best chance to live is to go to the healthcare system immediately after feeling symptoms which means they will be isolated very soon after becoming contagious. In Africa in many cases seeking the healthcare system is simply going away somewhere to die so even some educated and most uneducated people think what’s the point I’ll just stay home. This causes them to infect many members of their family and if they die at home their dead body is super dangerous.
3. I have followed the Ebola outbreak closely for several months to the point of reading African newspapers (oi vey), and there is something that I can't quite understand but is very real. There is a huge stigma on Ebola and many even educated people, who should know better, refuse to acknowledge that Ebola is real and around. One of the nurses who got it in Nigeria and eventually died gave it to her husband (possibly fiancé I don’t remember) who got very sick, but survived. I saw and interview with this guy and he totally refuses to believe he had Ebola and you can tell he believes it to his core ... He even totally accepts that his wife had it and he got sick after tending to her but cannot even entertain the thought that he had Ebola ... he was a university graduate and worked in marketing for an oil company so we're not talking about some dude in the bush with a bone through his nose. It’s almost like some of the people think if they just refuse to accept that they are getting sick they won't. Needless to say this causes them to go around and expose many more people.
4. In the US culturally we have little contact with dead bodies, often they will die in a hospital and then they are taken to a morgue. I don't think there is even such a thing as a morgue in Africa. People bury their own and tradition is that the family washes the body and people kiss the corpse at the funeral. The body of someone who just died of Ebola is massively filled with the virus and is the most contagious thing there is. But again there is the stigma and all kind of people try to hurry up and quickly bury their family members because they refuse to accept that they died of Ebola and it’s almost like if they can bury them before the crews come to test them they won't have to accept that they died from Ebola. And if they don’t accept they had Ebola they wash the body and kiss the corpse.

The stigma is weird this one village refuse to acknowledge Ebola was there, but were super pissed off because they were certain someone had poisoned there well causing all these people to die. I don’t doubt this guy from Liberia didn't think he had been exposed the family told him she didn't have it and he believed them because he didn't want to believe otherwise or just couldn’t. Now he has spread it here, so you see what a problem this is.

This was such an informative and interesting post. Thank you so much for it. It explains maybe to me anyway, why his fiance' seems to be more concerned with being stuck in her apartment than being worried about herself or her family becoming ill.

 

[SweetT]

So Jallah who was with ebola patient is a health care worker and so is her husband and they're not in quarantine? She dealt with the ebola man while symptomatic right?