Ebola outbreak - general thread #4

[1&2&3]

Guess the county or state of Texas will be picking up all this person's medical bills -- it should be a workers compensation claim since she was exposed on the job.

 

[Muffet]

Anyone who may have been exposed gets notified.

If we're talking about Duncan's family from the apartment, now in the gated community home, that is likely a very small /select group of people.

It is also notable that this infected nurse was put into the "low risk" of exposure category.

So general risk assessment needs work, along with PPE.

 

[Sonya610]

Right but does not include informing the public

IMO...I really think at least one of the family has been infected, has already tested positive, and that info is not being made public.

I also think if they were all doing "just great" we would be hearing about it -- so us ignorant folk wouldn't worry.

 

[Elley Mae]

Amid Ebola Crisis, Liberian Army Sees Its Chance at Rebranding

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/12/w...my-sees-its-chance-at-rebranding.html?src=twr

The faith in the American military is rooted in historical ties between the two countries that began in 1822, when Liberia was founded by freed American slaves.

On Thursday afternoon, four Marine V-22 Ospreys landed at Liberia’s international airport in a thunder of noise. General Williams, the American commander here, was making plans to buzz Monrovia with the $70 million aircraft, counting on the visual and audio impact to tell Liberians that they are not alone in the Ebola fight.

..............................

Not trying/wanting to add topics that are not allowed but found this a very good read on the relationship between the two countries. It was a short history lesson for me about Liberia. It would be nice to see something good come to people in a country that has seen so much sadness all around. jmo idk

 

[SStarr33]

Sorry I guess I'm missing the point.. Did he not need those things?

IDK. Maybe he was too far gone and there is no way it would have helped? If I'm not mistaken, Frieden was talking about only doing "essential services" and then he mentioned the vent and dialysis. I need to go back and review that part of the presser

 

[SStarr33]

Guess the county or state of Texas will be picking up all this person's medical bills -- it should be a workers compensation claim since she was exposed on the job.

I wonder if it will cover all of her stuff that gets thrown away.

 

[Muffet]

One other note:

There are huge, sometimes devastating financial costs to any hospital when the public fears their safety.

This is all I can say without breaking confidences, but if you consider that, and measure and compare both the motives and risks to each group* involved, it should be easier to figure out who among them is more likely to pinch pennies and take risks.

*For that list, see who's in press conferences.

 

[okiedokietoo]

"Hospital officials have said they are no longer accepting new patients at this time after a healthcare worker, who was caring for Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan, tested positive for the disease in preliminary tests"

Can't seem to find this in an actual article but written under photos of the hospital, like on this page:

http://www.boston.com/business/news/2014/10/12/state-health-officials-ebola-case-texas/LaaXUR0ff45swhEjjOi24O/story.html

 

[SweetT]

Anyone know if this lady was Asian? I have my reasons for asking.. My daughter went to a bar in Dallas Thursday night.. Needed a break from sitting in hospice with her father (Yea stupid move kids imo but maybe I'm just more paranoid ) they'd been holed up for two weeks and I understand that but? Anyway chatted with an Asian lady at the bar for a while until she told them she worked at Presbyterian hospital as a nurse. Then everyone pretty much got away from her.. And now this!

 

[Sonya610]

So... in my opinion, if the CDC warns health care professionals against doing procedures that generate aerosol droplets, which are defined as procedures that could cause the patient to cough (producing aerosol droplets)... There has to be some reason why they warn against promoting a patient to cough and release those aerosol droplets into the air - as in, they maybe are not sure if Ebola is in fact transmitted via aerosol. To me this means they don't want to take their chances so they must not really know, for sure, and won't gamble on it.

They are pretty darn SURE the saliva and mucus from infected individuals contains the virus. So yes, when folks cough, sneeze, or sometimes just speak and throw off tiny bits of spit/mucous that can be contagious. Or likely when they touch their face or use the bathroom (without sanitizing their hands) and then handle the lettuce at the grocery store, or the gas pump as you are waiting to fill up, etc...

Ebola has been detected in blood and many body fluids. Body fluids include saliva, mucus, vomit, feces, sweat, tears, breast milk, urine, and semen.

http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/transmission/qas.html

 

[JeannaT]

"Hospital officials have said they are no longer accepting new patients at this time after a healthcare worker, who was caring for Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan, tested positive for the disease in preliminary tests"

Can't seem to find this in an actual article but written under photos of the hospital, like on this page:

http://www.boston.com/business/news/2014/10/12/state-health-officials-ebola-case-texas/LaaXUR0ff45swhEjjOi24O/story.html

As it was, even before this staff member became infected, they were having most of their patients cancel surgery/baby deliveries there. It seemed like it would blow over in a couple weeks but now they've had to officially declare they are closed to patients. In reality, they were practically already at that point last week.

 

[JeannaT]

They are pretty darn SURE the saliva and mucus from infected individuals contains the virus. So yes, when folks cough, sneeze, or sometimes just speak and throw off tiny bits of spit/mucous that can be contagious. Or likely when they touch their face or use the bathroom (without sanitizing their hands) and then handle the lettuce at the grocery store, or the gas pump as you are waiting to fill up, etc...

That's not what they've been saying. The official word was (and I don't believe it) that it was fluid to fluid contact. Like AIDS. A restaurant worker with AIDS couldn't pass it on just by doing his job, however sloppily. The virus (they had said) can live for "minutes" on a surface outside the body.

This was presented as a disease that was very hard to pass, like AIDS. It isn't, obviously, though.

 

[JeannaT]

Anyone know if this lady was Asian? I have my reasons for asking.. My daughter went to a bar in Dallas Thursday night.. Needed a break from sitting in hospice with her father (Yea stupid move kids imo but maybe I'm just more paranoid ) they'd been holed up for two weeks and I understand that but? Anyway chatted with an Asian lady at the bar for a while until she told them she worked at Presbyterian hospital as a nurse. Then everyone pretty much got away from her.. And now this!

I still think this may be a man, not a woman.

 

[jjenny]

It was interesting that Duncan was the first patient in the US who was dialized and tubed. Wonder if any future ebola patient will get either of those.

We don't know that for sure. There is a WHO doctor being treated at Emory, who has been there for over a month. We don't know what kind of procedures are being done on him. But what might be fine in bio containment level 4 unit, is not fine in a regular hospital.

 

[jjenny]

I still think this may be a man, not a woman.

I believe cnn reporting this was a female nurse.

 

[jjenny]

This case has far reaching ripple effects that aren't and won't be reported. I have a dear friend (a healthy, vibrant 82 year old) that is due to check into Presby at 4:30 in the am for a complicated surgery. Her surgery will involve three different surgery specialists that has taken months to schedule due to the number of surgeons involved. During the wait period, my friend has been physically uncomfortable and looking forward to her surgery date as the beginning of her recovery. I had lunch with her on Thursday and even though her immediate family is anxious they eventually summarized that there probably wasn't a safer hospital in Dallas at this point in time due to the eyes of the world watching Mr. Duncan's case. I wonder how this morning's news will change or not change her plans. I wonder what I would do.

Is this hospital even accepting new patients at this point? I know ER isn't accepting patients.

 

[JeannaT]

Is this hospital even accepting new patients at this point? I know ER isn't accepting patients.

No, as of this morning they've announced they're not accepting patients.

 

[trex]

They are pretty darn SURE the saliva and mucus from infected individuals contains the virus. So yes, when folks cough, sneeze, or sometimes just speak and throw off tiny bits of spit/mucous that can be contagious. Or likely when they touch their face or use the bathroom (without sanitizing their hands) and then handle the lettuce at the grocery store, or the gas pump as you are waiting to fill up, etc...

Yes... So I think it is pretty safe to say that this has the potential for airborne... Not like across the room airborne maybe, but I certainly wouldn't want to be in the direct vicinity of someone who perhaps has both Ebola *and* the common cold and is sneezing/coughing everywhere. Or covering cough with their hands and then touching surfaces like doorknobs, etc. or handling produce as you mentioned.

One of the guests they had on CNN who I believe is a medical professional was mentioning that with flu season upon us, the opportunity for Ebola to travel via secondary sickness symptoms is highly increased. What if... a health care professional who isn't given the proper attire/equipment for safety (thinking they are safe though) & is treating an Ebola patient, contracts it without knowing, and also comes down with the common cold but doesn't know they have either yet, they are out and about feeling alright when all of a sudden the sneezes start.. coughing starts.. They think to themselves, oh crap I need to get home because something isn't right. But perhaps in their panic at needing to get away from a public space they absentmindedly forget to fully cover a cough or an unexpected sneeze just happens (has happened to me with hardly any warning), they try their best to cover it but some droplets go into the air and their are people nearby doing their shopping or whatnot (work, school, church, wherever)..

I know it's a huge what if and I sound paranoid but.. You never know. I think a huge public service announcement about sanitation, hand washing, covering cough, isolating, face mask wearing, etc. needs to be pushed out through every single media source possible. I am not above wearing a face mask out in public - look at the SARS epidemic. They were overly cautious in wearing those masks, but it helped. Here - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1732315/

SARS has been called the first global epidemic of the 21st century and has been the cause of a massive and varied public health response in many countries of the world. This report describes observations made by two authors on a journey from Manchester in the United Kingdom to Chiang Mai in Thailand during the peak of global transmission. The public response to SARS, particularly characterised by the wearing of face masks, seemed to outstrip official guidance. Though of uncertain protective benefit, the wearing of masks may have contributed to the awareness of the collective and personal responsibility in combating infectious disease. Active and empowered involvement of the general public in implementing and cooperating with public health control measures supported by national and international authorities has clearly helped to bring SARS under control. The public health significance of such potent symbols as the face mask may be considered in strategies to tackle other emerging infections.

 

[1&2&3]

In a number of articles, this person has been referred to as he. However, that could be just using the gender neutral pronoun. Personally, I think it will be come out in the next few days.

 

[SStarr33]

The nurse is called she in this story:

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/loca...spital-in-dallas-tests-positive-for-ebola.ece