Ebola outbreak - general thread #8

[LaborDayRN]

I just volunteered to be an Ebola nurse for our children's hospital if it should come to that. Lots of training involved.

Hey, I have no young children and a fair amount of life insurance - I certainly wouldn't ask the younger RNs to do it. Heck, that's why I am a nurse after all.

You have the true calling for nursing maryjean. You and nurses like you, are the reason I chose this profession. It was a calling for me as well. I'll be right there with you in the trenches if the need arises at my hospital.

 

[LaborDayRN]

nurses are exposed to infectious patients of all different types, all the time. This is a fantastic read.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shelly-lopez-gray/every-single-patient-ever_b_6012436.html

We're all doing the best we can, and as nurses we choose to care for people, knowing that we will never know what our day will be like, or what our patient may bring us.

 

[LaborDayRN]

EXCLUSIVE: City health officials desperately search for experimental drug to use on Ebola patient Craig Spencer.


Five hours after Ebola-stricken Craig Spencer was hauled into Bellevue Hospital’s quarantine unit, the city Health Department sent a frantic email marked “URGENT” — asking if New York area hospitals, researchers and pharmacies had an experimental drug that has shown promise against the deadly virus.

It’s not clear if the antiviral drug Brincidofovir ever made it to Bellevue or if it was administered to Spencer, but the hunt was on Thursday night.

http://m.nydailynews.com/new-york/e...ebola-patient-craig-spencer-article-1.1986649

This ^ worries me. Prayers for Dr Spencer.

 

[epiphany]

That's too bad! Sometimes the worst in humanity pops up during times of crisis. I hope he is moved to one of the crisis centers. He deserves better than this!!

BBM

I believe the doctor is in excellent hands. Bellevue Hospital is well suited to handling such a health crisis. Bellevue has been on the front line in dealing with the AIDS crisis, the New York epidemic of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, the Sept. 11 attack and Hurricane Sandy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/25/nyregion/bellevue-back-on-front-line-in-another-crisis.html?_r=0

<snip>

The first Ebola case in New York turns the spotlight on the city&#8217;s marquee trauma center, which will be tested with containing the disease in one of the country&#8217;s most crowded urban areas.

The HHC decided early on to rely on Bellevue as the chief treatment center for potential Ebola cases, Dr. Raju said.

http://online.wsj.com/articles/ebola-puts-spotlight-on-bellevue-key-nyc-trauma-center-1414115619

<snip>

The hospital has a policy that no employees will be forced to work with a patient with the disease against their wishes, officials said, and so far none of the workers on the unit have opted out. Nurses are working in teams of two, one serving as a buddy watching the other, and taking turns in that role.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/25/nyregion/bellevue-back-on-front-line-in-another-crisis.html?_r=0

 

[IMO]

This ^ worries me. Prayers for Dr Spencer.

I don't know if I would be too worried about this right now. I send about one email marked "urgent" per week and none has been "frantic". I suspect that this may be a little journalistic hyperbole. Maybe not though.

Anyway, I am an epidemiologist and I find it fascinating that the cure rate for cases of Ebola originating in the US is 100% so far. I have had a healthy respect for this disease since I first learned about it 15 years ago. A 50-80% case fatality rate is nothing to take lightly. However, I am now starting to wonder if Ebola is more like cholera, which if untreated can have a similar case fatality rate to Ebola, but if treatment with oral rehydration salts is administered it is highly curable. Time will tell I guess. Please note that this is wild speculation, but due to the nature of Ebola, which in the past has flared up and burned out in isolated communities, the fact is we don't know much about it. I also find it comforting that none of the people who had close contact with Duncan have fallen sick, which suggests that it is every bit as difficult to spread as the CDC has indicated.

FWIW I am more concerned about enterovirus-d68, or even garden-variety influenza, right now. But if the Ebola hype gets more people to wash their hands well, it's maybe a good thing.

 

[faw720]

epiphany, that's good news! nytimes article sounds encouraging. Since I'm not from the area I am not familiar with the best news sources. Perhaps the nypost had an overanxious reporter who just wanted to jump in there with sensational news.

 

[trigger]

o

I know,I know- ebola is hard to catch, but why tempt fate. He is carrying containers from the doctors apt. and has a cigarette in his mouth- which means his hand is about to head towards his mouth. Smh

View attachment 62210

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ITHOUT-gloves-face-masks-protective-gear.html

This cleaning company is from my home town...omg

 

[wondering?]

I don't know if I would be too worried about this right now. I send about one email marked "urgent" per week and none has been "frantic". I suspect that this may be a little journalistic hyperbole. Maybe not though.

Anyway, I am an epidemiologist and I find it fascinating that the cure rate for cases of Ebola originating in the US is 100% so far. I have had a healthy respect for this disease since I first learned about it 15 years ago. A 50-80% case fatality rate is nothing to take lightly. However, I am now starting to wonder if Ebola is more like cholera, which if untreated can have a similar case fatality rate to Ebola, but if treatment with oral rehydration salts is administered it is highly curable. Time will tell I guess. Please note that this is wild speculation, but due to the nature of Ebola, which in the past has flared up and burned out in isolated communities, the fact is we don't know much about it. I also find it comforting that none of the people who had close contact with Duncan have fallen sick, which suggests that it is every bit as difficult to spread as the CDC has indicated.

FWIW I am more concerned about enterovirus-d68, or even garden-variety influenza, right now. But if the Ebola hype gets more people to wash their hands well, it's maybe a good thing.

Thanks for this very thoughtful post, you put sanity back in information on Ebola.

 

[IMO]

o

This cleaning company is from my home town...omg

Idk, a picture may be worth 1000 words, but they may be the wrong words. Are these barrels maybe empty? Were they the ones that they left in the lobby or hallway and never used? It definitely looks bad but since the photo of the officers tossing their gloves into the trash has been debunked, I can't believe everything I see. In addition to the article below I heard a statement on the news that officers are required to wear gloves when handling caution tape, which is apparently what they were doing. So I shall wait for further clarification of that photo.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/24/police-ebola-garbage-can_n_6039880.html

 

[nrdsb4]

Anyway, I am an epidemiologist and I find it fascinating that the cure rate for cases of Ebola originating in the US is 100% so far. I have had a healthy respect for this disease since I first learned about it 15 years ago. A 50-80% case fatality rate is nothing to take lightly. However, I am now starting to wonder if Ebola is more like cholera, which if untreated can have a similar case fatality rate to Ebola, but if treatment with oral rehydration salts is administered it is highly curable. Time will tell I guess. Please note that this is wild speculation, but due to the nature of Ebola, which in the past has flared up and burned out in isolated communities, the fact is we don't know much about it. I also find it comforting that none of the people who had close contact with Duncan have fallen sick, which suggests that it is every bit as difficult to spread as the CDC has indicated.

For some reason, it seems that a lot of people for some reason do not want to believe this, much less find any kind of cautious optimism in it. A truly baffling POV, imo. I'm not declaring victory for all of Duncan's contacts just yet, but I find this to be a very encouraging development in our understanding of ebola.

I also find it amazing how the 2 nurses whose illnesses were contracted here and were treated almost immediately so quickly cleared the virus. This could bode very well if we can figure out exactly which treatment(s) are responsible for such a great rally vs. such a virulent foe.

 

[SStarr33]

Idk, a picture may be worth 1000 words, but they may be the wrong words. Are these barrels maybe empty? Were they the ones that they left in the lobby or hallway and never used? It definitely looks bad but since the photo of the officers tossing their gloves into the trash has been debunked, I can't believe everything I see. In addition to the article below I heard a statement on the news that officers are required to wear gloves when handling caution tape, which is apparently what they were doing. So I shall wait for further clarification of that photo.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/24/police-ebola-garbage-can_n_6039880.html

Are they required to wear masks too?

 

[SStarr33]

Family of patient zero took measures that may have stopped spread of Ebola

http://www.wfaa.com/story/news/heal...ion-ebola-spread-stop-contamination/17632771/

 

[IMO]

For some reason, it seems that a lot of people for some reason do not want to believe this, much less find any kind of cautious optimism in it. A truly baffling POV, imo. I'm not declaring victory for all of Duncan's contacts just yet, but I find this to be a very encouraging development in our understanding of ebola.

Absolutely. Caution is definitely warranted, especially among healthcare workers. This is a real-time drill for public health preparedness. What is so fascinating to me is that we may learn something truly mind-blowing about Ebola through this experience. And that *may* be that it's not as big of a killer as we had thought. It would be both a tragic and exhilarating finding, but it's possible that early detection and immediate treatment may substantially reduce the risk of mortality. I hope I am not eating my words in a month's time.

 

[IMO]

Are they required to wear masks too?

I don't know, because I have no idea what type of event this picture has really captured.

 

[Sonya610]

FWIW I am more concerned about enterovirus-d68, or even garden-variety influenza, right now. But if the Ebola hype gets more people to wash their hands well, it's maybe a good thing.

The Ebola hype is about way more than just the risks associated with the Ebola virus. It touches on many fears (not the least of which is a widespread mistrust of gov authorities).

We all saw it coming (cases in the U.S.) and the response was well...."mismanaged" on ALL levels would be the only nice description of the response.

It isn't just about the actual virus, kwim?

 

[atthelake]

http://www.dallasnews.com/ebola/headlines/20141025-despite-being-ebola-free-nina-pham-s-reunion-with-her-dog-is-delayed.ece

Since being declared free of Ebola, Nina Pham said she wants to hold her dog, Bentley.

But Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said there is no dog reunion scheduled for Saturday.

His quarantine period should end around Nov. 1.

 

[chipmunk]

An extraordinary number of Bellevue Hospital staffers called in sick on Friday rather than treat the city’s first Ebola patient — and those who showed up were terrified to enter his isolation chamber, sources told The Post.

http://nypost.com/2014/10/25/many-bellevue-staffers-take-sick-day-in-ebola-panic/

I love how the patient doctor is advising and helping train nurses & docs in his own care! I would have been surprised if he didn't. He used to lead mock up, fake wilderness injury training years ago.

 

[IMO]

The Ebola hype is about way more than just the risks associated with the Ebola virus. It touches on many fears (not the least of which is a widespread mistrust of gov authorities).

We all saw it coming (cases in the U.S.) and the response was well....mismanaged on all levels would be the only nice description of the response.

It isn't just about the actual virus, kwim?

I completely shared your disappointment with the first US response Ebola. However, IMO this is how public health advances, and the response has been vastly improved. If we consider this in terms of infectious disease spread, the R0, or basic reproduction number, for Ebola in the US has so far been <1. This means that for every one infected person, fewer than one person has caught the disease. And that means the infection will die out. But I agree that we cannot allow our vigilance to slip.

IMO you are exactly right that this outbreak represents all of our fears as humans. Although it is out of my area of expertise, there is a vast scientific literature regarding how horrible humans are at assessing risk. Fear of flying in planes comes to mind. If you think about it at a gut level, flying is totally crazy. And yet factually, it is much safer than many things we do each day. But all it takes is one plane crash in the news to alter our perception of risk.

 

[Sonya610]

http://www.dallasnews.com/ebola/headlines/20141025-despite-being-ebola-free-nina-pham-s-reunion-with-her-dog-is-delayed.ece

Note the word "scheduled". No reunion is "scheduled" even though....

A day earlier, he had said the two likely would see each other Saturday.

Nina has the whole country's attention right now, I do think she will see her dog and well....I hope she will use her clout to Bentley's advantage.

 

[Sonya610]

IMO you are exactly right that this outbreak represents all of our fears as humans. Although it is out of my area of expertise, there is a vast scientific literature regarding how horrible humans are at assessing risk.

If humans were that bad at assessing risk there wouldn't be 6+ billion of us crowding the planet and we wouldn't be the Apex predator.

Do not discount instinct. It is all about sensing a threat and reacting. If you react and the threat was false then it is a good laugh, if you don't react and the threat is real...well then....you are a statistic.