Jeepers Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 You just have to wonder how American's would react if it was discovered here. Bolding down there is mine. FREETOWN (Reuters) - The head doctor fighting an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in Sierra Leone has himself caught the disease, one of a growing list of medical workers infected while battling to halt its spread across West Africa.Ebola has killed 632 people across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone since an outbreak began in February, putting strain on a string of weak health systems facing one of the world's deadliest diseases despite waves of international help.In a sign of the growing frustrations with the failure of region's governments to tackle the outbreak, a Liberian whose brother died from the disease set fire to the Health Ministry in protest on Wednesday.A statement from the president's office said 39-year-old Sheik Umar Khan, a Sierra Leonean virologist credited with treating more than 100 Ebola victims, had been transferred to a treatment ward run by medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres.A source at the ward confirmed that the doctor was alive and receiving treatment, but gave no details of his condition.Khan has been hailed a "national hero" by the Health Ministry for his efforts to lead the fight against an outbreak that has killed 206 people in the West African nation.There is no cure or vaccine for Ebola, which can kill up to 90 percent of those infected, although the mortality rate of the current outbreak is around 60 percent.It was not immediately clear how Khan had caught the virus. His colleagues told Reuters that he was always meticulous with protection, wearing overalls, mask, gloves and special footwear. Three days ago, three nurses working in the same Ebola treatment center alongside Khan died from the disease.Tarik Jasarevic, a spokesman for the World Health Organization, said around 100 health workers had been infected by Ebola in the three countries, with 50 of them dying."Personal protection equipment is very hot. But there is a very strict procedure how you wear it, how you take it off, what can be re-used or not," he said.Earlier this month, Samuel Muhumuza Mutoro, a senior Ugandan doctor working in Liberia died after treated infected patients.The latest WHO figures, released on Saturday, showed that there were 19 new deaths and 67 new cases within the four days since its previous statement.The Ebola outbreak started in Guinea's remote southeast and has since spread across the region's poorly controlled borders. Symptoms of the highly infectious disease are diarrhea, vomiting and internal and external bleeding.Part of Liberia's Health Ministry was destroyed on Wednesday when Monrovia resident Edward Deline set fire to the building in protest over the death of his 14-year-old brother from Ebola."The health (workers) here are not doing enough to fight this virus. They are taking this to be a money making thing while our people are dying," Deline told journalists after he was arrested by police.Local and international health workers face a combination of fear, suspicion and local traditions for burying the dead as they try to prevent Ebola spreading further.During a Reuters visit to the Kenema treatment center in eastern Sierra Leone in late June, Khan said he had installed a mirror in his office, which he called his "policeman", to check for holes in his protective clothing before entering an isolation ward.Nevertheless, Khan said he feared Ebola. "I am afraid for my life, I must say, because I cherish my life," he said in an interview, showing no signs of ill health at the time. "Health workers are prone to the disease because we are the first port of call for somebody who is sickened by disease. Even with the full protective clothing you put on, you are at risk."http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/23/doctor-contracts-ebola-sheik-umar-khan_n_5614228.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl47%7Csec3_lnk3%26pLid%3D506079 Quote Link to comment
MomM Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 May God bless all these healthcare workers, who are literally risking their lives to help others! Quote Link to comment
Jeepers Posted July 27, 2014 Author Share Posted July 27, 2014 I guess it will spread to Nigeria now via air travel. Of course it could never come all the way over here with our tight borders and security measures in place. ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) - Nigerian health authorities raced to stop the spread of Ebola on Saturday after a man sick with one of the world's deadliest diseases brought it by plane to Lagos, Africa's largest city with 21 million people.The fact that the traveler from Liberia could board an international flight also raised new fears that other passengers could take the disease beyond Africa due to weak inspection of passengers and the fact Ebola's symptoms are similar to other diseases.Officials in the country of Togo, where the sick man's flight had a stopover, also went on high alert after learning that Ebola could possibly have spread to a fifth country.Screening people as they enter the country may help slow the spread of the disease, but it is no guarantee Ebola won't travel by airplane, according to Dr. Lance Plyler, who heads Ebola medical efforts in Liberia for aid organization Samaritan's Purse."Unfortunately the initial signs of Ebola imitate other diseases, like malaria or typhoid," he said.Ebola already had caused some 672 deaths across a wide swath of West Africa before the Nigeria case was announced. It is the deadliest outbreak on record for Ebola, and now it threatens Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation."Lagos is completely different from other cities because we're talking about millions of people," said Plan International's Disaster Response and Preparedness Head, Dr. Unni Krishnan.Nigerian newspapers describe the effort as a "scramble" to contain the threat after the Liberian arrived in Lagos and then died Friday.International airports in Nigeria are screening passengers arriving from foreign countries for symptoms of Ebola, according to Yakubu Dati, the spokesman for Federal Aviation Authority of Nigeria.Health officials are also working with ports and land borders, he said. "They are giving out information in terms of enlightenment, what to do, what to look out for."And Nigerian airports are setting up holding rooms to ready in case another potential Ebola victim lands in Nigeria.Airports in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, the three other West African countries affected by the current Ebola outbreak, have implemented some preventive measures, according to officials in those countries. But none of the safeguards are foolproof, say health experts.Doctors say health screens could be effective, but Ebola has a variable incubation period of between two and 21 days and cannot be diagnosed on the spot.Patrick Sawyer, a consultant for the Liberian Ministry of Finance arrived in Nigeria on Tuesday and was immediately detained by health authorities suspecting he might have Ebola, Plyler said.On his way to Lagos, Sawyer's plane also stopped in Lome, Togo, according to the World Health Organization.Authorities announced Friday that blood tests from the Lagos University Teaching Hospital confirmed Sawyer died of Ebola earlier that day.Sawyer reportedly did not show Ebola symptoms when he boarded the plane, Plyler said, but by the time he arrived in Nigeria he was vomiting and had diarrhea. There has not been another recently recorded case of Ebola spreading through air travel, he added.Nearly 50 other passengers on the flight are being monitored for signs of Ebola but are not being kept in isolation, said an employee at Nigeria's Ministry of Health, who insisted on anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.Sawyer's sister also died of Ebola in Liberia, according to Liberian officials, but he claimed to have had no contact with her. Ebola is highly contagious and kills more than 70 percent of people infected.An outbreak in Lagos, Africa's megacity where many live in cramped conditions, could be an unprecedented disaster in what is already the largest Ebola outbreak on record."Lagos is completely different from other cities because we're talking about millions of people," said Plan International's Disaster Response and Preparedness Head, Dr. Unni Krishnan.Ebola is passed by touching bodily fluids of patients even after they die, he said. Traditional burials that include rubbing the bodies of the dead contribute to the spread of the disease, Krishnan added.There is no "magic bullet" cure for Ebola, but early detection and treatment of fluids and nutrition can be effective, said Plyler in Liberia. Quickly isolating patients who show symptoms is also crucial in slowing the spread of the disease.West African hospital systems have weak and "often paralyzed" health care systems, he added, and are not usually equipped to handle Ebola outbreaks. International aid organizations like his and Doctors Without Borders have stepped in, but they also lack enough funding and manpower. "We need more humanitarian workers," he said. "We need resources."http://www.aol.com/article/2014/07/26/nigeria-death-shows-ebola-can-spread-by-air-travel/20937415/?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl2%7Csec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D507415 Quote Link to comment
Ambergris Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 (edited) Ever hear of a single rat, a single cockroach? Where you see one, you have to assume many lurk unseen. The report of anyone with the disease in Nigeria is significant in several ways. It means there are probably more. It means the population center of subsaharan Africa is in peril of not only this plague but also civil insurrection--in a place where such a thing would be noticed. But it's also Africa, where an organized, tech based plan is going to fail. There used to be a saying for how things break down in that area: WEWA. It stands for West Africa Wins Again. People are hiding from medical teams, threatening them, burning down part of the medical ministry building, forcibly removing patients from treatment wards. Nigeria has four international airports. National has a flight from there directly to JFK. Delta goes from there straight to Atlanta. Air France flies directly to Paris. Air Nigeria, Virgin, and British Airways all three fly from there to London. There are direct flights to Cairo, Madrid, Amsterdam, Frankfurt...and all over the MidEast. Ebola has always been a self-limiting virus simply because it killed its victims before they could flee to another population center; it would kill 70-90% of the people where it started and then it would burn out. There's no longer a questions of victims dying before they are able to flee to another population center. Edited July 27, 2014 by Ambergris Quote Link to comment
Mt_Rider Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 Yeah....we've never considered Ebola a serious threat here..... Looks like that could change. MtRider ....make another attempt to get my parents to stock up enough to be able to stay out of public for weeks.... Quote Link to comment
mom11 Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 Why would they not keep those other 50 passengers in isolation? If so many medical people are getting ebola, with special precautions, why aren't they protecting anyone that would come in contact with the passengers on that plane? For pity sakes!!!!!! It's like they want this thing to spread. Quote Link to comment
Jeepers Posted July 27, 2014 Author Share Posted July 27, 2014 Another doctor died from Ebola and an American doctor in Liberia is sick. Bolding down there is mine. MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) - One of Liberia's most high-profile doctors has died of Ebola, a government official said Sunday, highlighting the risks facing health workers trying to combat the deadly disease.Dr. Samuel Brisbane is the first Liberian doctor to die in an outbreak the World Health Organization says has killed 129 people in the West African nation. A Ugandan doctor working in the country died earlier this month.The WHO says the outbreak, the largest ever recorded, has also killed 319 people in Guinea and 224 in Sierra Leone.Brisbane, who once served as a medical adviser to former Liberian President Charles Taylor, was working as a consultant with the internal medicine unit at the country's largest hospital, the John F. Kennedy Memorial Medical Center in Monrovia.After falling ill with Ebola, he was taken to a treatment center on the outskirts of the capital, where he died, said Tolbert Nyenswah, an assistant health minister.Under the supervision of health workers, family members escorted the doctor's body to a burial location west of the city, Nyenswah said.He added that another doctor who had been working in Liberia's central Bong County was also being treated for Ebola at the same center where Brisbane died.The situation "is getting more and more scary," Nyenswah said.News of Brisbane's death first began circulating on Saturday, a national holiday marking Liberia's independence in 1847.President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf used her Independence Day address to discuss a new taskforce to combat Ebola. Information Minister Lewis Brown said the taskforce would go "from community to community, from village to village, from town to town" in order to increase awareness.Health workers are at serious risk of contracting the disease, which spreads through contact with bodily fluids.Sierra Leone's top Ebola doctor fell ill with the disease last week, and the aid group Samaritan's Purse said Saturday that an American doctor in Liberia was also sick.There is no known cure for Ebola, which begins with symptoms including fever and sore throat but then escalates to vomiting, diarrhea and internal and external bleeding.Experts believe the ongoing West Africa outbreak could have begun as far back as January in southeast Guinea, though the first cases weren't confirmed until March.Since then, officials have tried to contain the disease by isolating victims and educating populations on how to avoid transmission, though porous borders, satellite outbreaks and widespread distrust of health workers have made the outbreak difficult to bring under control.Nigerian officials announced on Friday that a Liberian official died of Ebola after flying from Monrovia to Lagos. The official's plane also stopped in Lome, Togo.An outbreak in Lagos, a megacity where many lived in cramped conditions, could be a major public health disaster.The fact that the traveler from Liberia could board an international flight also raised new fears that other passengers could take the disease beyond Africa. http://www.aol.com/article/2014/07/27/official-ebola-kills-senior-doctor-in-liberia/20937516/?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl3%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D507522 Quote Link to comment
Jeepers Posted July 27, 2014 Author Share Posted July 27, 2014 Thanks for the flight info Amber. I guess I never thought of the direct flights from there to here. Quote Link to comment
Jeepers Posted July 28, 2014 Author Share Posted July 28, 2014 Okay, I'll stop posting this stuff. Don't want to skeeve anyone out but one more. Bolding is mine. MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) - One of Liberia's most high-profile doctors has died of Ebola, officials said Sunday, and an American physician was being treated for the deadly virus, highlighting the risks facing health workers trying to combat an outbreak that has killed more than 670 people in West Africa - the largest ever recorded.A second American, a missionary working in the Liberian capital, was also taken ill and was being treated in isolation there, said the pastor of a North Carolina church that sponsored her work.Dr. Samuel Brisbane, a top Liberian health official, was treating Ebola patients at the country's largest hospital, the John F. Kennedy Memorial Medical Center in Monrovia, when he fell ill. He died Saturday, said Tolbert Nyenswah, an assistant health minister. A Ugandan doctor died earlier this month.The American physician, 33-year-old Dr. Kent Brantly, was in Liberia helping to respond to the outbreak that has killed 129 people nationwide when he fell ill, according to the North Carolina-based medical charity, Samaritan's Purse.He was receiving intensive medical care in a Monrovia hospital and was in stable condition, according to a spokeswoman for the aid group, Melissa Strickland."We are hopeful, but he is certainly not out of the woods yet," she said.Early treatment improves a patient's chances of survival, and Brantly recognized his own symptoms and began receiving care immediately, Strickland said.The American missionary, Nancy Writebol, was gravely ill and in isolation in Monrovia, her husband, David, told a church elder via Skype, according to the Rev. John Munro, pastor of Calvary Church in Charlotte, N.C.Munro said the couple, who had been in Liberia for about a year, insisted on staying there despite the Ebola threat. "These are real heroes - people who do things quietly behind the scenes, people with a very strong vocation and very strong faith," Munro said.There is no known cure for the highly contagious virus, which is one of the deadliest in the world. At least 1,201 people have been infected in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, according to the World Health Organization, and 672 have died. Besides the Liberian fatalities, 319 people have died in Guinea and 224 in Sierra Leone.Ominously, Nigerian authorities said Friday that a Liberian man died of Ebola after flying from Monrovia to Lagos via Lome, Togo. The case underscored the difficulty of preventing Ebola victims from traveling given weak screening systems and the fact that the initial symptoms of the disease - including fever and sore throat - resemble many other illnesses.Health workers are among those at greatest risk of contracting the disease, which spreads through contact with bodily fluids.Photos of Brantly working in Liberia show him swathed head-to-toe in white protective coveralls, gloves and a head-and-face mask that he wore for hours a day while treating Ebola patients.Earlier this year, the American was quoted in a posting about the dangers facing health workers trying to contain the disease. "In past Ebola outbreaks, many of the casualties have been health care workers who contracted the disease through their work caring for infected individuals," he said.There is no known cure for Ebola, which begins with symptoms including fever and sore throat and escalates to vomiting, diarrhea and internal and external bleeding.The WHO says the disease is not contagious until a person begins to show symptoms. Brantly's wife and children had been living with him in Liberia but flew home to the U.S. about a week ago, before the doctor started showing any signs of illness, Strickland said."They have absolutely shown no symptoms," she said.A woman who identified herself as Brantly's mother said the family was declining immediate comment when reached by phone in Indiana.Besides Brantly and the two doctors in Liberia, Sierra Leone's top Ebola doctor and a doctor in Liberia's central Bong County have also fallen ill.The situation "is getting more and more scary," said Nyenswah, the country's assistant health minister.Meanwhile, the fact that a sick Liberian could board a flight to Nigeria raised new fears that other passengers could take the disease beyond Africa.Nigeria's international airports were screening passengers arriving from foreign countries, and health officials were also working with ports and land borders to raise awareness of the disease. Togo's government also said it was on high alert.Security analysts were skeptical about the usefulness of these measures."In Nigeria's case, the security set-up is currently bad, so I doubt it will help or have the minimum effectiveness they are hoping for," said Yan St. Pierre, CEO of the Berlin-based security consulting firm MOSECON.An outbreak in Lagos, a megacity where many lived in cramped conditions, could be a major public health disaster.The West Africa outbreak is believed to have begun as far back as January in southeast Guinea, though the first cases weren't confirmed until March.Since then, officials have tried to contain the disease by isolating victims and educating populations on how to avoid transmission, though porous borders and widespread distrust of health workers have made the outbreak difficult to bring under control.News of Brisbane's death first began circulating on Saturday, a national holiday marking Liberia's independence in 1847.President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf used her Independence Day address to discuss a new taskforce to combat Ebola. Information Minister Lewis Brown said the taskforce would go "from community to community, from village to village, from town to town" to try to increase awareness.In Sierra Leone, which has recorded the highest number of new cases in recent days, the first case originating in Freetown, the capital, came when a hairdresser, Saudata Koroma, fell ill. She was forcibly removed from a government hospital by her family, sparking a frantic search that ended Friday. Kargbo, the chief medical officer, said Sunday that Koroma died while being transported to a treatment center in the east of the country.http://www.aol.com/article/2014/07/27/official-ebola-kills-senior-doctor-in-liberia/20937516/?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl10%7Csec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D507651 Quote Link to comment
Mt_Rider Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Yeah....I read that too. MtRider Quote Link to comment
dogmom4 Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Well...I don't know if you should stop posting Jeepers. Having the information in one thread is good. Plus...its all over the internet so you can't really get away from it. Its actually 'trending' on Facebook right now. Quote Link to comment
Mt_Rider Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 (edited) What do you think USA folks would do if this would transmit over here. People groups everywhere learn to have a healthy respect for whatever pestilence they have experience with. Hurricanes on the coasts. Tornadoes where they are supposed to occur. MtLions, coyote packs, and bears for me. But until recently, I've never thought about running for the basement [which in my case involves grabbing cat/dog and heading outside for the steps] for unsettled weather. Then I hear about several tornado incidents in CO....in upper altitudes where they aren't supposed to occur. Well, I am of a type that immediately [well, pretty quick] begins to adapt and prep according to new data. AND I'VE ALREADY EXPERIENCED TORNADOES while growing up in Iowa. IF THE WORST HAPPENED AND a traditionally African disease [or any other one that hasn't ever traveled] does come here? What reaction will any of us have to a totally new threat? Will we read the postings and say, Nah! Not HERE! Will we and continue to stare into the headlights of the oncoming train wreck? OK...separate out that question: 1) What will WE do....cuz we are much more ready to adapt to new data/situations. Think now....what will **I** do for me and mine? 2) But think also of how John&Jane Q. Public will be reacting and how will that affect how we must act? Accurate data is power. That's why post-hooey means of communication is so important. Primary in that is the need for: **Hearing news **Communicating with loved one **Knowledge on what to do (which we can handle by having already searched it out ahead of the crisis) MtRider ..What do you think? Edited July 28, 2014 by Mt_Rider ach...odd typos Quote Link to comment
dogmom4 Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 OK, I have to admit for some reason this one has been putting me on alert for quite some time. Maybe because I've seen pictures and read about symptoms....and its a pretty horrific way to go....and the mortality rate is so high.... Or maybe its because I keep thinking how it could spread internationally by airplane...and I really think governments out there would keep back information until its too late to prevent panic. But its definitely because of the program I work with....many of the children in our classrooms parents come to the University from other countries to do research. They stay a year or so and then go back. They often bring grandparents along to help take care of the children or they come and stay for extended visits. Last year we had children from 13 different countries.... They all have to get physicals and shots before they start...but many times the kids are only in the country for a week or two before they come....that one always makes me worry about what could be passed around. 1) What will WE do....cuz we are much more ready to adapt to new data/situations. Think now....what will **I** do for me and mine? I've been doing what I can to add to reserves...both food and water....and have thought about what kind of things would we want we if were told to stay home (boredom factor). My big issue....I need to continue to work...that's just a reality I can't get away from...bills have to be paid and health insurance is a must have right now. But...I could potentially be a carrier....because schools are notorious for passing illness along. So what to do? Just be aware of whats happening out there and be ready to act if necessary. 2) But think also of how John&Jane Q. Public will be reacting and how will that affect how we must act? It's interesting how its 'trending' on Facebook as I said before. I started reading comments of just random people and it seems like people are worried but not doing anything about it...maybe just thinking about it? A few were saying they would just lock themselves in....I hope they're thinking about what that's would be like. The sad thing was the comments of those from the African countries. They're more afraid.... One consequence....a young lady was asking for prayer for her family because her uncle had died the other day. Not from Ebola...from not being allowed in the hospital....Ebola is the main focus I guess...and he died on the way to another hospital to seek care. This one has such potential to be a really bad thing... My hope is that it would be a different situation in our country without the fear of doctors that is over there. Quote Link to comment
Jeepers Posted July 29, 2014 Author Share Posted July 29, 2014 Well...I don't know if you should stop posting Jeepers. Having the information in one thread is good. Plus...its all over the internet so you can't really get away from it. Its actually 'trending' on Facebook right now. I just happen to see about it when I click on AOL to check my email. I didn't realize it was getting more coverage elsewhere. That's good. I read the book Hot Zone about 3-4 years ago and started thinking about it then. Good book but scary stuff. Quote Link to comment
Jeepers Posted July 29, 2014 Author Share Posted July 29, 2014 Did you watch the film clip on the last link I posted. People are denying that Ebola even exists and some people kidnap and hide their family members if they are diagnosed with Ebola. And eating onions and raw milk will prevent the disease. How can you fight that? And how long will doctors and health care workers remain in a losing situation like that? Link repost: http://www.aol.com/article/2014/07/27/official-ebola-kills-senior-doctor-in-liberia/20937516/?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl3%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D507522 Quote Link to comment
dogmom4 Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 Liberia shuts most borders in response to Ebola outbreak http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2014/07/28/Liberia-shuts-most-borders-in-response-to-Ebola-outbreak/8571406560290/?spt=su Quote Link to comment
dogmom4 Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 Former Minn. man victim of Ebola outbreak http://www.kare11.com/story/news/health/2014/07/28/former-minn-man-victim-of-ebola-outbreak/13299501/ (The man who collapsed in the airport in Lagos was actually from Minnesota.) MINNEAPOLIS - The Minnesota Department of Health is working with leaders in the local Liberian community to address concerns about an Ebola outbreak in West Africa. This comes after a former Coon Rapids man collapsed from the virus in an airport in Lagos, the capital of Nigeria. His following death marked the first recorded case in Nigeria, the continent's most populated country. Patrick Sawyer, 40, was a top government official in the Liberian Ministry of Finance, and moved to Liberia to serve the country he loved, according to his wife Decontee Sawyer, who still lives in Coon Rapids with the couple's three young daughters, ages "Everyone knows Patrick, it's hit everyone's front door and they feel like they have lost a best friend and a brother and they are awake now," said Decontee Sawyer. The outbreak is the largest and deadliest on record, with more than 670 deaths and more than 1,200 infections in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fatality rates for Ebola have been as high as 90 percent in past outbreaks, according to the World Health Organization. Liberian officials closed the country's borders, and in Minnesota, health officials are meeting with members of the West African community Monday. Health experts at the CDC have been working with African nations since the Ebola outbreak began in March. Officials are on extra alert after Sawyer's case, realizing he was able to board a plane "Now that is happened to someone who is well known, highly educated and a very influential top government official," said Decontee Sawyer. "Patrick was so involved with everyone in the Liberian community." Sawyer said she believes her husband contracted the virus from his sister. She said she is starting a Minnesota organization called Concerned Liberians Against Ebola which will benefit the Global Health Ministries and Samaritan Purse organizations. The Minnesota Department of Health said Ebola can be just a plane ride away and is aware of the potential for Minnesotans to travel to and from West Africa. Since the outbreak began, officials have alerted Minnesota health care providers to be on the lookout for anyone with symptoms of the virus. The health department says it's providing resources and information to community members and is working on creating materials for local West African media about Ebola and travel precautions. Travelers are considered to be at a low risk, but must practice careful hygiene and avoid contact with bodily fluids of sick people. The virus starts off with flu-like symptoms and often ends with horrific hemorrhaging. There is no treatment or Decontee Sawyer said her husband was scheduled to come back to Minnesota in mid-August for his daughters' birthday party. "He was larger than life," she recalled, realizing even someone who seemed invincible could succumb to the virus. Quote Link to comment
Mt_Rider Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 (edited) How long does it take to get a definitive diagnosis? Blood test? Saliva? COULD they require testing previous to flying for everyone traveling from countries affected? If it takes 2 wks for results....the traveler could be infected within that time. Also, in areas where bribes are popular, only the honest folks would be tested. Seems like there is always a way to get around rules/regs. MtRider Must be terrifying to live with that risk these past months. And to know you could unwittingly give it to loved ones... Edited July 29, 2014 by Mt_Rider Quote Link to comment
dogmom4 Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 Ok, this is a little scary. And I don't see this posted in the mainstream news. Essentially what it says...some of the passengers in the flight where the man died took off when they heard the government wants to tests them. It's a pretty long article so I'm not going to post it. http://www.nursingworldnigeria.com/2014/07/ebola-victim-rsquo-s-death-fg-lagos-launch-manhunt-for-co-passengers Quote Link to comment
Jeepers Posted July 29, 2014 Author Share Posted July 29, 2014 How long does it take to get a definitive diagnosis? Blood test? Saliva? COULD they require testing previous to flying for everyone traveling from countries affected? If it takes 2 wks for results....the traveler could be infected within that time. Also, in areas where bribes are popular, only the honest folks would be tested. Seems like there is always a way to get around rules/regs. MtRider Must be terrifying to live with that risk these past months. And to know you could unwittingly give it to loved ones... I don't know how long it takes for test results to come back neg. or pos. but this is from some of the posts up above; "Doctors say health screens could be effective, but Ebola has a variable incubation period of between two and 21 days and cannot be diagnosed on the spot." (So it could incubate up to 3 weeks) "Unfortunately the initial signs of Ebola imitate other diseases, like malaria or typhoid," he said. (Common in Africa) "There is no known cure for Ebola, which begins with symptoms including fever and sore throat but then escalates to vomiting, diarrhea and internal and external bleeding." (I've also read somewhere that it mimics flu like symptoms too) "Authorities announced Friday that blood tests from the Lagos University Teaching Hospital confirmed Sawyer died of Ebola earlier that day." Quote Link to comment
ANewMe Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 (edited) http://dailyleak.org/2014/07/epidemic-due-to-illegals-the-ebola-virus-has-spread-to-the-us-from-mexico/ EDITED TO DELETE "STORY".....THE ABOVE LINK IS TO A SITE THAT IS A COMPLETE SATIRICAL SITE. I SEE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING AMUSING ABOUT A STORY LIKE THAT. TOO BAD THOSE PEOPLE DON'T MAKE BETTER USE OF THEIR TIME Edited July 29, 2014 by ANewMe Quote Link to comment
Mt_Rider Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 (edited) All this below was based on the article above that has now been pulled. It was "satire" and gave us a bit of a scare. The Chikungunya 'epidemic' in Puerto Rico is real tho...but that is the disease that hurts so bad but isn't particularly fatal....just in case that would be your next vacation site... Clarification..... Epidemic declared in Puerto Rico is for Chikungunya (still not good but not Ebola) http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/07/23/puerto-rico-to-pay-for-chikungunya-tests-fearing-cases-being-under-reported/ Trying to confirm report of Ebola in Mexico at NM and TX border..... (would be possible but trying to confirm with a second source) No confirmation so far on the quarantine of a TX town...... COULD they realllllly lock down information about that in US? MtRider Edited July 29, 2014 by Mt_Rider based on correct data Quote Link to comment
Jeepers Posted July 29, 2014 Author Share Posted July 29, 2014 I was watching this one about TB too. FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - A California man who was charged after refusing treatment for his tuberculosis was found and arrested, a prosecutor said Tuesday. Eduardo Rosas Cruz, 25, was arrested late Monday in Kern County, San Joaquin County Deputy District Attorney Stephen Taylor said. Before Rosas Cruz can be sent back to San Joaquin County, he has to be medically cleared, which could take weeks, Taylor said. Authorities last week obtained an arrest warrant for Rosas Cruz, saying he was diagnosed with tuberculosis in March after going to San Joaquin General Hospital's emergency room with a severe cough. Medical staff at the hospital told him to stay in a Stockton motel room, where a health worker would deliver his medication and watch him take it. But officials say he left. Rosas Cruz is a transient and comes from an area of Mexico known for a drug-resistant strain of TB, authorities said. He was arrested on the San Joaquin County warrant during a traffic stop in Lamont, a community about 15 miles southeast of Bakersfield, said Ray Pruitt, a spokesman for the Kern County Sheriff's Office. Officers took him to the Kern Medical Center in Bakersfield. TB can spread through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. The disease can be deadly. Taylor said the goal of prosecuting a tuberculosis patient through the criminal courts is not to punish him, but to protect the public. He said Rosas Cruz refused to cooperate with officials. "When somebody has behaved like this, it's time to go in-patient," Taylor said. In court papers filed in support of the warrant, public health officials said Rosas Cruz resisted treatment from the start. He also used crack cocaine and methamphetamine, officials said, adding that he could develop the drug-resistant strain if he hasn't already. By law, health officials can't force a patient to be treated for tuberculosis, but officials can use the courts to isolate him from the public. That is when officials offer treatment. http://www.aol.com/article/2014/07/29/california-tuberculosis-patient-found-arrested/20938803/?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl1%7Csec3_lnk3%26pLid%3D508424 Quote Link to comment
Jeepers Posted July 29, 2014 Author Share Posted July 29, 2014 The only good thing about Ebola, so far, is that it isn't airborne. So far. Quote Link to comment
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