Ebola coming to the US

[medpedspouse]

I predict less spread of disease this season. A friend told me that all kids temps were being checked prior to entering the tumbling gym. Say what??? Can you imagine if we made sure snot nosed, feverish people did not smear their bodily fluids on shopping carts, gym equipment, etc? It is a germaphobe's dream world. People are also buying face masks and loads of purell.

[Sheherezade]

Deb -

Do you mean procedures beyond the new quarantine rules that Kasich put in place? They were all over FB earlier today. I thought of posting them here because of the feeling that Ohio is being much more hard ass than other states. Turns out, we are. Kasich posted that he was on the phone with Obama earlier and that he is setting special guidelines for Ohio Dept of Public Health. They are also "recommending" hospitals do drills for Ebola patient care.

http://fox8.com/2014/10/16/enhanced-...ssued-in-ohio/

[JDAZ11]

DH is upstairs watching a seminar that occurred while he was in clinic earlier.


Is it possible they didn't work harder to save Thomas Duncan with the blood vaccine or whatever it's called because the CDC didn't want to set a precedent that, if you made it to America, you would get better care and a cure?

I think it's plausible. And also, I'm okay with it. Thoughts?

That's interesting. I think you could be on to something.

[Deebs]

The quarantine is part of it, but I guess they've also come up with a comprehensive response plan for suspected cases. They weren't complete and released until about 9pm (though they're probably on Facebook now). When I said I don't think the plans need to be secretive, I was referring to CDC. I think ohio is taking exactly the right approach and will hopefully set a tone for the rest of the country.

[JDAZ11]

Ebola coming to the US

Aide workers have died in both Spain and Germany (http://nyti.ms/1wgahsr), but I still think it's an interesting theory.

Another nurse another Dallas Heath care worker is on a cruise ship!!!

[Pollyanna]

In other nurse another Dallas Heath care worker is on a cruise ship!!!

Wth? Is she one that is supposedly being monitored?

[scrub-jay]

It's lab worker who handled samples 19 days ago. They're in isolation with no symptoms. But still... ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! Norovirus spreads like wildfire on cruise ships, imagine what ebd would do...or don't if you like sleeping at night.

[Deebs]

I don't remember where I saw this, but when Presby did eventually call in the CDC and the CDC tried to figure out what to do, there wasn't a clear list of WHO had even treated Duncan. When they did start tracking it, he had over 75 caregivers (in any kind of high risk communicable disease where I have worked, there has always been a goal to try to minimize the number of different caregivers and, therefore, exposures). Did they tell any of his caregivers they were to be isolated? I kind of doubt it. Why would you take 75 of your workers out of your work pool for 21 days? Yes, healthcare professionals should know better, but when you're in a high profile case and probably scared, maybe a person would assume they'd be told if they were to be in isolation. I can also imagine one might be in a fair amount of denial and try not to really think about the risks. I'm totally speculating (other than I know I heard there was no clear list), but I can kind of see how this could happen. Obviously, the entire care team was mis-managed from the beginning.

[WolfpackWife]

What is WRONG with these people? I am sorry - if you are a healthcare worker, ESPECIALLY a nurse or a doctor, you shouldn't need the CDC to confirm that it's probably not advised to travel. and EVEN IF THEY DO say "sounds okay, go ahead" - you STILL SHOULDN'T GO UNTIL YOU'VE SPENT ENOUGH TIME QUARANTINING YOURSELF. These people KNOW better. What in the hot hell is wrong with them? The first girl? Okay - she at least stayed put. The second two? WANTON disregard for the public. I honestly think there should be legal ramifications if they recover. Maybe that's cold but...wow. They clearly gave ZERO shits about anyone they crossed paths with. I mean holy crap, who gets on a cruise ship after being exposed to Ebola? Cruise ships are so disgusting with everyone in close proximity anyway. What is wrong with these people? ESPECIALLY after the nurse's union complained on their behalf that they had spotty PPE training and resources...which means these nurses a) knew they'd already treated Duncan without proper training and with shaky procedures and general upheaval and confusion about what exactly what happening on all fronts at the hospital and b) were just exposed to Ebola in general by treating someone so...where is the grey area there?

[Deebs]

I think it depends on what really happened. If they were treating Duncan and other sick people, why would they think they would be contagious to healthy people? I've met many nurses who do need very specific directions and would make those types of assumptions.
There's a reason Ohio has a 24/7 Ebola hotline. Some people have no common sense.

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

Ok, so can I ask a probably naive/stupid question:

I understand that we're taking EXTRA precaution because of the mortality associated with Ebola. It warrants this because it is more deadly but shouldn't NORMAL/PROPER sanitary/medical procedure technically prevent the spread of Ebola. I'm not advocating not taking special precaution but it's not like Standard Operating Procedure should involve lots of contact with patient bodily fluids. I guess I'm sort of disturbed with knowing what we know about hygiene/ID that we're not better at preventing healthcare workers from getting sick from a non-aerosolized pathogen in general, let alone Ebola.

[WolfpackWife]

DH has some very unpopular opinions on this issue. He has no patience for the fact that in this country we aren't currently limiting giving Visas to people from W. Africa. Several other european countries have done this and he thinks we're a bunch of dumbasses over here for not doing it. His opinion. He is pretty outspoken on his views. Beyond that, he doesn't seem terribly concerned. He has been asked to give a talk on Ebola next week that will be televised across the state. He's being active in that way. He has fielded a lot of nurse/physician concerns. It seems like there are a lot of worried healthcare workers.

Kris

Honestly, it kind of bugs me that his opinion is considered "unpopular" considering his specialty should be the ones at the front lines of discussion for what's happening and how to quell it (not saying they aren't). When an ID doc says "we should do x, y, z to try to nip this in the bud", that should be it. It shouldn't turn into a political or economical issue - just do what needs to be done to get this under control and if that's done - wouldn't it all be over in a short amount of time? I don't know, maybe I am misinformed and insensitive.

[Sheherezade]

I am starting to understand the complexity of a "travel ban". We currently have absolutely no direct flights coming in from the affected countries. You can only get to the U.S. from there by flying to another country and then flying out - mostly through Europe. The concern is that people will fly discontinuously and we will miss that they were in W. Africa three stops earlier on their travel. Or they will travel over land to another African country and then out to Europe and in to the U.S. or fly to Canada and come over land to the U.S. instead.

Instead of saying "people are going to travel" which just sounds dumb, Freidan should have said "people will find a way in to our country around the ban unless we completely close out borders to Canada, Mexico and Europe." Apparently, travel bans have not been effective in past epidemics.


Angie

[PrincessFiona]

It's true that people can find a circuitous route into the US ... but if they aren't issued a visa to enter, they can't come in. They can fly however they want but not be granted access. It sounds cold, but it's a way to go about it.

[PrincessFiona]

And what's up with picking Klain as the Ebola Czar? The man is not a healthcare worker or epidemiologist. In fact, he has no medical training at all. He is supposed to be Czar? What a partisan, political pick. The Ebola Czar should have been an ID doc, researcher or epidemiologist at bare minimum. This is all so political. It makes my head spin.