The Ebola virus will never satisfy its lust for organ failure and hemorrhage

DarkAudit

DarkAudit

There's two groups in the US that can turn this into an even bigger deal than it is now (and yoink this thread straight into the political forum): a) those who don't seek treatment because they lack health insurance and cannot afford to go to a doctor, and b) those who won't because they cannot afford to take time off to see a doctor. You hit one of those groups, and it'll spread like wildfire.
 
GasBandit

GasBandit

Staff member
DarkAudit said:
There's two groups in the US that can turn this into an even bigger deal than it is now (and yoink this thread straight into the political forum): a) those who don't seek treatment because they lack health insurance and cannot afford to go to a doctor, and b) those who won't because they cannot afford to take time off to see a doctor. You hit one of those groups, and it'll spread like wildfire.
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3) and those who contract it in mexico or central america and make a desperate rush across our wide, unguarded border to fling themselves upon the doorstep of one of our emergency rooms, already vomiting blood and infecting everything along their path.
 
PatrThom

PatrThom

GasBandit said:
3) and those who contract it in mexico or central america and make a desperate rush across our wide, unguarded border to fling themselves upon the doorstep of one of our emergency rooms, already vomiting blood and infecting everything along their path.
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The "DayZ Republican" platform.
Well, it's less crazy than others, I guess.

--Patrick
 
evilmike

evilmike

For the record, it is best to not joke about "I just came back from Africa" after you sneeze on a flight attendant:
 
Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

I have friends who are nurses. They work in the Dallas hospital where a second nurse has contracted ebola.

I'm worried and bummed out for them.
 
evilmike

evilmike

Apparently, the hospital that admitted the first Ebola patient was horrifically unprepared to deal with Ebola. The hospital did not have the proper protective gear for the nurses, had no protocols in place to handle the disease and, reportedly, administrators resisted putting the patient in isolation. Samples from the infected patient were sent to the lab using the normal pneumatic tube system instead of being sealed and hand delivered. This resulted in the entire tube system being contaminated. At least 76 people were potentially exposed. So far, only two people have contracted the infection from this incident. (via Gawker)
 
TommiR

TommiR

Could be that in a few weeks we will hear of Ebola spreading to more countries in West Africa.

Now that the rainy season is ending, tens of thousands of seasonal laborers from Sierra Leone and Liberia have for decades now migrated to Ivory Coast to work on the cocoa plantations. Ivory Coast government has closed the borders, but in reality there's pretty much nothing any government can do to stop the migration as the migrants don't cross along regular border crossing points but rather use jungle paths between villages. And when you look at the map, that's a lot of jungle.

But that's not all there is to it. Assuming the Ivorian authorities are succesful in preventing potentially infected people from crossing the border, the cocoa plantations in Ivory Coast, producing a third of all cocoa on the world market, might face labor shortages, leading to a hike in cocoa prices. If the authorities are unsuccesful, there is the risk of the Ebola virus spreading to Ivory Coast and eastwards to Ghana and beyond along the surprisingly good (by West African standards) infrastructure, but the plantations will get their labor, giving a better chance of the price of cocoa remaining stable.

So, how much do you enjoy your chocolate on Christmas?
 
sixpackshaker

sixpackshaker

evilmike said:
Apparently, the hospital that admitted the first Ebola patient was horrifically unprepared to deal with Ebola. The hospital did not have the proper protective gear for the nurses, had no protocols in place to handle the disease and, reportedly, administrators resisted putting the patient in isolation. Samples from the infected patient were sent to the lab using the normal pneumatic tube system instead of being sealed and hand delivered. This resulted in the entire tube system being contaminated. At least 76 people were potentially exposed. So far, only two people have contracted the infection from this incident. (via Gawker)
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Then all the nurses and techs that were in the hospital all went on vacation! 9 flights and a cruise ship have been endangered by the staff of the hospital.
 
Covar

Covar

Have we reached the point where the press has started masturbating to themselves yet? Because it seems like all this has reached a point where the media can start reporting about their fear mongering.
 
Dave

Dave

Staff member
More people are killed annually in the US from having vending machines fall on them than have been diagnosed with Ebola. I say we make a vending machine czar and create a panic.
 
Covar

Covar

Don't be ridiculous Dave. We'll never be able to get the public in a frenzy over vending machines. You need a horribly overblown outrage in order to needlessly expand the reach of the federal government.
 
Dave

Dave

Staff member
Here's a great map of the current outbreak outside of Africa. Note that the US only has one state with symptoms that generated here and they are all contained.

 
drawn_inward

drawn_inward

stienman said:
Honestly, ebola may be scary, but you might as well worry about aids or malaria unless you live in an area with a significant (>100 known infected) ebola outbreak.
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HIV and Malaria have definitely made a huge impact. Influenza may still be the top dog in sheer numbers (of deaths) and communicability, and it will likely never go away.

HIV can be contained, but probably won't. Malaria is a tough nut to crack though it seems to be an easier fix than HIV/Ebola, and it's not transmitted from human to human.

Ebola can survive longer than HIV outside the body. You are way less likely to get HIV from vomit (usually no blood in HIV-infected patient). Aerosolized Ebola from vomiting, coughing, and diarrhea is a concern of mine. I don't care that they say it's not transmitted that way. The good news about Ebola is that death comes fairly quick. Faster death should knock out the threat

I am still shocked at NIH/CDCs lack of planning and slow response, but then again the good ol bureaucratic machine only has one gear.

I still think that North America is fine and is going to be fine, but I sure think we should be a bit more proactive going forward.

But, yes, worldwide, HIV, malaria, and influenza are likely to rack up way more numbers than Ebola ever will.
 
Dave

Dave

Staff member
The issue isn't that the CDC/NIH was unprepared, it's that the guy went to a hospital that was not set up to handle infectious diseases and they tried to treat him using substandard processes. There are hospitals specifically ready to handle such cases and the CDC/NIH tried to show that other places could as well, which was incorrect.

As posted in another thread:

 
evilmike

evilmike

A few snapshots of Ebola Panic:
Maine school board puts teacher on leave after she traveled to Dallas -- Teacher was within 10 miles of the hospital that treated the Ebola patient, gets a 3 week vacation.

Syracuse University disinvites Washington Post photographer because he was in Liberia 3 weeks ago -- A journalism workshop provides hands on experience in journalistic hysteria.

Kids pulled out of class over concerns about principal's trip to Zambia -- Principal visits the same continent as the Ebola outbreak (3000 miles away) and causes a panic.
 
Adam

Adam

Friend of my gf just got back from West Africa where he was a nurse helping treat Ebola victims. And we're trying to keep that relatively quiet as he sits in a 21 day quarantine. No need to have his neighbours flipping out.
 
PatrThom

PatrThom

In b4 <NewsOrg> starts reporting about African terrorist organization "EBOLA" that may have managed to install a sleeper cell in TX.

--Patrick
 
Dave

Dave

Staff member
Sorry, been away for most of the weekend.

Just an FYI, my information comes from a buddy of mine who is an infectious disease doctor practicing in Dallas. So while I don't have a pedigree to talk about this stuff myself and don't have a PhD in anything, I'm not just talking out my ass. So I still think careful but not panic is the way to go. Just as you would for anything else that's potentially deadly.
 
drawn_inward

drawn_inward

People react in a panicked fashion for any reason. That's why you can't yell "fire" in a crowded theater. Hell, anytime a snow storm was predicted in Oklahoma, people would clear the shelves at Walmart as if a 30 ft blizzard was coming. I would expect no less. However, I don't really see anyone on this board "panicking". I am/was surprised about the actions at the Dallas hospital. Just ineptness. I dealt with a patient with MRSA when I was a CNA, and you would've thought the guy had Ebola or Marburg, by the precautions that were set up. I don't understand how these nurses got infected. They didn't take enough precautions I guess.
 
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