|
Post by Deleted on Sept 23, 2014 21:18:54 GMT
The current death total for the epidemic in Africa is 2793. This is not really a whole hell of a lot compared to lots of other diseases, but it is something to take into consideration regarding a disease that does not yet have a cure. The last African disease that started slowly and built up over time was AIDS, which has killed more than 30 million people so far, and obviously not just in Africa.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2014 10:58:11 GMT
Scary regardless. This past week there were two cases of malaria reported here.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2014 11:17:09 GMT
Now the death toll is 2917 with 6263 identified cases (and of course many more unidentified in remote villages). Thing are getting worse in Sierra Leone and Liberia, but appear to have stabilised in Guinea.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2014 12:42:20 GMT
The first confirmed case of Ebola in the US announced this week. The gentleman flew from Liberia to Dallas.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2014 12:48:16 GMT
They have been saying there will probably be some cases in Europe, too. The hard part is always to recognise an unfamiliar disease, especially with flu season about to start soon. They can always ask travellers to spontaneously tell medical staff if they have been in any foreign countries, but some people won't do it, no matter what... Not to mention flights in totally safe countries, but during which you might find yourself sitting next to an infected person.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2014 11:21:00 GMT
So true Kerouac. Case in point: the patient in Dallas was misdiagnosed and sent home with anti-biotics for 2 days!!! Several children were exposed in that interim period and goodness knows who else. Obviously, hospitals around the country (and other countries I would hope)are tightening up on their protocol but, it's so easy to slip through the cracks as we well know.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 3, 2014 14:16:24 GMT
The "plot" thickens as more and more details emerge about the amount of exposure the man in Dallas had with other people. He apparently was not as forthcoming in the details he divulged to the health care community. Not that he intentionally withheld info in a careless way, but, the consequences could indeed be dire.
Right now they are tracking 100 people in the US who may have been exposed.
The media coverage of course is "going to town" on this. In this case, is that out of control or not? I don't know if I believe for it to be irresponsible. And, this is coming from one of the most cynical media critics ever.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 3, 2014 14:31:19 GMT
Well, at least the experts here have said that it is only contagious from a person actually suffering from the symptoms of the disease, not just incubating it. So there are two or three safe days for casual encounters before the shit hits the fan.
|
|
|
Post by mich64 on Oct 3, 2014 15:37:27 GMT
When away on holiday, the news programs were reporting concerns of the ebola virus spreading globally and we were sure we would encounter some kind of screening at the Munich airport but nothing. No questions verbally or on a form. I thought flying out of an international airport there would be some measures starting to emerge.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 3, 2014 16:34:54 GMT
They probably have the fever scanners set up in the arrival zone of the West African flights. No real need for them anywhere else unless a significant outbreak is confirmed on another continent. I'm sure that embarkation procedures in Africa are already quite strict.
|
|
|
Post by mich64 on Oct 3, 2014 16:46:51 GMT
That makes sense.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 3, 2014 17:26:57 GMT
During the bird flu crisis, I went to both Hong Kong and Vietnam and everybody went through the fever machines. Since I always feel overheated in airports anyway, I always felt certain that I would be pulled aside, but I guess I had just brain fever rather than real fever.
|
|
|
Post by mich64 on Oct 3, 2014 17:50:37 GMT
I too become overheated in airports (I think stress) and have frequent hot flashes normally. I wonder if we would have been let on the plane if we had departed on Monday versus Friday considering the fevers we were coping with by then? I am glad we did not have to find out.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 4, 2014 11:36:19 GMT
The situation is becoming more and more alarming. Every time I listen to the a.m. news on the radio there's another story. And, I'm not blaming it on the media. If anything, my cynical nature tells me that they're not telling us everything in order to prevent massive panic and hysteria.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 4, 2014 11:42:28 GMT
Fauci acknowledged that Dallas health workers had made mistakes but said he remained confident that the federal government was managing the response.
“There are things that did not go the way they should have in Dallas,” he said. “Although there were missteps there, there were good things that happened also.”
I thought this sounded just like the beginning of a Stephen King book.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 4, 2014 11:59:08 GMT
Spot on Kerouac, it does...
We have a good friend who has a son that works at that hospital in Dallas in the chemistry research department.
The next thing you know we will be hearing the crisis as "Ebolagate".
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 5, 2014 12:53:07 GMT
The Ebola patient in Dallas has gone from "serious" to "critical".
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 6, 2014 17:59:23 GMT
Now Spain has its first case of Ebola.
The patient is a hospital worker who works in the same hospital where two missionaries with Ebola were treated. Both of them died.
|
|
|
Post by mossie on Oct 7, 2014 14:16:00 GMT
It seems the Spanish case was a result of inadequate precautions nearly as bad as Dallas.
The easy answer is to quarantine completely that area of West Africa where these cases originate. Easier said than done, I would make a wonderful dictator, but that is what is required in this situation. Nobody comes out, tough.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 7, 2014 14:31:49 GMT
I agree Mossie. It's getting too scary and the carelessness of how these cases are being handled is even more frightening.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2014 16:14:17 GMT
The first US diagnosed patient with Ebola just died, the hospital confirmed this a.m.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2014 17:16:23 GMT
In Stephen King's The Stand, it starts in Texas, too.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2014 20:21:32 GMT
The pet dog of the woman in Spain who has ebola has been put to sleep. Excalibur
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 9, 2014 12:04:54 GMT
More and more blunders are being reported about the handling of the case in Madrid.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 9, 2014 14:13:52 GMT
I see that the official worldwide death toll now stands at 3,879. Obviously, that's almost nothing compared to lots of other diseases but a death toll of well over 50% is what is worrisome. Not to mention future mutations, which are inevitable.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 10, 2014 5:21:41 GMT
I think that this article is a good overview of the Ebola situation.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 11, 2014 21:44:05 GMT
Morocco is the host of the Africa Cup of Nations football tournament and has requested postponement due to the Ebola situation. The event is scheduled to take place from January 17 to February 8, which is really quite soon. However, the African Football Confederation has insisted that there is no reason to change the dates. Doesn't this remind you of the mayor in Jaws who refused to close the beach because it was the 4th of July weekend?
There will be a new meeting of the African Football Confederation on November 2-3 but (unbelievably) the purpose of the meeting will be to determine if they want to move the event to another country. First choice would be South Africa which has all of those stadiums from the World Cup.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 15, 2014 13:14:23 GMT
A second health care worker who treated the patient in Dallas that died has now been diagnosed as positive for Ebola.
In other related news, there is a big hoorah about where to dispose of the dead patients belongings, personal effects. Word has it that they want to transport it to a dump site in Louisiana. I haven't heard the latest update on this since yesterday.
|
|
|
Post by mich64 on Oct 15, 2014 18:40:16 GMT
Casi I also just heard that after being involved in the care and treatment of the patient who passed away from Ebola, this second nurse that has been infected, took a flight to Cleveland and back.
They are stating that all staff had been advised of being restricted from commercial flights but it would be okay for staff to take a chartered flight. Now they are looking for approximately 132 passengers from the flights. I believe it is the return Frontier flight they are concerned about. They are reporting a very low possibility of anyone being infected and advise all passengers to make contact with the CDC.
This second patient is also being transferred out of Texas today.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 15, 2014 19:28:23 GMT
Yes Mich, I heard that too. Very scary. And, apparently there were many breaches in the protocol at the hospital in Dallas, just a there were in Spain. (I remember when my husband worked for EMS when he first started out, there were no"'universal precaution" protocols that paramedics were instructed to follow. It was many years before these were instituted. My husband was exposed to all manner of bodily fluids and on at least one occasion was stuck with a needle. It used to scare me to death).
The patient is being transferred to Emory university in Georgia which apparently has some specialists that deal with Ebola.
Louisiana authorities have nixed the disposal of the patients ashes and personal effects being dumped here.
|
|