Discussion for article #228731
It’s interesting that Duncan’s personal story has gotten so little attention. he’d have been treated as less of a pariah if he had.
The exposure makes me wonder how well the hospital used universal precautions. There is a lot of experience with this in many settings, but often it was long ago–HIV+ patients are no longer treated with draconian precautions, TB is a rarity and procedures like bone marrow transplant no longer involve protecting patients by putting people in garb that comes close to being like hazmat suits.
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This disease will not be defeated unless there is ABSOLUTE DISCIPLINE in following the strict guidelines of quarantine and treatment.
This virus is a killer. Staff ignorance and failure to follow STRICT PROTOCOL will continue to result in more cases of this disease.
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The CDC and WHO say the virus is a weak one and is spread only by contact with body fluids. But by looking at the numbers of infections and the pattern of secondary infections it seems to me that the health experts have underestimated the ability of this virus to spread. Of course the scary part is it’s virulence… the rapid course of the illness and the ease with which it kills. In past outbreaks the disease was limited by the riual nature of where it occurred. In an urban setting it’s a different story
I wonder if this one worker simply wasn’t cautious enough? Some people just don’t heed the clearest warnings. And we know that unfortunately not everyone in medicine is as meticulous as we’d wish. Because if the virus is more transmissible then yeah, that’s pretty scary. Good wishes to the sick person, at any rate.
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Last week NPR did a story on Firestone’s successful efforts to contain the disease on their rubber plantation in Harbel, Liberia. About 80,000 people live there. A big reason for its success? It had the financial resources of a large corporation.
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Isn’t Texas one of those Republican states where there are no regulations? Except for abortion and now some forms of birth control because it might “violate” the Christian Wrong “religious liberty” sensibilities of some conservative pharmacy workers?
I wonder if Republican healthcare workers will use this as an excuse for not treating those “who look like they may have signed up for ObamaCare” at medical centers in conservative states.
Can’t wait for the GOP House to hold a crisis Midnight vote like they did in the Terri Schiavo case to step in and issue a blanket ban on any sick family members they consider suspect and therefore dangerous to society. TX Senator Cruz will, of course, lead the charge from the Senate…in the House…again?
There are zombies everywhere. Let’s panic and see if that works better than using common sense and letting the scientific community determine what the facts tell us?
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It seems to me Texas messed this one up badly. I get the feeling their healthcare infrastructure is not the best. Typical GOP government, cut everything to the bone, to the point where nothing functions properly.
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Quarantine Texas immediately! No one gets in or out of the state until the Ebola threat is over!
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My condolence and best wishes to all involved in this issue. I commend the courage of the health worker who was willing to treat ebola. That said there are two hard truths that need to be dicsused.
1.) Anyone exposed to ebola should self quarantine until the danger point is passed. That means avoiding as much contact as possible.-- sleeping and eating alone and disinfecting the toilet after use.
Yes, I know that ebola is not supposed to be contagious until a person is ill but that is not a clear margin. Are there any protocols for ow to self-isolate at home?
2.) The family has understandably asked for complete privacy and may well be entitled to that under our current laws. Unfortunately, the welfare of the community is more important than that. Giving the patient’s name would provide a double check on his contacts. Someone who gave him a casual pat on the back might well not be remembered by the patient but the person who gave the pat might well remember.
From what I’ve heard the biggest risk for health care workers is when they are taking off their protective gear and disposing of materials. It takes a lot of time and discipline to do the decontamination correctly, and that’s one thing that nurses aren’t given enough of. Typically, there’s a lot of pressure to finish one patient and get to the next one.
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Is it possible that this worker was infected the first time Duncan came to the hospital?
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Possible, but the story says otherwise.
There have been children dying of the EV-D68 Flu for months now in the USA. That disease is easily contracted like the regular flu and kills. Yet there hasn’t been such a negative reaction to its victims in the media as there has been to Ebola.
But then public health issues are never seen as critical among conservatives unless a black or poor person is involved. Then they want to regulate the hell out of them. We really don’t need big government in this country? Yeah, sure they feel that way.
Not if it might affect them adversely.
So how is Rick Perry going to pay for all the related costs to this “epidemic” when he’s cut taxes so many times on the only people who can afford to pay them among the rich?
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Yes, that’s the hospital’s story. I guess if that person didn’t come into contact with him the first time, it must have happened later.
This appears to have worked in part because of voluntary self quarantine of any one with potential contact and the availability of hazmat suits and industrial strength disinfectant: Those using the haz mat suits are accompanied by a sprayer full of the stuff.
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“We knew a second case could be a reality, and we’ve been preparing for this possibility,” Dr. David Lakey, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services, said in a statement Sunday. “We are broadening our team in Dallas and working with extreme diligence to prevent further spread.”
DSHS is involved? Heaven help us!
Sunset Commission Issues Brutal Report on Dept. of State Health Services
When is our moron President going face the fact that we really don’t understand how to contain this disease?
We need to immediately refuse entry to anyone from a country that has ebola (Spain included), and refuse landing rights to any aircraft and/or any flight crew that includes a member who has been in one of these countries in the last 30 days.
Fair, nice, moral…I don’t know. But, Obama’s first priority should be to protect us before worrying about citizens of any other country.
“…the hospital has stopped accepting new emergency room patients…”
Ebola?
Yes, well, the next hospital facility is 150 miles away, but the good news is our Republican legislature has decided that isn’t a hardship. It’s to make you safer.
Bye.
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You forgot to mention that the Repubilcans strictly regulate voting with the intent of discouraging that practice among the unworthy.
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