<p>zm, I am about as far left as possible, but I am calling for travel restrictions. And I am also calling for massive intervention in WA to stop the epidemic there, and to ensure that people there can get medical treatment for Ebola as well as routine medical care which is no longer available in some places. My understanding is that our military personnel are there to quickly construct clinics and to take care of the logistics necessary for a massive medical effort.</p>
<p>If the sick Liberian man has a girlfriend/wife and children here, then I assume that he travels here on a regular basis. I don’t know whether he came here in order to have a chance to survive Ebola. Even if he didn’t, others will if it is possible. </p>
<p>Our medical/public health system can manage a few isolated cases and their contacts. But their capacity is limited. This one person had 80 contacts. As others have pointed out, these people need support during the quarantine, and we don’t know what if anything is being done to help them. Imagine 100 infected people coming here from WA in the next month. </p>
<p>I wrote that back on page 1 as a bit of (non-obvious) sarcasm after seeing how my conspiracy theorist Facebook friends were reacting. This morning I hear parents are keeping their kids out of school in Dallas. For many close to the infection, it is much more real to them, science be damned.</p>
<p>A story I read yesterday about Thomas Eric Duncan said he had quit his job on September 7 before his extended trip to the US. I haven’t heard when he bought the plane tickets, but he did not come here because he was exposed to Ebola.</p>
<p>Also, I am surprised the ER nurse is the one being blamed on here, but not at all surprised that she is the one being blamed by the hospital. She did her job perfectly - asked the pertinent questions and wrote the answers down on the paperwork. It is the responsibility of the ER doctor/PA to review the notes, make the diagnosis, and initiate the treatment. A RN license does not allow the nurse, even if she knew with 100% certainty the patient has Ebola, to make any type of diagnosis, and she would have been punished if she had done it. It is routine for hospitals to protect their doctors and their organization by blaming nurses.</p>
<p>My wife worked with a nurse who was present at an epic screw-up that killed a patient. She knew it was going to likely end up in a lawsuit so she made copies of all the notes and held on to them. The hospital destroyed the originals, falsified new notes, then fired the nurse when she refused to sign the new “revision.” She ended up losing her license anyway; the judge ruled her copies inadmissible since she was not authorized to make copies of medical records and the “originals” were already part of the evidence. </p>
<p>If this guy pulls through, I hope someone informs the girlfriend that he could still be contagious up to 7 weeks after recovery via seminal fluid.
And I really hope no kids get it.</p>
<p>Having seen the nephew interviewed, I had the impression that he called the CDC <em>after</em> his uncle was taken to the hospital by ambulance. Because he did not have the impression that they were taking it seriously enough. I don’t know why he had that impression. Because they didn’t take steps to clean the vomit? Because they weren’t wearing suits like those seen on TV in Africa? Because he wasn’t being given ZMAPP? Who knows. I can certainly understanding not having much confidence in the hospital after they sent him home the first time.</p>
<p>Regarding the sick man, I think it would be natural for him to be relieved when the doctor(s) told him he had some minor thing and gave him antibiotics. After all, he had told them where he came from. It would be reasonable for him to think that they knew when they diagnosed him. It would be reasonable for his family to be relieved, also. After all, medical people are supposed to know what they are doing. </p>
<p>So the answer to my earlier question is that these people have been essentially abandoned, in terms of any effort whatsoever being made to protect THEM from further exposure. Nice. :(</p>
<p>The half brother is being interviewed on CNN. He seems more interested in blaming the CDC for not doing enough than worrying about the rest of the family. This is bizarre.</p>
<p>Bunsen Burner: The president has the authority to restrict travellers coming from infected countries and has chosen not to do it. ‘Restricting liberties’ ? Those people in quarantine in Dallas are restricted right now. No one has the right to travel to the U. S. (except returning U. S. citizens, perhaps). Why should those 80 to 100 people now being monitored have to put up with the fear and worry even if they don’t become sick so that one man who knew he was exposed could travel to the U. S.? Just think how much this is costing? </p>
<p>I heard on CNN that Thomas Duncan is going to be punished by the Liberian government for lying to their authorities before he left. Apparently, Liberians are supposed to disclose whether they’ve had contact with Ebola patients before they are permitted to travel. </p>
<p>That’s horrible if official parties aren’t helping the quarantined family and others who might have been exposed. I would have thought they would mover her to clean housing or send an official team to disinfect her apartment and remove any contaminated items. That seems like a huge fail to me from a trust and humanitarian point of view.</p>
<p>^^at the very least, provide them with protective cleaning gear and supplies and detailed instructions.
Some of the common sense procedures one would think health authorities have in place when they say “we are ready to deal with it.”</p>
<p>Btw, sorry if it’s too OT, as this is more about viruses in general, I’ve been trying to cut down on touching my face when I’m outside and it’s tough - my nose will itch, or my contacts will irritate and next thing I know my hand is heading for my face. I need to make sure I always have a clean tissue and a pocket to put it in as these scary viruses get more common.</p>
<p>The guy should have told in the clearest manner he was in direct contact with an Ebola patient, not just that he was from Liberia. He didn’t mention it to Liberian government as he was supposed to when leaving the country. He was endangering other people’s well being. And now he is an honest poor soul? Is it possible the nurse didn’t know what countries are affected? I don’t follow the story closely and don’t know what countries are affected.</p>
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<p>If they made it clear that the guy was likely infected with Ebola virus, it would have been so much easier for everyone.</p>
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<p>Today? Four days after he threw up all over the place? Isn’t the virus dead by now? </p>
<p>I worry more about the kids and mom together. I would guess that the mom is more likely to have been infected if anyone was. I don’t know but I wonder about that point where the viral load goes from not enough to make a patient symptomatic to contagious. It seems like there might be a window in there where currently uninfected family members would be at risk of a new round of infection if one becomes symptomatic. It would be a horrible thing to have one or more become ill then cope with a re-quarantine of the rest who were still in the house together. As a parent I can’t imagine not caring for a sick child even if you knew it was deadly. It would be a horrible choice to have to make. </p>