Ebola diagnosed in Dallas

[Iglooo]

<p>^Shocking. No one cleaned the vomit until yesterday? For four days it was there to infect others. Is that how CDC was well prepared in the remote chance we get Ebola? </p>

[blankmind]

<p>I didn’t see the photo, did they just power wash it away? And to where, the storm drains? Which go where?</p>

[eyemamom]

<p><a href=“https://twitter.com/wfaachannel8/status/517739906211528704/photo/1”>https://twitter.com/wfaachannel8/status/517739906211528704/photo/1&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Here’s the photo. </p>

[Nrdsb4]

<p>It’s been sunny and mid to upper 90’s for days. I don’t think there was risk there by yesterday, but can’t say the same in the immediate aftermath.</p>

<p>It sounds like I was correct in my initial suspicion that the physicians never even read the nurse’s notes. Why do they bother to have a nurse do an assessment if no one is going to look it over? </p>

<p>If I were the triage nurse and I understood that a symptomatic patient had been in Africa, and I further understood that he had been in Liberia specifically, and I even further understood that Liberia is one of THE hot spots for ebola, I would have been out of my chair to get an isolation room going and to inform the ER doc on site. I also would have donned PPG from that point on when assessing that patient and would have communicated the need for that to other caregivers/transport persons. I am not convinced that the triage nurse understood the risk she was dealing with in spite of a checked box.</p>

<p>The docs should be reading the triage notes, but from what we know right now, the triage nurse bears some of the shared responsibility here for lack of follow through, imo.</p>

<p>BTW, I keep referring to the nurse as she, but I don’t know that it wasn’t a he. Not particularly relevant, but it’s easier just to pick a pronoun rather than doing the he/she thing all the time.</p>

[Iglooo]

<p>"…rather than doing the he/she thing all the time"</p>

<p>True. The language hasn’t evolved with the culture.</p>

<p>I think they need to do what stocker traders do using computer programs to alert physicians if certain words come up in patient’s record.</p>

[scholarme]

<p>Sciencemag.org is making its articles on Ebola free. There are some interesting articles, including interviews with survivors like Nancy Writebol</p>

<p>For those interested:</p>

<p><a href=“http://sciencemag.org/site/extra/ebola/”>http://sciencemag.org/site/extra/ebola/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

[BunsenBurner]

<p>“Shocking. No one cleaned the vomit until yesterday? For four days it was there to infect others. Is that how CDC was well prepared in the remote chance we get Ebola?”</p>

<p>Igloo, your knowledge of public health and how CDC operates seems to come from movies like Contagion and what the mass media feeds the genetal public. The agency can do zip without local authorities’ permission - see my post above about permits. It does not have armies of people in moonsuits who descend on the scene where some disease was suspected. </p>

<p>As per guy washing the sidewalk - the sources I read said bleach was poured on the sidewalk prior to washing. Very typical of the media to show what looks like sensationalism. </p>

[saintfan]

<p>Very interesting stuff, @scholarme . . . thanks for linking. </p>

[LakeWashington]

<p>Bunsen is quite right. The CDC properly monitors local agencies jurisdictional actions at this stage of the game. It doesn’t issue edicts like some Soviet Commissar.</p>

[scholarme]

<p>Between media sensationalism on one side, and official sources lack of transparency on the other, it’s hard to discern what the facts are.
At this point I’m just happy that none of the quarantined contacts are showing symptoms yet. 15 days to go.</p>

[scholarme]

<p>Just read this - 5 deputies entered the apartment Wed night
<a href=“http://wfaa.mlnwap.com/article.html#!/11687/7a76f383827ce922881e5b4aeb647310”>http://wfaa.mlnwap.com/article.html#!/11687/7a76f383827ce922881e5b4aeb647310&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I understand the frustration expressed:

Dyer said deputies should never have been involved to begin with, because he considers it a federal issue and not a local matter.
“My anger is really with the feds,” he said. “Let’s move that family. Let’s move everybody out of that building. I don’t care if it’s overkill. Let’s do overkill. I don’t think sending a few deputies in there is the right course of action.‎”

</p>

<p>

Dyer was one of the deputies on scene Wednesday night, but he did not go inside. He said the family of the Ebola victim told the deputies that went inside that they were running out of food.
“What kind of planning is that for the feds?” Dyer said. “You quarantine them, but you’re not going to make sure they have food?”
Dyer said one of the supervisors got sandwiches and drinks for the family from a police prostitution diversion initiative that was going on nearby

</p>

[BunsenBurner]

<p>Sure, get frustrated with the feds when you do not want (or scared?) to do your job. Not to sound political, but isn’t TX one of the states that wants to limit the power of the feds in the first place? </p>

[Iglooo]

<p>

Igloo, your knowledge of public health and how CDC operates seems to come from movies like Contagion and what the mass media feeds the genetal public. The agency can do zip without local authorities’ permission - see my post above about permits.

</p>

<p>This is a bureaucractic ramble. What i call preparedness would be CDC obtaining necessary permits in advance or have it streamlined so that if anything unfortunate happens, they can jump in. CDC doesn’t even have guidelines pertaining to the clean up. It is stupid to turn this into not fed’s fault but State’s namely Dem Fed is innocent and Rep Texas guilty. The same happened during Katrina, FEMA vs. NOLA. The disease can spread all over the country once it’s here. we know in some sates, things don’t work efficiently. Getting ready means knowing how to deal with when it is not as effective as it could be since the virus won’t spare an ineffective state.</p>

[Flossy]

<p>Well, except that ebola is not a local issue. Flooding usually is, though. But, both started with local screw-ups. I don’t really think you can blame the state of Texas for what happened at a hospital can you? Or the cops for not getting food to the family. That is not their job.</p>

[scholarme]

<p>I don’t understand why anyone was sent in to the apartment without protective gear. I don’t understand why they are being quarantined in a contaminated habitat in the first place. Law enforcement are not medical experts and this seems like a chain of command failure. I don’t understand why the CDC is not in charge of this - isnt this the very basics of containment?</p>

[GMTplus7]

<p>Good grief. Got a layover now in a major int’l airport and listening to the announcements warning passengers to be on lookout for symptoms of ebola, MERS and H7N9. This airport could do brisk business selling biohazard suits to nervous passengers.</p>

[scholarme]

<p>If you watch Big Bang Theory, remember Sheldon’s “bus pants”? I was just thinking someone should start selling tyvek “travel pullover suits” - protect your skin from any contact with possible contaminants! Mask sold separately. :)</p>

[saintfan]

<p>I was actually remembering when Sheldon accidentally ducked into the isolation unit at the hospital and got quarantined. </p>

[LasMa]

<p>LOL. I saw that episode just last night.</p>

[BunsenBurner]

<p>Igloo, I’m not going argue with you - you seem to have found your scapegoat to divert your anger away from the real non-performers. Ebola is not a federal issue just like flu or any other public health issue, and should be handled by local authorities. The authorities should put their big kid pants on (possibly made of Tyvek), and do their job. The local health department should have been involved and provided guidance and support to the cops. </p>