<p>^Better health insurance?</p>
<p>Snyderman gave the classic non-apology - I’m sorry you were worried, but I am sure I’m not contagious, so you have no reason to be worried (paraphrase).</p>
<p>To borrow a phrase from Leona Helmsley, “Only the little people do quarantine”</p>
<p>My student already has had a flu shot in mid-September and had a bacterial meningitis shot a few years ago. Indeed, bacterial meningitis is very deadly, mostly because it’s not caught or diagnosed within the several hours required to do so. By the way, a United Nations worker (a Sudanese doctor) has died in Germany after having been returned from Africa despite “intensive treatment” and the UK press is reporting that the newly-implemented screening at Heathrow airport is a joke with many people from West Africa walking right through. I suggest everyone get their students a flu shot so that if they get sick with this entero D68 (which kills teens, as well as young children) or ebola-like symptoms, they can say they have had a regular flu shot to eliminate that misdiagnosis.</p>
<p>Aid to African countries to stop it would be good if all that money got to the project and didn’t get siphoned off by politicos.</p>
<p>Statement from the Texas nurse…</p>
<p>“I’m doing well and want to thank everyone for their kind wishes and prayers,” says Nina Pham, who treated Thomas Eric Duncan during his stay at the hospital. “I am blessed by the support of family and friends and am blessed to be cared for by the best team of doctors and nurses in the world here at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas.”</p>
<p>Thanks for the laugh, GMTplus7!</p>
<h1>381, thank you! anyone dealing with this needs a buddy, needs a bleach solution shower and needs a damned helmet that covers the head, i.e. respirator garb. The way Duncan was putting out fluids, any of it could have splashed up under that mask onto her hair or neck. Ugh.</h1>
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<p>I was talking to several hospital execs and the number stated is very different. I assume this is because Doctors Without Borders is only on of the groups. </p>
<p>What I was told is 5% of the deaths from this outbreak of Ebola have been among healthcare workers, and includes those that wore fully protective gear. This means over 230+ healthcare workers are among the fatalities.</p>
<p>This number came up because the hospitals use the same procedures and suits as in Africa and many doctors still got infected. And the execs are not buying it that all these healthcare workers are breaching protocols at the rate the CDC says.</p>
<p>I was not under the impression that all hospitals here were using the spray down with disinfectant before disrobing method. Hospital executives are also likely biased towards believing or at least professing that their staff is more that adequately trained and that there facilities are not under any staffing pressure. They represent one point of view but not necessarily a completely neutral one.</p>
<p>Got any data to back that up? That seems a bit over-the-top</p>
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<p>I did not say all hospitals; I said hospitals that specifically use the same procedures, as in Africa. </p>
<p>In fact, they feel lucky to some degree, as they cannot imagine the state that a lesser equipped hospital would be in. However, they are concerned that the infection and death rate of healthcare personnel using that specific equipment. </p>
<p>These execs would have no business if their employees get killed off, so they are correct in questioning why the infection rate of healthcare workers is so high given the procedures are the same. </p>
<p>Still looking for data to support that assertion. Please provide if you have it. </p>
<p>“This number came up because the hospitals use the same procedures and suits as in Africa and many doctors still got infected. And the execs are not buying it that all these healthcare workers are breaching protocols at the rate the CDC says.”</p>
<p>Of course they are not. They are living and breathing in the contagious community. Have you ever lived in a place with limited access to running water, no refrigeration, houses with dirt floors, etc.? </p>
<p>This Ebola situation has highlighted a real demarcation point among those who write the checks and those who get checks, .i.e., the people who are ultimately responsible and the people told to be responsible. </p>
<p>The people who actually write the checks if something goes wrong or does not work are the most cautious and are looking at the details to determine best ways to mitigate risk. It is an economic loss for them if something goes wrong or is wrong from the outset.</p>
<p>Then, there are the people who get checks, and they essentially end up being the sacrificial lambs and worker bees for the policies from institutions. And I understand if they basically follow the people who pay them and repeat what they say.</p>
<p>But, the main difference is the government institutions do not have to pay if they are wrong. They just say oops and change policy. </p>
<p>The Dallas nurse infection is a classic case. If it is found that protocol were followed, but the nurse still got infected, the lawyers sue the hospital, not the CDC. It is the businesses of Dallas which have to pay the costs of lost productivity, not the CDC. Yet, it is the CDC, which sets the policy and says there is nothing wrong here, until they find something wrong or errant. </p>
<p>For example, the CDC has already changed the viability profile on surfaces twice during this most recent outbreak, from what they had historically. First, viability was just few hours on surfaces, then that was upped to 2 - 3 days, and now they are quietly advising companies that it may be as high as 7 days dependent on humidity. That is a far cry from the few hours that were being touted a month ago. The dried blood and body fluids after death viability is now beyond 7 days. </p>
<p>Second, a month ago, bleach alone was just fine for wiping down surfaces, but now they recommend two to three levels of disinfectant of hazmat suits and would like to see UV light. It does beg the question, “How can we tell one set of people that a little bleach is fine, but the tiniest fluid on a hazmat suit must be treated as extremely dangerous and spraying and wiping down with just bleach is no longer considered effective in that arena?” </p>
<p>I guess if you are the one getting the check you just go along, but man what a tough place to be, as too many things do not wash out in terms of logic.</p>
<p>Good job, Louisiana. Way to ramp up hysteria based on utter ignorance:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.nola.com/health/index.ssf/2014/10/louisiana_ebola_and_nonsense_a.html”>http://www.nola.com/health/index.ssf/2014/10/louisiana_ebola_and_nonsense_a.html</a></p>
<p>AW, as with many crises, the Ebola outbreak is a fluid situation. Sadly, they are learning as they go and making corrections and improvements to the protocol as flaws become evident.</p>
<p>We think a lot of things work until they don’t. Remember 9/11?</p>
<p>LasMa, thanks for posting this. Fear mongering beyond control. </p>
<p>AW - I think I understand where your hatred towards CDC could be coming from: HAI. To summarize the issue in a couple of sentences… The hospital administrations have been trying hard to pass the blame for their internal sloppiness that lead to the breeding of dangerous infectious bugs onto CDC, “But they did not tell us we had to train our staff to wash hands!” It is CDC, not us! </p>
<p>@VaBluebird that was an instructive video, wasn’t it?</p>
<p>Experts on CNN are disagreeing about whether the guidelnes, which are “evolving”, are satisfactory at present, referencing this document <a href=“http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/pdf/ppe-poster.pdf”>http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/pdf/ppe-poster.pdf</a></p>
<p>I found this on line <a href=“http://news.yahoo.com/liberia-faces-healthcare-strike-over-ebola-130520281.html”>http://news.yahoo.com/liberia-faces-healthcare-strike-over-ebola-130520281.html</a> which says that 95 Liberian health workers have died so far during this epidemic. They describe the “overwhelmed skeletal health service” and it is unknown how satisfactory their preventative procedures are, and what infection control resources they have at their disposal. There is acknowledgement that there may be a learning curve in the treatment and infection control guidelines as they experience this disease first hand. Sadly, nothing is absolutely foolproof.</p>
<p>Oh geez… Chris Brown is claiming that the disease is “population control”. For peets sake…</p>
<p>~X( </p>