E B O L A

[dothedd]

October 8, 2014, 11:18 AM 

Thomas Eric Duncan, Ebola victim in Texas, has died

Last Updated Oct 8, 2014 11:34 AM EDT

Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person diagnosed with the Ebola virus on U.S. soil, has died, hospital officials confirm.

Thomas Eric Duncan was pronounced dead at 7:51 a.m. at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas, where he was admitted Sept. 28 and has been kept in isolation, according to spokesman Wendell Watson. Wendell said the death left officials with "profound sadness and heartfelt disappointment."

Duncan became ill after arriving in the Texas city from Liberia on Sept. 20 to visit family, heightening concerns the world's worst Ebola outbreak on record could spread in the United States.

Dr. David Lakey, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services, said in a statement: "The doctors, nurses and staff at Presbyterian provided excellent and compassionate care, but Ebola is a disease that attacks the body in many ways. We'll continue every effort to contain the spread of the virus and protect people from this threat."

Duncan carried the deadly virus with him from his home in Liberia, though he showed no signs when he left for the United States. He arrived in Dallas Sept. 20 and fell sick a few days later.

Others in Dallas still are being monitored as health officials try to contain the virus that has ravaged West Africa, with more than 3,400 people reported dead. They also trying to tamp down anxiety among residents frightened of contracting Ebola, though the disease can be spread only through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an already sick person.

Health officials have identified 10 people, including seven health workers, who had direct contact with Duncan while he was contagious. Another 38 people also may have come into contact with him.

The four people living in the northeast Dallas apartment where Duncan stayed have been isolated in a private residence.

Everyone who potentially had contact with Duncan will be monitored for 21 days, the normal incubation period for the disease.

Duncan passed an airport health screening in Liberia, where doctors took his temperature and found no other signs of Ebola symptoms. But a few days after he arrived, he began to have a fever, headache and abdominal pain.

He went to the emergency room of Texas Health Presbyterian in Dallas on Sept. 24, but was sent home. By Sept. 27, his condition had worsened. An ambulance that day took him back to the hospital, where he stayed in isolation.

The hospital has changed its explanation several times about when Duncan arrived and what he said about his travel history. It has acknowledged that Duncan told them on his first visit that he came from West Africa.

[dothedd]

Why Spanish nursing assistant is such a troubling Ebola case

MADRID -- Three more people were placed under quarantine for Ebola at a Madrid hospital where a Spanish nursing assistant became infected, authorities said Tuesday. More than 50 other possible contacts were being monitored.

The nursing assistant, who had cared for a Spanish priest who died of Ebola, was the first case of Ebola being transmitted outside of West Africa, where a months-long outbreak has killed at least 3,500 people and infected at least twice as many. The woman was initially reported to be a nurse.

Her case highlighted the dangers that health care workers face caring for Ebola patients - officials said she had changed a diaper for the priest and collected material from his room after he died. Dead Ebola victims are highly infectious and in West Africa their bodies are collected by workers in hazmat outfits.


www.cbsnews.com/news/spain-nurse-ebola-outside-west-africa-husband-quarantined-medical-workers/

[Peace77]

Thomas Duncan reportedly vomited on the sidewalk before bing taken to the hospital. Apartment workers were photographed using a pressure washer on the vomit while wearing NO protection of any kind.

[dothedd]

I wonder if those workers are on the "observation list" for possible contacts?  I don't recall the date they picked-him up and took him to the hospital .... or if anyone gave the spray from the pressure washer a contact possibility?

The Ebola virus can spread from person to person through blood or bodily fluids. Symptoms, which include nausea, vomiting, high fever and body aches, typically appear between two and 21 days after contracting the virus, according to the World Health Organization.


Thank you for sharing that thought/formation!!!!

[dothedd]

Doctors Puzzled Why Only Some Ebola Patients Bleed

One of Ebola's most notorious symptoms is bleeding from places like the nose and mouth, but such bleeding has only occurred in a minority of cases in the current outbreak.

In the current West Africa outbreak, about 18 percent of people infected with the virus are developing hemorrhagic syndrome, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Typically, the Ebola virus leads to hemorrhagic syndrome about 30 percent to 50 percent of the time, said Angela Rasmussen, a research assistant professor of microbiology at the University of Washington. [Ebola Virus: 5 Things You Should Know]

Cases with bleeding are "usually quite severe and dramatic," Rasmussen told Live Science. "But many Ebola cases don't have that feature. And that feature only presents in the very late stages of the disease."

The current Ebola outbreak is the worst on record. In Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, more than 7,400 people have become infected and more than 3,400 have died since the outbreak began in early 2014, according to the CDC. Nigeria also had a cluster of 20 cases, and Senegal, Spain and the United States have each reported one Ebola case.

In fact, the relatively low prevalence of hemorrhagic syndrome in the current outbreak may explain why the outbreak remained under the radar for a time before it was recognized.

"I have heard speculation that a lower incidence of hemorrhagic syndrome may explain why the outbreak may not have been recognized early on as [being caused by] Ebola," Rasmussen said, "since it was geographically outside of what we previously thought was the range for Zaire Ebola virus, and since without hemorrhage, it appears similar to malaria or typhoid."

Ebola's mechanisms aren't entirely known, but like other severe viral infections, it starts with a fever, which is often followed by vomiting, diarrhea, body aches and nausea. The virus targets the immune system, infecting white blood cells and replicating itself until patients have high levels of the virus circulating throughout their body.

Hemorrhagic syndromestems from the fact that as the virus grows in numbers, it can infect the liver, the organ that makes proteins that help the blood clot. Normally, clotting factors circulate throughout the body and stop bleeding where they're needed.

In people with Ebola, the virus causes severe inflammation that can cause these clotting proteins to go into overdrive, and form small blood clots that clog blood vessels. These clots can also block the flow of blood to vital organs, such as the liver, brain or kidneys, leading to organ damage.

Eventually, the body runs out of available clotting factors, and the infected liver is unable to make more, Rasmussen said.

Meanwhile, the infected immune cells are going out of control, triggering a chaotic inflammatory response, Rasmussen said. In turn, the cells that line the body's blood vessels also become inflamed, and start to leak, which leads to hemorrhagic syndrome.

It typically takes five to eight days for hemorrhagic syndrome to develop in patients with the Ebola virus, she said. After this amount of time, patients have very low levels of clotting factors, she said.

Infected mice

Rasmussen and her colleagues are learning more about the virus by studying its effects in mice. Rasmussen works in Seattle, but her collaborators work at Rocky Mountain Laboratories, a high-security lab in Montana run by the National Institutes of Health. The team is examining how the Ebola virus affects different types of mice.

About 20 to 25 percent of the infected mice develop only a mild case of Ebola. "They usually have weight loss," Rasmussen said. "They might be a little subdued behaviorally, but they usually recover their weight and survive."

Another 30 to 40 percent of the mice develop severe symptoms, but no bleeding. They have pale-colored livers, indicating severe hepatitis. "They just die before or without developing those hemorrhagic symptoms," she said.

About 40 percent of the mice develop full-blown hemorrhagic syndrome, Rasmussen said. Their blood won't clot at the time of their death, and they have low levels of serum fibrinogen, a molecule important for clotting.

"The ones that do develop the hemorrhagic syndrome usually die between days seven and 10," Rasmussen said. "And that's pretty similar to what we see in humans."

CONTINUED: 
news.yahoo.com/doctors-puzzled-why-only-ebola-patients-bleed-203541460.html

[dothedd]

Feds issue rules for burying Ebola patients in the U.S. 

4 hours ago

Liberian native Thomas Eric Duncan dies from Ebola virus in Dallas; health officials face new challenge in handling body that could stay contagious for days...

DALLAS – The first patient to be diagnosed with Ebola in the United States died from the disease Wednesday and now Dallas health officials are facing a situation they have not before experienced: how to handle a body that could remain highly contagious for several days.

Thomas Eric Duncan, 42, had been in isolation at Texas Health Presbyterian since Sept. 28. His death comes four days after his condition was downgraded from serious to critical.

Duncan had been on a ventilator for several days and was receiving kidney dialysis. Last weekend he started receiving an experimental drug called brincidofovir.

Within hours of his death, the Texas Department of State Health Services said Duncan's body would be cremated using protocols recently issued by the CDC.

“The CDC has developed detailed instructions for handling a body infected with Ebola,” the health department said in a written statement. “The guidelines recommend careful preparation of the body before movement, including enclosing it in two bags and disinfecting the bags. After this process, the body can be transported without the need for protective gear for a driver or others who are near the body but don't handle the remains.”

Dr. David Lakey, state health commissioner, said the cremation plan was approved by Duncan's family.

“The cremation process will kill any virus in the body so the remains can be returned to the family,” Lakey said in the statement. “No protective gear is needed to handle the remains after cremation.”

In early August, medical missionary Kent Brantly became the first U.S. patient to be treated for Ebola after he contracted the disease in West Africa and was transported to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.

Soon after, the CDC published a document titled “Guidance for Safe Handling of Human Remains of Ebola Patients in U.S. Hospitals and Mortuaries,” which states that the “handling of human remains should be kept to a minimum.”

Thomas Eric Duncan passed away Wednesday morning. (AP/Wilmot Chayee)
Because Ebola is transmitted by direct contact with bodily fluids, the CDC recommends hospital staff should not attempt to clean the deceased or remove any medical lines or tubes. Instead, “the body should be wrapped in a plastic shroud” and immediately placed in two thick and zippered leakproof bags for transport to the morgue.

What this means for family is likely no chance to mourn loved ones at a traditional funeral service.

The CDC recommends autopsies be avoided, and that no embalming be performed.

It’s been a topic of discussion at the Dallas Institute of Funeral Service, where Wayne Cavender is an instructor and administrator.

“Since they don't have a good handle on controlling the disease itself, they are worried about an epidemic,” Cavender told Yahoo News. “So that's one way to help keep it from going further. Because if we embalm, we are going to come in contact with all the body fluids and everything. With universal precautions we shouldn't, but accidents happen on occasion.”

Instead, the CDC says, the “remains should be cremated or buried promptly in a hermetically sealed casket.” The casket must secure “against the escape of microorganisms” and have valid documentation for being airtight.

“There's really not an airtight casket,” said Cavender, who has been in the funeral business for 28 years.

“The sealer caskets that they sell are not a guaranteed-type of sealing issue. It's not completely airtight because you have to have a way to open them up and so forth. It's not like it's vacuum-sealed,” he said.

But the CDC warns that at no point should the sealed bags or casket be opened for viewing.

Duncan had recently traveled to Dallas from West Africa where the World Health Organization estimates that Ebola has killed more than 3,400 people this year. Health officials say traditional African burials, in which family members wash the body, has caused the epidemic to spread faster.

Cavender said he fully supports the CDC’s stringent standards for this country, but knows it could cost a family a proper goodbye.

“Everybody needs to bury their dead and have a funeral and viewing if that’s what they want,” he said. “That's the government saying you can't do that. It's very unfortunate for the family in that case.”

[dothedd]

CDC: Airborne Ebola possible but unlikely

The Ebola virus becoming airborne is a possible but unlikely outcome in the current epidemic, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Tom Frieden said Tuesday.

The outbreak involves Ebola Zaire, a strain that is passed through bodily fluids, not the air. But some experts have expressed fear about viral mutations due to the unprecedented — and rising — number of Ebola cases.


Frieden sought to allay those fears during a call with reporters.

"The rate of change [with Ebola] is slower than most viruses, and most viruses don't change how they spread," he said. Frieden is unofficially spearheading the U.S. response to Ebola.

"That is not to say it's impossible that it could change [to become airborne]," he continued. "That would be the worst-case scenario. We would know that by looking at ... what is happening in Africa. That is why we have scientists from the CDC on the ground tracking that."

A change in the way Ebola spreads would make the virus significantly more dangerous. The disease kills roughly half the people it infects, and lacking a vaccine or cure, its traceable chain of transmission through bodily fluids is one reason officials believe they can contain it.


CONTINUED:
thehill.com/policy/healthcare/220046-cdc-airborne-ebola-possible-but-unlikely

[dothedd]

Second person showing Ebola symptoms

10/08/14 03:55 PM EDT
A person in a Dallas suburb is exhibiting symptoms consistent with Ebola and claims to have had contact with the Liberian man who died from the virus Wednesday, according to multiple reports.

The unnamed individual is being transported to a hospital and will be the topic of a press conference Wednesday afternoon in the city of Frisco, Texas.
While the case has not been diagnosed as Ebola, the patient received extra scrutiny at an urgent care facility after affirming that he or she recently traveled to West Africa.

A local CBS affiliate broadcast footage of an ambulance taking the patient to a hospital. Officials are beginning to investigate the case.

The Liberian man who died Wednesday, Thomas Eric Duncan, was admitted to the hospital late last month. He was the first person ever diagnosed with Ebola outside of Africa and the first person to die of the virus on U.S. soil.

Federal health officials said Duncan had direct contact with as many as 48 people as his symptoms worsened, 10 of whom are considered at higher risk for developing the disease.

Each person is being monitored daily for signs of illness during the disease's incubation period. It is unclear whether the Frisco patient was in this group.

[dothedd]

A MUST READ!!!

There Before Ebola Had a Name 

By LAWRENCE K. ALTMAN, M.D.OCT. 6, 2014

Dr. Peter Piot was just 27, a budding virologist with a thirst for adventure, when he was dispatched to the heart of Africa to track down a terrifying virus that he had helped discover. 

It was 1976, and the virus had arrived at his laboratory in Antwerp, Belgium, in a blue plastic cooler holding two glass tubes of blood. They had been sent from Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) by a doctor caring for a Flemish nun who was dying of fever and loss of blood. 

One tube was intact. The other was broken; its contents mingled with melted ice to form a red soup. A bloodstained note said the nun was among 200 people, including doctors and nurses, dying in an outbreak that had raged for three weeks in remote Yambuku, not far from the Ebola River. 

The prime suspect was yellow fever, a mosquito-borne infection that Dr. Piot’s laboratory at the Institute of Tropical Medicine was equipped to detect. But unknown to anyone then, the nun’s blood harbored the virus that was soon to be named Ebola.
www.nytimes.com/2014/10/07/health/there-before-ebola-had-a-name.html?WT.mc_id=AD-D-E-OTB-AD-RSS-OCTOBEROUTBRAIN-OS-1007-1031&WT.mc_ev=click&bicmst=1412654400&bicmet=1446264000&_r=0

[damnotagain]

Oct 8, 2014 12:08:28 GMT -5 Peace77 said:

Thomas Duncan reportedly vomited on the sidewalk before bing taken to the hospital. Apartment workers were photographed using a pressure washer on the vomit while wearing NO protection of any kind.

Problem one, It's in the water system now. 
Problem two , animals pick up chunks , bird, rats , raccoons.
Problem three,  masqitoes , ticks and fleas

interesting movie in the making. Except 

[dothedd]

White House: Beefed-up Ebola screenings coming to five U.S. airports 

New measures will be put in place in New York City, Newark, Chicago, Atlanta and the Washington, D.C., area

Hours after the first Ebola patient diagnosed on U.S. soil died from the illness, the White House confirmed Wednesday that it was ordering stepped-up screenings for the disease at five American airports.

Those airports are New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport, Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C., Chicago's O’Hare International Airport and Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters. Those facilities, he said, are the ports of entry into the United States for 94 percent of U.S.-bound travelers from the three West African countries in the grip of the latest deadly Ebola outbreak — Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.


CONTINUED: news.yahoo.com/white-house--beefed-up-ebola-screenings-coming-to-five-u-s--airports-174735168.html

[dothedd]

Oct 8, 2014 16:11:37 GMT -5 damnotagain said:

Oct 8, 2014 12:08:28 GMT -5 Peace77 said:

Thomas Duncan reportedly vomited on the sidewalk before bing taken to the hospital. Apartment workers were photographed using a pressure washer on the vomit while wearing NO protection of any kind.

Problem one, It's in the water system now. 
Problem two , animals pick up chunks , bird, rats , raccoons.
Problem three,  masqitoes , ticks and fleas

interesting movie in the making. Except 

....there may not be anyone alive to watch it!  

Serious now!  Ebola crisis leaves Dallas a city on edge  

DALLAS (AP) — Leaders are urging calm, but Dallas is a city on edge as it approaches the first Ebola incubation deadline this week.
news.yahoo.com/ebola-crisis-leaves-dallas-city-edge-050911422.html

[dothedd]

Feds issue rules for burying Ebola patients in the U.S. 

5 hours ago

Liberian native Thomas Eric Duncan dies from Ebola virus in Dallas; health officials face new challenge in handling body that could stay contagious for days...

DALLAS – The first patient to be diagnosed with Ebola in the United States died from the disease Wednesday and now Dallas health officials are facing a situation they have not before experienced: how to handle a body that could remain highly contagious for several days.

CONTINUED:  news.yahoo.com/feds-publish-guidelines-for-burying-us-ebola-patients-170101294.html

[dothedd]

Ebola, MERS and RSV: Gaithersburg biotech works on making vaccines — and fast




Washington Business Journal

As I chatted with leaders at the Gaithersburg biotech Novavax recently, they mentioned rather nonchalantly that they are scrambling to create a vaccine for Ebola.

Of course I wanted to know more. Unfortunately, the company said they couldn’t release any more information yet. ( What a tease, I know.) But with so much interest in Ebola recently, it was fascinating to talk with the leader of this fast-growing vaccine company.

“Have you seen ‘Contagion’? That’s what we do. We make a vaccine fast,” said Stanley Erck, president and CEO.

And that kind of research is getting increasingly important as global health authorities monitor a growing number of emerging viruses that could spread across borders. “We are seeing more and more of these with people being more mobile,” Erck said.

As its simplest, he said, Novavax's potential vaccines don’t attack the viruses, per se. Rather they go after the proteins that encircle those viruses, a method they say they say has eluded many other drug manufacturers. Earlier this year, my colleague Bill Flook reported the company (Nasdaq: NVAX) raised $115 million by selling 28.75 million shares of its common stock, with plans to pour the money into its research.

The company has yet to bring a vaccine to the market and last year posted a $52 million loss on $20.9 million revenue. But the company says it's getting closer to changing that. It now has 250 employees, with 210 hired in the last three years.

Earlier this year, Novavax announced it created a vaccine candidate to fight Middle East Respiratory Virus, or MERS. The company has worked on both seasonal and pandemic flu vaccines. The likely next big thing from Novavax is a potential vaccine against Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) nano-particle.

If you’ve ever had a kid, you know RSV, the most common cause of inflammation of the small airways in the lung and pneumonia in children under 1 in the U.S. Each year, 75,000 to 125,000 children in this age group are hospitalized due to RSV infection, the CDC says. Recently, Novavax announced it was starting a Phase 2 trial of its novel RSV vaccine in pregnant women so antibodies to the virus are transferred in utero to protect infants after they are born. The company hopes to have additional vaccine trials by next year.

In the meantime, Novavax is always monitoring the CDC’s warnings about potential threats from viruses. When scientists see one they think they can address, they download the genetic sequence of the proteins that surround the virus and get to work on it, Erck said.

“All of this is published very quickly now,” he said. “That’s the good part about the web.”

[dothedd]

Ebola Panic Inches Closer to Hollywood: Possible Patient Rushed to LA Hospital 

1 hour ago

A person who landed at LAX after traveling to Liberia has been rushed to Centinela Hospital Medical Center to be tested for Ebola, according to a statement from the hospital obtained by TheWrap. 

The patient was brought to the Centinela Hospital Medical Center Emergency Department on Tuesday night by ambulance from Los Angeles International Airport.

“Ambulance personnel alerted the hospital prior to arrival so upon entry to the hospital campus, all CDC precautions were fully implemented,” said the hospital in a statement. “The hospital has been preparing for the possibility of this situation for weeks and staff has been trained per CDC protocols.”

The patient does not have any symptoms of Ebola, but precautions were taken due to travel history and the patient has not yet tested positive or negative for the virus. The patient will remain isolated in the hospital's ER for evaluation and testing will be conducted in consultation with the CDC, according to the hospital.

“Our ER team did a precise and thorough job of implementing our full protocol. They acted quickly and decisively in determining the status of the patient and contacted all necessary authorities,” said hospital CEO Linda Bradley. “Myself and our Chief Medical Officer, Paryus Patel, MD have been in close communication with CDPH, CDC and all appropriate public health agencies.”

The hospital remains open to seeing other patients and “are taking all steps to ensure our patients, their families, staff, and the community are protected.”

Also read: NBC News Cameraman Diagnosed With Ebola Is En Route to US

In the wake of the global Ebola scare, which has now taken the life of one U.S. patient, Eric Duncan, in Dallas, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that five of the biggest airports in the U.S will have enhanced Ebola screening for passengers coming from the West African countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

LAX is not among the affected airports, which are O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Kennedy International in New York, Washington Dulles International, Hartsfield-Jackson International in Atlanta and Newark Liberty International.

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

Oct 8, 2014 10:47:21 GMT -5 dothedd said:

GOOD MORNING ... AHAM!

I was just reading EBOLA articles regarding "burial crews" on strike for lack of payroll funds, etc!  Thanks for the additional article that I will put at the head of my list. 


Is it snowing -- yet -- in your area  !  Been storming in mine.  One would think it's Spring!


b

Hey b, hope the day went well! No snow yet that felling is in the air though. Hoping we have a decent weekend, it's turkey day here on Monday!

Unfortunately on topic now.. Per our conversation last week...

WHO says no signs spread of Ebola is slowing

countries neighbouring those affected had been told to prepare for the disease to cross their borders.

Also, they euthanized the dog that belonged to the nurse in Spain with the virus. Camels and bats have Ebola and are spreading MERS....

God bless,

[dothedd]

GREETING AHAM!

Poor dog ... I read that!

Time to kill the Camels and Bats!  If "their carnage" continues they will be here when WE are gone.

I will be in and out today so see you later!

b

[dothedd]

EBOLA Should Travelers Really Be Worried About the Ebola Outbreak 10 9 14

Oct 9, 2014 9:33 AM EDT


NEW YORK (MainStreet) — Is it an overblown reaction to feel anxiety as a result the recentEbola outbreak? Would the fear be legitimate or is it mere hypochondria?
On Wednesday morning Thomas Duncan, the first patient diagnosed with Ebola on American soil, died. Duncan came into contact with the virus in Liberia, where he lived, and flew into the United States before he began showing symptoms. Ebola is currently ravaging the West African nations of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, where more than 8,000 people have been infected and 3,800 killed by the disease since March according to the Center for Disease Control. It is the worst outbreak in recorded history.

Read More: Ebola Vaccine - A Multi-Million Dollar Solution Delivered Too Little and Too Late
Still, until the cases of Duncan and Teresa Romero Ramos, a nurse in Madrid, the outbreak had been entirely contained to West Africa. Thanks to modern travel, it has escaped. A little.
Let us be clear, Duncan will likely not be the last case of Ebola in the United States. According to Dr. Robert Murphy, director of Northwestern University’s Center for Global Health, the average Ebola patient infects two people with the virus, and Duncan spent several days out of the hospital after he began showing symptoms.

What is equally clear is that there is virtually no danger of a major outbreak here. This disease flourishes in and because of the impoverished conditions of West Africa, where sanitation, information and health care are often scarce. In the United States, a disease that shows clear symptoms and requires direct fluid contact is too easily contained to become a major outbreak, especially once doctors know to look for it (a key element missing from the Duncan case). There will be more cases at home, but there won’t be many.

Travelers, however, need to pay a little more attention. This disease has taken advantage of the air network, reaching out from West Africa to Texas only because infected people can now arrive at their destination long before they even know they have the disease. We are particularly vulnerable when we travel, thrust out from our comfort zones and into crowded cities or foreign climates. Ebola isn’t the only disease that has moved with people across jetways and economy class. In recent years, SARS and H1N1 have both become household names as infected tourists packed their germs along with them.

However there are many things you can do to protect yourself from becoming the next Swine Flu Mary.

First and foremost, pay attention to airport and World Health Organization (WHO) rules for travelers.

As part of the response to Duncan’s death, the United States has announced that it will begin screening passengers traveling from or through Guinea, Liberia or Sierra Leone. At the five U.S. airports where relevant travelers are most likely to enter the country, CDC officials will ask questions and check for signs of fever or “other symptoms of Ebola.” These can range from flulike coughing and sneezing to, in approximately 50% of cases, visible bleeding.

Measures like this offer a limited, but real, amount of security, according to Dr. Minh Han, a Connecticut physician and authority on travel medicine. Screenings will focus on patients who have been in contact with the infected regions, and “in endemic areas that have a high likelihood of Ebola, that might help,” Han said.

“The problem is,” he pointed out, “that the gentleman who had Ebola did not have symptoms when he left, did not have symptoms until after he landed. He had been exposed, but he didn’t know. Nobody knew.”

In other words, take precautions like airport screenings seriously. Answer their questions honestly, and don’t try to hide behind feeling fine for the moment. Don’t expect those measures to do all the work for you, though, because taking someone’s temperature in the terminal is a hit or miss opportunity.

Observe standard viral precautions.

Ebola’s not magic. In fact, as a viral disease its transmission is both difficulty and slow. It relies on fluids transferring directly from an infected person to a healthy one, and it is not contagious until after symptoms show up. There are generally no carriers, no infectious dormant periods and plenty of visible symptoms. It cannot be spread by mosquitos, like malaria, nor through the air, like the flu.

Obviously, the best way to avoid Ebola is to avoid its outbreak regions. In the rest of the world, it remains vanishingly rare.

Even so, travelers can’t control where the person sharing an armrest or - God forbid -reclining his seat has come from, so Han recommended that those concerned should take “standard viral precautions” to protect from disease, such as:
• Avoid contact with anyone who appears to be ill or profusely sweating,
• Wash your hands often and carry hand sanitizer,
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth,
• Keep some distance from people who have recently traveled to an infected region,
• Clean and bandage any open wounds,
• Avoid unprotected sex (although kissing can still spread viruses), and
• Pay attention to your food and don’t share drinks.

You don’t need to wrap yourself in a bubble in order to stay healthy. In fact, much of it boils down to making good decisions and paying attention to your surroundings.

Also pay attention to your own health.

Don’t be the person who brings a bug home. This applies not just to people who’ve traveled to an infected region but to everybody. Every airport and train station is a crossroads, and as mentioned above, you never know where your fellow passengers have been. Don’t be afraid to get some rest and seek out a doctor if you feel unwell. He’ll tell you it’s the stress of travel and recommend a few days’ rest, but it’s worth asking.

Above everything else if you know you have come into contact with the disease, even second- or third-hand seek out a doctor immediately. The hassle of a blood draw and a $20 copay are small prices to pay for peace of mind.

Don’t panic.

The flu makes its rounds every year, because, as an airborne illness, it’s almost impossible to avoid. There’s nothing you can do about clouds of invisible germs except eat vitamins, get some rest and hope that they wait until after your vacation.

Ebola is not like that. This disease has ripped through West African communities because of poor public health and inadequate sanitation. For someone alert and conscientious, it can be avoided.

HOPE AND PRAY IT STAYS THERE!  

[dothedd]

CHICAGO - O'Hare among five U.S. airports to beef up screening for Ebola

Stepping up efforts to stop the Ebola epidemic from spreading widely in the United States, federal authorities and officials in Chicago on Wednesday announced preventive measures that will include more intense health screening for airline passengers arriving at O'Hare International Airport from West African countries.

Also a VIDEO: www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-illinois-ebola-preparations-20141009-story.html

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

Oct 9, 2014 11:33:33 GMT -5 dothedd said:

GREETING AHAM!

Poor dog ... I read that!

Time to kill the Camels and Bats!  If "their carnage" continues they will be here when WE are gone.

I will be in and out today so see you later!

b

B, sorry for not responding to your emails earlier today...

I was rereading the first couple of pages of this thread, about how much this strain has mutated over the course of the year. It seems very likely that since both viruses are in both animal populations the mutation is already underway.

I guess we'll see. As you posted, the screenings are up - the next step will be shutting down air traffic.

God bless,

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

"Experts" are now warning exactly what we talked about last week.

Experts warn of ‘Ebola suicide bombers’

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

Just looked back, and as of Sept 27 the official toll was just over 3k. With the new offial toll hitting 4k just over a week later, we have definitely hit the critial phase the CDC and the WHO were warning about when they were talking about 700k-1.4 million deaths. Keep in mind those were just projections based on it being isolated in the three West African countries that have been infected so far. The spread into Spain addes a new variable that at the time of the previous projections was not accounted for. As far as the "official" toll goes, and the likelihood that it will stay isolated to the current areas...

Officials Admit a 'Defeat' by Ebola in Sierra Leone

Nobody knows exactly how many have died from Ebola in this country. The government figure of 900 to 1,000 is thought by international officials to be a serious underestimation. Even some senior government figures have suggested it is untruthful, and the situation in holding centers and cemeteries suggests the government number is far from reality.

A man arrived at the Waterloo health center on Friday, clutching his seriously ill 4-year-old daughter. He had ridden from a town more than 100 miles away in a taxi shared with others — possibly exposing them to the virus — and he was exhibiting Ebola symptoms. The girl, her eyes open, was rigid in his arms. She had high fever, diarrhea and had vomited — classic symptoms.

[dothedd]

GREETINGS....AHAM!

I deliberated about turning on my computer today as it is so depressing to read what is going on in the world, but then it is better to know and be prepared for WORLD EVENTS -- 


Ebola screenings begin at JFK; four more airports start next week
By Jen Christensen, Joe Sutton and Ray Sanchez, CNN
updated 12:28 PM EDT, Sat October 11, 2014

(CNN) -- Health screenings to help prevent the spread of Ebola began Saturday for some travelers to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport but an official with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that nothing can "get the risk to zero."
Four other airports will add the screenings next Thursday, according to the CDC.
Continued: www.cnn.com/2014/10/11/health/ebola/index.html

[dothedd]

This is interesting!

: prometheusxiii
by dgtt7 • Sep 29, 2003 9:15 AM

The contract is the second award in two months that Novavax has received for its HIV vaccine development program. In August 2003, a consortium led by the University of Alabama at Birmingham and including Novavax, Emory University, and Harvard University, received a NIAID project program grant to develop another set of HIV vaccine candidates. Novavax is expected to receive $4.2 million over 4 1/2 years for its participation in this grant effort.

[dothedd]

Ebola-Exposed NBC News Crew Ordered to Mandatory Quarantine by Health Department
The Wrap By Jethro Nededog
4 hours ago


The New Jersey Health Department has issued a mandatory quarantine for NBC News crew members who were exposed to Ebola while on assignment in Liberia.

In a statement, the department said the quarantine order was made after the crew violated its agreement to voluntarily quarantine themselves for 21 days.

“Before returning to the United States, the NBC crew made an agreement with the New Jersey Department of Health and local health officials to voluntarily self-confine themselves for the remainder of the 21 days following their low risk of exposure on October 1 to an individual who is being treated for Ebola,” the department said in a statement.

Also read: Ebola Panic Inches Closer to Hollywood: Possible Patient Rushed to LA Hospital

It continued, “Unfortunately, the NBC crew violated this agreement and so the Department of Health Friday evening issued a mandatory quarantine order to ensure that the crew will remain confined until Oct. 22.”

CONTINUED: 
tv.yahoo.com/news/ebola-exposed-nbc-news-crew-ordered-mandatory-quarantine-215400076.html

[dothedd]

Gut-Wrenching Images Show The Brutal Reality Of The Ebola Outbreak In Liberia

Grim news emerged in the battle against Ebola on Friday as the World Health Organization announced that more than 4,000 people have died from the disease since the outbreak began. Most cases were recorded in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. The U.N. special envoy for Ebola, David Nabarro, explained the number of cases is probably doubling every three-to-four weeks and warned that it will be impossible to quickly combat the disease without mass mobilization of international support.

Photographers John Moore and Mohammed Elshamy have been working on the front lines of the fight against the disease, documenting its brutal effects on patients and their loved ones in West Africa. Their gut-wrenching pictures from the Liberian capital Monrovia reveal the devastating impact of the disease.

VIEW ALL THE "HEART WRENCHING" PHOTOS ON THE LINK....
www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/10/ebola-photos_n_5967682.html?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000592

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

Oct 11, 2014 12:47:33 GMT -5 dothedd said:

GREETINGS....AHAM!

I deliberated about turning on my computer today as it is so depressing to read what is going on in the world, but then it is better to know and be prepared for WORLD EVENTS

Afternoon, b. On one hand I hear ya, on the other I'm not surprised. The longer mankind lives in denial about the almighty and God's wishes as laid out by the true profit, JC, the more problems we cause ourselves.

Keep being a great person and keep up the good fight.

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

Ya....

Strike over Ebola pay hits Liberia hospitals

Several health care facilities "abandoned" as nurses strike over higher pay and protective equipment.


Hospitals and health care facilities have been affected in Liberia as some nurses and medical professionals staged a walkout demanding better pay and safer working conditions in the fight against the deadly Ebola virus.

Sources told Al Jazeera that several hospitals and clinics were hit by the strike on Monday as health workers abandonded hundreds of patients, demanding higher hazard pay and protective equipment.

Health Minister, Walter Gwenigale, confirmed that staff had gone on strike in some parts of the country, but tried to reassure workers that hazard allowances would be paid in full.

"That money is available and is being paid. So please, please stay with your patients," he said.

A local journalist told Al Jazeera, that many facilities were "virtually abandoned", with "nurses afraid of touching patients".

"They refuse to take blood samples from patients or even take their temperature because these require them to touch patients," Terence Sesay said.

Staff at Monrovia's Island Clinic, the largest government-run Ebola clinic in the capital, had already been on a "go slow" in recent days in their battle for extra pay.

Dozens of patients in the clinic have died from Ebola since the go-slow began on Friday, staff representative Alphonso Wesseh said.

"We have slowed down our activities because the government refuses to satisfy our request. Last night tens of patients died," he said.

4000 Deaths And Counting: The Ebola Epidemic In 4 Charts

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

Experts Defy the CDC on Ebola

We believe there is scientific and epidemiologic evidence that Ebola virus has the potential to be transmitted via infectious aerosol particles both near and at a distance from infected patients, which means that healthcare workers should be wearing respirators, not facemasks....

[V]irus-laden bodily fluids may be aerosolized and inhaled while a person is in proximity to an infectious person and that a wide range of particle sizes can be inhaled and deposited throughout the respiratory tract….

[dothedd]

Good Morning, Aham!

"AEROSOLIZATION"  OF BODY FLUIDS IS NOT GOOD NEWS!

Estimating the fatality of the 2014 West African Ebola Outbreak...From Pigs to Monkeys, Ebola Goes Airborne Nov 21, 2012  -- Research & Policy

Read more at: 
healthmap.org/site/diseasedaily/article/pigs-monkeys-ebola-goes-airborne-112112