Ebola Virus in the US

[Michael]

I Hope they get a handle on the potential spread of this disease now that it has made it to America. http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/10...bola-case.html

[NeedaVaca]

Pretty scary...I figured it was bound to happen.

[Thriftylady]

I agree it is scary and agree that it was bound to happen. As much as people travel these days and it isn't at all in control where it is right now. Hopefully we can keep it from spreading here.

[NeedaVaca]

The pharmaceutical stocks are going crazy. My parents have a lot invested in one that is ready for human trials!

[EntropyControlSpecialist]

I will share what my my friend/chiropractor put out there on Facebook that I agree with. I am not worried and I don't live terribly far away from where this is.


Everyone just chill out!!! Ebola is nothing to worry about. Go read my post and article from August 3rd. Or do you not trust your government? Bwahahaha!!!! The vaccine is already being tested on 20 healthy individuals. Guess my prediction was right. It'll probably be ready for susceptible individuals by January....and I can bet it will be put in your children's schedules not long after that. Don't fret...you can have a vaccine for it!

[Angelsj]

The reason it spreads so quickly in third world countries is poor sanitation. As long as we use good sanitation, as well as the access we have to medical care, we should be fine.

When an infection does occur in humans, the virus can be spread in several ways to others. Ebola is spread through direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membranes) with

blood or body fluids (including but not limited to urine, saliva, feces, vomit, and semen) of a person who is sick with Ebola
objects (like needles and syringes) that have been contaminated with the virus
infected animals
Ebola is not spread through the air or by water, or in general, food. However, in Africa, Ebola may be spread as a result of handling bushmeat (wild animals hunted for food) and contact with infected bats.

[Sugar Magnolia]

The reason it spreads so quickly in third world countries is poor sanitation. As long as we use good sanitation, as well as the access we have to medical care, we should be fine.

And culture. In a West Africa, it is common to touch or handle the body of the decreased during funerals. In rural areas, neighboring villages often send representatives to attend funerals. Hospitals are generally not trusted, and family members try to care for the ill themselves. Of course poverty and lack of education go hand in hand with poor sanitation.

(Anthropology nerd)

[Cat Herder]

Maybe the bushmeat trade should be better policed? Cause/effect.

Nature says enough.

[Michael]

The reason it spreads so quickly in third world countries is poor sanitation. As long as we use good sanitation, as well as the access we have to medical care, we should be fine.

Why here in America? Most from that part of the Africa would end up in India or Europe.

Likewise, we are a very mobile country and travel a lot. I worry about keeping this virus contained. We will always be waiting for those 21 days of incubation to pass and the flu season will mask it. This one (ebola) worries me. I'm preparing but I hope I'm wrong.

[Country Kids]

I can see it getting to the point of no one in or out of the country.

Now start it before its to late.

[SignMeUp]

As information about the patient and his contacts come out, it becomes more worrisome to me. It sounds as if this family is all quarantined (though I don't think anyone has used that word) in the same apartment, which has not been cleaned, or even had the bed stripped that the patient slept in.

If the family hasn't had proper sanitation guidance (which who knows if they have or not - I have not heard anything about that) they may have slept in the bed. They may be using the same bathroom and be continually exposed to the body fluids of the patient there too. And yet if they clean, they are then exposing themselves to fluids by doing so. If things happened properly, the CDC or someone should have gotten them out of that apartment and done a proper medical containment/hazardous medical waste cleanup. Maybe that has happened - I hope so, but I keep reading that the family is being "monitored at home".
Now, IF the above is the situation, let's say most of the family doesn't become ill. But one person does. Now, within the 21 day confinement, this one person comes down with the illness. Now they have re-exposed the entire group. The 21 days have to re-set. The cleanup/containment has to be done again. Etc.
This is the kind of thing that I worry about.

[NeedaVaca]

As information about the patient and his contacts come out, it becomes more worrisome to me. It sounds as if this family is all quarantined (though I don't think anyone has used that word) in the same apartment, which has not been cleaned, or even had the bed stripped that the patient slept in.

If the family hasn't had proper sanitation guidance (which who knows if they have or not - I have not heard anything about that) they may have slept in the bed. They may be using the same bathroom and be continually exposed to the body fluids of the patient there too. And yet if they clean, they are then exposing themselves to fluids by doing so. If things happened properly, the CDC or someone should have gotten them out of that apartment and done a proper medical containment/hazardous medical waste cleanup. Maybe that has happened - I hope so, but I keep reading that the family is being "monitored at home".
Now, IF the above is the situation, let's say most of the family doesn't become ill. But one person does. Now, within the 21 day confinement, this one person comes down with the illness. Now they have re-exposed the entire group. The 21 days have to re-set. The cleanup/containment has to be done again. Etc.
This is the kind of thing that I worry about.

The family is quarantined now because evidently they were having trouble staying home... They also are now saying it's possible he lied during the screening process for the flights.

[Angelsj]

Why here in America? Most from that part of the Africa would end up in India or Europe.

Likewise, we are a very mobile country and travel a lot. I worry about keeping this virus contained. We will always be waiting for those 21 days of incubation to pass and the flu season will mask it. This one (ebola) worries me. I'm preparing but I hope I'm wrong.

I hear you, but we have been protecting ourselves from bodily fluids for a long time. So many nasty viruses spread through fluids. I would hope we could contain it as a country, but for the protection of MY family, proper standard precautions, which include NOT exposing myself or them to anyone's bodily fluids or dirty needles.
I do think it is a scary disease, but I try to stay focused on my own crew and those around me, not freak out about what is happening all over. It would just keep me up at night. :hug:

[Annalee]

Why here in America? Most from that part of the Africa would end up in India or Europe.

Likewise, we are a very mobile country and travel a lot. I worry about keeping this virus contained. We will always be waiting for those 21 days of incubation to pass and the flu season will mask it. This one (ebola) worries me. I'm preparing but I hope I'm wrong.

Containing this disease is the primary issue that concerns me as well...scary!!!

[e.j.]

Likewise, we are a very mobile country and travel a lot. I worry about keeping this virus contained. We will always be waiting for those 21 days of incubation to pass and the flu season will mask it. This one (ebola) worries me. I'm preparing but I hope I'm wrong.

I hate to sound alarmist but I agree and worry, too. Here in the news, they are reporting that there is now a 2nd confirmed case and there is the possibility that the first man came into contact with at least 100 - 120 people before he was quarantined. If those people become sick, will they each go on to infect 100 more people before they're diagnosed and quarantined? Ebola spreads exponentially. How do you even begin to stop the spread once it gains ground here?

Other reports I've heard on the news state that initially, when the man arrived at the hospital with symptoms, his travel history was taken but not passed on to the doctors treating him. He was given an antibiotic and allowed to go home. We assume our medical workers are trained and know what they're doing but mistakes and miscommunication still happen.

As far as the level of sanitation in this country is concerned, I'm thinking we may be far ahead of other places in the world but....employees still show up at work when they're sick, parents still drop off their kids at day care and schools when they're sick. Often, when I visit the ladies' room anywhere, I see people using the facilities and walking out without washing their hands - some going back to the kitchen to prepare food. I've seen pee and feces on toilet seats and on the floor of the stall. In the news today, there was an unrelated story about parents who changed their baby's diaper on the top of a restaurant table. I'm sure someone came along and sat down at that same table, never giving any thought to the germs or bodily fluids left on that table top. There are so many opportunities for this disease to spread that it's very scary to me.

When I first heard stories of Ebola in Africa, I swore that if this disease ever hit the US that I'd be looking for another job where kids couldn't poop, pee or puke on me, my furniture or my rugs. I'm doing some serious thinking and will watch what happens carefully. How many times have we all heard, "Oh, don't worry. He's just teething..."?