EBOLA, HOW A FOREIGN VIRUS BECAME FAMOUS IN AMERICA

Think of the earth as a living organism that is being attacked by billions of bacteria whose numbers double every forty years. Either the host dies, or the virus dies, or both die.

~Gore Vidal

As you are reading this, there have probably been yet even more changes to procedure and protocol issued by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the governmental agencies associated with trying to deal with the spread of the Ebola virus in the United States and abroad. 

While I know that there is non-stop Ebola information constantly being spewed from the television twenty-four hours a day, I wanted to write a bit about it to provide a brief synopsis of the more significant factual events that have unfolded and because all that is happening reminds me of just about every “contamination” and “virus” movie I have even seen---all which usually have bad endings.

 The following is a summary of key events that should help bring you up to date:

The man who entered Texas (now deceased) with that was diagnosed with Ebola has been identified as Thomas Eric Duncan.  The NY Times reports that Duncan came into contact with a woman in Liberia who had Ebola and subsequently contracted the virus.  Mr. Duncan, in trying to help a pregnant woman who was not accepted by any hospitals in Liberia, ended up dying due to his efforts to try and save her and her unborn baby.

Contrary to what most people think, Ebola is not airborne and can only be passed along from one person to the next through direct contact of body fluids, needles, or infected animals.  Globalnews.ca reports that you are not contagious until you start experiencing symptoms, which is why authorities are not overly worried about the passengers on the plane that traveled with Duncan from Liberia.  Since he was not sick at the time or experiencing symptoms, he should not have been contagious according to some reports; however, opinions do seem to vary from source to source about every aspect of Ebola.

According to hotair.com, the Whitehouse commented recently, and rather cavalierly, that they have no plans to stop flights from Liberia.  Their reasoning is that since passengers have no symptoms while getting on flights, there is no reason to stop them since they are not contagious unless symptoms are present.  The only problem with this plan is we could have reoccurrences of the Duncan case.  Duncan showed no symptoms of illness when boarding his flight from Liberia to Texas, but developed his symptoms later on after his arrival to the United States.

  According to CNN, now at least two states (New York and New Jersey) are requiring health care workers returning from West Africa to be quarantined. However, as of yet, there is no detailed information regarding where they are going to be kept, who is in charge, who is going to pay, and many other practical issues related to the logistics of isolating someone for twenty-one days.

 The White House also made comments assuring that preparations are being made to educate and train medical professionals on the topic of Ebola.  Since two medical professionals located in Dallas, who treated Duncan, have already gotten sick, I am not sure how great the training and preparation for a disease as serious as Ebola is in our country. I hope it gets better going forward.  

 From the looks of it, the hospital in Texas had no idea what it was doing and dangerously and recklessly exposed these two ladies to a virus of which it obviously does not understand.  Fortunately, it appears that one of the nurses has made a full recovery and the other nurse seems to be recovering as well, but unfortunately, now a doctor who was volunteering his services abroad, unknowingly brought the disease with him just this past week.

Although it seems like the United States could legally block flights from Liberia, many disagree that this would be the right decision.  Alipac.us reports that that the CDC “believes” that blocking flights will not ultimately protect us from Ebola.  The CDC steadfastly maintains that the only way to stop the outbreak is by stopping it at its source-West Africa.  I’m not really certain I understand this logic.

If a virus is spreading like wildfire through a country, how can it not be helpful to prevent those traveling from the wildfire into the United States?  Seems like even avoiding a potential spark in the United States could only be an upside, but I am not a doctor.  I understand and agree that the “source” of the illness cannot be ignored and that we need to try and get things under control in West Africa, but I strongly believe that we should not be letting scores of potentially ill people into our country so easily.

Duncan’s case has heightened fear and people are now apparently stepping up to help isolate the virus in Africa and stop it from spreading more.  CNN claims that critics still say that officials have been generally (and typically) slow in their response to this epidemic in Africa.  CNN also reports that troops have landed in Africa to help fight the fight against Ebola and have already seen improvements. 

Testing labs have been opened up and people suspected of having Ebola are getting results much faster and those who do not test positive for the virus are spending less time in isolation than before.  They are also building a hospital to help care for those diagnosed with the virus.  This source also explains that President Obama has agreed to send 4,000 troops to Africa to help fight Ebola.

Duncan’s story seems like the classic case of human error and failure to pay attention that leads to catastrophe. Duncan initially went to the emergency room with virus like symptoms and was discharged with antibiotics. Whether this delay ended up costing him his life, will be debated in the coming months.  He did not recover and ended up at the emergency room again, this time in an ambulance.  He told the treating nurse he was from Liberia and had recently come to Texas from Liberia, but this information was amazingly not given to those making the decision of what would be done with him.

 CNN explains that this mistake by hospital staff was crucial and could have opened up infection to others.   Many people now do not want to travel to that hospital in Dallas and surrounding hospitals are experiencing overcrowding.  I can’t say that I blame the public. So far, the Texas hospital has shown nothing but ineptitude and a lack of understanding of the virus. One can only hope that lessons are learned from its numerous mistakes.

Earlier this year, a missionary doctor was diagnosed with Ebola, but recovered thanks to another American Ebola survivor who donated blood with Ebola antibodies according to abcnew.go.com.  The doctor also received an experimental drug.  The doctor is still recovering, but the first doctor flown into the United States for treatment (who donated the blood) did recover here in the United States.  So the good news is that if properly treated, people can survive this awful virus.  CNN reports that eight out of nine patients treated for Ebola in the United States have survived. 

So how was this man able to recover from Ebola if so many other people are dying by the thousands around the world?  The answer may be as simple as a lack of resources.  Because Ebola is a virus and attacks the immune system, remaining hydrated and receiving around the clock care is important.  This is obviously not something that all countries across the world have the resources to accomplish, especially in places like West Africa.  In Africa people are being taken to camps and are literally being left for dead due to fear and a lack of resources to help the ill.

It has always troubled me how a continent like Africa, with its immense natural resources (diamonds, gold, oil) has been so exploited and corrupted to the point that it is literally stuck in time. If the natural resources of this country were used for the benefit of the people who live there, there is no doubt in my mind that Africa would be one of the richest continents on the earth. Instead, it has been robbed and pillaged to the point that thousands die annually due to simple lack of basic health services and a lack of knowledge concerning disease and contamination.

Now that Duncan has died, more controversy has come about regarding his personal belongings and where they will be discarded.  Theblaze.com reports that Louisiana has a landfill specializing in hazardous waste, but the state refuses to allow his belongings be dumped there.  The Attorney General of Louisiana claims that although they sympathize with Ebola and the victims the virus has claimed, their residents’ health is important and he will seek a restraining order so that the remains cannot be brought into the state. 

He also comments that they want to take as much caution as possible when it comes to this “deadly virus.”  While it does seem like a bit of an overreaction, one cannot really blame the Attorney General given the media storm (which feeds on disseminating fear) that has whipped people into major Ebola panic. The constantly changing information that is published daily concerning the virus also has not been helpful or calming.

Zmapp is one of these experimental medicines that are being tested for use in connection with Ebola according to www.cdc.gov.  The medicine has not been tested among humans yet and it is too early to tell if the medicine is at all effective to fight against the disease.  They do not explain why only a few doses have been developed, but claim that all available doses have been distributed.  They do say that they do not have the “capacity” to produce large quantities of the drug and it will be hard to tell if victims of Ebola in Africa will be receiving Zmapp.

Ashoka Mukpo, a freelance journalist who was working with NBC in Liberia on the Ebola story was diagnosed with Ebola and brought back to the United States for treatment according to online.wsj.com.  He checked himself into a tent hospital with a fever.  This source also reports that according to a treating doctor, the levels of virus in his system were low, so his chances of recovery were good.  He apparently has now recovered from Ebola and has been released from the hospital.  The difference in this case from Duncan’s is that Mukpo is not certain how he contracted the virus.  He remembers being splashed in the face with an unidentifiable liquid as he helped a taxi driver clean a car that had carried an Ebola patient.  He was also standing near some people who were waiting to receive medical attention at a local clinic. 

A nurse who recently returned home to Australia from working in Sierra Leone treating patients with Ebola suffered an Ebola scare but has been cleared according to theguardian.com.  She tested negative twice for the virus and was sent home. Due to the scare that she suffered, she is urging that more be done to fight this virus at its core.  The Australian government, in what can only be seen as an embarrassment and discredit to its country, refuses to send any manpower to help with the Ebola outbreak----but at least has given 18 million dollars in somewhat of an effort to help.

The Nurses Union (NNU) held a conference regarding Ebola says msnbc.com.  They are outraged and claim that they have been lied to about how to approach situations when treating Ebola patients.  The NNU claims that nurses all over the country have reached out to try and prepare for possibly treating patients diagnosed with Ebola and say they have been completely ignored. 

These new cases have prompted many U.S. airports to up the screening process of people entering the United States from Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea (the three countries most heavily affected by Ebola) says CBS News.  The source explains that of the estimated 150 travelers entering on a daily basis from these three countries, 95% of them enter into the same five airports.  These airports will begin taking temperatures of all people landing.  Quarantine areas have also been implemented in these airports to be used if necessary. 

President Obama has appointed a new “Ebola Czar,” which has created even more controversy.  According to CNN Rob Klain has been appointed, who has no medical or infectious disease background at all.  Klain is a former Chief to Staff to Vice-Presidents Biden and Gore.  Many are outraged at the President’s response.  They claim that Klain’s complete lack of experience in the health care field makes it ridiculous to have him acting as an Ebola Czar.  I have to say, it is a bit strange that we are attempting to quell the outbreak of a deadly viral outbreak, and the person “directing” matters is not even a trained doctor or scientist, but a lawyer who has spent most of his career as a political strategist? I’m guessing there is some rationale for this, but nothing comes to mind at the moment. Also, it appears that he has been so low key thus far that nobody has really heard much of anything from him, much less any plan on dealing with Ebola.

According to khon2.com, the CDC has issued new protocol to deal with Ebola.  Treating medical staff will wear gear with no skin showing after the nurses who treated Duncan had their necks exposed while treating him.  They claim that having skin showing is a vulnerability and they are now doing everything they can to correct this issue.

Vox.com reports that the virus began in Guinea and traveled to Liberia and Sierra Leone because of people who travel frequently across the borders to markets.  These three countries have remained at the higher risk for Ebola, but the virus has spread to other African countries as well including Nigeria and Senegal.  This source reports that these countries have since been stabilized, but the battle continues to rage in West Africa. 

So there you have it in a nutshell. Bottom line is that it has become painfully and fatally obvious that our country was not ready to deal with the Ebola virus. There is absolutely no justifiable reason that a hospital, knowing the deadly effectiveness of which Ebola can spread, allowed two of its healthcare workers to get the disease. Now we have a lawyer and political advisor acting as our new “Ebola Czar.” God help us all.

 I hope that we are able to treat and isolate this terrible virus so that no more lives are senselessly lost either here or abroad.  Like I mentioned previously, I have seen this movie before many times, and it never has a positive ending unless swift, decisive, and intelligent actions take place immediately.

~Leonardo G. Renaud