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
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