* * Ebola Discussion

[1morethan8]

I've been told not take an antibiotic for a viral infection?

 

[venomballistics]

How about some of that miracle drug, reefer? Cures everything, or so I've heard.

Might not save you, but you'll care a whole lot less.

 

[GatorFarmer]

The United Nations Security Council could, in theory I think, ban travel in and out of the worst infected countries. Essentially establish a no fly zone or restricted fly zone, as once existed over Iraq.

Legally, the United States cannot order that Liberia seal its borders to prevent outgoing travel. As a practical matter, I am sure that thy could be persuaded to...simply bribe them. It irks me that I lost that State Department job for my unsuitable mode of living. Some goody two shoes probably got the post, rose in the ranks, and does not comprehend this.

Right now Europe is the way point between West Africa and America. Yet they have done less than here for screening. Belgium etc needs their arms twisted. NATO needs protection from the big bad bear again, so a deal ought be able to be made.

I believe the DoD did a lot of classified work on ebola. The U.S. government litterally owns the patent on it. Much of this was done for the biological weapons programs that the United States does not have...or which are solely geared for peaceful and defensive purposes. The DoD and U.S. Army likely have a few things not revealed in terms of ebola knowledge.

For all the talk of the troops going to Afica, only ten percent of the number promised Liberia have artived, give or take. They have yet to erect and open a single one of the promised treatment units.

It should also be noted that the Liberian government has assumed emergency powers and has now cracked down, suppressing media coverage of ebola there.

The significance of these events, I do know, but they seem little commented on.

 

[Texas Star]

I think the nurse named Brianna Aguirre was very brave to reveal the ineptitude at Presby. She was on NBC today and was quite candid about the conflicting rules and poor removal of tainted garbage, etc. Their protective wear had obvious gaps.

The lack of coordination that I personally experienced at that hospital some years ago leaves me unsurprised that this could happen. The scary thing is that probably many or most US hospitals are that way. I have had scary experiences at the VA hospital here, too.

It is significant that some nurses feel that if they're hospitalized at Presby, they have a better chance of getting Ebola than if they're treated elsewhere. Very sobering.

I do agree that the second nurse, who lives very close to me, had no business being on a plane going either way. But she may have been misled by the "experts" advising her.
I can only hope that this gets solved sooner rather than later. In the meantime, I'm going to clean the handle of my grocery cart with an antiseptic wipe. And hope that any West African taxi drivers I encounter don't have the disease through their social circles.

I really wish that those whom we can't discuss here would limit or ban travel from those countries known for having this disease.

I'm watching the news now and they're showing live footage of Nina Pham arriving at the NIH hospital in Maryland. My prayers go with her, and I hope that yours will, too.

 

[LVSteve]

Since you asked, the survival rate is about 50% without fluid intake. It is about <40% with fluid intake.
Doc

That seems rather counter-intuitive. NOT taking fluids INCREASES you chances of survival? Really? Colour me puzzled.

 

[GaryS]

That makes sense in regard to the antibiotic as prophylaxis. How do they pick the specific drug?

As of earlier today, the mortality rate in Africa was reported at 70% in Africa. I have no doubt that modern medicine improves the survival rate significantly.

Apparently there was money awarded to a company to develop a vaccine, but that company went out of business without producing anything.

The vaccine that shows the most promise ironically was produced by the company that didn't get the federal money.

Either way, I hope that a vaccine is available soon. Not so much for use here, but in the areas where the virus is endemic.

The bodies' immune system is under attack. The antibiotics help the other attacks.

Since you asked, the survival rate is about 50% without fluid intake. It is about <40% with fluid intake. I was being positive and allowing the natural immune systems to fight it.

The ZeBox vaccine seems to work well but the supply is currently exhausted.
Doc

 

[LouisianaJoe]

I have not read this entire thread so please forgive me if someone else has posted this.

Quarantine is the only way to stop this. This means stopping people from infected areas from leaving. It means quarantining people exposed to it here.


It is also necessary to monitor people entering the US. This would require securing the borders NOW.

In Africa, some countries have used this to stop the spread in their countries.

See News from The Associated Press

 

[george minze]

Sometime we, or better said, our Government, is awful slow to learn!!!!

 

[just jim]

I am likely going to be black listed here by some folks, so be it.
I think too many of you are spending too much time paying too much attention to what is being said on the news. There is no such thing as honest news and that is especially true with a story like this. Medical authorities are making statements which are getting immediately twisted out of context, followed by the usual overdose of analysis by self-proclaimed medical experts who are not, let alone the stupid comments, opinions, conjecture, and speculation being made by too many talking heads. Sophistry always stands tall when stuff that can cause a good panic happens. Just because someone is a doctor and gets on TV to discuss Ebola doesn't mean they have a clue what they're talking about. Are they a non-practicing radiologist discussing the ins and outs of brain surgery? Or a former OB-GYN who last practiced a decade ago who is now some network's "expert" on virology and immunology? Again, who says they are experts? The other talking heads on the same network? I thought so.
Even in the face of a disease like this one, confidentiality rules. There is far more going on behind the scenes and in treatment than any of us know about. There is far more not being said than is.

From the day it was first identified, long ago now, it was only a matter of time before Ebola got to the USA. That's because of the world as a society, not because of this country, or our lax laws. It's the way the whole entire world functions as a whole. Should we all wall off our borders and give up all our freedoms because of viruses? If so, we're about 5 billion years too late for that. The other strains of Ebola will get here too, sooner or later. It's inevitable. And in another generation or 2, maybe sooner, new viruses we have never heard of will be the ones that frighten Earth's inhabitants. These viruses will evolve just as they have all along.

I think based on what I am seeing and what little has been said before this outbreak even happened, that our medical scientists have been all along, and are now working very hard on treatment therapy and a vaccine, and that it's likely just over the horizon. It should not be lost on anyone here that the CDC saved the lives of the first 2 American doctors it treated at it's facility. Both of who arrived in an advanced stage of the disease. Chance? Coincidence? I doubt it. They're still not telling us anything about how they did it.
You do realize, that pretty much all of the local hospitals and clinics that are trying to treat Ebola patients in Africa have dirt floors and no running water, right? Pretty much just tents with a few cots and maybe a nurse?

The big screw up occured at Presbyterian in Dallas, they are the ones primarily responsible for more than doubling the number of cases in our country. Not ineptitude by the CDC or other Federal agencies. It has been stated several times that Presbyterian did not follow Ebola precaution protocol, in more than 1 way, a statement which a lot of people seem to be missing the point of.

First let me say that our education system is supposed to be second to none so why is it with all these smart people running the show do we have infected nurses flying or taking cruises? The center for disease control can not be that *******g dumb. Even the average person can see it is wrong so tell me why it is happening?

 

[Texas Star]

First let me say that our education system is supposed to be second to none so why is it with all these smart people running the show do we have infected nurses flying or taking cruises? The center for disease control can not be that *******g dumb. Even the average person can see it is wrong so tell me why it is happening?

Because some people don't think it'll happen to them, even if they were exposed. And because CDC was incompetent in advising them.

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

The ineptitude of the CDC isn't a product of media reporting. The CDC Chief reveals the ineptitude with his own words.

Throwing Dallas under the bus doesn't work. CDC was in this from the beginning with Duncan, telling everyone that Dallas was pefectly capable of dealing with this. One death, two infections and lord only knows how many exposures... two weeks later CDC tells us that Dallas is a makeshift operation increasing the risk of contamination, then puts the two Ebola infected nurses on jets outta there. CDC should have nailed it down on day one, not talk bs for two weeks.

 

[just jim]

Because some people don't think it'll happen to them, even if they were exposed. And because CDC was incompetent in advising them.

I just can't believe that with all the education and years working for the government that the CDC is that incompetent. I doubt there is anyone in charge that doesn't have a college education. To say that the actions of the CDC is incompetent is an indictment of our educational institutions. Nobody could have a degree and take the stupid actions they have on ebola. IMHO

I respect your points of view but it is really hard to believe the government is as stupid as they are acting. I have no answer as to why this is all happening but common sense says even the man on the street knows you don't let infected people travel.

 

[kaaskop49]

The Friday NY Post reports a 63-year old passenger from Nigeria began vomiting on a flight to NYC and DIED on the plane. The CDC official who met the flight at JFK announced that it was not Ebola...

I will allow others to comment.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

 

[venomballistics]

I just can't believe that with all the education and years working for the government that the CDC is that incompetent. I doubt there is anyone in charge that doesn't have a college education. To say that the actions of the CDC is incompetent is an indictment of our educational institutions. Nobody could have a degree and take the stupid actions they have on ebola. IMHO

I respect your points of view but it is really hard to believe the government is as stupid as they are acting. I have no answer as to why this is all happening but common sense says even the man on the street knows you don't let infected people travel.

all of mans firsts were accomplished without a degree.
Nuclear Chemistry did not exist till Einstein cooked it up.
Physics was his thing, and he knew enough about it to connect the dots, forging the way to Nuclear chemistry.

what we are seeing is a highly educated yes man who actually does know a great many things, except for how to connect the dots between those things.

 

[roundgunner]

The Friday NY Post reports a 63-year old passenger from Nigeria began vomiting on a flight to NYC and DIED on the plane. The CDC official who met the flight at JFK announced that it was not Ebola...

I will allow others to comment.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

Couldn't have been Ebola, why bother to test it, it won't spread.

 

[arjay]

Probably a heart attack

 

[just jim]

all of mans firsts were accomplished without a degree.
Nuclear Chemistry did not exist till Einstein cooked it up.
Physics was his thing, and he knew enough about it to connect the dots, forging the way to Nuclear chemistry.

what we are seeing is a highly educated yes man who actually does know a great many things, except for how to connect the dots between those things.

Education is supposed to teach people to think and give them the building blocks to build on. The idiotic behavior of the CDC is an insult to education or we are seeing the real results of today's education. Either way this does not look good for the future.

Now I see they are putting in a lawyer as Ebola czar, my god what the heck are they doing? The Surgeon General is better trained and educated but they put in a Biden front man to handle this. God help us.

 

[GaryS]

A person from west Africa was in a meeting in Boston when he suffered a cardiac arrest. He was treated and transported to a Boston hospital. His death was not from anything but cardiac disease.

Similarly, the passenger from Nigeria who died on the plane probably had a sudden medical event which caused his death. If he was sick enough to be that close to death, it's highly unlikely that he would have been well enough to get on a plane without attracting a lot of attention.

The Friday NY Post reports a 63-year old passenger from Nigeria began vomiting on a flight to NYC and DIED on the plane. The CDC official who met the flight at JFK announced that it was not Ebola...

I will allow others to comment.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

 

[GaryS]

I'm going to guess that you probably have had little to do with federal employees. While most are competent, there are a significant number that a political hacks who have as their highest priority protecting their pensions. That doesn't even count the political appointees who put ideology ahead of doing their job.

I'll also guess that you haven't had much contact with modern academia or it's products. "Credentialed, not educated" could be their motto.

As someone else notes, the President just appointed an "Ebola Czar" to oversee the efforts to contain the disease. Note that he's not a doctor, he's a lawyer and long time political hack. The President's primary concern is to contain and manage the news cycle, not the disease. At least until after the November mid terms.

So much for the concern and competence of our so called federal leadership.

I just can't believe that with all the education and years working for the government that the CDC is that incompetent. I doubt there is anyone in charge that doesn't have a college education. To say that the actions of the CDC is incompetent is an indictment of our educational institutions. Nobody could have a degree and take the stupid actions they have on ebola. IMHO

I respect your points of view but it is really hard to believe the government is as stupid as they are acting. I have no answer as to why this is all happening but common sense says even the man on the street knows you don't let infected people travel.

 

[venomballistics]

Education is supposed to teach people to think and give them the building blocks to build on. The idiotic behavior of the CDC is an insult to education or we are seeing the real results of today's education. Either way this does not look good for the future.

Now I see they are putting in a lawyer as Ebola czar, my god what the heck are they doing? The Surgeon General is better trained and educated but they put in a Biden front man to handle this. God help us.

History would state that Hitlers greatest mistake was the invasion of Russia. No .... it was surrounding himself with yes men that knew only to say "Yes sir"
This has more to do with things today than education.