Nothing to see here, move along...

[brewer12345]

...it s just the CDC telling hospitals to prepare for Ebola cases on US soil, including preparing staff to snow job the media:

CDC issues Ebola action plan to US hospitals | Mail Online

Center for Disease Control and Prevention warns disease is coming to US
Issued six-page report to hospitals across nation with detailed action plan
All staff members should have 'buddies' to monitor and help train each other
Hospitals of all sizes 'should place greater emphasis on training'
Even small clinics 'must train an employee to deal with media attention'


Read more: CDC issues Ebola action plan to US hospitals | Mail Online
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[Meadbh]

SARS and H1N1 required similar planning and preparation.

 

[CaliforniaMan]

...it s just the CDC telling hospitals to prepare for Ebola cases on US soil, including preparing staff to snow job the media:

I fail to see where it says snow job in the article. It rather says:
"And all clinics need to train an employee in media relations in case they have to make a public statement or deal with intense attention."

This seems to me to be only prudent. If an outbreak occurs the media will be storming the hospitals with questions and asking what people should do, how to take appropriate action rather than just panic and jam the freeways trying to get out.

This seems to me to be a case of the CDC doing exactly what they should be doing in anticipation of a possible outbreak.

 

[brewer12345]

Small clinics must train someone to deal with the media?

Sounds purely kosher, no? "These aren't the droids you're looking for..."

 

[W2R]

Small clinics must train someone to deal with the media?

Sounds purely kosher, no? "These aren't the droids you're looking for..."

It's disconcerting to read something like that! But then, if even a small clinic gets an ebola patient, they are likely to be bombarded with local, national, and international media types wanting press conferences and information. This might be too much for doctors to handle when they are up to their eyebrows in handling an unusual case like ebola. If the clinic has an information officer then they won't have to, at least not all the time.

 

[Rustic23]

Somehow this thread reminded me of the serenity prayer.

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

 

[braumeister]

Somehow this thread reminded me of the serenity prayer.

Yeah!

 

[eytonxav]

I thought I heard or read some where the US is sending troops to Africa to help with the Ebola crisis. Seems like that is a surefire way to speed up the virus coming to our shores.

 

[2B]

I thought I heard or read some where the US is sending troops to Africa to help with the Ebola crisis. Seems like that is a surefire way to speed up the virus coming to our shores.

That's exactly what I thought when I heard this. I would hope that anyone that goes gets quarantined for a couple of weeks past the incubation period.

When Ebola was first talked about, it was always added that it was very difficult to contract the disease and it was only spread by bodily fluids. I've noticed they've stopped using that obvious idiotic caveat. Thousands of dead attest to its ease of spreading.

 

[6miths]

If it were easily spread, there would be hundreds of thousands or millions dead by now. Conditions in Africa are as near perfect for disease spread as most could imagine, they are a far cry from conditions in most areas of high resource countries. If it becomes 'easily spread', then we'll have a significant global problem.

 

[brewer12345]

That's exactly what I thought when I heard this. I would hope that anyone that goes gets quarantined for a couple of weeks past the incubation period.

Knowing what we know about our gubmint and military, how likely do you think that this will be the case?

 

[brewer12345]

If it were easily spread, there would be hundreds of thousands or millions dead by now. Conditions in Africa are as near perfect for disease spread as most could imagine, they are a far cry from conditions in most areas of high resource countries. If it becomes 'easily spread', then we'll have a significant global problem.

I don't think that anyone can definitively say that this is not already the case.

 

[marko]

If it were easily spread, there would be hundreds of thousands or millions dead by now. Conditions in Africa are as near perfect for disease spread as most could imagine, they are a far cry from conditions in most areas of high resource countries. If it becomes 'easily spread', then we'll have a significant global problem.

Not a virologist here, but my guess is that as more people become infected the virus will have more opportunity to mutate.

Then all bets are off on how it can be contracted.

Then again, as I posted a few months ago, there were fears that the AIDs virus was going to mutate and be the end of us all and that never happened.

 

[Rustic23]

Heard today that virus has been around and stable since 1979!

I think I will worry about the stock market, or if the Texans will win another game!


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

 

[bjorn2bwild]

If it were easily spread, there would be hundreds of thousands or millions dead by now. Conditions in Africa are as near perfect for disease spread as most could imagine, they are a far cry from conditions in most areas of high resource countries.

This is in harmony with my reading. To add - Ebola has a relatively low rate of mutation. There have been no cases of an emergent super bug making the leap to easy transmission. It is possible but very unlikely.
H5N1 is the virus to fear with a similar kill rate as Ebola. Influenza has a high rate of mutation and close contact/co-evolution with us for many generations.

 

[6miths]

I don't think that anyone can definitively say that this is not already the case.

Anything can happen. Given enough time even the incredibly unlikely will occur but at this point I think that 'experts' would pretty definitively say that it is not 'easily spread' relative to most viruses that are even moderately contagious. If it does become 'easily spread', we would know within a matter of days. And then, again, we would have a serious global problem. If highly contagious and able to escape quarantine, likely in this day and age, then something like the H1N1 outbreak after WW1 which killed up to 100 million or up to 5 percent of the world's population at the time could occur. But as pointed out, this is not the flu virus and is not highly mutable. Not going to happen - ok 99.999% sure. But it makes good copy (and movie scripts).

 

[brewer12345]

Anything can happen. Given enough time even the incredibly unlikely will occur but at this point I think that 'experts' would pretty definitively say that it is not 'easily spread' relative to most viruses that are even moderately contagious. If it does become 'easily spread', we would know within a matter of days. And then, again, we would have a serious global problem. If highly contagious and able to escape quarantine, likely in this day and age, then something like the H1N1 outbreak after WW1 which killed up to 100 million or up to 5 percent of the world's population at the time could occur. But as pointed out, this is not the flu virus and is not highly mutable. Not going to happen - ok 99.999% sure. But it makes good copy (and movie scripts).

You really think experts or anyone else know what is going on in big, African slums? I have some high quality real estate you might be interested in...

 

[6miths]

Yes I do. Especially when it comes to mutation rates of viruses and patterns of spread. Turns out they have these two areas of study called virology and epidemiology. Any way, nuff said by me. I'm going to sleep well (as far as Ebola goes) and worry about motor vehicles, depression, poverty and guns. Much more pressing issues.

 

[ls99]

You really think experts or anyone else know what is going on in big, African slums? I have some high quality real estate you might be interested in...

I have been to several countries and their slums in Africa. IMHO it is pure insanity to send US troops there to "battle" Ebola.

In case it is not understood, the job of the military is to break things and kill people. That does not include expertise in deadly disease eradication.

 

[Walt34]

In case it is not understood, the job of the military is to break things and kill people. That does not include expertise in deadly disease eradication.

True enough. The only reason I can think of is that in order to do their jobs the military is also very, very good at logistics and supply. Every once in a while I read an article about what it takes to feed an army and the numbers are impressive.

Other than that agreed it is crazy to send the military there.

 

[brewer12345]

True enough. The only reason I can think of is that in order to do their jobs the military is also very, very good at logistics and supply. Every once in a while I read an article about what it takes to feed an army and the numbers are impressive.

Other than that agreed it is crazy to send the military there.

The other possibility that comes to mind is that it is chaos on the ground and the aid workers cannot really do anything without troops maintaining at least a rough sort of order. Perhaps these are 3,000 MPs?

 

[Brat]

Ebola in the US will be a challenge but nothing like what will happen if it becomes established in a place like India. There is no way to prevent it from entering the US at some point, we don't have social practices like washing the dead that promote contagion. The illness does not lie dormant long like AIDS so carriers will be quickly identified.

For some time I have been looking for a treatment that addresses resistant bacterial infections and viruses. I heard about this in a science podcast. http://www.nature.com/nm/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nm.3640.html I hope this will quickly be tested.http://wyss.harvard.edu/viewpage/463/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25216635
http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/bio-spleen-sucks-pathogens-and-toxins-from-blood/

 

[M Paquette]

If ebola does spread within the United States, my family and I are prepared to do whatever it takes, including:

1) We won't leave the deceased in the house for a mourning period of several days after death.
2) We are prepared to give up the traditional hand-washing of the dead.
3) We won't be re-using the unwashed linens from the deceased's bed.
4) DW and I agree that we won't be sleeping together should one of us come down with the disease, nor will we be inviting the children to sleep in the same bed.
5) We won't be encouraging fruit bat colonies on our property, or in any adjoining rain forests.
6) We will all give up the handling and raw meat consumption of infected chimpanzees, gorillas, fruit bats, monkeys, forest antelope, and porcupines.

I would encourage everyone to talk with their families about this, and make sure everyone is willing and ready to make the necessary sacrifices, even *sob*, even giving up their delicious monkey tartar.

 

[6miths]

I have been to several countries and their slums in Africa. IMHO it is pure insanity to send US troops there to "battle" Ebola.

In case it is not understood, the job of the military is to break things and kill people. That does not include expertise in deadly disease eradication.

Pretty much this. While some armed forces have evolved towards humanitarian forces the above statement is still pretty accurate, especially in the case of a combat ready force like the US military. The other issue is sending a group of young, invincible, naive folks to what is almost the equivalent of a different and very dangerous planet. And not the kind of danger that they are trained and equipped for.

 

[6miths]

If ebola does spread within the United States, my family and I are prepared to do whatever it takes, including:

1) We won't leave the deceased in the house for a mourning period of several days after death.
2) We are prepared to give up the traditional hand-washing of the dead.
3) We won't be re-using the unwashed linens from the deceased's bed.
4) DW and I agree that we won't be sleeping together should one of us come down with the disease, nor will we be inviting the children to sleep in the same bed.
5) We won't be encouraging fruit bat colonies on our property, or in any adjoining rain forests.
6) We will all give up the handling and raw meat consumption of infected chimpanzees, gorillas, fruit bats, monkeys, forest antelope, and porcupines.

I would encourage everyone to talk with their families about this, and make sure everyone is willing and ready to make the necessary sacrifices, even *sob*, even giving up their delicious monkey tartar.

No, no, not the monkey tartar!!