I'm having a hard time with the hand wipes "solution".I wonder what the best hand wipes are? Anyone know? I might carry some like Monk.
I'm having a hard time with the hand wipes "solution".
If western-trained healthcare workers were infected (in Africa) while "taking all the appropriate precautions" with known ebola patients, how are hand wipes going to solve the problem? I mean, they KNEW who they needed to be careful around, were medically trained, and STILL acquired the virus.
And I heard on the news this morning that the virus has already mutated several times over recently. Some speculate that it's only a matter of time before there will be an airborne version. Experts disagree. But what if down the road they say: "Oops! Sorry. We got that wrong."Listening to Dr. today it CAN'T be transmitted by a few drops sweat. Not only do you contact with bodily fluid but it needs to a large quantity. For instance being vomited is a good way of catching it. But even been splashed by blood of Ebola victim doesn't mean you'll get Ebola unless you have an open sore. The immune system can handle small amount of the virus. It can even handle large amounts of the virus as long as you get proper hydration and electrolytes e.g. getting an IV drip. ...
I'm having a hard time with the hand wipes "solution".
If western-trained healthcare workers were infected (in Africa) while "taking all the appropriate precautions" with known ebola patients, how are hand wipes going to solve the problem? I mean, they KNEW who they needed to be careful around, were medically trained, and STILL acquired the virus.
If western-trained healthcare workers were infected (in Africa) while "taking all the appropriate precautions" with known ebola patients, how are hand wipes going to solve the problem? I mean, they KNEW who they needed to be careful around, were medically trained, and STILL acquired the virus.
The only reason why people in Africa are dying, is due to their practices.
.
What practices, if I may ask?
Should be good for Fair attendance:
At least for now, as far as we know.
I think we will know the answers in about 3 weeks for the folks in Dallas.
I have read a number of news articles now about ebola. One thing I have noticed that recurs frequently in the comments to those articles is speculation that ebola must be airborne because "the doctors are getting it and they wear protective clothing." In my opinion, this is a false conclusion. There is no need to posit a new infection vector; the ones we know about are quite enough.
Let me explain. Many, many years ago, before I became a lawyer, I was an engineer and operator of nuclear power plants. First in US Navy submarines and then at a commercial power plant. In connection with that work, I had numerous occasions to dress exactly like the medical personnel in West Africa and that experience convinces me that it is possible to become exposed even with the protective clothing.
In a nuclear plant, when you want to go into an area that has known or suspected radioactive contamination, you must wear anti-contamination clothing (colloquially anti-Cs or "the canary suit"). This consists of a bright yellow coverall that zips up the front, a stylish matching hood that drapes down over the shoulders, cotton booties under large rubber galoshes, cotton gloves under rubber gloves, and a full face respirator. Depending on the specific work you plan to do once in the contaminated area, you might also wear over all that a rubberized apron, rubberized gauntlets, welding gloves, roofers' knee pads, etc.
This equipment must be put on in a precise sequence because it will later be taken off in a precise sequence. The booties and boots and gloves are overlapped just so with the sleeves and ankles of the coveralls, which are then taped over with masking tape. Indeed, every single potential pathway for contamination to enter is carefully taped off, including the front zipper. Someone watches you suit up to make sure you do it right. Once you're ready, you enter the contaminated area and do your work.
In my experience, trying to work while fully suited up is miserable indeed. It is hot and uncomfortable. You can't wipe away the sweat that is trickling into your eye. You can't scratch your nose. When the respirator fogs up, you can't do anything about it. And, you have to assume that if you rip your anti-Cs, you'll get contaminated, so you have to move carefully and slowly. All in all, not fun.
Taking off the anti-Cs is the key. You must assume that there is contamination on the outside surfaces of everything you are wearing. So you follow a precise order to remove the clothing, using precisely specified movements, all of which is designed to ensure that the contamination does not get on the inside, on your underclothes or your skin. Again, you are under observation to make sure you do it right. After you are undressed, they check you all over with radiation meters to make sure that you aren't contaminated.
The people who do this work are well trained. They practice donning and doffing the anti-Cs before they do it for real. They are supervised closely. And yet, sometimes people still manage to contaminate themselves when they are taking off the suit.
Now imagine that you are a Liberian doctor with the bodily fluids from patients on your gloves, your coveralls, your boots and your goggles. You're hot and very tired. You are taking care of ebola patients because you are all that is available, not because you are specially trained for it. You are wearing protective clothes, but assume that, just once, you get sloppy in your undressing procedures and some of the fluid gets on your hand. Now you finally wipe your eyes and, boom, you're exposed to the ebola virus. And neither you nor anyone else will know when that happens. Unlike the radiation meter at the nuclear plant, you can't be scanned right on the spot to see if you are contaminated.
And, what's more, in a nuclear plant, they can also check the clothing and equipment to see if it's contaminated. If not, it can be used again. If it is contaminated, you throw it in the radioactive trash, which eventually gets buried in South Carolina. In West Africa, they have to reuse much of their equipment. Even though they spray with bleach, they have no way to ensure that there was not a spot missed and the clothing is still contaminated. Then the doctor faces a hazard even putting the clothing on.
I am convinced that it is the getting in and out of the protective clothing, especially out, that is exposing those doctors to the virus. There is simply no need to feed popular panic by positing an airborne infection vector.
"No need to panic, it is not *that* contagious"
Everyone that helped the pregnant girl is either sick or dead. Everyone.
So it was reported the guy in Texas vomited outside of his building. What happens if a dog comes along and eats some of that (yes gross, but dogs do this). Then some kid pets the dog, transferring the virus to his hands, then kid rubs his eyes, puts finger up nose or in mouth (or all three). BAM! Now we have a 5 year old with the virus. He/she starts to get sick, throws up, mom cleans it up as moms do, not even considering this kid has been exposed to the Ebola victim. Now mom is sick.
But it is not that contagious
But not everyone who's coming in contact with the Ebola virus is "fully suited up."Gumby, that is the most reasoned and informed post on Ebola that I have read in a long time. Well said!
Listening to Dr. today it CAN'T be transmitted by a few drops sweat. Not only do you contact with bodily fluid but it needs to a large quantity. For instance being vomited is a good way of catching it. But even been splashed by blood of Ebola victim doesn't mean you'll get Ebola unless you have an open sore. The immune system can handle small amount of the virus. It can even handle large amounts of the virus as long as you get proper hydration and electrolytes e.g. getting an IV drip.
Two important points he made. This is a very hard virus to transmit, there has never been a transmission of Ebola to another person outside of West Africa. 60%+ of the cases transmitted in West Africa is caused by their burial practices.Inthe Ugandan ceremonies the Hewletts witnessed, the sister of the deceased’s father is responsible for bathing, cleaning, and dressing the body in a “favorite outfit.” This task, they write, is “too emotionally painful” for the immediate family. In the event that no aunt exists, a female elder in the community takes this role on. The next step, the mourning, is where the real ceremony takes place. “Funerals are major cultural events that can last for days, depending on the status of the deceased person,” they write. As the women “wail” and the men “dance,” the community takes time to “demonstrate care and respect for the dead.” The more important the person, the longer the mourning. When the ceremony is coming to a close, a common bowl is used for ritual hand-washing, and a final touch or kiss on the face of the corpse (which is known as a “a love touch”) is bestowed on the dead. When the ceremony has concluded, the body is buried on land that directly adjoins the deceased’s house because “the family wants the spirit to be happy and not feel forgotten.”