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Ebola

Ebola466 posts

Ebola is a disease caused by an ebolavirus. Symptoms start two days to three weeks after contracting the virus, with a fever, sore throat, muscle pain and headaches. Vomiting, diarrhea and rash follow, along with decreased function of the liver and kidneys. Victims bleed both within the body and externally. From 1976 through 2013, the World Health Organization reported a total of 1,716 cases. In 2013 an outbreak started in Guinea, spreading to neighboring African countries and infectied doctors, some of who were transported back to the US for treatment. The virus continues to claim victims as it spreads to more countries.

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23 Oct, 2014

Health workers train with Tabasco sauce

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The workers at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center use the sauce to practice taking hazmat gear on and off. If the sauce touches their skin, they have been ‘contaminated’. Capsicum frutescens, the peppers used in Tabasco, contain capsaicin, which has previously been used in medical settings including dermatology and neurology for pain and itch relief. Dr. Bruce Meyer:

In a way, it gives feedback immediately

Quarantine threatened by hunger

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Forty-three Liberians in quarantine after four people died of Ebola in Jenewonda, a town in an impoverished corner of Grand Cape Mount County near the Sierra Leone border, threaten to break out of isolation as they have no food. The World Food Program has not previously been supplying the area but will begin doing so. The WFP’s logistics unit is delivering the food Thursday, but it must be driven in from Monrovia as there are no trucks in the area. WFP spokesman:

WFP in Liberia heard about this community being isolated only two days ago via the radio and staff immediately began organizing a mission to bring food to the quarantined people.

Uber driver among four being monitored

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New York state officials are monitoring four people who had contact with Spencer. His fiancee and two friends are healthy but have been quarantined. The fourth person is who is in contact with the state is the driver of an Uber car that Spencer took when he bowling Wednesday night in Williamsburg. The driver had no direct contact with Spencer, and is not believed to be in any danger.

Minister seeks mandatory detention

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Sources say Morrison is suggesting implementing mandatory quarantine for anyone arriving in Australia from Ebola-affected west Africa. He has said that a hard-line quarantine approach could be best run by being absorbed under his immigration portfolio and handled by the Operation Sovereign Borders team, which is in place to stop people smuggling into the country. A minister tells ABC radio:

[Morrison is] annoying everyone on the National Security Committee because he’s not across all the facts on Ebola. He doesn’t have access to what the chief medical officer is advising the Health Minister.

Tests positive for Ebola

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Spencer tests positive for the Ebola virus at Bellevue Hospital in New York City. Spencer is the only diagnosed case in New York City, the fourth case diagnosed in the United States. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio:

There is no reason for New Yorkers to be alarmed. New Yorkers who have not been exposed to an infected person’s bodily fluids are not at all at risk.

Goes to hospital with fever

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Spencer is rushed to Bellevue Hospital in New York City with Ebola-like symptoms. Spencer tells authorities he began to feel sluggish on Tuesday but did not develop a fever until this morning. At 11 a.m., the doctor found that he had a 103-degree temperature and alerts the staff of Doctors Without Borders, who calls the New York health department, which in turn called the Fire Department. Emergency medical workers, wearing full personal protective gear, rush to Spencer’s apartment, on West 147th Street, and he is transported to Bellevue and arrived shortly after 1 p.m. He is placed in a special isolation unit and is being seen by the pre-designated medical critical care team. They are in personal protective equipment with undergarment air ventilation systems. Health Department:

After consulting with the hospital and the CDC, DOHMH has decided to conduct a test for the Ebola virus because of this patient’s recent travel history, pattern of symptoms, and past work.

Returns home to Providence

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Mukpo returns home to Providence, RI on a chartered jet after being declared free of the Ebola virus. Mukpo is now requesting privacy. Dr. Mitchell Levy, Mukpo’s father:

He has said he will begin to write and speak about his ordeal, including with the press, but he wants to do it on his own time.

Cybercriminals use Ebola email to hack computers

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Cybercriminals are using an email that appears to be an informative message from the World Health Organization to hack computers. Cybersecurity firm Trustwave says it appears that several hundred organizations have been targeted. Karl Sigler, threat intelligence manager at Trustwave:

It follows the standard, successful formula for most phishing campaigns.

22 Oct, 2014

Doctor: Other illnesses more dangerous

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Schaffner tells PBS that other illnesses are a bigger risk than Ebola. Questioned about the 600 measles cases this year:

Yes. Can you imagine that? And that’s because there’s still measles out in the world, but our parents, many of them, are withholding their children from vaccination. And so when someone from — with measles comes into this country, it can spread among our own children, causing a whole lot of illness, illness that we thought was long gone.

He says whooping cough, antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and flu are also more dangerous.

Ebola is new, mysterious, fierce. It has a very high mortality rate. And people feel a lack of control. There’s nothing they can do about it. They can get vaccinated against flu, but they feel put upon. I have even spoken to some people who seem indignant that something like Ebola could even come to the United States in the 21st century.

Hospitals may refuse care

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Officials from at least three hospital systems interviewed by Reuters say they are considering whether to withhold individual procedures or leave it up to individual doctors to determine whether interventions will be performed, while ethics experts are fielding calls from doctors asking what their professional obligations are to patients if healthcare workers could be at risk. One issue is that there are no data on whether an Ebola patient is beyond help, or whether procedures like dialysis or CPR can be performed safely and effectively. Medical historian Dr. Howard Markel:

This is another example of how this 21st century viral threat has pulled us back into the 19th century

 

Blood tests negative

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Emory Hospital Amber VinsonVinson’s mother says that she has tested negative for the disease.

Amber and our family are ecstatic to receive this latest report on her condition. We all know that further treatment will be necessary as Amber continues to regain strength, but these latest developments have truly answered prayers and bring our family one step closer to reuniting with her at home.

Insurers exclude Ebola from new policies

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U.S. and British insurers are writing exclusions into standard policies to cover hospitals, event organizers and other businesses vulnerable to local disruptions. That means new policies and renewals will become costlier for companies that insure business travel to west Africa or to cover the risk of losses from quarantine shutdowns at home. Gary Flynn, an event cancellation broker at Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group Plc in London:

What underwriters are doing at the moment is they’re generally providing quotes either excluding or including Ebola – and it’s much more expensive if Ebola is included

Death toll may be three times higher than reported

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The official WHO death toll from the virus stands at 4,877 as of Oct. 19, while at least 9,936 cases of the disease had been recorded, but the organization says the real figures may be three times as high. The real numbers are higher by a factor of 1.5 in Guinea, 2 in Sierra Leone and 2.5 in Liberia, while the death rate is thought to be about 70 percent of all cases. WHO on why so many have caught the disease:

Early indications are that a substantial proportion of infections occurred outside the context of Ebola treatment and care

21-day monitoring

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The CDC announces that it will monitor all passengers from west Africa – even Americans – for a mandatory 21 days. The screenings will begin Monday in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and Georgia. Travelers will be given information cards and a thermometer and be required to make daily checkins with state or local health officials in person, by phone, Skype or Facetime, or through employers. CDC director Frieden:

The bottom line is that we have to keep our guard against Ebola.

NBC News interview

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Mukpo discusses the effects of his battle with Ebola and his travels to Liberia in an interview with NBC News after being declared free of the virus.

I mean, there’s definitely some physical effects of this that I think are gonna last a while. But I can feel my strength coming back every day. And, I mean, there was a period of time that I was quite sick. And, you know, I was laying in a hospital bed and had no strength. Had various pains. And — and just all kinds of fun stuff going on in my body. I mean, I think it’s important in life to take risks for things that you believe in. But it’s also important to keep yourself safe. So, I mean, it’s hard to call Ebola a learning experience. But I think that I’m gonna walk away from this with some important lessons for the future.

WHO: Deaths may be three times higher

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The World Health Organization announces the true Ebola death toll may be three times more. Higher numbers place Guinea with a factor of 1.5, Sierra Leone at 2.0 and Liberia at 2.5. This suggests a true total of approximately 15,000 deaths versus a minimum of 4,877. At least 9,936 cases report infection. Of the thousands of cases, 443 health workers contract the disease resulting in 244 deaths. Official:

Early indications are that a substantial proportion of infections occurred outside the context of Ebola treatment and care.

First day as “Ebola Czar”

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Klain meets with Obama and senior White House staff members to discuss strategies for preparedness and containment on his first day as “Ebola czar”. White House official:

He will attend meetings with other senior White House staff, as well as with the White House teams that are coordinating and operationalising the comprehensive strategy to enhance our domestic preparedness and contain the epidemic in West Africa.

21 Oct, 2014

Four Dulles passengers taken to hospital

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The DHS says that four passengers were taken from Dulles to a local hospital after enhanced screening raised alarms. DHS and the CDC don’t give further details. The two Northern Virginia hospitals closest to Dulles say they didn’t receive the patients. DHS and CDC aren’t able to explain the discrepancy. A person familiar with the screenings says a 13-year-old boy and his mother were taken to a hospital last Thursday after the CDC became concerned about their symptoms, and  two other passengers were taken to a hospital over the weekend. The person was unable to name the hospital, and said that all four passengers apparently were released after further testing.

Misses Ebola meetings

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Klain is reported to be excused from a Republican-led congressional panel on Ebola due Friday. He will officially start work on Wednesday. A White House official confirms that he did not attend two previous meetings in the 48 hours after he was appointed as response coordinator:

It is not that long of a lapse

Patients vanish in medical system

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ebola-patients-vanishFriends and relatives of Ebola patients say many people have vanished after being admitted to Liberia’s hospital system. Some people passed through the health system without a paper trail, others were transferred between clinics without notice, and hundreds have been cremated before their families are informed that they have died. A hygienist who says he has reassured people that patients are okay, although he wasn’t sure himself:

I don’t want to be the one to tell them that bad news