Funds vaccine to counter airborne exposure
The Pentagon provides a $9.5 million funding grant to the Profectus BioSciences to manufacture trivalent VesiculoVax™-vectored vaccine. Statement:
The lyophilized trivalent vaccine is being tested in both pre-exposure and post-exposure studies to confirm protection of non-human primates from aerosol exposure to Ebola and Marburg viruses.
Quarantine rule ‘absolutely ridiculous’
0 CommentsSomerset County volunteer Steve Butwell, who is planning to return to Liberia to resume running the medical clinic he and his founded in the remote Po River area, says the New Jersey quarantine rule that Hickox was isolated under hasn’t been formulated by medical scientists. Butwell:
It’s absolutely ridiculous. You can’t quarantine someone without explaining the process. You don’t want to downplay the need to keep people safe but it sounded like things were being made up on the fly. Let the experts in infectious diseases set the standards. I don’t want just people in general leadership roles making the calls.
Interview
Hickox gives an interview to media after the state judge rules that she won’t have to stay in quarantine. She says she will comply with the court’s recommendations including direct monitoring.
I’m very satisfied…It’s just a good day.
MSF: Death toll may be much higher
Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres says the death toll in Sierra Leone may be much higher than the WHO’s revised total of 4,951 from 13,567 reported cases. MSF coordinator:
The situation is catastrophic. There are several villages and communities that have been basically wiped out. In one of the villages I went to, there were 40 inhabitants and 39 died. The WHO says there is a correction factor of 2.5, so maybe it is 2.5 times higher and maybe that is not far from the truth. It could be 10,000, 15,000 or 20,000.
Judge rejects quarantine
District Court Chief Judge Charles LaVerdiere rejects Hickox’s quarantine order but orders her to submit to “direct active monitoring,” coordinate travel with public health officials and immediately notify health authorities should symptoms appear. Hickox tells reporters the decision is a “good compromise” and that she would continue to comply with direct active monitoring.
I know that Ebola is a scary disease. have seen it face-to-face. I know we are nowhere near winning this battle. We’ll only win this battle as we continue this discussion, as we gain a better collective understanding about Ebola and public health, as we overcome the fear and, most importantly, as we end the outbreak that is still ongoing in West Africa today.
LaVerdiere praises Hickox for lending her skills “generously, kindly and with compassion” to “aid, comfort and care” for Ebola patients.
We owe her and all professionals who give of themselves in this way a debt of gratitude.
Military to train more response teams
0 CommentsThe Department of Defense is expecting a request from the Department of Health and Human Services for more rapid response personnel similar to the first military team, which completed training at Fort Sam Houston this week. The first team is made up of Army, Navy and Air Force personnel, including 20 critical care and inpatient nurses, five physicians and five infection control specialists who would instruct civilian health care workers in infectious disease protocols. At least one team member has experience treating Ebola patients.
Court order restricts movement
A 24-hour court order limits Hickox’s ability to travel, mandates that she keep a three-foot buffer when meeting other people, and bans her from public places. A further decision will be made by a Maine state court later Friday.
Sneezing poster disappears
0 Comments
The CDC poster stating that Ebola can be spread by sneezing is apparently deleted from the CDC website. Message replacing the page:
The What’s the difference between infections spread through air or by droplets? Fact sheet is being updated and is currently unavailable. Please visit cdc.gov/Ebola for up-to-date information on Ebola.
(A cached version is here). It has also reportedly change a question-and-answer section that mentioned coughing and sneezing. CDC response to article:
This particular Q&A is being updated to ensure people understand that Ebola is not an airborne virus like the flu and will be reposted soon
Conn. girl goes back to school
0 CommentsSeven-year-old Ikeoluwa Opayemi is allowed by the Milford School District to return to class. The 21-day quarantine previously imposed by the district after her trip to Nigeria was due to expire over the weekend, allowing her to go to school on Monday. Milford’s superintendent of schools, and Ikeoluwa’s father issue a joint statement:
She is perfectly healthy and can take part in school activities, without restriction.
Her family and the school district have both agreed to settle the lawsuit the family filed after she was barred from school. It isn’t stated whether the reversal of the quarantine is part of the conditions of settling the suit.
Tulsa patient tests negative
0 CommentsA patient being monitored in Tulsa, Okla., has tested negative in initial tests for Ebola. The patient tested positive for malaria. He recently returned from west Africa, and had developed a fever, but had not had contact with Ebola patients.
Recommends sneeze protection
The WHO issues new guidelines for healthcare workers specifying that protective equipment should be worn to protect the mouth, nose and eyes from contaminated droplets and fluids. WHO:
These guidelines hold an important role in clarifying effective personal protective equipment options that protect the safety of healthcare workers and patients from Ebola virus disease transmission.
Confusion expected in flu season
0 CommentsThe CDC expects hospitals to face some confusion during the upcoming flu season. Spokeswoman:
There may be some public concern or confusion between seasonal influenza and Ebola
She says this has happened in past with fears over the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS):
Flu-like symptoms in US residents this flu season will most likely be caused by seasonal influenza, not Ebola.
Some similar symptoms are fever, headache, fatigue and aches and pains. Influenza causes cough, sore throat and runny nose, which Ebola does not. Ebola leads to vomiting and diarrhea within three to six days, severe weakness and stomach pain, as well as unexplained bleeding and bruising.
Offers protections to Ebola workers
0 CommentsNew York state offers employee protections and financial guarantees for healthcare workers traveling to Ebola-affected west Africa. They are similar to the rights granted to military reservists. Workers are not allowed to have their pay cut or be demoted for serving in Africa, and the state will make up lost income if they are quarantined on return. Cuomo and de Blasio:
In particular, the State of New York and the City of New York will work to ensure that health care workers who selflessly travel to West Africa to treat Ebola patients would have their pay, health care and employment statuses continue seamlessly when they get back
Nurses union to strike
0 CommentsOakland, Calif.-based National Nurses United and its affiliate, the California Nurses Association (CNA), say nurses will walk off the job on Nov. 12 at 66 of the non-profit Kaiser Permanente managed healthcare provider’s facilities in California, and Providence Hospital in D.C. National Nurses executive director:
Nurses, who have been willing to stand by the patients whether it’s the flu, whether it’s Ebola, whether it’s cancer, now they’re being asked to put themselves in harm’s way unprotected, unguarded
They will also hold bake sales the same day to raise money for hazmat protection, as they say nurses have been at risk since Duncan developed the virus. Kaiser Permanente says that it is well prepared for Ebola, and says that the walkout by approximately 18,000 nurses comes during negotiations over a labor contract. The most recent contract expired a week ago. Spokeswoman:
The claims CNA is making about Kaiser Permanente’s Ebola preparedness, in an attempt to justify a strike, are simply untrue
Pastor offers ‘healing water’
0 CommentsPastor Temitope Balogun Joshua of the Africa-wide megachurch Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), which boasts 50,000 weekly worshipers, has been asked by Nigeria’s health minister to discourage Ebola victimes from Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia, from traveling to seek his help. He complied with the request but has airlifted more than 4,000 bottles of healing water to Sierra Leone, explaining that it contains the power of God and can cure the virus. Joshua:
What makes you a good citizen makes you a good Christian…Obey the law of your land by not crossing the borders of your nation with Ebola virus.
Defends decision to isolate troops
Hagel defends the decision to place the troops in quarantine in Italy. Hagel:
[It is a] smart, wise, prudent, disciplined, science-oriented decision.
Pandemic training
FEMA is reported to be in the middle of a two-year training exercise simulating a pandemic in New Jersey and New York City. (FEMA document here). Overview:
History teaches us that the impact of a pandemic can be far-reaching. The 1918 ‘Spanish Flu’ influenza killed approximately 30,000 people in NYC, 500,000 in the United States and as many as 50-100 million worldwide. Furthermore, it leads to widespread social disruption and economic loss.
Goes for bike ride
Hickox and her boyfriend step out of their home and ride away on mountain bikes. State health officials decline to comment. Hickox:
It’s a beautiful day for a bike ride
U.S. ‘quarantines horses, not people’
0 CommentsA veterinarian writes in the Wilson County News that the government has stricter rules for livestock than for people:
If I wish to import a horse into the United States from Liberia or any African country other than Morocco, the horse needs to undergo a 60-day quarantine period at a USDA-approved quarantine facility prior to mingling with the general population of horses in this country. …
If I were a resident of Liberia incubating Ebola, however, in order to enter the United States all I need to do is present a valid visa. I could lie when asked if I’d have been exposed to Ebola or, if showing symptoms, take Tylenol before going to the airport. Within hours (no quarantine required) I can be walking the streets of any city in the United States.
Disputes reports of lying
The New York state Health Department says Spencer cooperated fully with authorities and dismisses a report that he initially lied about his activities. Health Department official:
Dr. Spencer cooperated fully with the Health Department to establish a timeline of his movements in the days following his return to New York from Guinea, providing his MetroCard, credit cards and cellphone. He followed protocol by contacting his employer immediately upon developing fever and remained in his apartment until being transported to the hospital, which is why the chance anyone else contracted Ebola is extremely small. Dr. Spencer is a hero who deserves our thanks and thoughts for a speedy recovery