It's a huge trade-off IMO. One person versus potential harm to the population. I realize that the bigger risk is an unknown patient but again, this doctor put himself at risk. I am also stunned that his wife and children went to Africa to visit him. I would never expose my kids to that environment no matter how safe someone told me it was. You want to treat Ebola? Great, God Bless....the kids are staying here. I wasn't talking about the facilities although they have nothing to do with what the doctor and the care worker did to keep themselves "clean". I was talking about the challenges of obtaining public participation in quarantine rules if necessary. "Those who have contracted the virus and the medical personnel treating them need to be kept under strict quarantine. That's easier said than done, especially in countries where resources are limited and public health protocols are not always heeded. On Monday, Liberia sealed off most of its border crossings (it has kept its main airport open). Nigeria has placed all entry points into the country on "red alert." The threat of the virus spreading beyond the immediate region remains real, and authorities have to be vigilant. A patient may manifest symptoms of the virus only three weeks after getting infected." Because of the fear and stigma associated with Ebola, some of the people have lied about coming into contact with and infected person. They move across borders without telling the truth and spread the virus. "One of the continuing challenges is getting local populations to abide by the edicts of government authorities and foreign health workers. The WHO has repeatedly warned about the risk posed by mourners reclaiming the bodies of the deceased for traditional burial ceremonies. But in some cases during the current outbreak, families have refused to hand over the bodies to officials; some communities have staged roadblocks to halt ambulances and launched protests outside hospitals and clinics." Again, fear and mistrust. That could happen in America too. "The hysteria caused by the spread of Ebola has led also to the spread of rumor and conspiracy theories. Angry crowds have accused foreigners of bringing the virus in their midst". Again, America isn't immune to irrational behavior and we have plenty of people living here from these countries and other 3rd world countries.
I don't know that syphilis and HIV can be considered hot viruses. HIV is insidious simply because it can be transmitted without the physical appearance of symptoms and far before a patient knows anything is wrong. Untreated syphilis had far less of a mortality rate than Ebola. HIV still has a mortality rate of over 3% in the US. How is it that countries like Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Iraq, Libya all have lower mortality rates than the US? They certainly don't have better health care. Is it due to religious reasons? Are gay men executed before they have a chance to measure mortality? I think the disease doesn't spread because of strict religious rules. So knowing that US citizens continue to have unsafe sex with people they don't know much about, how can we guarantee that these same citizens will follow Ebola isolation protocol if told so? At a particular point in time, Princess Diana was photographed touching an AIDS patient in hospital. I think that changed the way much of the world saw the truth about transmission and AIDS became a little less scary. Until someone well known and famous is willing to hug an Ebola patient, I'm not feeling too safe about it.
Syphilis was a hot virus when it was first encountered in the middle ages. It killed victims quickly before it morphed and its mortality rate was 100%. The saving grace was that it was a VD so had a limited path of transmission and with the slow transportation & communication of the time prevented the spread Same with HIV when it was first identified. You can cherry pick Princess D and make an absurd comparison but the whole point of bringing these two people back is to improve treatment perhaps find a vaccine so when it does spread we have the tools to fight it. I don't see anyone advocating a mass transfer of patients from Africa. If you look to modern medicine few if any fast moving viruses (even the cold & flu) have a certain cure. Most require aiding and strengthening the body's defense so that a person survives long enough so the immune system can defeat the virus. We need this knowledge with Ebola and other hemorrhagic viruses. To do less is sticking your head in the ground and waiting for the worst rather than being prepared. Look at it as arming for war against the soviets. Preparedness preserves peace or life in this case.
Doctors are going to treat sick people. It's what they do. It's what we want them to do. No cure will ever be found if doctors avoid sick people. Raise your standards, amigo.
Geez amigo, I'm talking about sleeping with skanky ass women. Wasn't that hard to figure out was it? Syphilis? HIV? The clap? Where else would I steer this thread? Effing old people
Not too long ago....July 16, 2014 CDC made an anthrax mess and tried to clean it up with expired disinfectant Mishandling of live anthrax. Failing to properly secure potential bioterror agents. Cross-contamination of a benign strain of bird flu with a deadly strain. What is going on at the Centers for Disease Contol and Prevention? Congress wants to know, so they held a hearing on Wednesday to ask CDC Director Tom Frieden what's going on. Frieden copped to major problems. "With the recent incidents, we recognize a pattern at CDC where we need to greatly improve the culture of safety," he said. There have been a number or reports over the years by government watchdogs that have called out lab-safety issues at the CDC. Frieden promised the CDC is going to change they way it does things. The committee seemed skeptical.
What a story....a secret serum likely saved the Americans, bypassing every compassionate use standard (understandably) in place. So why did we not provide it before to use on a select few Africans? Cost? Fear of protecting pharmacy profits? I am curious. Anyway, looks like the doctor originally wanted the nurse aid-worker to get the first dose because he figured his age would give him a better chance of survival. The serum needed some 10 hours to de-thaw naturally. When his health took a turn for the worse he changed his mind and requested the single dose. Both patients are now looking like potential survivors with near miraculous and quick recoveries due to the serum. http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/04/health/experimental-ebola-serum/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
