Ebola again

[Kaz]

No, she should be in quarantine, proper medically supervised, contained and designated quarantine, not her own home! Everyone going to W Africa to treat Ebola patients should accept a return into three weeks of such quarantine as part of that experience. Otherwise we are screwed

If she were to be quarantined, it should be in her home unless she is diagnosed with the disease

No sorry, waiting until a positive diagnosis is too late, the disease could already be spread by then, that is the whole purpose of quarantine, to hold people who might be infectious just in case!!

[Kaz]

What is three weeks in quarantine, up against the health of possibly thousands if not millions? Selfish

[Workingman]

The Dr being talked about is Dr Craig Spencer who had been working with ebola patients in W. Africa. He was self-testing and staying away from work - fine. On Tuesday he started to feel sluggish..... an indication that he was coming down with something one would say. And given that he had been in W. Africa treating ebola patients it was obvious to him that he had caught.......... A COMMON COLD????? So, come Wednesday evening, now with a slight fever he catches the subway to go bowling. Thursday morning has a temp of 103ºF and is admitted to hospital where it is confirmed that he has ebola.

That is why there was the knee-jerk reaction in New York, New Jersey and Illinois.

The nurse, not yet cleared btw, was not the cause she just got caught up in the hoo-ha, but........ how can I put this? The medical staff caught up in this American tale have not exactly been the custodians of common sense regarding their behaviour and travel arrangements - have they - going off on cruises, flying back and forth to Dallas - Omaha or going for a night out with their mates for an urgent game of ten-pin?

As for bodily fluids the CDC says this:

*blood or body fluids (including but not limited to urine, saliva, sweat, faeces, vomit, breast milk, and semen) of a person who is sick with Ebola.

With regards to ebola on surfaces the CDC says this:

How long does Ebola live outside the body?
Ebola is killed with hospital-grade disinfectants (such as household bleach). Ebola on dry surfaces, such as doorknobs and countertops, can survive for several hours; however, virus in body fluids (such as blood) can survive up to several days at room temperature.

There is "knee-jerk" and there is "sensible". The (re)actions of the Governors of some States are "knee-jerk" and they are largely driven by people who know that they are at a high(er) risk of becoming infected not being "sensible" from day to day.

It takes two to Tango.

[Kaz]

Quite!!!!!!!

[Workingman]

Kaz, I was composing as you were posting and I have to say that I agree that three weeks quarantine is not out of order for those who have been out there and have been directly exposed to ebola whilst looking after patients. It is not as though everyone who has been to Africa is going to be locked up in solitary for three weeks and fed on gruel and warm water!

The nurse who is suing New York ought to be ashamed of herself...... And she had better bloody well hope that she does not become infective, and then she had better hope some more that she does not infect anyone else.

[Kaz]

Absolutely agreeing with you Frank

[Suff]

I'm in agreement that isolation for 3 weeks would be the vest way to go. However it has to be with common sense. Staying in your apartment is perfectly good enough. As soon as you start to run a high temperature is soon enough to be brought into hospital.

BTW, with fluids, there needs to be some chance of touching them in public places. Honestly blood is the biggest problem and, normally, people don't leak blood.

Also the CDC does state just exactly _how_ the fluids need to get into another person's body. But it is almost never repeated by the press or anyone else. A very large omission, because it's not just about the threat, it's about how you come into contact with it.

Fortunately the west will not see the scale of west Africa because it would be extremely badly taken, when there was a real and true threat out there, to find hospitals turning people away and telling them to go home until they were clearly showing symptoms.

Hence reactions should be measured and thought through. Not knee jerk.

I've been virtually totally offline all weekend so I missed the whole doctor thing. Nothing about it in the current press last night or today.

Seriously the daily new infections in west Africa have dropped down to levels not seen since June. This is in total opposition to the information being given out by WHO. Barring a total disastrous new outbreak, this one is burning itself out.