So right now the red flag for Ebola is travel to W. Africa

[B2G]

and presenting with flu-like symptoms.

What happens in the coming months if people start contracting it who haven't traveled there, but have come unknowingly into contact with people who have that haven't been diagnosed? What questions are doctors/nurses to ask to set off the alarm bells?

Flu season is rapidly approaching. How in the world will hospitals make the diagnosis? Test everyone who presents with flu symptoms? That's not even possible.

Seems to me the only answer is to shut down admittance from countries with active outbreaks.

And no, I'm not totally blaming the Adminstration. Airlines can and have made that decsion on their own, but I firmly believe Obama should force them make this happen ASAP.

[MineralMan]

1. For now, the only people at risk are those

who have come in contact with the only known Ebola patient who came to the US. If the number of cases in the US grows and new incoming travelers contract the disease, new guidelines will have to be disseminated.

Yes, the flu season is approaching. That will complicate the issue if other Ebola cases are found. For now, though, there's no need to suspect Ebola for those not traveling into the US from West Africa. Let's deal with problems as they occur.

Should travel from West Africa be prohibited? I can't really answer that. That will be up to others and the CDC will advise the government if such precautions are needed.

Some people are way overstating the risks at this point.

[B2G]

2. For now. At this point.

And for now, at this point, I have very limited confidence in the CDC.

Their presser on Tuesday was a disaster with a number of verifiable untruths and evasions.

[MineralMan]

3. Your confidence in the CDC is your own.

As for myself, my confidence in the CDC is pretty strong. It appears to be taking appropriate measures within the US. It has no authority outside of the US.

You're free to get panicky about this, I suppose. I'm not in a state of panic, though. We're a long way from a crisis situation here in the US. We have one case. Panic is not appropriate at this point. Your mileage may differ, of course.

[MohRokTah]

5. Are you kidding me?

Sheets the guy sweat on and towels the guy used in a bathroom where he had diarrhea were still in place, DAYS AFTER HE SHOWED SYMPTOMS, and it took Anderson Copper reporting that fact for the CDC to decide they'd better get the hazardous waste people to that apartment?????

Seriously, nobody at all in the CDC thought they might want a protocol for visiting a site where an infected person may have been distributing bodily fluids for days????

[Baitball Blogger]

9. +1000

[MineralMan]

17. Uh, no. I'm not kidding.

At this time, a lot of people are doing a lot of things to prepare for possible events. It took someone arriving here and then developing symptoms of Ebola to really get the process started. There's always a ramping up period when the threat becomes real.

Did you know that there are no direct flights from Liberia to the US? Right now, I'm trying to find out how many people fly from Liberia to the United States each year. That's not all that easy to discover. Same with the other countries where the outbreak is going on. I imagine that I'm not the only one doing that, either. Most flights from West Africa to the U.S. stop somewhere else first. I'm betting the folks in those places are also thinking about this.

Again, travel restrictions are likely to be imposed at some point. The people who decide that are probably sitting down talking about it right now.

[MohRokTah]

18. Yes, as a matter of fact, I knew that there are no direct flights from Liberia to the US

But really, the CDC is only now dealing with protocols for the hazardous waste. That is beyond incompetent they've known about this disease for decades and they've known the proper protocols for handling waste.

And remember, this is not the first case in the US, it's the first case DIAGNOSED in the US. There were two previous cases in the US that the CDC still doesn't have hazardous waste protocols in effect for. They are only now cleaning up the hospital where those two patients were.

This is a major blunder on the part of the CDC, IMO.

[AverageJoe90]

27. True, and it wasn't the CDC's fault that the hospital here in D/FW fouled up.

I honestly wish this wasn't true, but the CDC really doesn't have a lot of control over what individual hospitals do at this point in this, last I checked.

[MineralMan]

28. The CDC can issue advisories and recommendations.

That's all they can do. They can work with state health department to enforce state health laws, but they have no authority over local hospitals or other healthcare institutions at all. They are a research and advisory body. Personally, I wish they had enforcement powers for situations like this, but they do not.

[MohRokTah]

4. The sheets the guy slept on were still on the bed he shared with his girlfriend.

The towels he used in the bathroom where he had diarrhea were still there in a laundry bag.

Only after Anderson Copper reported these facts last night did the CDC decide, "yeah, it might be wise to send in the hazardous waste folks to clean up the site where this guy showed symptoms for four days.:

[B2G]

6. Not to worry

They have everything under control.

That was my first thought...they're locking these people in their home where the guy had been sick for days.

They should have been moved then to a clean environment and kept them under strict observation. The CDC has pretty much guaranteed that they are now infected after having been surrounded by virus since last week.

But the CDC has everything under control.

[MohRokTah]

11. Oh, and here's a better one, those sheets and towels are STILL THERE

The hazardous waste people are "on there way" as I type this.

[My Pet Goat]

30. That is disturbing...

Has no authority spared a thought for the safety of the family inside? Couldn't they have sent a couple of people in there with space suits by now to at least attempt a cleaning? Why couldn't the family be moved to a isolated clean room somewhere? Ridiculous.

[MohRokTah]

7. The CDC has dropped the ball on this one.

Completely.

The threat of spread throughout an apartment complex where poor people live is very real now.

[B2G]

13. And what kind of bio hazard cleanup was done

on the outside of the complex where he was 'vomiting wildly' before getting into the ambulance?

[uppityperson]

8. Have you had your influenza vaccine yet? Let's run your scenario here for a minute

US prohibits people entering who have been in W Africa. How do they make that determination?

Pretending they can, by asking questions which are honestly answered, assuming passports have been stamped, someone who has been in Sierra Leone flies into the USA through, say, Germany. That person is sent away, or put in a holding pen. What about the other passengers on all the planes, in all the airports they had layovers?

What about those people who were on the plane from Sierra Leonne to Germany who were exposed and decide to travel to the USA in a couple days? They have not been anywhere near W Africa but are exposed, possibly contagious.

[seveneyes]

10. No more flights from hot zones to clean zones

Not without all passengers cooling their heels for the incubation period first. It needs done yesterday.

[uppityperson]

12. So no country in the world should accept flights from those 3 W African countries?

No airlines should fly into those countries? Unless they have holding blocks for the passengers?

[seveneyes]

14. Correct. None.

Maybe after a few million die from this it will become more clear.

[DustyJoe]

32. Mkay

So how do we get our 3,000 military servicemembers back home ?

[seveneyes]

35. After the incubation period passes in isolation

[B2G]

15. No one is saying no flights in. nt

[uppityperson]

16. some are.

Last edited Thu Oct 2, 2014, 03:43 PM - Edit history (1)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025611827#post14

Correct. None.

Maybe after a few million die from this it will become more clear.

[seveneyes]

34. Bullshit

And I quote myself "Not without all passengers cooling their heels for the incubation period first."

Nice fucking try.

[uppityperson]

36. Are you denying this is copy/paste of your post? You curse me for quoting you?

I asked this :So no country in the world should accept flights from those 3 W African countries?
No airlines should fly into those countries? Unless they have holding blocks for the passengers?

You replied this and now say "bullshit"? Huh.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=5612061

Correct. None.

Maybe after a few million die from this it will become more clear.

[seveneyes]

37. Nested within my original statement

Here, I'll spell it out for you...

No more flights from hot zones to clean zones UNTIL passengers sit out the incubation period in isolation.

Obtuse is fine in artwork and math, not when used maliciously. You know what I fucking meant.

[uppityperson]

38. Thank you for clarifying in such a civil manner that helps DU suck less. I can not read your mind

I apologize for that deficiency. I greatly appreciate your taking time to clarify what you meant as it was unclear. Bless you.

[seveneyes]

39. You are welcome

I apologize for using harsh words to defend my original intent. Bless you too.

[valerief]

19. Soon it'll be travel to the U.S. nt

[Orsino]

20. Very generous of you not to *totally* blame the Administration.

Last I heard, Congress also has the power to act, and to appropriate funds.

[B2G]

21. Does Congress have the power to restrict flights?

I honestly don't know the answer to that. I know Obama does.

[Orsino]

22. Laws can certainly restrict travel.

Of course, we don't expect Republicans to do anything useful, but that doesn't make everything the Administration's fault.

Congress did see fit to agree to half the funding the president requested for fighting ebola.

[B2G]

25. I have never stated that's everything is their fault.

In fact I took pains to say that.

Obama prevented all flights to Israel not too long ago. What prevents him from doing the same here?

[DustyJoe]

33. Of Course

There was no problem the Govts call to halt all US carriers flights to Israel when a gaza rocket hit a half mile from the airport a few months back. Govt orders to private airlines can be enforced without congressional approval.

[Sancho]

23. Looks like there should be a travel ban to W. Africa and Dallas!

So far, the people in Dallas don't seem to have anything under control except their statements to the press.

[Aerows]

24. Here's another problem I have with this situation

Suppose in Dallas, several of the man's contacts develop Ebola. If they screwed up by sending him home despite knowing he traveled to Liberia, what else will get screwed up in that hospital?

Suppose his contacts ignore the quarantine order? Making them stay home until October 19 is going to be challenging. And he threw up outside of the apartment building.

[cwydro]

26. It really seems to be a clusterfuck there. nt

[YarnAddict]

29. I bet that hospital won't make the same mistake twice!!

I think, though, that if I lived in Dallas, my kids wouldn't be trick-or-treating this year.

[Aerows]

31. And I'd be going to a different hospital

if necessary!