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Sunday, October 12, 2014

Another Ebola Case in Dallas, Texas (With Addendum)

(Two posts today. Please scroll down. The post below is a musical interlude, a much-needed break from politics)

One of the Texas Presbyterian Hospital nurses who took care of Liberian national Thomas Eric Duncan, Patient Zero here in the United States, has tested positive on a preliminary test and is in isolation. Thomas Eric Duncan died of Ebola on October 8.

Addendum: The protocols can't be sufficient, if someone following them gets infected despite them.

77 comments:

  1. Ellen DeGeneritte says

    We need to give this a rest for a few days instead of constantly beating it to death. There are far worse problems on the world we've been neglecting in favor of trying to start a panic over this disease. The Ebola thing is just beginning. Let it develop into a full blown crisis that kills thousands and threatens the lives of millions nationwide before you pay any attention to it. That's what the progressives recommend, and we all should know by now that they are the smartest, kindest, wisest, best informed people on earth, so following their lead is the only prudent thing to do.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ellen,
      See Tammy's comment below.

      I have a friend on the front lines.

      Delete
    2. Bea Fowler said

      I think you may have missed the sarcasm in Ellen's comment. I thought she laid it on pretty thick, myself. I believe Ellen was parodying the view taken by the left who desperately wants to soft pedal this issue, because they're afraid it will hurt the democrats' chances in the coming election. Political power is all those people really care about. That should be obvious.

      Delete
    3. Bea,
      I didn't miss the sarcasm. But I just had to respond. **wink**

      Delete
  2. Tammy Swofford's comment over at my crosspost to Infidel Bloggers Alliance:

    Bottom line? Ebola is in my region because another region was not quarantined. The first link in the chain of transmission of Ebola was the issue of a visa to a man from Liberia.

    As a registered nurse in the Dallas health market, I can assure all, that this news will send shock waves through my community.

    http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/opinion/10-Oct-2014/pathogen

    America's interests, the health of the American workforce was compromised by a POTUS and his cohorts who refused to bring a standstill to air travel from the hot zones.

    See you at the polls in November.... unless of course, I have contracted Ebola.

    Tammy Swofford, R.N. BSN

    Sunday, October 12, 2014 1:14:00 pm

    ReplyDelete
  3. This nurse at Texas Presbyterian is the first apparent case of Ebola transmission in the United States.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The ominous Ebola math:

    ...Global health officials are looking closely at the “reproduction number,” which estimates how many people, on average, will catch the virus from each person stricken with Ebola. The epidemic will begin to decline when that number falls below one. A recent analysis estimated the number at 1.5 to 2.

    The number of Ebola cases in West Africa has been doubling about every three weeks. There is little evidence so far that the epidemic is losing momentum....

    [...]

    The current assumption is that for every four known Ebola cases, about six more go unreported....

    ReplyDelete
  5. From today's press conference at Texas Presbyterian Hospital: Texas Presbyterian will not accept any patients into the ER now. Reason given? Understaffed.

    ReplyDelete
  6. According to what I'm hearing right now on the news, this nurse was wearing full protection according to the CDC guidelines. If so, that is BIG TROUBLE!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This goes back to our discussion yesterday. It's not just having the PPE; it's having the right PPE, knowing how to use it, and that involves lots of practice and drills.

      Delete
    2. A couple of Hospitals with a couple of beds SF. That is it. That is all we have that can handle Level 4 protocols. Even that is not perfect no matter how hard they try. Will someone stand up and tell the truth please?? It is not the practice... I worked in healthcare. Period.

      Delete
  7. .

    "BREAKING: Another Ebola Case in Dallas, Texas"

    And … ?

    Does AOW operate only in full-panic mode all the time? Panic. Panic. Panic. Get a grip. Ema Nymton predicts AOW will _NOT_ die of Ebola. (And if AOW did die of Ebola? ...)

    Ema Nymton
    ~@:o?
    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I never panic for myself.

      Tammy is a dear personal friend of mind. Yes, I'm worried about her well being.

      Ema, I'm sure that you would be pleased were I to die of Ebola -- or anything, for that matter.

      Buzz off. Now.

      Delete
    2. The "don't panic" baloney emanating from the left is particularly striking, given how they shriek in horror at every tricorn hat worn by a tea partier, and scream about how the GOP is the new KKK.

      If you applied Preparation H to the average leftwing progressive in this country he/she would disappear.

      Delete
    3. The left lives to panic over things that rarely pan out. Heterosexual aids. Global cooling. Global warming.

      Delete
    4. Let's panic over free birth control and hamburger flippers needing 15.00 per hour so they can support a family of 5

      Delete
  8. Ema's profile says she's a follower of Ramona's Voices. Ramona has a link to my commie brother. Need I say more?

    I'm glad I don't live in Dallas and will keep Tammy in my prayers.

    ReplyDelete
  9. AOW...stunning to be deemed in FULL PANIC MODE for announcing a health care professional who says she took all precautions is now testing positive. I don't believe Ebola will get out of hand, never have, but I think reporting on what's happened is a good thing; remember, we're the party that wants all the news out there. If there's no story in the fact that a person who knew better and was prepared has tested positive, you'd all just better get under your beds and wait this one out because this is big news. ...flies in the face of what the CDC's been telling us...and Obama, of course.
    I guess we all should ignore this as we've been told to ignore a laundry list of problems at the White House?\
    The CDC Director gives me as much confidence as if my uncle were suddenly in charge of this potential big problem.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Z,
      As I said above, I'm not in panic mode. But a lot of medical professionals in Dallas are this morning. The nurse who is now in isolation was wearing PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) -- and still she may well have Ebola. This really is terrible news, and the fact that it is terrible news is not lost on those medical professionals on the front lines in Dallas.

      In fact, this particular strain of Ebola is hitting the caregivers the worst -- and I don't mean the careless caregivers (amateurs), either. Several U.N. medical workers are also in isolation in Liberia. **sigh**

      Delete
    2. I am sick of reading that the protocols were not followed. How many times must I say it? Few hospitals few beds. That is all we have. Panic? Damn right.

      Delete
    3. Bunkerville,
      I am sick of reading that the protocols were not followed.

      Same here!

      And even if she did breach protocol, I don't see that it's really her fault.

      The nurse at Texas Presbyterian Hospital was forced onto the front lines. She didn't sign on for Ebola, I'm sure. And just how many training sessions were there before Duncan was admitted and after he was admitted? After all, wasn't it Obama's public position that it was very, very unlikely that Ebola would arrive to the United States? At the same time, 4500 West Africans were arriving every month from West Africa. Sheesh. We're lucky that there haven't been more cases here -- and before now, too.

      The CDC and the NIH are different matters entirely. I don't doubt that their facilities are well prepared.

      Delete
    4. Have you noticed that they have already issued statements that "protocols were violated", and yet they can't say "which ones".

      The CDC is in full cover-up mode. When it eventually airborne, they will be in FULL DENIAL. until 3/4 of the country is infected.

      Delete
    5. Your uncle might prove a more capable executive. Frieden is an interesting mix. Credited with bringing a burgeoning epidemic of tuberculosis in NYC under control, he also angered civil rights people with an involuntary diabetes registry to track and share HbA1c with the medical community to help physicians monitor diabetics in NYC. So he knows how to stomp all over privacy and whatever stands in his way. Wonder what he's thinking about a major epidemic. Wonder if he's under 'orders' to get ready for a state of emergency ... or let it become one. Just sayin'.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous @October 12, 2014 at 2:58:00 PM EDT,
      Have you noticed that they have already issued statements that "protocols were violated", and yet they can't say "which ones".

      HEAR, HEAR!

      The PPE that the nurse was wearing should have been incinerated by now. There will be no proof!

      Delete
    7. Baysider,
      Dr. Frieden looked shell shocked today.

      Delete
    8. AOW...that's the word for Frieden today; I couldn't think what adjective to use. Like a deer in the headlights, this man is either WAAAY over his head, scared to DEATH, or all of the above.

      Delete
    9. "I think the fact that we don't know of a breach in protocol is concerning, because clearly there was a breach in protocol. We have the ability to prevent a spread in Ebola," said Frieden. (Tom Frieden, Head of the CDC).

      If you have NO idea if there was a breach. how can you conclude that there HAD to be one? That isn't "science". That's "faith".

      Delete
    10. A policeman sees a drunk man searching for something under a streetlight and asks what the drunk has lost. He says he lost his keys and they both look under the streetlight together. After a few minutes the policeman asks if he is sure he lost them here, and the drunk replies, no, and that he lost them in the park. The policeman asks why he is searching here, and the drunk replies, "this is where the light is."

      Dr. Frieden is suffering from the observational bias known as the "Streetlight effect".

      Delete
    11. Z,
      Dr. Frieden is scared, I think.

      He probably expected any new cases to come from the family with whom Thomas Eric Duncan was staying -- not show up in a protectively-garbed nurse at state-of-the-art Texas Presbyterian Hospital.

      We are clearly not in an epidemic. Yet. But we must understand that epidemics are slow to start. I hope to God that we do not have an Ebola epidemic here in the United States. I wonder what Dr. Frieden thinks now about that possibility -- in his heart of hearts (not in his public statements).

      Delete
    12. Anonymous @ October 12, 2014 at 5:23:00 PM EDT,
      If you have NO idea if there was a breach. how can you conclude that there HAD to be one? That isn't "science". That's "faith".

      You made an excellent point!

      Yes, the odds are that there was a breach. But how should "breach" be defined?

      Delete
  10. As SF mentioned above, use of the PPE takes practice, and the donning, doffing and decon protocols are time consuming. I have little doubt that the Nurse in question took a shortcut somewhere [barring fault in the PPE].

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Read my above comment PLEASE to AOW and SF

      Delete
    2. CI,
      I have little doubt that the Nurse in question took a shortcut somewhere [barring fault in the PPE].

      See my comment above. I don't think that she knowingly took a shortcut. I just can't imagine that!

      Delete
    3. I'm sorry that my statement implied only 'knowingly' and not unwittingly. I think either is equally possible. But this theory currently stands as the most plausible and probable.

      Delete
    4. CI,
      I'm not ticked off. Just want you to know that.

      Concerned -- yes.

      That poor woman and her family!

      Tough ol' broad that I am, I have a lot of empathy for those in medical trouble. For obvious reasons if you know some of my background.

      Delete
    5. I know! No worries.

      This issue is why I prep: Natural and man-made disasters, coupled with government malfeasance. I hope a silver lining to this [hopefully temporary] outbreak is that people take a closer look at their level of self reliance and their ability to mitigate the effects of hazards; instead of blindly trusting the media and the State [but I repeat myself].

      Delete
  11. Very disturbing news because the people who work with these cases should be sainted. This is tragic.
    That said, it's also moving past the time when his immediate relations would become symptomatic and nothing. It's pretty clear that the hospital somewhere breached protocol and that breach has to be located and closed.
    It's going to have to be done calmly and with help from Federal agencies.

    Meanwhile, a travel ban from Texas.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Duck,
      It's pretty clear that the hospital somewhere breached protocol and that breach has to be located and closed.

      The bottom line...The CDC facilities may be prepared; those personnel have had drills and practice in PPE. Regular hospitals are not prepared for Ebola, and it's very likely only a matter of time before more and more Ebola cases move into the domain of regular hospitals.

      Delete
    2. It's supposed to be 21 days, max, from past experience.
      I take comfort for our country that none of them is symptomatic. I think that's a good point. Obviously, I'm glad for them, too.
      And they'll be very rich in a couple of years; the normal time spent in courts as they decide that yes, Dallas Hospital was racist and he wasn't treated correctly for his color.
      Wait for it.
      Hard hearted? Probably. Realistic? Ya, sadly.

      as far as travel bans; at least England and France cared enough about their people. It's not like banning flights to Japan or Sydney. 150 people a week come into this country from the infected areas; why risk it?

      Delete
    3. Z,
      It's supposed to be 21 days, max, from past experience.

      According to the NIH is 2011:

      mean incubation period was estimated to be 12.7 days (standard deviation 4.31 days), indicating that about 4.1% of patients may have incubation periods longer than 21 days.

      and

      By combining a rigorously collected data set with a new approach for calculating infectious disease incubation periods, our results suggest that the standard assumption of a maximum incubation period of 21 days may be incorrect.

      The doctor who discovered Ebola in 1976 has recently opined that he is most concerned about a lengthening of that incubation period.

      Delete
    4. Well, Flamer unlike the Texas for profit hospital that sent a recent arrival from Liberia home with a couple of aspirins this patient was immediately quarantined at Beth Israel and will remain in isolation even though it's considered unlikely he is infected.

      Delete
    5. Ducky is a true leftwing progressive. Politicizes everything. If you think beth Israel doesn't need to make money to stay in business, like the Texas hospital, you are a fool.

      Delete
    6. Duck,
      Quit blaming the nurse! Quit blaming the hospital!

      Mr. Duncan was the "very unlikely" Patient Zero -- "very unlikely" according to Obama-messiah.

      I believe that it was back in August that Obama assured America that plans were being made to contain Ebola should it break out here in the United States. Blah, blah, blah. Plans were obviously not made, and, to date, very few training sessions for front-lines healthcare workers have been held.

      Furthermore, Mr. Duncan lied to her when he said he had not been around anyone who was sick.

      Delete
    7. I certainly do believe the hospital has questions to answer. Especially given that there is a significant Liberian population in the area, the were unprepared.

      I certainly don not blame the nurse. I think that what we'll find is that she had some contact removing the suit.
      As I wrote, these people should be sainted.

      Delete
  12. Ema,

    AOW does not panic. Both of us, run what I call busy "news desks". My news desk has tethers to Pakistan in two markets. But AOW is a formidable blogger in her own right. I consider her my colleague and friend.

    It was early morning when I called AOW - but I knew she would be up. The news had only emerged in the prior hour regarding a nurse with Ebola in Dallas. AOW and I have relentlessly tracked this story for weeks now. We call each other at any given hour of the day with breaking news. What you do not necessarily see on the blog is the hours of research (CDC, NIH, FluTrackers, Global Research) etc. which is done.

    Dallas? We are termed a "medical miracle" city. We have the Harris Methodist system, Presbyterian (with nearly 900 beds) Baylor Scott and White, Zale Lipshy, Southwestern Medical Center, etc. Our physicians have world renown and we receive global traffic in search of cutting edge treatments and technological advantage.

    So when a nurse on the front lines contracts Ebola in my city, be afraid.... be very afraid. We are not discussing a nurse who works in a small remote clinic in Alaska. Undoubtedly, this R.N. has had additional contact with clients, since the death of Patient Zero.

    Breach in protocol? We do not know for sure. PPE which is not BL4 level for a virus of this type, with a respirator which is also formidable against a spread of disease is a possibility. Scary version? There was no real breach in protocol. We have a virus which is evolving and adapting. Is it airborne? That is what I want to know.

    The following book has been on my shelf since it published. I suggest all with an interest, purchase the selection by Dr. Nathan Wolfe. It is written in a style that can be understood by a non-scientific mind.

    http://www.amazon.com/The-Viral-Storm-Dawn-Pandemic-ebook/dp/B004V9O58E

    We do not know at this point if we are at a "beginning of sorrows" scenario, in Biblical fashion. But here is the kicker about statistics. A statistic only matters if you are affected. The nurse with Ebola? She will not give a damn about the statistic. She will only know that she wants to live.

    Our POTUS? Dereliction of Duty, not standing his watch regarding Ebola.

    Tammy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tammy,
      Dallas? We are termed a "medical miracle" city.

      I wonder how many people outside of Texas know that? Many commenters on the web are saying things like "Boston is prepared" and "NYC is prepared" and "Los Angeles is prepared." Pfffft.

      This is Ebola, for pity's sake.

      Is this Ebola strainevolving and adapting? Probably, IMO. Those are the things that viruses specialize in.

      Undoubtedly, this R.N. has had additional contact with clients, since the death of Patient Zero.

      **sigh**

      Delete
    2. Bea Fowler said

      Personally, I can't wait for it to hit Boston, can you?

      Delete
    3. The Boston patient has tested negative.

      Delete
    4. Bea Fowler said

      The Boson patient tested negative?

      What a pity!

      Boston needs to get its comeuppance sooner not later.

      Delete
  13. Pretty soon they'll start sending in the suicide "ebola bombers". A quick trip to West Africa, immediate exposure to virus, and then same day plane tickets to NYC, Chicago and LA's red-light districts for 21 days of debauchery.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous,
      Pretty soon they'll start sending in the suicide "ebola bombers".

      No doubt.

      Delete
    2. Lisa,
      The plans are in the works. I've seen the information in several sources -- including Arab-new sources. Let's see where we are in another 6 months!

      Delete
  14. Great link! It's a must read if anyone missed it.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Baysider,
    I've added that link to my files. **wink**

    ReplyDelete
  16. From Cities, states scramble after Dallas's Ebola missteps expose planning gaps (published 1 hour ago):

    NEW YORK (Reuters) - The missteps in Dallas's handling of the first Ebola case diagnosed in the United States have revealed an uncomfortable reality: state and city plans for handling the deadly virus are based on generic recommendations for everything from measles to floods, to hurricanes and dirty bombs.

    Even before Sunday's news that a health worker who treated the Dallas case had herself contracted the disease, officials acknowledged they need to do more.

    Reuters checks with health departments in six states and cities that have large West African communities, Philadelphia, Boston, New York City, Minnesota, New Jersey, Maryland and Rhode Island, show that they are scrambling to adapt those generic plans to Ebola.

    If they are not able to stay one step ahead of any cases, then lapses that characterized Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan’s treatment in Dallas could recur. In the Texas case that led to unnecessary exposure to the victim.

    [...]

    n terms of preparedness around the United States, there is a lot to do: hospital drills, 911 emergency operator guidelines, quarantine rules, even details such as checking that plastic body bags meet the minimal thickness - 150 micrometers - recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    “It takes a certain amount of reverse engineering to get the plan to where it can respond to new, emerging threats,” said political scientist Chris Nelson, an expert on public health systems at Rand Corp.

    While departments contacted by Reuters said they were confident they would be able to identify, treat and contain Ebola, "nobody is charged with reviewing all 2,800 departments' plans," said Jack Herrmann, chief of public health programs at the National Association of County & City Health Officials....


    In other words, its crisis-management mode.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I mentioned crisis-management mode because I worked in a school operating in that mode. All those brush fires to put out! Much stress, much unhappiness, much turnover of personnel.

      Delete
    2. And it gets worse!

      According to National Nurses United, 76 percent of nurses surveyed say their hospital has not communicated to them any policy regarding potential admission of Ebola patients, 85 percent say their hospital has not provided education sessions where nurses can ask questions, and just over one-third say their hospital has insufficient supplies of face shields and impermeable gowns.

      Delete
  17. Replies
    1. Duck,
      There is a significant risk in transporting Ebola victims. Of course, we don't know if these individuals in the article have Ebola. But it they do and the transporting vehicles are subsequently used or improperly cleaned, there is a risk to the next patient(s). Not to mention the transporting personnel involved! The photos in that link do not show personnel wearing bio-suits.

      We need to pray that neither of those people transported actually have Ebola.

      Delete
  18. Understand this, a basic principal of epidemiology:

    One more Ebola patient traceable to Mr. Duncan, Patient Zero, and Ebola is not under control.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Possibly some good news:

    Before her trip to the emergency room, officials said, the nurse had not been at work for two days.

    The apartment complex where she was living is more problematic. It looks to be an older home converted to apartments with common areas. A common kitchen! See the photos HERE.

    ReplyDelete
  20. The unvarnished truth:

    The protocols can't be sufficient, if someone following them gets infected despite them.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Replies
    1. The Democrap party has wrecked the country on every level.

      All they have left is "Hey, look over there!"

      Delete
  22. Been trying on my app since yesterday to no avail... but I just feel there is only one way to stop this spreading without a vaccine... and it sure the heck isn't sending 3,000 of our troops for the purpose they were sent. Just sayin'...

    ReplyDelete
  23. 1.5 billion to study lesbian obesity

    ReplyDelete
  24. I always knew Obama was behind this

    ReplyDelete
  25. Lisa,
    One of my non-blogging friends avers the following: "Obama is the linchpin for destroying America."

    ReplyDelete
  26. One paragraph from the above:

    [T]he Obama administration has focused the CDC on other priorities. While protecting Americans from infectious diseases received only $180 million from the Prevention Fund, the community transformation grant program received nearly three times as much money—$517.3 million over the same five-year period.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Oh don't I know it AOW Didn't take long to figure that out

    ReplyDelete
  28. Nina Pham, R.N. is the nurse with Ebola. Her boyfriend, works for Alcon in Fort Worth and is now hospitalized. Unsubstantiated report is that his parents also work for Alcon.

    ReplyDelete

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