Ebola scare?

[jetta8300]

Regardless, they still aren't likely to be in tourist areas. I work for CBP, I'm fully aware that people come to visit family members. I've processed enough of them to be aware of it. I can tell you that the vast majority of people that are traveling to visit family are not the people that are in a situation to catch Ebola.

 

Let me ask you this: Have you seen the pictures of the areas that are being hit by Ebola? The vast majority of these people aren't traveling, whether it's to visit family or to go on vacation. They can't afford electricity, running water, or toilets, let alone an international ticket. The reason that Ebola is hitting in these regions so badly is, in part, due to extreme poverty, which is correlated with extremely poor sanitation, traditional burial practices and the fact that the families tend to care for their ill relatives.

 

All "3rd world countries" are not equal in their "3rd-world-ness." Compare Liberia to one of the countries that you mentioned. Statistically, Liberians are far, far worse off than the citizens of any of those countries that you mentioned. The only statistics where Liberians are doing better is that they spend less money on healthcare (although, with the current crisis, that's not actually a good thing), consumption of oil, and consumption of electricity (due to lack of infrastructure). We're talking decades shorter life-spans, much higher birth rates and infant mortality rates, far lower incomes, etc. (That's per www.ifitweremyhome.com, for whomever is interested, since it's a pretty cool website to compare the standings of different countries.) I'm pretty sure someone would probably have a better outcome from Ebola in all the countries that you mentioned than in Liberia. Since the virus has a death toll of up to 90%, we'd be hearing about it if it were spreading throughout the Caribbean, since a bunch of people suddenly keeling over in countries with high tourism usually hits the news pretty quickly.

 

To freak out to the extent of canceling a cruise that spends a day in each port for the fear of Ebola traveling across the world and you happening to come into contact with someone that's contagious is just paranoia. You're far more likely to be injured in a scooter accident, drown, or be attacked in port while in the Caribbean than to catch Ebola.

 

I understand what you're saying, however Thomas Eric Duncan was a traveler, visiting family, and had Ebola. So it CAN and DOES happen, just did. And I'm not saying it will happen frequently. But all it takes is one person to go down there, and not get good care. Just ONE. You see what kind of chaos it caused in the US, and how difficult even ONE person was to contain HERE. My point is that ONE person can throw a third world country into much more chaos that it could here in the US.

 

Thomas Duncan possibly didn't live in these poor areas that you mention in Liberia, I'm not sure (he could afford a plane ticket so I doubt it). But he shared a cab with a dying pregnant woman with Ebola. He then carried her into a hospital to try to get her care. The hospital was full, she died. He got Ebola from it. He didn't have to LIVE in the slums to catch it, he got it anyway. Then got in a plane, came here, and started showing symptoms later. (not to mention vomited all over the street and the EMT's who transported him to the hospital).

 

The OP isn't asking about cancelling a cruise. She's asking if they will re-route to different destinations if there is a certain port that is possibly dangerous. And some people were jumping in saying that the Caribbean has nothing to do with West Africa, and I'm saying, that it DOES. Because until this thing is contained in West Africa, it will continue to pop up everywhere else in the world. You will always have that ONE person who lied on their forms to get on that plane, and potentially infect others. And it will be worse once it starts to pop up in areas with poor medical care.

 

In addition to that, I'm not sure we would necessarially know right away if people were keeling over in the Caribbean. We may, but I think that's something they would try and keep quiet as long as possible, or cover that up if possible. Just sayin. :rolleyes:

Edited October 11, 2014 by jetta8300

[AmberTeka]

I don't know about that, I think about how many ships I've been on with the noro virus and how fast it spreads. Seeing some of the habits of people in the restrooms, leads me to believe any communicable disease can spread quickly. I have caught nasty respiratorty infections on a ship. Nothing will surprise me.

 

I agree with you. I am confused. "They" say that it cannot be spread by air. Then "they say that if someone coughs on you, even a tiny drop of their spit..or sputum , if it lands on you, you touch it and then touch a muccus area...mouth, eyes, nose..then you are at high risk to catch it..... That is not air borne in that it does not hang in the air like TB, but you caught it by standing close to someone with in a three foot radius. You stand that close in a grocery line. So.confusing to me.

 

The nurse in Spain is said to have seen the dying priest only twice. Wearing protocal protection. They say that she must have gotten a microscopic bit of feces on her glove tape when she changed his diaper. Then touched her face. That does not sound like it is all that hard to get.

 

CDC said..cannot catch by contact with seats..inanimate things.... Then told anyone going to Africa stay away from public transportation.

 

Wise voices on this post. I hope someone has explanations for the non medical professionals.

 

And I agree. Better to err on the side of caution than haste. This genie is not going to be put back into the bottle.

Edited October 11, 2014 by AmberTeka

[ldlewis45]

I understand what you're saying, however Thomas Eric Duncan was a traveler, visiting family, and had Ebola. So it CAN and DOES happen, just did. And I'm not saying it will happen frequently. But all it takes is one person to go down there, and not get good care. Just ONE. You see what kind of chaos it caused in the US, and how difficult even ONE person was to contain HERE. My point is that ONE person can throw a third world country into much more chaos that it could here in the US.

 

Thomas Duncan possibly didn't live in these poor areas that you mention in Liberia, I'm not sure (he could afford a plane ticket so I doubt it). But he shared a cab with a dying pregnant woman with Ebola. He then carried her into a hospital to try to get her care. The hospital was full, she died. He got Ebola from it. He didn't have to LIVE in the slums to catch it, he got it anyway. Then got in a plane, came here, and started showing symptoms later. (not to mention vomited all over the street and the EMT's who transported him to the hospital).

 

The OP isn't asking about cancelling a cruise. She's asking if they will re-route to different destinations if there is a certain port that is possibly dangerous. And some people were jumping in saying that the Caribbean has nothing to do with West Africa, and I'm saying, that it DOES. Because until this thing is contained in West Africa, it will continue to pop up everywhere else in the world. You will always have that ONE person who lied on their forms to get on that plane, and potentially infect others. And it will be worse once it starts to pop up in areas with poor medical care.

 

In addition to that, I'm not sure we would necessarially know right away if people were keeling over in the Caribbean. We may, but I think that's something they would try and keep quiet as long as possible, or cover that up if possible. Just sayin. :rolleyes:

I understand what you're saying, but if you read back through what I wrote, I never said that someone with the disease couldn't make it to the Caribbean. I always stated that it was possible, albeit extremely unlikely. To be perfectly honest, I am more worried about myself at work (again, I work with CBP) than I am about catching Ebola while I'm on a cruise in the Caribbean. And I also think that if the disease were to get to the Caribbean, things would have to be desperate there for the cruise lines to alter course. I mean, look at what happened with the violence in Central America. There had to be tourists shot and people hung from bridges before they removed some of the ports from itineraries.

[jetta8300]

I agree with you. I am confused. "They" say that it cannot be spread by air. Then "they say that if someone coughs on you, even a tiny drop of their spit..or sputum , if it lands on you, you touch it and then touch a muccus area...mouth, eyes, nose..then you are at high risk to catch it..... That is not air borne in that it does not hang in the air like TB, but you caught it by standing close to someone with in a three foot radius. You stand that close in a grocery line. So.confusing to me.

 

The nurse in Spain is said to have seen the dying priest only twice. Wearing protocal protection. They say that she must have gotten a microscopic bit of feces on her glove tape when she changed his diaper. Then touched her face. That does not sound like it is all that hard to get.

 

CDC said..cannot catch by contact with seats..inanimate things.... Then told anyone going to Africa stay away from public transportation.

 

Wise voices on this post. I hope someone has explanations for the non medical professionals.

 

And I agree. Better to err on the side of caution than haste. This genie is not going to be put back into the bottle.

 

EXACTLY. It seems like everyone is just kind of guessing how hard it is to get. They know how it's transmitted, but not really how difficult it is to spread, and how concentrated the virus is in the different bodily fluids at different points in the disease state.

 

I will feel a lot better about my chances of contracting it if the Dallas patient's family does not come down with the illness. They shared the apartment with him for days while he was symptomatic, and then for days after in the dirty apartment. If none of them have it, I will feel much better about it being difficult to contract.

[jetta8300]

I understand what you're saying, but if you read back through what I wrote, I never said that someone with the disease couldn't make it to the Caribbean. I always stated that it was possible, albeit extremely unlikely. To be perfectly honest, I am more worried about myself at work (again, I work with CBP) than I am about catching Ebola while I'm on a cruise in the Caribbean. And I also think that if the disease were to get to the Caribbean, things would have to be desperate there for the cruise lines to alter course. I mean, look at what happened with the violence in Central America. There had to be tourists shot and people hung from bridges before they removed some of the ports from itineraries.

 

My husband and I both are in medical sales and we both set foot in about 13 different medical facilities a day, hospitals and physicians offices. On top of it we have a 15 month old who has his mouth on EVERYTHING, and a few ER nurses between our family and friends. So we are a bit concerned.

[ldlewis45]

My husband and I both are in medical sales and we both set foot in about 13 different medical facilities a day, hospitals and physicians offices. On top of it we have a 15 month old who has his mouth on EVERYTHING, and a few ER nurses between our family and friends. So we are a bit concerned.

But with your job, there is ALWAYS the risk of coming into contact with a contagious, possibly deadly disease, and bringing it back to your family. You never know which disease the patients in those facilities are infected with or whether they are contagious. I would hope that you were already taking precautions against diseases that are transmitted through bodily fluids.

Edited October 11, 2014 by ldlewis45

[jetta8300]

But with your job, there is ALWAYS the risk of coming into contact with a contagious, possibly deadly disease, and bringing it back to your family. You never know which disease the patients in those facilities are infected with or whether they are contagious. I would hope that you were already taking precautions against diseases that are transmitted through bodily fluids.

 

 

Definitely, I come into contact with many things, but not many diseases that have a 50+ percentage mortality rate. Not even comparable.

 

 

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[Orison]

Second person in Texas with Ebola.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/questor/11155078/Questor-share-tip-Sell-Carnival-as-Ebola-fears-hit-sector.html

Edited October 12, 2014 by Orison

[Nic6318]

But with your job, there is ALWAYS the risk of coming into contact with a contagious, possibly deadly disease, and bringing it back to your family. You never know which disease the patients in those facilities are infected with or whether they are contagious. I would hope that you were already taking precautions against diseases that are transmitted through bodily fluids.

 

It's easy enough for any disease to get out of control if not dealt with at the onset. The predictions are for an exponential doubling of infected persons every 3 wks. That is why the world has been asked to help immediately in the affected African countries.

 

Only today it is now being reported on the news that a health care worker in Texas has been tested positive for Ebola. Now they have to determine who that person has come in contact with. Granted the U.S is not Africa and we all hope that this can be contained, but you can see how easily something like this can get out of control. Just think...who have you come in contact with in the last few weeks.

[RuthlessBoss]

EXACTLY. It seems like everyone is just kind of guessing how hard it is to get. They know how it's transmitted, but not really how difficult it is to spread, and how concentrated the virus is in the different bodily fluids at different points in the disease state.

 

I will feel a lot better about my chances of contracting it if the Dallas patient's family does not come down with the illness. They shared the apartment with him for days while he was symptomatic, and then for days after in the dirty apartment. If none of them have it, I will feel much better about it being difficult to contract.

 

So far no public reports of the family being symptomatic, yet a healthcare worker has come back positive. (and that worker had less exposure to Duncan than the family did):confused:

[Kristi Williamson]

So far no public reports of the family being symptomatic, yet a healthcare worker has come back positive. (and that worker had less exposure to Duncan than the family did):confused:

 

What bothers me about the health care worker is that the CDC just made a statement that "they aren't sure what happened, but protocol was breached". So, if they don't know what happened, how do they know protocol was breached? And if it was breached and they "know" this, why not just say HOW it was breached? Shouldn't they have the tiniest bit of concern that perhaps they should verify and test to make sure the virus isn't mutating? It happens to virtually every virus that eventually works its way into a human host.

 

I also find it VERY weird that we haven't heard much from the people that lived with Duncan since they "quarantined" them in another location. Speaking via Skype isn't contagious and you know every news station in the world wants to interview them. Why are they being kept silent? Or are they on Dallas media and I just haven't seen it?

[Seago2]

So far no public reports of the family being symptomatic, yet a healthcare worker has come back positive. (and that worker had less exposure to Duncan than the family did):confused:

 

I don't get it either. I know the further the disease progresses the more contagious it is but he was still very symptomatic when he was in the apartment.

 

Dr. Frieden, in the news conference, said that skin is a route of transmission. I think I've read everything but that's the first time I've heard that. Nice. They walk the line between informing and inciting but I'd rather be informed.

[Disconnections]

[RuthlessBoss]

CNN had a blurb on someone is at a hospital in Boston with Ebola like symptoms. He'd been in Liberia. It hasn't been confirmed.

[andy.capitan]

There are many who think the CDC is lying about what they do and don't know about the disease. Many more don't think they know as much about the disease as they think they do. And here are always mutations.

[andy.capitan]

Ebola in the air - it could happen

 

http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/12/health/ebola-airborne/index.html?iid=article_sidebar

[elliair]

Second person in Texas with Ebola.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/questor/11155078/Questor-share-tip-Sell-Carnival-as-Ebola-fears-hit-sector.html

 

I heard that on the news this morning. I really think either the CDC doesn't know how easy or hard it is to catch or, they are blaming the nurse of doing something against protocol. Easy to put the blame on someone when they really have no clue themselves. I heard that it can stay in a mans sperm for 3 months, I also heard it can live on surfaces for several hours. Is this to confuse the public? Listening to the CDC doctor this morming, I've come to the conclusion that he really doesn't even know how deadly this disease is. That in itself is freaky. IMHO, it is rampant in Africa. It got started and has mutated into 3 different diseases beginning with AIDS. You can catch communicable diseases through droplets in the air. If this disease is airborne (which I have my own opinion of), then regardless of how careful you are about touching stuff and touching your face, you still can get it if exposed. Ever study the Spanish flu and how it spread? Just pay attention and use common sense. JMHO.

[elliair]

Ebola in the air - it could happen

 

http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/12/health/ebola-airborne/index.html?iid=article_sidebar

 

But some of the nation's top infectious disease experts worry that this deadly virus could mutate and be transmitted just by a cough or a sneeze.

 

I'm no expert but this is exactly what I thought. Aids, Marburg, now Ebola. What's next, each one gets worse.

Edited October 12, 2014 by elliair

[guxu]

Second person in Texas with Ebola.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/questor/11155078/Questor-share-tip-Sell-Carnival-as-Ebola-fears-hit-sector.html

 

As far as we know, that nurse was wearing full protection suit too. Tell her Ebola is just a 3rd world countries problem and washing hands will keep her from catching Ebola.

[Not_Done_Living]

Ebola has been around for centuries. More people die of the flu each year than have died of Ebola. Remember SARS?

[elliair]

Ebola has been around for centuries. More people die of the flu each year than have died of Ebola. Remember SARS?

 

Are you sure about that? Do we have any accounts earlier than 1970?

 

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/insight/2014/10/12/1-fatal-discovery.html

[pearose]

Now I am starting to believe it is a lot easier to catch ebola than they are making it seem. There is a police officer that is now in the hospital with possible ebola, so lets see how this plays out. If in fact he has it then we will know it is a lot easier to catch then they have originally stated. He went to the home in Texas to serve papers after the sick patient was already at the hospital. Im pretty sure he didn't touch any bodily fluids that were left behind by the patient. :eek:

 

Thankfully he was proven not to have it. But just today, they announced one of the healthcare workers who took care of the patient who died, has now tested positive for it. She developed a low grade fever Friday night and was admitted and tested positive for Ebola. They believe she breached protocol in taking care of him.

[luvtheships]

Thankfully he was proven not to have it. But just today, they announced one of the healthcare workers who took care of the patient who died, has now tested positive for it. She developed a low grade fever Friday night and was admitted and tested positive for Ebola. They believe she breached protocol in taking care of him.

 

Breached protocol? Until they say exactly what sort of protocol procedure this nurse breached.... I think saying " breached protocol" is just a CYA for the hospital. Looks like they want to blame the nurse.

 

However I would bet that there is enough blame for everyone involved to take a piece

 

 

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Edited October 13, 2014 by luvtheships

[papillon cruiser]

Breached protocol? Until they say exactly what sort of protocol procedure this nurse breached.... I think saying " breached protocol" is just a CYA for the hospital. Looks like they want to blame the nurse.

 

However I would bet that there is enough blame for everyone involved to take a piece

 

 

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Exactly easier to blame one person. I wonder how many nurses have been taught protocol. NOT MANY. I am a federal nurse and we do have a protocol but not one nurse has had formal training as of today.

[princess di44]

Exactly...have taken care of a lot of patients are diagnosed days after we have taken care of them. Happens all the time. Of course the nurse will be blamed regardless if she followed protocol or not. Would be hard to believe a nurse wouldn't be extra careful in a situation like this

 

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