Ebola: It’s NOT Going Away
Yesterday I was visiting with my wonderful friend and an outstanding blogger, Alan Caruba, and we both remarked how tired we were of the endless news cycle of *All Ebola, All the Time* and how we both felt that we needed to take a break from blogging the stories because, in addition to personally being tired of it we’re both pretty sure that our readers tire of it as well.
Then, this morning the first thing I see is this headline, Officials: 2nd person tests positive for Ebola, that would be a 2nd confirmed case of Ebola right here in the Dallas area and immediately after reading it I find this headline, New Ebola Cases May Soon Reach 10,000 a Week, Officials Predict . Maybe they mean in Africa, but unless the USA gets a grip on this, and I mean soon, it could easily be us.
I’m not the *nervous Nellie* type, not by any stretch of the imagination, but I have little faith in the U.S. government or the CDC in this case, and am seriously having doubts about the cleanliness of hospitals and the preparedness of the institutions, their administrators and employees.
In THIS POST on Oct. 8th I opined about MY concerns with the possibility of Ebola being transmitted in an airborne fashion.
Imagine my surprise when I found the following post today.
Medical Research Org CIDRAP: Ebola Transmittable by Air
by Chriss W. Street 14 Oct 2014 1148 post a comment
The highly respected Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota just advised the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) that “there is scientific and epidemiologic evidence that Ebola virus has the potential to be transmitted via infectious aerosol particles,” including exhaled breath.
CIDRAP is warning that surgical facemasks do not prevent transmission of Ebola, and healthcare professionals (HCP) must immediately be outfitted with full-hooded protective gear and powered air-purifying respirators.
CIDRAP since 2001 has been a global leader in addressing public health preparedness regarding emerging infectious diseases and bio-security responses. CIDRAP’s opinion on Ebola virus is there are “No proven pre- or post-exposure treatment modalities;” “A high case-fatality rate;” and “Unclear modes of transmission.”
In April of 2014, CIDRAP published a commentary on Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) that confirmed the disease “could be an aerosol-transmissible disease, especially in healthcare settings,” similar to the known aerosol transmission capability of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
Although CIDRAP acknowledges that they were “first skeptical that Ebola virus could be an aerosol-transmissible disease,” they are “now persuaded by a review of experimental and epidemiologic data that this might be an important feature of disease transmission, particularly in healthcare settings.”
CDC’s published “Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations for Hospitalized Patients with Known or Suspected Ebola Virus Disease in U.S. Hospitals” states: “HCP should wear gloves, a gown, disposable shoe covers, and either a face shield that fully covers the front and sides of the face or goggles, and respiratory protection that is at least as protective as a NIOSH certified fit-tested N95 filtering facepiece respirator.”
N95 filters look like surgical masks and are defined by the U.S. Department of Labor as “disposable respirator” with a workplace protection factor (WPF) of 10. A 3M “qualified” N95 respirators rated to block 95% of airborne particles with a size greater in diameter than 5 microns is can cost as little as $.65 each.
However, the US National Institutes of Health reported in 2005 that 50% of bio-aerosols were found to be less than 5 microns in diameter. The NIH calculated that after correcting for dead space and lung deposition, “N95 filtering facepiece respirators seem inadequate against microorganisms.”
CIDRAP warns in regards to N95 respirators, “Healthcare workers have experienced very high rates of morbidity and mortality in the past and current Ebola virus outbreaks. A facemask, or surgical mask, offers no or very minimal protection from infectious aerosol particles.”
CIDRAP is now advising the CDC and WHO that proper “personal protective equipment (PPE) ensures that healthcare workers remain healthy throughout an outbreak.” Based on scientific research, CIDRAP recommends the minimum protection for healthcare professionals in high-risk settings is a “powered air-purifying respirator (PAPR) with a hood or helmet” that will filter 99.97% of all particles down to 0.3 microns in diameter.
But the minimum Internet-advertised price for a “qualified” 3M Veraflo respirator is $427.13, compared to about $.65 for an N95 facemask. With Liberia’s per capita GDP only $454 last year and the economy in shambles, there is no way the country’s healthcare professionals can afford to acquire the appropriate protective respirators.
Based on CIDRAP’s research and the fact that Ebola cases are projected to skyrocket, it seems irresponsible that the New York Times and other mainstream media outlets are downplaying the risks of Ebola transmission.
Less than two weeks ago, the NYT’s “Well” column responded to a reader’s question: “Can I get Ebola from public transportation?” with “Implying that Ebola is caught as easily as flu or colds would be untrue and inflammatory.” The “Well” column, again on October 13th, responded to another question: “I’m flying soon. What is the risk of contracting Ebola on a flight?” with “Top Ebola experts have said they would not expect to be infected even if they were sitting next to another passenger with Ebola – unless that passenger actually vomited or bled on them.”
As I pointed out last week at Breitbart News, the Black Death that killed a third of all people in Europe and the Middle East in the three years from 1337 to 1340 appears to have been a “hemorrhagic fever” similar to Ebola. CIDRAP’s warning that Ebola can be spread by “infectious aerosol particles,” such as breathing, means the pandemic should be expected to continue to accelerate. Breitbart.com
It seems I was ahead of the curve on this one, perhaps my concerns are warranted and not at all *farfetched* as some seem to believe.
My friends, I have NO idea what lies ahead, not if this thing were to go full-blown in an airborne epidemic, but I do know this; whatever happens will not be good and at this point in time NO President can save America from Ebola, the only hope is that some medical genius comes up with a miracle vaccine and that CDC and the U.S. Food and Drug administration would allow its production and for it to be dispersed to healthcare providers to be used individually.
A good post about bad news Fred. I think that we are seeing the October surprise whether the administration likes it or not. When good men do nothing or so the phrase goes.
Hospital protocol for sterilization and cleanliness is a most important aspect. But you’ve been to the front desk and triage before huh? I read one of those taking the information didn’t know Liberia was an African Nation. Surprise.
The truth is that other than a handful of Hospitals are equipped to handle Ebola patients. Emory for one has a unit, as well as a handful of others. This is where the patients need to be treated. To expect that hospitals will be able to come up to speed to POSSIBLE handle Level 4 bio protocols will cost millions. The treatment as well. 20 dedicated staff with a lab at the minimum? Negative Air pressure for ultimate control? This will totally bankrupt Hospitals. The military trains for Bio-terrorism and as such has facilities to handle these cases as well. Let these facilities take care of these patients. In addition. Have a room set aside outside the Hospital to triage all patients. If any are possible carriers, they should be taken care of and sent to these facilities.
Now I see that for the first two days of his admission, no one wore any special protective gear until he was officially diagnosed with Ebola. So even though they knew he was symptomatic AND from a country hot with ebola, no one had the brains to err on the side of caution and require full personal protective gear. Then, to compound folly, instead of keeping a close watch on those same staff, ie., keeping them home, they let them go hither and yon, flying the friendly skies…
The more I read about the way this is being managed, it seems more and more as if procedures are being made up as they go along. Nothing so far convinces me that there has been any concerted effort to prepare for ‘what if’. What I see is a lack of organization, perhaps due to the propaganda that we are being fed that there is no risk of a major outbreak here. Well, if a big hospital in Dallas is having this much trouble responding to an Ebola case, can you imagine a community hospital in Small Town, USA? How could one of them possibly cope?
NBC Nightly News ?@NBCNightlyNews
CDC director says from now on, people being monitored for possible Ebola symptoms will not be allowed to travel on commercial flights
As I said, making it up as they go along.