Official Ebola update thread

[Anonymous]

Lol 11:28. Happy Halloween

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you trust the opinion of these folks?

STANFORD, Calif. (AP) -- Top medical experts studying the spread of Ebola say the public should expect more cases to emerge in the United States by year's end as infected people arrive here from West Africa, including American doctors and nurses returning from the hot zone and people fleeing from the deadly disease.

But how many cases?

No one knows for sure how many infections will emerge in the U.S. or anywhere else, but scientists have made educated guesses based on data models that weigh hundreds of variables, including daily new infections in West Africa, airline traffic worldwide and transmission possibilities.

This week, several top infectious disease experts ran simulations for The Associated Press that predicted as few as one or two additional infections by the end of 2014 to a worst-case scenario of 130.

"I don't think there's going to be a huge outbreak here, no," said Dr. David Relman, a professor of infectious disease, microbiology and immunology at Stanford University's medical school. "However, as best we can tell right now, it is quite possible that every major city will see at least a handful of cases."

...
These predictions may be okay with some people; due to law of averages your chance of contracting Ebola is slim. Especially if you don't live in a large city. It's not okay with my family. We have a lot of nurses and with the 2-day Kaiser strike for safer Ebola training set for next month, I am very concerned as to what will happen if we get the worst-case scenario-- cases in the hundreds and nurses start refusing to treat.

We’re only talking about Ebola to the degree that we are now because an uninsured Ebola patient in Texas received minimal attention and was sent home, allowing the disease to gain strength in his body and threaten a continent. For 38 years we sat on our hands, thinking Ebola only affected Africa. Call it racism, greed by a for profit healthcare system or just indifference. Once upon a time, such indifference would never have come home to roost but, the world is a lot smaller now.

Economic injustice, environmental injustice or just depraved indifference to human life, eventually impacts us all. Now, with insurance companies writing Ebola out of renewed/new polices, the for profit model of healthcare/pharmaceutical will ultimately fail at keeping us safe.

[Anonymous]

Attorney General Buddy Caldwell announced Friday the state had reached a deal to keep Ebola waste ashes out of a Lake Charles landfill.

Caldwell got a temporary restraining order to keep Texas incinerator Veolia Environmental Services from disposing of the ashes at Louisiana hazardous waste landfill run by Chemical Waste Management.

The ashes were all that remained of the incinerated belongings of Thomas Eric Duncan, who died of the Ebola virus in Dallas. Though the ashes posed no risk to humans, according to the Centers for Disease Control, Caldwell argued too many things were unknown about the virus to risk bringing it to Louisiana.

The agreement between Caldwell, Veolia and CWM states the ashes will not be transported to nor disposed in Louisiana. The TRO is dissolved.

"I am pleased today's agreement ends this chapter in the controversy of the transportation and disposal of Ebola waste," Caldwell said.

It wasn't immediately known late Friday evening where the ashes will be taken instead.

Caldwell got the restraining order on Oct. 13, the same day officials the waste management company announced it would not accept the ashes to avoid making "an already complicated situation, more complicated."

http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/10/agreement_reached_to_keep_ebol.html

What a bunch of dumb asses. Really? Ebola is going to live after being incinerated.

[Anonymous]

I really do not find it reassuring that various internet posters think that the science is black and white, while people actually in the field see it as much more gray. Sure does seem to make people feel good to say that anyone who disagrees with them or feels the situation is ambiguous is "anti-science."

[Anonymous]

The issues is that we absolutely do not have definitive evidence or science on transmission. There have been no controlled studies on humans (because it would be incredibly unethical). There have been only a few animal studies and they have not been replicated to ensure reliability and validity. Kaci Hickox is right that we don't have evidence to state that she is infectious right now. However, what she fails to comprehend is that we also don't have definitive evidence to state that she is NOT infectious.

On another note, her room-mate from her time in Africa has just been diagnosed with Ebola. That person also has no idea how he/she got infected while caring for patients.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A fixed idea is a belief that will not move, no matter what the evidence. The person who believes that medical workers should be locked up has a fixed idea, that probably started with "the CDC is lying to us" and we all need a safe house for the post-apocalyptic Ebola-scape. There were quite a few of those folks in the beginning but they've drifted away as the facts got in the way of their fears. I think there's just one poster left with the fixed idea that there's some kind of significant threat to us ( as opposed to the truly threatened people in Africa).

As for staying away from health workers -- obviously thats your choice. Given the reporters who were swarming around her and in her face, I get the sense that not a lot of people think thats necessary.

So you would have no problem with restaurants refusing her at the door? Would she pitch a fit?

Tbe CDC was indeed misleading the public initially. They were called on it and have since adapted their talking points

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The issues is that we absolutely do not have definitive evidence or science on transmission. There have been no controlled studies on humans (because it would be incredibly unethical). There have been only a few animal studies and they have not been replicated to ensure reliability and validity. Kaci Hickox is right that we don't have evidence to state that she is infectious right now. However, what she fails to comprehend is that we also don't have definitive evidence to state that she is NOT infectious.

On another note, her room-mate from her time in Africa has just been diagnosed with Ebola. That person also has no idea how he/she got infected while caring for patients.

That's quite 'another note'. Thank you for posting this. SHickox just got bitch-slapped by karma

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Attorney General Buddy Caldwell announced Friday the state had reached a deal to keep Ebola waste ashes out of a Lake Charles landfill.

Caldwell got a temporary restraining order to keep Texas incinerator Veolia Environmental Services from disposing of the ashes at Louisiana hazardous waste landfill run by Chemical Waste Management.

The ashes were all that remained of the incinerated belongings of Thomas Eric Duncan, who died of the Ebola virus in Dallas. Though the ashes posed no risk to humans, according to the Centers for Disease Control, Caldwell argued too many things were unknown about the virus to risk bringing it to Louisiana.

The agreement between Caldwell, Veolia and CWM states the ashes will not be transported to nor disposed in Louisiana. The TRO is dissolved.

"I am pleased today's agreement ends this chapter in the controversy of the transportation and disposal of Ebola waste," Caldwell said.

It wasn't immediately known late Friday evening where the ashes will be taken instead.

Caldwell got the restraining order on Oct. 13, the same day officials the waste management company announced it would not accept the ashes to avoid making "an already complicated situation, more complicated."

http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/10/agreement_reached_to_keep_ebol.html

What a bunch of dumb asses. Really? Ebola is going to live after being incinerated.

Coastal La between Lake Charles and Lafayette has been called "cancer alley" for years. Google it. Anyway, Louisianians are an odd bunch. They have always had local corruption in their local government, and the Fed response to Katrina (remember "Heck of a job, Brownie?") was a joke. It makes sense that they aren't going to agree to take on more problems by accepting another state's medical waste. Why should Texas' medical waste cross state lines? Bury it in the desert. Don't complicate matters by bringing it to another state.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I really do not find it reassuring that various internet posters think that the science is black and white, while people actually in the field see it as much more gray. Sure does seem to make people feel good to say that anyone who disagrees with them or feels the situation is ambiguous is "anti-science."

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The issues is that we absolutely do not have definitive evidence or science on transmission. There have been no controlled studies on humans (because it would be incredibly unethical). There have been only a few animal studies and they have not been replicated to ensure reliability and validity. Kaci Hickox is right that we don't have evidence to state that she is infectious right now. However, what she fails to comprehend is that we also don't have definitive evidence to state that she is NOT infectious.

On another note, her room-mate from her time in Africa has just been diagnosed with Ebola. That person also has no idea how he/she got infected while caring for patients.

That's quite 'another note'. Thank you for posting this. SHickox just got bitch-slapped by karma

Link?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The issues is that we absolutely do not have definitive evidence or science on transmission. There have been no controlled studies on humans (because it would be incredibly unethical). There have been only a few animal studies and they have not been replicated to ensure reliability and validity. Kaci Hickox is right that we don't have evidence to state that she is infectious right now. However, what she fails to comprehend is that we also don't have definitive evidence to state that she is NOT infectious.

On another note, her room-mate from her time in Africa has just been diagnosed with Ebola. That person also has no idea how he/she got infected while caring for patients.

That's quite 'another note'. Thank you for posting this. SHickox just got bitch-slapped by karma

Link?

One of many.
http://wagmtv.com/state-of-maine-document-reports-kaci-hickoxs-roommate-in-africa-developed-ebola/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The issues is that we absolutely do not have definitive evidence or science on transmission. There have been no controlled studies on humans (because it would be incredibly unethical). There have been only a few animal studies and they have not been replicated to ensure reliability and validity. Kaci Hickox is right that we don't have evidence to state that she is infectious right now. However, what she fails to comprehend is that we also don't have definitive evidence to state that she is NOT infectious.

On another note, her room-mate from her time in Africa has just been diagnosed with Ebola. That person also has no idea how he/she got infected while caring for patients.

We have decades of studying Ebola in the field. We know as much about this as we do smallpox and much more than SARS or enterovirus 68.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The issues is that we absolutely do not have definitive evidence or science on transmission. There have been no controlled studies on humans (because it would be incredibly unethical). There have been only a few animal studies and they have not been replicated to ensure reliability and validity. Kaci Hickox is right that we don't have evidence to state that she is infectious right now. However, what she fails to comprehend is that we also don't have definitive evidence to state that she is NOT infectious.

On another note, her room-mate from her time in Africa has just been diagnosed with Ebola. That person also has no idea how he/she got infected while caring for patients.

That's quite 'another note'. Thank you for posting this. SHickox just got bitch-slapped by karma

How is another HCW getting Ebola a "bitch slap" for anyone but that person. You assume that your hysteria is shared by others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The issues is that we absolutely do not have definitive evidence or science on transmission. There have been no controlled studies on humans (because it would be incredibly unethical). There have been only a few animal studies and they have not been replicated to ensure reliability and validity. Kaci Hickox is right that we don't have evidence to state that she is infectious right now. However, what she fails to comprehend is that we also don't have definitive evidence to state that she is NOT infectious.

On another note, her room-mate from her time in Africa has just been diagnosed with Ebola. That person also has no idea how he/she got infected while caring for patients.

That's quite 'another note'. Thank you for posting this. SHickox just got bitch-slapped by karma

One of the most childish, nastiest posts I've read on DCUM in a long time and that says a lot. Offensive on so many levels.

Oh, and once you call people "dumb ass" you've lost the argument.

[Anonymous]

I'd like to know if any of the posters who are so fearful of Ebola are the same people who don't vaccinate their kids, or who don't get flu shots. Now that is some scary stuff.

As far as I know, one (uninsured, Liberian, initially untreated) person has died of Ebola in the U.S. Is that right?