hawaii and utah suck anyway

10/3/2014 4:12:30 PM

http://news.sciencemag.org/africa/2014/10/how-does-ebola-spread-hard-facts-key-studies

So pretty much touching a person will give you Ebola if they have Ebola...

But not touching the things they touch, unless those things are really fluidy.

10/3/2014 4:53:35 PM

http://www.vox.com/2014/10/1/6878695/ebola-virus-outbreak-symptoms

10/3/2014 6:37:42 PM

Why is there no federal organization that can mobilize to decontaminate in situations like this?

10/3/2014 6:37:55 PM

OK OK OK

So I preface this by saying that I rarely listen to Glen Beck. I do listen to the local conservative talk show however, and usually just leave the station where it's at. I will be the first person to admit that he's mostly crazy and part of the tin foil crowd.

Having said that, I had to go into the office yesterday at about 10 AM, and he just happened to be on, and I was just too lazy to change the station, so I listened.

He was talking about a conversation he had over dinner with Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham and the guy in charge of Samaritan's Purse. Samaritan's Purse, if you don't know, is the organization with which the doctor who got Ebola was volunteering. Franklin recounted the story of getting that doctor the medicine and getting him over here. Apparently there are a few details the public never got wind of.

1. It was pretty difficult, obviously, to get the medicine to the doctor. All of the lawyers were telling Franklin not to use the drug. They waited until the doctor was several hours from death, before they administered the drug. It came in the form of 3 IV bags, which had to be kept at some super cool temp, like -200 below zero. Within an hour after the first bag, the doctor was able to get up and use the bathroom.

2. Transportation was difficult. Apparently there is only one plane in this country that can transport that level of virus, and it is owned by the state department. One guy is in charge of it and Franklin called around and finally got in touch. He was allowed to use it, pending he cover all of the costs which ended up totally several hundred thousand.

Here is the most troubling

3. It took a support staff if about 35 to come back with the doctor. These were folks that came directly from the affected areas in Africa including nurses and other aid workers. When they arrived in the US, Franklin asked the CDC officials where the 35 would be staying while quarantined, and their response was "just send them home." Franklin ended up finding somewhere near Emory for them to stay for the 21 or so days they needed to be quarantined.

I don't understand their flippant response to the potential need to quarantine people that had come in direct contact with Ebola patients.

Of course all of the information above was just coming from the mouth of Glen Beck. While he can be ridiculous most of the time, I don't necessarily take him for a liar.

[Edited on October 3, 2014 at 9:08 PM. Reason : adsfas]

10/3/2014 9:03:42 PM

don't apologize. the blaze is one of the only credible news agencies out there.

10/3/2014 9:26:29 PM

Is anyone blaming Obama for this yet?

10/3/2014 11:19:30 PM

Yep, that he released Ebola so everyone without aca coverage would die.

10/4/2014 7:45:38 AM

Christian broadcaster: Ebola could cleanse US of atheists, gay people, and sluts
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/08/christian-broadcaster-ebola-could-cleanse-us-of-atheists-gay-people-and-sluts/

Quote :

"A Christian radio host who enthusiastically looks for signs the world will end welcomed the Ebola virus as a cleansing force. “This Ebola epidemic could become a global pandemic and that’s another name for plague,” said broadcaster Rick Wiles on his “Trunews” program. “It may be the great attitude adjustment that I believe is coming,” Wiles continued. “Ebola could solve America’s problems with atheism, homosexuality, sexual promiscuity, pornography, and abortion.” Wiles was enthusiastic Tuesday about the arrival of Ebola, but Right Wing Watch reported that he warned the previous day that President Barack Obama may intentionally spread the deadly virus through a mandatory and mysterious vaccine. That would somehow then allow Obama to declare martial law and force Americans into FEMA camps, the religious right broadcaster theorized. “If Ebola becomes a global plague, you better make sure the blood of Jesus is upon you, you better make sure you have been marked by the angels so that you are protected by God,” Wiles warned. “If not, you may be a candidate to meet the Grim Reaper.”"

10/4/2014 11:01:21 AM

Wow.

I mean, yea, I'm sure gays, lesbians and sluts are gonna die. So are lots of Christians, Jews, Republicans, Democrats, Mexicans, Asians....

10/4/2014 12:39:07 PM

Quote :

" you better make sure the blood of Jesus is upon you,"

thats how its transmitted, bro

10/4/2014 12:52:20 PM

well... obama DID trash CDC regulations in 2010 that could have allowed this man to have been quarantined before ever leaving the airport.

http://dailycaller.com/2014/10/03/president-ebola-in-2010-obama-administration-scrapped-cdc-quarantine-regulations-aimed-at-ebola/

10/4/2014 3:01:51 PM

This guy was not sick when he travelled, those restrictions wouldn't have helped. They are checking temperatures and questioning every traveller in Liberia, this restrictions wouldn't have made a difference.

Just heard on the radio that 80% of nurses union members polled said their hospital has no policy and has not offered training about Ebola. They also do not have sufficient face shields and impermeable aprons or covers.

[Edited on October 4, 2014 at 5:06 PM. Reason : .]

10/4/2014 5:04:58 PM

what the fuck hospital doesn't have face shields ?!? bit of an exaggeration i feel

10/6/2014 6:58:06 PM

First infection outside of Africa

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-29514920

A nursing assistant in spain that treated one of the patients there

10/6/2014 7:24:35 PM

You'd think a nursing assistant would know how not to get a disease transmitted via fluid only.

10/6/2014 7:47:30 PM

^ there's been a lot of health workers infected, and a cameraman too.

Makes you think it's not as hard to contract as people want you to believe... i'm wondering if the claims of how difficult it is to get are making some workers complacent.

10/6/2014 10:20:05 PM

if you are in contact with fluids, it's incredibly easy to catch. the virus load necessary to cause infection is tiny.

10/6/2014 10:21:18 PM

Quote :

"Dallas Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan has died, hospital says. "

10/8/2014 11:31:44 AM

Quote :

"Duncan's family claims bias in treatment: Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person diagnosed with Ebola in the United States, is on a ventilator and on dialysis for his failing kidneys, health officials say. Duncan received an experimental medicine nearly a week after being admitted into a hospital -- a far longer wait than experienced by four other Ebola patients treated in the U.S. The others are Americans; Duncan is Liberian. "They don't consider him as important as the other three," his nephew says. The hospital treating him denies the claim. "

Maybe it's because you're just a dumbass who puts yourself first before your family and endangers an entire freakin continent.

10/8/2014 11:53:10 AM

and insurance...

10/8/2014 11:55:32 AM

There probably was bias, but it would have been because he was just some guy, not an aid worker or scientist. There's not enough of the drug to go around, it's not clear if it even works, and it sucks for those involved, but they can't set the expectation that everyone that comes here will get new experimental drugs.

10/8/2014 1:40:25 PM

The deputy that went into the Ebola guy's apartment is sick

10/8/2014 6:30:44 PM

The guy probably has a cold. Talk about an overreaction by the media.

10/9/2014 8:07:21 AM

http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/08/health/ebola-up-to-speed/index.html

Quote :

"(CNN) -- There's "no risk of Ebola" for a Dallas deputy who was hospitalized with possible symptoms of the virus, a Texas health official said Wednesday."

10/9/2014 8:31:44 AM

http://www.aapsonline.org/index.php/site/article/will_u.s._keep_ebola_in_check_here_at_home/

interesting PWNTs

10/9/2014 11:40:40 AM

Shocker. The deputy near Dallas didn't have Ebola.

If this is still around when flu season hits it is going to be an absolute shit show.

10/9/2014 6:33:26 PM

http://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/2is6l2/man_sneezes_on_a_plane_and_jokingly_yells_sorry_i/

10/9/2014 7:12:57 PM

the ebola gay

10/9/2014 9:31:31 PM

http://www.wral.com/boone-hospital-monitors-patient-for-ebola-infection/14063532/

10/10/2014 12:16:51 AM

Some experts are claiming that ebola could end up being on the scale of HIV. I guess Americans really don't understand how bad HIV is in other parts of the world though, because when I hear that, I think to myself that if that is as bad as its going to get, then I really shouldn't worry too much.

10/10/2014 8:25:13 AM

Well from '79 to '02 over half a million people died of AIDS in the USA.

That's a lot of people.

10/10/2014 8:36:46 AM

Yea but spread out over 23 years?

10/10/2014 8:43:49 AM

In the late 80's/early 90's 40k-50k were dieing a year.

I can't imagine people would cope with that. 1 person has died in the US that contracted it in Africa and people want to stop all travel from west Africa. America would shit a brick if 40k died in a year.

[Edited on October 10, 2014 at 9:19 AM. Reason : Shit bricks]

10/10/2014 9:16:39 AM

the big difference is that even with the very early treatment methods, people could live for years with HIV and infect a lot of people during the time they were infected and contagious but asymptomatic

10/10/2014 9:31:09 AM

True. It's a bad comparison.

10/10/2014 9:37:44 AM

also, we were never proactive about combating HIV because it was just the gay disease. The perception that Ebola is an Africa-only problem has been sufficiently shattered now, the case in Texas woke up any healthcare workers who thought they didn't need to be vigilant.

10/10/2014 9:57:39 AM

^^^^ HIV isn't as infectious as ebola. Those people were all dying from sharing needles, blood transfusions, and ~

[Edited on October 10, 2014 at 11:18 AM. Reason : ^]

10/10/2014 11:17:12 AM

what about antibiotic resistant bacteria as a comparison? It infects 2 million people per year, about 23,000 die each year:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/17/health/cdc-report-finds-23000-deaths-a-year-from-antibiotic-resistant-infections.html?_r=0

A lot of the protocols for stopping its spread in hospitals are supposedly similar to those that fight Ebola too. I think Ebola may have a higher death rate though (unless you are comparing it to the really nasty resistant bacteria which are basically untreatable)

While AR Bacteria gets some news, and as I understand it, hospitals are being proactive about it, its not like we are really fighting it like crazy or doing very much extra. We haven't done shit to slow the use of antibiotics in Agriculture, although the link between the two hasn't been proven to be as strong as many would like.

10/10/2014 11:30:55 AM

Another Texas murse infected.

10/12/2014 11:14:25 AM

^no. still only 1 confirmed

[Edited on October 12, 2014 at 3:26 PM. Reason : k]

10/12/2014 3:25:51 PM

Quote :

"Another Texas murse infected."

Any news on whether or not fanny packs are still an ebola safe option?

10/12/2014 6:55:51 PM

isnt there some clinic outside of boston where they arent letting anyone out

thats gotta be fun to be in there

10/12/2014 6:59:46 PM

I love how all of the officials are blaming this on a "break in protocol"...essentially saying the nurse screwed up. They will just not admit that it is more contagious that originally thought.

10/12/2014 8:44:04 PM

At this point it is clear that it is effectively airborne in small, enclosed spaces like vehicles or exam rooms. Any suit without thorough air filtration is inadequate, and any building without isolated HVAC and decon rooms is a deathtrap...in other words every hospital in America is unprepared. The very idea of communal waiting rooms at ER's is foolhearty; in all seriousness, they would be better off making the sick wait outside and puke in the street like in Africa.

Private hospitals will never spend the necessary money on their emergency rooms, they lose too much money on them already. It's time for ultra-rapid construction of federally operated and compartmentalized urgent care facilities every where there is a post office. I'm talking military grade block buildings with individual stalls that can be hosed down after each and every patient. Such buildings would prove useful during natural disasters as well. Staffing such facilities for years would be a simple matter of selling a F-35.

[Edited on October 12, 2014 at 10:08 PM. Reason : or is it "an F-35"?]

[Edited on October 12, 2014 at 10:22 PM. Reason : lol, jk, no country in the world wants to buy an F-35]

10/12/2014 9:57:15 PM

Of course, a military presence will be necessary to maintain order at these disease treatment centers in every community. To best control infection in the community at large, all citizens will be compelled to report to the treatment facility at weekly intervals, during which basic screenings for fever and outstanding warrants can be conducted. Unfortunately, if symptoms of disease are detected, all contact with family members must be terminated immediately, but patients can recover comfortably in small, private rooms while being safely shielded from the outside world. In the sad event of a patient's death, an on-site crematorium can quickly dispose of the bodies in a sanitary fashion. The Federal Emergency Management Agency would obviously be best suited to manage these camps, having significant experience with several extremely promising pilot projects.

10/13/2014 12:46:47 AM

Someone has played a little too much Deus Ex

10/13/2014 8:12:32 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3D0DxjgPB0
So this ad is out...

Someone from the NIH has come out and said that budget cuts set ebola vaccine research back about 2 years.

Also, the best way to stop ebola from spreading in the US is to fight it in Africa.

10/13/2014 2:18:24 PM

LOL

We're all gonna die, and the left is politicizing Ebola

10/13/2014 2:28:33 PM

It's a good leftist issue.

There's no profit incentive for researching ebola, because it's always been a niche disease isolated to remote parts of Africa. It's a good clear example of why we need a strong public investment in science, and is demonstrative of the general idea that not all things we need as a society can be provided by "the market" or corporations or the power of greed.

I just read an article on Red State, and the Republican mantra is that "government doesn't work." It's not even that we need smaller government, or more efficient government (which is more a progressive idea anyway), it's that it simply "doesn't work." This is likely just because Obama is in office, but how do they not see that as such a damaging idea... It's like hiring someone to be the CEO of your company, when they hate what your company stands for. It doesn't make sense really.

[Edited on October 13, 2014 at 2:33 PM. Reason : ]

10/13/2014 2:31:15 PM