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Ebola outbreak ravaging West Africa: ''totally out of control"

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout' started by KingCheetah, Jun 22, 2014.

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SWTsig Contributing Member

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s land balla said: ↑

Luckily, my flight path on the way back is South Africa>Brazil>US.

We should petition United to cease their daily direct service from Houston to Lagos.
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Houston has the largest Nigerian population outside of Nigeria and does a tremendous amount of business w the country due to the energy industry so that isn't going to happen. Better stock up on the #ebolavaccine

#81 SWTsig, Jul 31, 2014

s land balla Contributing Member

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heypartner said: ↑

It was "s land balla" in the "Stag Weekend in Prague" thread. That was truly Katy Evacuation High Alert Status. Has anyone heard from s land balla, lately?

And to think we know him.
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Should I be worried?!

#82 s land balla, Jul 31, 2014
got em COACH Contributing Member

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2 infected americans coming back to the U.S. Here comes the outbreak?

(CNN) -- The fear began just after news broke Thursday that a long-range business jet with an isolation pod left the United States for Liberia, where it will evacuate two Americans infected with Ebola.

Twitter exploded with questions about the deadly virus, which according to the World Health Organization is believed to have killed hundreds in four West African nations. And with reaction to news that two infected Americans would soon be on their way back to the United States.

"Why are they doing this?" Robin Hunter asked in a post on Twitter.

While U.S. officials have remained mum on the issue, a source told CNN that a medical charter flight left from Cartersville, Georgia, on Thursday evening.
Sick doc. gives Ebola serum to friend
Son of American battling Ebola speaks out
Tracking Ebola patient's journey to U.S.

A CNN crew saw the plane depart shortly after 5 p.m. ET. The plane matched the description provided by the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

It was not immediately known when the two Americans -- identified by the source as Dr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol -- would arrive in the United States, or where the plane would land.

At least one of the two will be taken to a hospital at Emory University, near the headquarters of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, hospital officials told CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

The patient will be cared for in an isolation unit at the hospital that is separate from patient areas, Gupta said.

With the return of Brantly and Writebol to the United States, it will be the first time that patients diagnosed with Ebola will be known to be in the country.

Brantly and Writebol are described as being in stable-but-grave conditions, with both reportedly taking a turn for the worse overnight, according to statements released Thursday by the faith-based charity Samaritan's Purse.

No known cure

There is no known cure or vaccine for Ebola, which the World Health Organization says is believed to have infected 1,323 people in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria between March and July 27.

Of those suspected cases, it is believed to have been fatal in at least 729 cases, according to the health organization.

In the United States, the National Institutes of Health announced it will begin testing an experimental Ebola vaccine in people as early as September.
Ebola triggers CDC travel warning
Son of American battling Ebola speaks out
Could Ebola makes its way to the U.S.?

The federal agency has been working on the vaccine over the last few years and says they've seen positive results when they tested it on primates.

The NIH announcement came the same day as the CDC issued a Level 3 alert for Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, warning against any nonessential travel to the region.

As of now, the outbreak has been confined to West Africa. But it could spread via travel, especially since people who have Ebola may not know it; symptoms usually manifest two to 21 days.

The symptoms include fever, headaches, weakness and vomiting, and at an advanced stage there is internal and external bleeding.

The Eboloa outbreak is believed to be the worst in history, and even in a best-case scenario, it could take three to six months to stem the epidemic in West Africa, Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the CDC, told reporters on Thursday.

Writebol gets 'experimental serum'

Both Brantly, a 33-year-old who last lived in Texas, and Writebol were caring for Ebola patients in Liberia.

An experimental serum was administered to Writebol this week. Only one dose of the serum was available, and Brantly asked that it be given to his colleague, said Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan's Purse.

Samaritan's Purse said it did not have any additional detail about the serum.

At the same time, Brantly received a unit of blood from a 14-year-old boy who survived Ebola, the statement said. Brantly had treated the teen, it said.

It was not immediately clear what doctors hoped the blood transfusion would do for Brantly.

While blood transfusions have been tried before, Frieden told reporters no one really knows why some people survive and some don't.

There have been questions about the the health of Brantly's wife and his children, who left for Texas prior to his diagnosis.

In a statement released Thursday, Amber Brantly said she and her children "are physically fine."

"We had left Liberia prior to Kent's exposure to the virus," she said. "I am always anxiously awaiting any news from Liberia regarding Kent's condition."

Meanwhile, Writebol's husband, David, who like his wife is with Samaritan's Purse, is near her, said their son Jeremy, who spoke with CNN's Chris Cuomo from the United States.

But she is isolated from him, and he has to wear head-to-toe protective clothing similar to a hazmat suit so that he does not contract a disease that starts out with similar symptoms as a strong flu but can end in internal bleeding and death.

"Mom continues in stable condition but it's very serious, and she's still fighting," her son said. "She's weak, but she's working through it."
American doctor battling Ebola

Liberian Information Minister Lewis Brown said his country could ill afford to lose health care workers like Writebol and Brantly.

"We join the families in prayers that they can come through this and become ... shining examples that, if care is taken, one can come out of this."

Another physician in West Africa was not so fortunate; Dr. Sheik Humarr Khan fell ill early last week while overseeing Ebola treatment at a Sierra Leone hospital and died days later.

Rate of infection

Ebola fears hit close to home

The rate of infection has slowed in Guinea, but it has increased in neighboring Sierra Leone and Liberia.

As infection accelerates, some aid groups are pulling out to protect their own.

Samaritan's Purse and the missionary group Serving in Mission have recalled all nonessential personnel from Liberia.

The Peace Corps announced Wednesday it is doing the same, removing its 340 volunteers from the three severely affected nations.

While there are no confirmed cases, a Peace Corps spokeswoman said two volunteers came into contact with someone who ended up dying from the virus.

Those Americans haven't shown signs of Ebola but are being isolated just in case. The spokeswoman said they can't return home until they get medical clearance.

Meanwhile, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Sierra Leone's President Ernest Koroma both canceled trips to the United States, and Koroma declared a state of emergency. Koroma announced an action plan to tear down many barriers that international medical workers say they face while fighting disease.

Sirleaf said on CNN's "The Lead with Jake Tapper" that the country is in desperate need of people with expertise in treating and dealing with Ebola.

Some residents in affected villages have accused medical workers of bringing the disease into the country and have barricaded their towns or otherwise blocked access to Ebola victims.

Koroma said he will deploy police and military to accompany the aid workers.

They will search house to house for the infirm and enforce orders designed to curb the virus' spread.

American dies in Nigeria

One American, 40-year-old Patrick Sawyer, died in a Nigerian hospital earlier this month -- having come from Liberia. He was in a plane to Lagos, when he became violently ill. He was planning to go back home to Minnesota to celebrate his daughters' birthdays, but the disease took his life before he could.

The Nigerian government said Thursday it has located 10 more people who had contact with Sawyer, the first American who died in the Ebola outbreak. Meanwhile, none of the 67 people under surveillance and the two people in quarantine have shown symptoms of the disease, Nigerian Minister of Information Labaran Maku said.

A naturalized American citizen who worked in Liberia, Sawyer flew to Nigeria intending to attend a conference.

After exhibiting symptoms upon arrival July 20, he was hospitalized and died on July 25.

Nigeria's Minister of Health Onyebuchi Chukwu says the government is still searching for more people that had contact with Sawyer on his journey on a plane that stopped in Accra, Ghana and Lome, Togo, before traveling on to Lagos.
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http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/31/health/ebola-outbreak/

#83 got em COACH, Jul 31, 2014
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calurker Contributing Member

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got em COACH said: ↑

2 infected americans coming back to the U.S. Here comes the outbreak

http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/31/health/ebola-outbreak/
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What could possibly go wrong?

#84 calurker, Aug 1, 2014
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If I understand the article correctly, these are two heroes who were caring for Ebola victims.

They are being flown in isolation chambers.

We should bring them back if that is the best care.

This is an extraction operation for heroes...no? Screw the twitter outrage.

#85 heypartner, Aug 1, 2014
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The non profit I work for does work in Liberia and they are shutting that office down till this thing settles down.

I hope who ever is going to be giving those two people treatment understand the risk of treating people with ebola.

#86 opticon, Aug 1, 2014
B-Bob "94-year-old self-described dreamer"

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I think the CDC can handle it. And while we try to save 2 American citizens, we will also learn details of this new strain.

Twitterverse, as usual, can go f itself. If this is so horribly dangerous to a developed country, then it was going to get here anyway. Spanish flu, w much much less travel 100 yrs ago got to 98% of earth's population.

#87 B-Bob, Aug 1, 2014

KingCheetah Contributing Member

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Ebola crisis: Virus spreading too fast, says WHO

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa is spreading faster than efforts to control it, World Health Organization (WHO) head Margaret Chan has said.

She told a summit of regional leaders that failure to contain Ebola could be "catastrophic" in terms of lives lost.

full article

#88 KingCheetah, Aug 2, 2014
TMac'n Contributing Member

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KingCheetah said: ↑

Ebola crisis: Virus spreading too fast, says WHO

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa is spreading faster than efforts to control it, World Health Organization (WHO) head Margaret Chan has said.

She told a summit of regional leaders that failure to contain Ebola could be "catastrophic" in terms of lives lost.

full article
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Feels like watching the movie Contagion. So surreal

#89 TMac'n, Aug 2, 2014
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so how many will die from this? i hope it ends soon.

#90 peleincubus, Aug 2, 2014
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peleincubus said: ↑

so how many will die from this? i hope it ends soon.
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how did previous ebola outbreaks get stopped???

#91 dachuda86, Aug 2, 2014
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Is this how it all ends?

#92 Mr. Clutch, Aug 2, 2014
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dachuda86 said: ↑

how did previous ebola outbreaks get stopped???
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Ebola tends to kill itself. It's hard to spread (requires bodily fluids and only is contagious once you're showing symptoms) and kills so fast that it tends to burn itself out quickly. If it were airborne or mutated to spread during the incubation phase, it would be a global nightmare.

#93 Major, Aug 2, 2014

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I think the extra precaution is good so people don't underestimate the significance of the virus..but from what I've heard, the CDC seems confident it will be contained. I'm not worried...yet.

#94 Jayzers_100, Aug 2, 2014
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Here's a good article on it.

http://gizmodo.com/why-you-shouldnt-freak-out-about-ebola-patients-coming-1614788513

excerpt:

How to catch (or probably not catch) Ebola

Unlike even your run-of-the-mill flu virus, Ebola doesn't survive well outside of the body. It could only spread through direct contact with bodily fluids, usually blood or stool, which I don't know about you, but I tend to avoid already. Ebola is also not contagious during its incubation period, meaning you can only get sick from people who already appear to be sick. Granted, the symptoms are vague and flu-like, but the bottom line is as long as you avoid the wrong kind of contact with someone who's ill, you're in the clear.

That Ebola can only be transmitted this way means the people most at risk for contracting it are family members and caretakers of patients. Indeed, a number of doctors and nurses in Africa have gotten sick from caring for Ebola patients. In the U.S., however, we have the facilities and equipment to protect healthcare workers, so bringing over two patients poses minimal risk to everyone else.

#95 Major, Aug 2, 2014
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Dr. Brantly received a unit of a survivor's blood - for the antibodies.
(transfusion medicine).

This link explains - and begs the question - why this "low tech" treatment has stalled for so many years.

http://www.newsweek.com/20-year-old-ebola-treatment-could-save-kent-brantly-262552

FWIW - I am an IVIG patient (IV immunoglobulin G) (for primary immune deficiency). ie antibodies from plasma donors.

IVIG is like the Gammaglobulin injections - except much more of it.

Expensive to manufacture.

Rabies treatment is a hyper-immune globulin IIRC. A higher percentage of rabies antibodies than "normal" for infused antibodies.

So I am very curious about the transfusion for Dr Brantly.
Whole blood? Plasma? IGM and IGG antibodies?

Also FWIW I know another immune deficient patient that received his mother's plasma for years. This before the advent of IVIG. His mother's plasma was frozen and he received a pint a month - to give him antibodies he lacked.

I wonder if something similar is being done now with the Ebola survivors' blood?

Those antibodies could prove to be very important.

And "at hand" - i/o waiting years for vaccines, antivirals etc.

Am praying for these folks.

#96 returningfan, Aug 2, 2014
dachuda86 Member

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We have a possible patient Zero. New York of course.

This really is like a movie...

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/york-city-hospital-treating-potential-ebola-patient/story?id=24838232

#97 dachuda86, Aug 4, 2014
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So where are the smart monkeys?

#98 Yonkers, Aug 4, 2014

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Mr. Clutch said: ↑

Is this how it all ends?
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I'm imagining an alternate universe where Michael Jordan plays through the Ebola virus, literally infecting the Jazz.

Jordan battles flu, makes Jazz sick

#99 bobloblaw, Aug 4, 2014
dachuda86 Member

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bobloblaw said: ↑

I'm imagining an alternate universe where Michael Jordan plays through the Ebola virus, literally infecting the Jazz.

Jordan battles flu, makes Jazz sick
Click to expand...

Hahaha The Ebola Game...

#100 dachuda86, Aug 4, 2014

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