Ebola Outbreak Halted

NY Times ^ | Sept 30, 2014 | Donald G. McNeil Jr.

[Prophet2520]

... After the first patient — a dying Liberian-American — flew into Lagos on July 20, Ebola spread to 20 other people there and in a smaller city, Port Harcourt.

They have all now died or recovered, and the cure rate — 60 percent — was unusually high for an African outbreak.

Meanwhile, local health workers paid 18,500 face-to-face visits to repeatedly take the temperatures of nearly 900 people who had contact with them. The last confirmed case was detected on Aug. 31, and virtually all contacts have passed the 21-day incubation period without falling ill.

[Prophet2520]

If Nigeria can handle it, we ought to be able to.

[Black Agnes]

We will never take the steps Nigeria did to halt it.

The very FIRST thing the Nigerians did when Sawyer’s ebola test came back positive was to shut down the hospital he was in. Completely.

[Mouton]

Always expect the NY Slimes to help out Obola when he is on the ropes.

[petitfour]

Yeah. Just too bad for those eight who died.

[Vermont Lt]

Nigeria was effectively SHUT down.

Boston was shut down for a day and everyone went crazy.

That is not going to happen across the country.

[PghBaldy]

That is debatable, given it will be seen as a black, or African or immigrant disease. They will probably not do what is necessary.

[thackney]

Nigeria was effectively SHUT down.

Are you thinking of the Sierra Leone nationwide lockdown? I do not believe that was done in Nigeria.

[wrench]

We know how to prevent it and stop it. We won’t do either, as it is not PC.

[matt1234]

Yup. The nyt is just covering for obama. They are fully aware that people often read only the headline.

[PGalt]

DEFENSE! DEFENSE! The Washington D.C. Redskin’s defense is the best in the N.F.L. (National Filovirus League)

[silverleaf]

I have read the Nigerians suspect Sawyer was an act of terrorism, and intentionally traveled to start a pandemic in Nigeria

but then there is a lot of superstition and street scuttle in these regions

[DouglasKC]

That's good news. But one guy started that in Nigeria and he wasn't trying to spread it yet still infected 18 many of whom died. Suppose a Muslim from Liberia wants to start an epidemic in America. He purposely infects himself before starting his his trip to the US. He comes into the country. Get's sick and starts infecting as many as possible..discreetly. He goes to the emergency room and complains of flu symptoms and purposely spreads it to hospital personnel and people in the waiting room. Goes back home and continues to spread it as much as possible. Finally, too weak and dying, he calls an ambulance and attempts to spread it to even more medical personnel both there and at the hospital.

Can't happen here? Why not? If Muslims really hate us then why wouldn't they do this? What if they already have?

[Black Agnes]

The Nigerians took serious offense at Sawyer’s actions.

Another thing they did that we will NEVER do is they shut down all flights to and from the affected countries. Like that day or the day after. None of this PC crap either. They just did it.

[Vermont Lt]

In Nigeria they did a very good job at Contact Tracing and SHUT that down.

No they did shut down the entire country. But they did what we should be doing. Not a lot of PC in their containment processes.

If we pulled that here people would be screaming bloody murder.

I apologize for mixing up the SL and Nigera process.

[wrench]

It is a sad day when Nigeria has more competent leadership than the USA

[wastedyears]

Halted? Yeah, okay. What about everybody else on the plane breathing the same air he was breathing? Everybody he came into contact with at both airports? His family and friends that he saw when he was back? Then all of those people seeing their friends and family.

We could very quickly have tens of thousands of cases pop up over here.

[ladyjane]

It is a sad day when Nigeria has more competent leadership than the USA

It is a sad day when Nigeria has more competent leadership than the USA

[thackney]

Yes, I think Nigeria did handle it well. That case also shows Ebola is not as easily spread as some fear.

Although the first patient, a businessman named Patrick Sawyer, was vomiting on his flight in, none of the roughly 200 others on the plane fell ill. Others did after helping him into a taxi to a hospital.

And a patient in Port Harcourt went to her church and became violently ill during a ceremony in which the congregation laid hands on her. But none became infected.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/01/health/ebola-outbreak-in-nigeria-appears-to-be-over.html?_r=1

[Real Cynic No More]

The experts say there is no known cure. Well, how about the obvious? Have they tried injecting blood from any survivors into ill patients to see if it increases the percentage of survivors?

[Real Cynic No More]

Suppose a Muslim from Liberia wants to start an epidemic in America. He purposely infects himself before starting his his trip to the US.

Or, how about if an innocent is in a restroom in an airport and some suicidal terrorist nutjob purposefully sneezes on him and several others, and he/they unknowingly bring the disease into the country, showing no symptoms until after he/they get here into the country?

Or, since the virus is transmitted by bodily fluids, suppose the terrorists place the virus into one of those automated air freshener distributors in a restroom that sends out a puff every 30 seconds or so? Or places the body fluids in one of those liquid soap containers in a restroom, after removing the disinfectant liquids and replacing with a non-disinfectant liquid?

There are many means by which unsuspecting victims can become carriers of the disease without being aware of it.

Open borders at airports and elsewhere are suicide central for all of us.