I agree. The disease is not following the patterns of transmission generally accepted, or the biosafety protocols should be working whether the conditions are relatively primitive or not.
It isn't as if the personnel don't know the likely outcome for failure to observe them, yet they are still becoming infected at an alarming rate.
That would tend to indicate the assumptions about the transmission of the disease are insufficient to account for all possible vectors, and/or that the biosafety protocols need to be revamped.
The account posted by in a link Black Agnes of staff asserting they were ready to deal with the disease here is nothing sort of a horrorshow parody of how this pathogen should not be handled.
Someone needs to dust off their stuff on Level 4 pathogens and the sort of biosafety measures needed, not to mention biohazard disposal.
If America's hospitals think they are ready for this with that sort of preparation, the Medical Profession will be more dangerous than commercial fishing in the event of an outbreak here.
This Paul Bedard report is via the PANDEMIC FLU INFORMATION FORUM.
Short form — Liberia has poor Ebola data because it’s healthcare system is collapsing as soon as Ebola shows up in uninfected areas.
The few doctors and nurses in the areas infected in August are either dead or fled.
CDC: Doctors, nurses fleeing Ebola hospitals, virus not contained
BY PAUL BEDARD | OCTOBER 7, 2014 | 12:42 PM
A new and remarkably candid on-the-ground audit from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the Ebola crisis in Liberia said that doctors and nurses have fled hospitals in the infection zone and that obstacles to killing the virus remain.
The analysis of four remote Liberian counties conducted by local and CDC officials that were Ebola-free in August revealed that massive amounts of aid are still needed in the areas to fight the virus, which can be spread as simply as by burying a dead victim.
While the CDC said locals are getting a handle on the crisis, it warned, “obstacles to preventing spread of Ebola remain, and personal protective equipment, sufficient personnel for effective contact tracing and case management, efficient patient transport and regional diagnostic laboratory capabilities are urgently needed.” {in other words, they’ve got pretty much nothing}
The review of the southeastern Liberian counties in August found utter chaos and a full breakdown in the medical system, which has contributed to the spread of Ebola. It also found that locals didn’t know how to identify Ebola, even though the virus was dominating other areas of the country.“No Ebola surveillance systems were in place,” the doctors found in the report issued Tuesday.
And the lack of medical staff seemed to surprise the report authors. Rolling Eyes {what has Joanne Liu been screaming for for months and months??} “Before the epidemic, six physicians served all four counties. At the time of the evaluation, only three physicians remained; the others had left Liberia because of the epidemic. In two of four hospitals assessed, nursing staff members were not coming to work or had abandoned facilities; in another hospital, health care providers had not been paid for three months but were still providing basic care,” said the analysis.
Once locals were explained about the symptoms of Ebola, they realized that the virus had already hit.
“After basic training on case definitions and surveillance was provided to local officials, River Gee County health officials reviewed recent deaths and identified a patient with suspected Ebola. On Aug. 3, a pregnant woman (patient 1) died during a spontaneous abortion after leaving Monrovia where she had contact with an infected person at a funeral; she was buried by the community in the week after her death.
“On Aug. 24, 2014, Maryland County authorities identified a man hiding in a rice truck who had signs and symptoms of Ebola (patient 2). The truck had departed from Fish Town, River Gee County, and was destined for Pleebo, Maryland County. The man, who was reported to have participated in the burial of patient 1, was sent back to Fish Town, where he later was reported to have died of laboratory-confirmed Ebola. This was the first evidence of secondary transmission of Ebola in southeast Liberia.”
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at pbedard@washingtonexaminer.com.