Posted on 05/21/2014 7:24:27 PM PDT by wtd
OT: VDH Monitoring "Several" Possible MERS Cases in Virginia
Virginia Department of Health officials are investigating, after "several" suspected cases of MERS appeared in Virginia.
VDH is monitoring "several" Virginia citizens who were on airplanes and came into contact with people who were sick with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), according to Dr. Laurie Forlano, Deputy State Epidemiologist with the Virginia Department of Health.
Although VDH officials are investigating, no cases of MERS have been confirmed in any part of the state.
So far, there have been three confirmed cases of MERS within the United States: one in Orlando, Florida, one in Illinois and the other in Indiana.
600 people have contracted the illness internationally; there have been 175 MERS-related deaths worldwide.
Symptoms of MERS include fever, coughing and shortness of breath; according to the Center for Disease Control, not all of those infected with the virus become ill.
There is no vaccine or cure for MERS at this time.
Stay with ABC 8news on air and online for updates to this developing story.
Were they shaking hands?
Health officials still believe the risk to the general public remains low with 3 people testing positive here in the U.S. But as people gear up for a heavy travel season, Dr. Timothy West, Chief of Infection Prevention at Roper St. Francis Hospital, says the numbers will likely go up in the states. "I think the way its expanding right not in the Arabian peninsula I think we will see an increasing about of MERS in the U.S. and across the globe," West said.
Should’ve bombed Mecca when we had the chance.
HA....I have been refusing to shake hands for a year....people think I’m weird....but, geez...how better to spread colds, etc...
The perils on camel humpin’.
Now we know why people wore white gloves in the summer, back in the day.
Ping!
Post to me or FReep mail to be on/off the Bring Out Your Dead ping list.
The purpose of the “Bring Out Your Dead” ping list (formerly the “Ebola” ping list) is very early warning of emerging pandemics, as such it has a high false positive rate.
So far the false positive rate is 100%.
At some point we may well have a high mortality pandemic, and likely as not the “Bring Out Your Dead” threads will miss the beginning entirely.
*sigh* Such is life, and death...
Thanks for the ping!
“I think the way its expanding right not in the Arabian peninsula I think we will see an increasing about of MERS in the U.S. and across the globe,” West said.
&&&
Huh? Who are the idiots who write this stuff?
I suspect the doc said “now” and not “not”. Should be “it’s” and not “its”. For “an increasing about” I am not sure, but I am thinking he may have said “bout” rather than “about”. Some commas would have helped, too.
I suppose that it ultimately translates to, “We’re all gonna die!”
+1
“If a hand is soiled, and I touched your hand, then both of us would go away with that contamination
***
Thanks for posting those links. I hate handshaking. Yes, I know it is an important ritual for men, and I understand that it has ancient roots in trust for men.
But I am a woman who grew up in a time when handshaking was not something that women did. So I am most uncomfortable with it on that level and because of the concern about germs.
Pretty sure the glove-wearing started before people even knew about bacteria.
BTW, I am a boomer woman, and I grew up with the tradition of wearing gloves as accessories to complete an outfit. As little girls, my sisters and I got white gloves with our Easter outfits, and my mother taught us all about the proper use and care of said gloves. I continued to wear gloves to church during high school, and, of course, no lady’s prom costume was complete without gloves.
The last time I wore gloves because I was not “dressed up” without them was probably to a wedding in the 1970s.
Sorry, I did not mean to hijack this thread. I guess your comment triggered some memories for me.
Ah, tradition. I love tradition. But then I love rituals, like tea and scones on a cool evening out on the porch.
Thanks for the flag.
All humans need traditions and rituals, I think.
We older people remember the story of Typhoid Mary, she was a carrier of it, infected many. Never had it herself.
http://history1900s.about.com/od/1900s/a/typhoidmary.htm
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