Posted on 07/31/2014 7:47:14 PM PDT by The Sons of Liberty
First Ebola Patient Coming to USA for Treatment One of two Americans infected with ebola in West Africa will be brought to the United States for treatment at Emory University. One of two Americans infected with ebola in West Africa will enter the U.S. for treatment at Emory University in Atlanta “in the next several days,” according to an internal memo sent to physicians on Thursday and seen by The Daily Beast. The memo offers few other details about the patient, with no stated time of arrival or departure city, or indicators as to the exact identity of the patient. In absence of specifics, the hospital says it’s “prepared and ready” for the arrival, with a “highly specialized, isolated unit” that it designed with the help of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, headquartered nearby. CNN reported that a specialized medical plane was already en route to Liberia on Thursday night. Staff at the hospital have reportedly been “highly trained” as well and are aware of “unique protocols” that will be necessary to treat the patient. Vince Dollard, associate vice president of communications for Emory, declined to say who the arriving patient is, exactly, but did confirm that it is either Dr. Kent Brantly or Nancy Writebol, two U.S. charity workers infected in Africa. Both remain in serious condition. Writebol received an “experimental serum” Thursday afternoon while Brantly was given a blood transfusion. This is the first time a patient infected with the ebola virus, which can kill up to 90 percent of the people it infects in a matter of days, has been brought to the United States or the Western Hemisphere. The disease is a spread via bodily fluids, necesitating strict isolation for the patients and thorough decontamination. Health care workers like Brantly and Writebol place themselves at great risk to treat diseases like ebola. In a call with reporters Tuesday, Stephan Monroe, deputy director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases at the CDC, assured listeners that the outbreak posed “little risk” to America, adding that the chances of anyone infected arriving undiagnosed were slim. In another call Thursday afternoon, CDC Director Tom Frieden said plans were in place to stop ebola-infected people from boarding planes in West Africa. The hospital says it’s “prepared and ready” for the arrival. After advising against travel to the affected areas, Frieden said increased caution is warranted. “The bottom line is that Ebola is worsening in West Africa,” he said. The CDC plans to send 50 more staff members to Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone in the next month, adding to the dozen CDC workers that are already there. “It will take many months, and it won’t be easy, but ebola can be stopped,” said Frieden. “We know what needs to be done.” The text of the memo sent to Emory physicians follows: This email is sent on behalf Robert Bachman, CEO, EUH; Bill Bornstein, M.D., Ph.D., CQO, CMO, EHC; Ira Horowitz, M.D., CMO, EUH; and Chris Larsen, M.D., D.Phil., Dean, Emory University School of Medicine Dear Physicians, You may hear in the media that Emory University Hospital plans to receive a patient with Ebola virus infection in the next several days. We do not know at this time when the patient will arrive. Please be assured that our hospital is prepared and ready. We have a highly specialized, isolated unit in the hospital that was set up in collaboration with the CDC to treat patients who are exposed to certain serious infectious diseases. This unit is physically separate from other patient areas and has unique equipment and infrastructure that provide an extraordinarily high level of clinical isolation. In fact, Emory University Hospital is one of just four facilities in the entire country with such a specialized unit. Emory University Hospital physicians, nurses and staff are highly trained in the specific and unique protocols and procedures necessary to treat and care for this type of patient. For this specially trained staff, these procedures are practiced on a regular basis throughout the year, so we are fully prepared for this type of situation. We will provide you with any updates as needed. Thank you for your commitment to the privacy and well-being of our patients. Bob, Bill, Ira and Chris
Ping...
What could possibly go wrong?
An epidemic is JUST THE THING to take our minds off F&F/Benghazi/IRS/EPA/Middle East chaos/amnesty. Yes, something that requires people to rely on Big Gub’mint once again! Hurray for our Big Gub’mint Overlords!
...but my guess is that they anticipate more cases here in the U.S. sooner or later, so the doctors want to get hold of a couple and basically experiment with them, to see if there’s any way to improve patient outcomes when they’re in a First World setting, rather than Third World.
http://www.kvia.com/news/cdc-designates-el-paso-an-ebola-quarantine-site/27255180
That's just for the cameras.
When push comes to shove, they don't care about anyone but themselves. Their 'post apocalyptic world would be a free for all.
They may not have any choice in the matter.
This reeks of Government intervention, all the way.
If that were the case they’d have brought them back last week when there was more time to treat them.
I suspect they’ve waited until Kent is no longer in posession of his faculties and relied on a weak wife or some other ruse.
Emory has this lovely level 4 containment facility they have never used. Just think of the funding stream they’ll get from this. That’s all the Emory faculty have considered.
See my 68.
It’s not just this. It’s the doctor in East TN that has ‘voluntarily’ quarantined himself having treated ebola patients while he was in Africa.
Presumably he flew back on a crowded international flight. Those flights are not short. You may feel fine getting on the flight in Africa and become ill during the flight. What then?
How totally and completely irresponsible.
Charities do NOT SPREAD disease.
If they can’t afford to fly their people back on private planes in such a situation and have a facility to quarantine them w/o their being around OTHER people they shoudn’t BE there at ALL.
How many OTHER of their ‘samaratins’ are bringing back pestilence from their ‘good deeds’?
“We vitally need this information.”
We vitally need to keep this disease out of North & South America.
One screwup and a half billion people will die.
Might end up being literally
It is one thing to place your self at risk, but a planeload of people (you only have to have a seat in the rest room), and all those they will contact in the near future (and who they will contact, etc.).
Even 24 hours of contagion before presenting serious symptoms (beyond fever, sweating, etc.) could wreak havoc.
Obama-Yutani wants Ebola for bioweapons development.
Probably for use on us.
I just heard that they're flying them into Dobbins ARB in Marietta, so I guess they'll make the 25-30 mile trip to Emory on I75, one of the busiest roads in the Country.
I just read an article that the Canadians have recently shown Ebola Zaire to be airborne transmission - from pigs to apes.
It may be my naiveness, but until that happened, I wasn’t that concerned about moving the doctor and missionary to an appropriately safeguarded US facility on non-commercial transport. And this good man (and woman) would have little to no chance where they are. The US and CDC are accustomed to handling dangerous illnesses, so I assumed they would put sufficient safeguards in place (though I grant you they’ve screwed up rather badly recently)
However, I have also read Hot Zone about Ebola Reston and folks who were scared to death of the virus still broke protocol and the virus was able to get out of the building multiple times. Had humans been vulnerable, holy moley.
You are right that folks like these die every day honoring their beliefs and given the increased danger of airborne, I agree with you that this should never have been done.
I apologize for misunderstanding your intent and concern regarding Samaritan’s Purse. I suspect their decision was made as I described above.
I’m just as concerned about apparently ‘healthy’ Samaritan’s purse missionaries returning to this country on international flights. They could easily have the disease but not be showing symptoms at the beginning of the flight. It’s a looong flight. But be showing symptoms at the end. What then? Assume it’s a touch of the flu or stomach bug or come clean and admit to the other 3 or 400 passengers that they’re returning from a hot zone?
And what if an infected but asymptomatic person was involved in an auto accident on the way home (to ‘voluntary quarantine) from the airport. They would infect every single first responder and ER person they came in contact with.
Just wholly irresponsible.
I read that a Canadian physician returned to Canada and quarantined himself (showing no symptoms, just being safe). Assuming it’s not transmissible airborne, which is now known to be a bad assumption, he would be safe as long as he quarantines himself.
The wife of the doctor who is being brought back already came back several days ago, but allegedly wasn’t exposed.
First responders allegedly treat everyone as though they have AIDs, so bloodborne transmission protocol should protect them more or less, though the average Joe is very likely to be infected.
Now that the Canadians have seen it transmitted in water droplets - which could be a good flu-ey sneeze - it is indeed irresponsible in the extreme.
This is not going to be pretty, any way it plays out. Scary stuff and even with the best of intentions, people don’t follow protocol - if you haven’t already, read The Hot Zone.
Oh yeah. I read The Hot Zone.
I thought my trust of the CDC couldn’t get much lower. But amazingly it did!
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