Posted on 10/09/2014 8:14:58 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
The health of Ebola-stricken Spanish nurse Teresa Romero Ramos worsened on Thursday, and two doctors who treated her were admitted to a hospital for observation.
"Her clinical situation has deteriorated but I can't give any more information due to the express wishes of the patient," said Yolanda Fuentes of the Carlos III Hospital in Madrid, according to Reuters.
The BBC reported that Ramos "was being helped with her breathing in hospital."
Ramos, who became the first case of Ebola transmission outside of Africa, has been hospitalized since Sunday. Tests confirmed Monday that the sanitary technician had contracted Ebola, but Ramos said she only learned of her diagnosis from a media report -- though she sensed something was wrong when doctors stopped entering her hospital room.
It remains unclear exactly how she became infected while treating a priest who had contracted the virus in West Africa, though Ramos acknowledged this week that she may have made a mistake when removing her protective suit.
One of the doctors who treated her, Juan Manuel Parra, said in a statement posted to the El Pais Web site that the sleeves on the protective suit he wore while working with Ramos were too short.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Will Jesse Jackson fly over to help out....?
Sounds like it’s airborne to me....
Transmission to common folk, yes. Transmission to health professionals who take extreme precautions, doubtful.
“....Virus expert Charles L. Bailey, who in 1989 helped the American government tackle an outbreak of Ebola among rhesus monkeys being used for research, told the LA Times: ‘We know for a fact that the virus occurs in sputum and no one has ever done a study [disproving that] coughing or sneezing is a viable means of transmitting.....”
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-ebola-questions-20141007-story.html#page=1
“.....Dr. C.J. Peters, who battled a 1989 outbreak of the virus among research monkeys housed in Virginia and who later led the CDC’s most far-reaching study of Ebola’s transmissibility in humans, said he would not rule out the possibility that it spreads through the air in tight quarters.
“We just don’t have the data to exclude it,” said Peters, who continues to research viral diseases at the University of Texas in Galveston........”
She entered Viejo's room only twice, once to change his diaper, and a second time to remove his belongings after he died on Sept. 25.
And once again we have her symptomatic but not in hospital.
Ramos began experiencing Ebola-like symptoms on Sept. 30, but was not admitted to the hospital until Sunday, five days later.
And slight exposure, i.e. one time, she thought her suit might have touched her face...which seems like a higher risk of catching than they're saying.
As I stated on another thread yesterday. “I’m a bit of an aerosol expert and a particle .08 microns in diameter can stay aloft for a very long time. Even if it is initially in a fluid state, any sneeze, [or cough] or projectile vomit will immediately make particulate of that size airborne indefinitely.”
see this won’t happen here.
we have protocols. people always follow protocols.
/s
not’to me.
it sounds like people can’t follow protocols 100%. if they do someone else hasn’t and you might suffer becauseof it. one surface missed. one sloppy decontamination. all it takes is one time screwing up. folowing protocols perfectly 100% of the time is impossible for imperfect people.
besides with ebola a lot of fluid can be projectd in a cough. that’ not airborne transmision like just from breathing out what’s in your lungs. it’s in the bodily fluids a patient coughs out. wet spatter. not a sneeze. liquid not particulates.
She got Ebola treating an Ebola patient. Two of her doctors may have been infected while treating her, apparently without learning from her example. It's clear that (1) Spanish medical professionals have a remarkable lack of compliance with protocols, or (2) the protocols are inadequate.
As an analyst, my conclusion would be that the protocols are inadequate, whether because it's closer to "airborne" than they realize or because of some unintended ambiguity in the protocols. We need to tighten up the PPE procedures or go all the way to a separate air supply with a higher level of protective clothing.
Semantics....
An aerosol can be composed of liquids carrying the virus and coughs and sneezes produce aerosols.
“...she sensed something was wrong when doctors stopped entering her hospital room.”
I hate whenever that happens. You just know you’re screwed.
A link to this thread has been posted on the Ebola Surveillance Thread
I am pretty sure. Well...
To your point - "airborne" should mean aerosolized where you can have a viable virus suspended in the air for dozens of minutes and available for inhalation.
Coughs and sneezes produce 99.999% "sprays" where even those ~1 micron particles will settle within a minute. In any case I bought N95 masks and will start carrying those around in my briefcase.
Words mean things. An aerosol is hard to generate. But if you feel there is no difference than good luck to you.
Given the prevalence of nosocomial infections both in the U.S. and abroad tells me that HCW are not following infection control protocols, or the protocols are inadequate. “ICU-acquired infection is common and often associated with microbiological isolates of resistant organisms. The potential effects on outcome emphasize the importance of specific measures for infection control in critically ill patients.(JAMA. 1995;274:639-644)”
PPE gives one a false sense of security: that exposure to infectious material or exposing someone else to infectious material can be prevented if one merely wears PPE. Nothing could be further from the truth.
IMHO, PPE is a last resort barrier. The work habits of the HCW are of equal importance: working carefully and cautiously, paying close attention to detail while working, frequent decontamination and complete decontamination prior to removal of the PPE are also critical. It only takes one mistake and the HCW is exposed, unfortunately to a far more virulent nosocomial infection.
Note: The Ebola virus need not be ‘airborne’ for the HCW in Spain to have been contaminated. Fomites on their PPE, inadequate PPE, and exposure while removing contaminated PPE are more likely modes of transmission of the infection.
Don't forget FR's very own sick-o-phant ex-spurts!
Bring Out Your Dead
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!
You’re Welcome, Alamo-Girl!
See Friedman quote on Face the Nation.
Further comments?
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