Posted on 10/12/2014 12:25:35 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
First off, we should probably get to the headline swamping the news outlets this morning. A second case of Ebola, contracted in the United States, has been confirmed in Texas. The patient is a health care worker who was in contact with the the original victim from Liberia who passed away this week.
A health care worker at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital who provided care for Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan, who died last week, has tested positive for Ebola in a preliminary test, the state’s department of health said in a statement.
The health care worker reported having a fever Friday night and was isolated and referred for testing, the department said. The preliminary test result was received late Saturday.
“We knew a second case could be a reality, and we’ve been preparing for this possibility,” said Dr. David Lakey, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services. “We are broadening our team in Dallas and working with extreme diligence to prevent further spread.”
This is certainly not good news, and I hope that sufficient medical care allows this worker to beat the disease. But the appearance of a second case is also no reason to start talking about an outbreak or a pandemic or any other such bits of hyperbole. It sounds like the worker reported the situation as soon as a low grade fever appeared (pretty much the moment they may have become contagious) and was immediately quarantined.
(Excerpt) Read more at hotair.com ...
Ivory Coast , the world’s largest producer of cacao, the raw ingredient in M&Ms, Butterfingers and Snickers Bars, has shut down its borders with Liberia and Guinea, putting a major crimp on the workforce needed to pick the beans that end up in chocolate bars and other treats just as the harvest season begins. The West African nation of about 20 million — also known as Côte D’Ivoire — has yet to experience a single case of Ebola, but the outbreak already could raise prices…
The World Cocoa Foundation is working now to collect large donations from Nestlé, Mars and many of its 113 other members for its Coca Industry Response to Ebola Initiative. The initiative hasn’t been publicly unveiled, but the WCF plans to announce details Wednesday, while at its annual meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark, on how the money will fuel Red Cross and Caritas Internationalis work to help the infected and staunch Ebola’s spread.
They grow it on other continents.
There goes the chocolate candy industry.
The foreign traders in cocoa for centuries have used any excuse to drive up the cost of the basic product.
commence hoarding of hershey’s cocoa powder
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...
A link to this thread has been posted on the Ebola Surveillance Thread
A little dark (chocolate) humor...
Thanks for the ping!
You’re Welcome, Alamo-Girl!
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