Posted on 09/08/2014 6:20:27 AM PDT by Qiviut
CONAKRY, Guinea (AP) — Doctors Without Borders shuttered one of its Ebola treatment centers in Guinea in May. They thought the deadly virus was being contained there. Related Stories
The Macenta region, right on the Liberian border, had been one of the first places where the outbreak surfaced, but they hadn't seen a new case for weeks. So they packed up, leaving a handful of staff on stand-by. The outbreak was showing signs of slowing elsewhere as well.
Instead, new cases appeared across the border in Liberia and then spread across West Africa, carried by the sick and dying. Now, months later, Macenta is once again a hotspot.
The resurgence of the disease in a place where doctors thought they had it beat shows how history's largest Ebola outbreak has spun out of control.
This time, the virus is traveling effortlessly across borders by plane, car and foot, shifting from forests to cities and springing up in clusters far from any previously known infections. Border closures, flight bans and mass quarantines have been ineffective.
"Everything we do is too small and too late," said Poncin. "We're always running after the epidemic."
Ebola has been able to follow its own course because West Africa lacks the health care workers it needs to monitor potential carriers and train communities in how to avoid catching the disease. People in contact with the sick have evaded surveillance, moving at will and hiding their illnesses until they infect others in turn. Whole villages, stricken by fear, have repeatedly shut themselves off for days or weeks, giving the virus more opportunities to whip around and skip someplace else.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Just wait until professionals get out into the bush. I suspect entire villages are "dead." Or awaiting the Grim Reaper. This thing is spinning out of control. Nations have failed to secure their borders. America comes to mind. We are going to reap a whirlwind. All in the name of political correctness....
All in the name of political correctness....
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So true ... people don’t realize the great scourge is PC ... Ebola is just one variation.
Are you seriously that confused? You mean two American medical people being treated at the top Ebola clinic in the world recovered, versus the masses of Africans being treated in Africa, under African conditions, only recovering at a rate approaching 50%?
The 3 American patients, two doctors and a kind of nurse, were all "quarantined", they are/were treated at one of our 4 special quarantine isolation units for this disease.
Who told you that they weren't quarantined?
Thanks. That makes sense, although it doesn’t bode well for us with our current administration, fools and scoundrels that they are.
Looks like ebola’s in Miami...
This time, the virus is traveling effortlessly across borders by plane, car and foot, shifting from forests to cities and springing up in clusters far from any previously known infections. Border closures, flight bans and mass quarantines have been ineffective.
"Everything we do is too small and too late," said Poncin. "We're always running after the epidemic."
Our 09/11 surprise came early to Miami...
I just saw that and I’ve expected Ebola to show up in this country any day now. What happens next will be very ‘interesting’ .... very scary as well, I suspect.
The decision to bring severely ill Americans back here for treatment is utterly ruthless. It is to get a sample of the disease. They actually prefer if the person dies, so they can tissue sample every organ of their body.
Many viruses and bacteria do not culture “in vitro”, outside of the body, but only “in vivo”, in the body.
Of utmost importance is to find out if the pathogen is natural, or has been “weaponized”. If it is the latter, then a state of war exists with whoever developed it.
A new tool they have these days is to determine its entire genome. A very difficult and time consuming process, it gives them “the keys to the kingdom” of the pathogen, with many possible vulnerabilities.
And in the US, this is around the clock research, highest priority, because the epidemic is still ongoing.
There will never be a quarantine in Africa. Because it is racist.
I have ran into this thinking with people who would let Ireland crash and bleed out in mass.
We as a culture are insane.
In a disease where 50% survive anyway, two people returning to America and surviving with the best possible care, and receiving an experimental drug which does not have any significant quantities available, is hardly an indication that we can cure it in America, but not in Africa.
yefragetuwrabrumuy is entirely correct that overreaction is the path to safely preventing outbreak. However, it is also at odds with individual liberty. If someone in your town gets a case of ebola, are you ready to be quarantined and prevented from going to work so you can pay the bills and keep them from confiscating your house? In the age of flight is quarantining a town even remotely effective? What if the person has been on a flight within the last two weeks? Do we quarantine the towns of everyone on the flight? What if they work out of town in a company with 5000 employees working in multiple states with some having flown in for business meetings. Do we quarantine the towns of all 5000 and etc.
An ebola outbreak is not just a health problem it is an economic disaster. The more aggressively you try to stem the health problem, the bigger the economic disaster. And by the way, economic disasters, and quarantines can lead to other deaths from many causes.
Governments try to choose the path of least overall damage, based on their history with the disease. Unfortunately they are finding this outbreak more difficult to contain than all previous outbreaks. Hindsight is 20-20. Why couldn’t they have just seen that this one would be worse than all previous outbreaks combined and taken more drastic measures early on? Why, why why...
Why couldn’t they have just seen that this one would be worse than all previous outbreaks combined and taken more drastic measures early on? Why, why why...
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Hindsight is usually 20-20 ..... unfortunately.
Did anyone see this? US Air Marshal in quarantine after being attacked with a syringe in Nigeria.
http://abc13.com/news/us-air-marshal-in-quarantine-after-syringe-attack-in-nigeria/300003/
Yikes! Thanks for the ping.
Welcome. I also thought it was very interesting that there was a group of Air Marshals in Nigeria home of the Boko/Islamofacist terrorists. Is there intel about an attack coming from Nigeria?
I’m guessing they don’t need specific intel - they know BH is operating in that country, so they’re watching the flights & taking some precautions .... at least you would hope that’s what they’re doing.
Yes, one hopes. With this Administration one never knows.
Yikes! Prayers up for the marshal.
+1
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