Nakia Cooper, of the
Associated Press reports that
Patient who claims to have had contact with Ebola victim Thomas Duncan hospitalized. In what we hope is just an abundance of caution, one of deputies who escorted the health officials who delivered the quarantine order to the family of Thomas Eric Duncan has been taken to the "same Dallas hospital where Duncan died after exhibiting signs and symptoms of Ebola, officials said."
Officials are also in the process of examining clinical staff and other facility patrons. The number of people impacted at the Care Now facility is unknown.
Texas Health Presbyterian Dallas released a statement which read, "(The hospital) can confirm today that a patient has been admitted to the Emergency Room after reporting possible exposure to the Ebola virus. Right now, there are more questions than answers about this case. Our professional staff of nurses and doctors is prepared to examine the patient, discuss any findings with appropriate agencies and officials. We are on alert with precautions and systems in place. At the same time, we are caring for routine cases which are completely separate in operations."
Duncan died Wednesday morning in a Dallas hospital Wednesday, a hospital spokesman said. He was pronounced dead at 7:51 a.m. at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas, where he was admitted Sept. 28 and has been kept in isolation, according to spokesman Wendell Watson.
Given the information and diagnostic protocols announced by the C.D.C., it would seem highly unlikely this deputy should have Ebola because the infected patient, Thomas Eric Duncan, hadn't been in the apartment for quite for several days before the deputy arrived, and none of the family members have displayed symptoms. Also, Ebola is only supposed to be spread by direct contact with an infected patient who is showing symptoms, and only live on surfaces for several hours.
(Update: others have suggested the Ebola virus can live on surfaces for three days or even six days. Also a study in 2012 indicated some monkeys in the same room with infected picks but separated cages became infected with no direct contact, so the scientific basis for these protocols seems to be "incompletely understood.")
So if this deputy is confirmed to have Ebola it will raise even more serious questions about the protocols the C.D.C. has announced.
This deputy was not on the list of people considered to be at high risk. "10 people, including 7 health workers" who had direct contact with him while he was still contagious are being monitored. So far, none have shown symptoms.
Meanwhile over 3,400 have died of Ebola in Western Africa with more than 7,400 suspected and confirmed cases.
The C.D.C. have announced these guidelines for handling the bodies of dead Ebola patients.
* Only personnel trained in handling infected human remains, and wearing PPE, should touch, or move, any Ebola-infected remains.
* Handling of human remains should be kept to a minimum.
* Autopsies on patients who die of Ebola should be avoided. If an autopsy is necessary, the state health department and CDC should be consulted regarding additional precautions.
Some have been asking questions about the standard of care Thomas Eric Duncan received and whether or not race, or lack of medical insurance may have influenced admission and treatment decisions. See Thomas Eric Duncan's family say he got bad healthcare because he is a poor Black man with an accent, by our own Egberto Willies.
This morning federal officials announced new expanded protocols for screening travelers from Western Africa. Bart Jansen, of USA Today brings us the article, Five U.S. airports to enhance screenings for Ebola.
Travelers from West Africa arriving at five large airports in the U.S. will have their temperature taken and face questions about their health in an effort to prevent the spread of Ebola, federal officials said Wednesday.
Customs and Border Protection will begin the stricter screening Saturday at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport and next week at New Jersey's Newark, Washington's Dulles, Chicago's O'Hare and Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson. Travelers from Ebola hot spots in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea will receive greater scrutiny.
Josh Earnest, a White House spokesman, said the airports receive about 150 travelers per day from the three countries. The five airports receive 94% of the travelers from those West African countries, he said
"This is almost by any measure a very small percentage of the traveling public who will be subject to these additional measures," Earnest said.
Our best wishes, and/or prayers go out to all of those afflicted and their loved ones. Let's hope we can get on top of this "outbreak" soon.
3:03 PM PT: I'm trying to fix the tense error in the title, however, the editor is not letting me do it suggesting I'm trying to chance the poll. I"m working on it. The first report indicted the deputy had delivered the quarantine order had contracted Ebola. Prior to publication I discovered, the deputy only escorted the health official who did deliver it so added helped to the title. Sorry for the error in tense. I also learned that the deputy only has the symptoms of Ebola, which in the beginning are also the symptoms of the flu. HIs case in not confirmed.