White House: Ebola under control

[NightHawkeye]

If they used bleach beforehand, it's probably fine. Although pressure washing seems like overkill.

We'll know within the next few months whether the precautions taken, or not taken, were adequate.

 

[Joykins]

It's rather eerie but I just watched a tv program I recorded a few days ago titled Reign which looks as if it takes place during the time of feudal England.Surely the show was in production long before this present Ebolo event in the US but...the similarities were astounding.

The queen stood above her subjects as she addressed them saying, "the black plague has returned." She went on...there is no need to worry, just everyone needs to be careful. We are safe here. We are not infected and all is under control. She went on, "we're prepared." After which she turned to her aide and whispered.....we're far from prepared, how could we be prepared?


Oh my. Some things never change.

TV melodrama doesn't change, apparently.

When the Black Death came to London in actual history, the royalty and nobility were the first to leave. People were boarded into their houses if there was a plague case in the house. Everyone knew what they were dealing with, at least in terms of lethality, by Elizabethan times (which is the time the plague hit England during the reign of a queen) and yet the quarantine measures were often ineffective because in the bubonic form plague is not spread by personal contact (pneumonic plague is another story), but the people did not know that. The first wave of the Black Death in England was in 1349 and the Elizabethan plague was 200 years later. The plague wasn't eradicated in England until the Great Fire of London in 1660.

Bubonic plague is (or was, by the time of Elizabeth) about as lethal untreated as Ebola is when treated with supportive care. (Pneumonic plague untreated is invariably fatal).

 

[Joykins]

We'll know within the next few months whether the precautions taken, or not taken, were adequate.

Weeks, I think.

Bleach kills ebola pretty thoroughly. Standard protocol for infectious vomit cleanup is to completely bleach it (or the item) and then clean with water only after the bleach has had time to kill.

Although I would ask what kinds of idiots stand around watching infectious vomit cleanup? Maybe they would come help me out when my kid has a stomach bug?

 

[NightHawkeye]

Weeks, I think.

Bleach kills ebola pretty thoroughly. Standard protocol for infectious vomit cleanup is to completely bleach it (or the item) and then clean with water only after the bleach has had time to kill.

Although I would ask what kinds of idiots stand around watching infectious vomit cleanup? Maybe they would come help me out when my kid has a stomach bug?

The only person watching looked like an innocent nine-year old girl ... who didn't know enough to understand what jeopardy she was in, and whose parents were likely horrified when they later found out.

Her and the guy in the helicopter with the camera were the only obvious ones directly watching.

 

[AirPo]

Couldn't we just quarantine people coming from countries known to be going through Ebola epidemics? Or is that just too much common sense? Why did we allow somebody to come to the US from Liberia in the first place, knowing what was going on there without even checking his health conditions?

BTW, I do remember hearing about an Ebola outbreak in Africa back in the 90's. It didn't get to the US then.

What makes you think his health condition was not checked?

 

[Joykins]

Hm, I could only google up pictures and that showed a full grown woman standing a ways off...not a little girl.

 

[NightHawkeye]

Hm, I could only google up pictures and that showed a full grown woman standing a ways off...not a little girl.

Yep, the picture I saw to begin with looked like a young girl. Larger pictures show otherwise.

 

[YeShallTread]

Weeks, I think.

Bleach kills ebola pretty thoroughly. Standard protocol for infectious vomit cleanup is to completely bleach it (or the item) and then clean with water only after the bleach has had time to kill.

Although I would ask what kinds of idiots stand around watching infectious vomit cleanup? Maybe they would come help me out when my kid has a stomach bug?

Somehow everyone disappears then.

 

[MikeCarra]

BTW, I do remember hearing about an Ebola outbreak in Africa back in the 90's. It didn't get to the US then.

This has been a scenario discussed since the 90's indeed. In Preston's book "Hot Zone" he notes the idea that with airtraffic it is possible for someone who isn't sick enough to be kept from flying getting to just about anywhere in the world in time to become infectious by the landing or a little after.

The previous outbreaks in Africa have been of smaller scale. The reason Africa has such a problem with these outbreaks is because of how the bodies are treated (washing of the corpse by the family) and the poor medical infrastructure.

Previous outbreaks have been more easily contained than this one.

In the US an outbreak would probably not rage out of control anywhere like Africa is experiencing if only because there's almost nothing our country shares in common with sub-saharan Africa.

Now, that being said, hemhorragic fevers sound pretty nasty and awful, so I wouldn't really want to be the fraction of a percentage who might fall ill with it. But on the larger scale the fact that Ebola made it to the US is worse news for the Ebola than it is for the US since any outbreak here will be quashed PDQ.

This is assuming that we as a nation can remember that there are certain values to public service and centralized control of certain things. Who knows? Maybe in a few more election cycles we'll devolve into a third world mess. Then plagues can have their fun.

 

[cow451]

With modern air travel it is simply about when, not if, ebola or the next plague will hit the West. We've seen how international travel has changed ecosystems by moving species to new areas.

Even if we stop planes from coming to the US from Lberia, et al, people will simply go to other countries, then the US. Or, they will infect others who will then come to the US.

That is why it is prudent to assist the hardest-hit areas NOW, rather than be doing all that in the US later.

 

[NightHawkeye]

Noting that other western governments and airlines have implemented travel restrictions to Ebola infected countries. Foreign travel advice | Gov.UK

British Airways have suspended flights to Sierra Leone and Liberia until 31 December due to the deteriorating public health situation. Air France has suspended flights to Sierra Leone and some other airlines have also suspended flights to Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.​

 

[NightHawkeye]

In breaking news this week: Spaniard has Ebola in 1st infection outside Africa | Associated Press

MADRID (AP) -- In the first known transmission of the outbreak of Ebola outside West Africa, a Spanish nurse who treated a missionary for the disease at a Madrid hospital has tested positive for the virus, Spain's health minister said Monday​

.

 

[Armoured]

In breaking news this week: Spaniard has Ebola in 1st infection outside Africa | Associated Press

MADRID (AP) -- In the first known transmission of the outbreak of Ebola outside West Africa, a Spanish nurse who treated a missionary for the disease at a Madrid hospital has tested positive for the virus, Spain's health minister said Monday​

.

That Obama. Infesting Spanish people now??

 

[NightHawkeye]

That Obama. Infesting Spanish people now??

Probably related to the rumors reportedly going around Africa that Ebola was a secret American project.

 

[Jeffwhosoever]

Obama: Ebola 'A Top National Security Priority' | The Weekly Standard

 

[Armoured]

Obama: Ebola 'A Top National Security Priority' | The Weekly Standard

Oh good. Does that mean we can stop being terrified of ISIS now?

 

[AceHero]

Obama: Ebola 'A Top National Security Priority' | The Weekly Standard

Oh good. Does that mean we can stop being terrified of ISIS now?

I'm sure there's a loon out there that thinks the two are connected.

Plus Benghazi.

 

[YeShallTread]

In spite of some that see Benghazi, Isis and Ebola as no big deal...just a figment of someone's imagination or...something we need not worry about...can't hurt us (whatever their reasoning to ignore them happens to be ) these same folks must be in total agreement with Van Jones.....

Admit it — you REALLY want to hear what Van Jones has to say about Ebola
If there is one person you want to hear weigh in on Ebola, it's Van Jones. How could you not? Of course Van used his appearance on ABC News to slam conservatives like Ted Cruz and say that Ebola is the perfect example of why we need Obamacare! Makes sense, right? Nope. WATCH​

 

[Armoured]

In spite of some that see Benghazi, Isis and Ebola as no big deal...just a figment of someone's imagination or...something we need not worry about...can't hurt us (whatever their reasoning to ignore them happens to be ) these same folks must be in total agreement with Van Jones.....

Admit it — you REALLY want to hear what Van Jones has to say about Ebola
If there is one person you want to hear weigh in on Ebola, it's Van Jones. How could you not? Of course Van used his appearance on ABC News to slam conservatives like Ted Cruz and say that Ebola is the perfect example of why we need Obamacare! Makes sense, right? Nope. WATCH​

How about you give us the 3 line synopsis?

 

[cow451]

Oh good. Does that mean we can stop being terrified of ISIS now?

No! We now have to worry about Ebola-infected ISIS terrorists crossing the Mexican border armed with Chinese-made weapons in a Japanese SUV.