First US Ebola diagnosed in Dallas

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom

I totally agree that it "could" theoretically mutate...what I was trying to say is that the only thing we're lucky about is that ebola is in a family of viruses that isn't known to *easily* or readily mutate into airborne. So, a very tiny upside, if we can call it that . If it does ever become airborne, we'd be in a world of crap, that's for sure. If it happened and we didn't have a treatment or a vaccine, it would basically be like the plague. Scary.

Yes it would be awful and, while I don't like fear mongering, I do think people need to take this virus seriously.

Funny, though, that other one (enterovirus 68) is scarier right now imo and no one seems to be all that worried. I have to say that if I had young children, I would have a hard time not worrying myself sick over it.

[yorkietalkjilly]

Originally Posted by ladyjane

Your first sentence was enough for me Jeanie. No clue what's up with that "good Lord Linda comment". I was merely saying that I was confused about where your thoughts began and ended and where you were using others thoughts. Where I come from it is appropriate to give the source. I have a difficult time discerning what part of your posts are your thoughts and what part are others...that is all I was saying.

As for the other stuff, I am simply going to say that I took care of patients with HIV/AIDS in the hospital setting and never had to put the same protective gear on that they are putting on to care for Ebola patients. That alone speaks volumes to me.

lol - not a funny subject at all but surely you aren't asking me for longer posts with links added! Aren't they already long enough?!? Seriously, my posts are usually so long I rarely add source links except when I post whole articles; but then neither do most other posters on this thread. But if anyone wants them, they can either google the terms and find them easily online where I get them. In this case, once I heard Dr. Lyon say "wimpy" in a DVR'd show from CNN, I googled his phrase "Ebola is a wimpy virus" and got hits on a variety of people also using it about Ebola virus outside its host. If someone here or anywhere uses a term or makes a statement I might question in regard to a given subject, I usually google it along with the subject under discussion to learn more about that line of thinking rather than go by a single link.

You know, I heard an infectious disease expert just now say on Jake Tapper's show on CNN that in the area where the disease is so pervasive and the healthcare workers keep getting the disease despite taking precautions, that they often work 20 hours per shifts in the stifling heat, that many are fearful, all the while often wearing restrictive, hot PEP's, working with such severely ill patients or their bodily products disposing of them or doing labs - he said they probably catch the disease due to inadequate training, fatigue/exhaustion from long hours in the heat and stress causing not every protocol to always be followed, or the protective gear/equipment/measures being inadequate or faulty.

He said not that many physicians, healthcare workers (or, for that matter, administrator types) want to go to West Africa to work the epidemic, do the paperwork, order medicine and proper equipment and supplies, coordinate staffing, equipment repair, etc. And of those that do want to go, their families beg them not to. Mostly they have just been on their own over there trying to get through this until some American providers/workers and some other countries began to help out.

[megansmomma]

Originally Posted by yorkietalkjilly

lol - not a funny subject at all but surely you aren't asking me for longer posts with links added! Aren't they already long enough?!? Seriously, my posts are usually so long I rarely add source links except when I post whole articles; but then neither do most other posters on this thread. But if anyone wants them, they can either google the terms and find them easily online where I get them. In this case, once I heard Dr. Lyon say "wimpy" in a DVR'd show from CNN, I googled his phrase "Ebola is a wimpy virus" and got hits on a variety of people also using it about Ebola virus outside its host. If someone here or anywhere uses a term or makes a statement I might question in regard to a given subject, I usually google it along with the subject under discussion to learn more about that line of thinking rather than go by a single link.

You know, I heard an infectious disease expert just now say on Jake Tapper's show on CNN that in the area where the disease is so pervasive and the healthcare workers keep getting the disease despite taking precautions, that they often work 20 hours per shifts in the stifling heat, that many are fearful, all the while often wearing restrictive, hot PEP's, working with such severely ill patients or their bodily products disposing of them or doing labs - he said they probably catch the disease due to inadequate training, fatigue/exhaustion from long hours in the heat and stress causing not every protocol to always be followed, or the protective gear/equipment/measures being inadequate or faulty.

He said not that many physicians, healthcare workers (or, for that matter, administrator types) want to go to West Africa to work the epidemic, do the paperwork, order medicine and proper equipment and supplies, coordinate staffing, equipment repair, etc. And of those that do want to go, their families beg them not to. Mostly they have just been on their own over there trying to get through this until some American providers/workers and some other countries began to help out.

I always include links in all of my posts especially when I copy and post. I'd never want someone to think or assume that the words that I type are not my own. Adding a link is pretty simple when you use the hyperlink and add into one of the works.

[Britster]

Originally Posted by megansmomma

I always include links in all of my posts especially when I copy and post. I'd never want someone to think or assume that the words that I type are not my own. Adding a link is pretty simple when you use the hyperlink and add into one of the works.

Really? I mean, I'm not saying adding a link is a BAD thing by any means. But we're on a forum, just discussing. Nobody's really 'arguing' in this thread. I guess now I am LOL... but I mean, it's just like having discussions with friends/coworkers/family. After every statement you make in general convo, do you whip out your sources? Just seems extreme in this thread... I don't believe Jeanie is trying to say she's an expert or anything. We're all just talking and sharing things we've heard on the news and in the media in general. Most of which is heresay anyway.

[megansmomma]

Originally Posted by Britster

Really? I mean, I'm not saying adding a link is a BAD thing by any means. But we're on a forum, just discussing. Nobody's really 'arguing' in this thread. I guess now I am LOL... but I mean, it's just like having discussions with friends/coworkers/family. After every statement you make in general convo, do you whip out your sources? Just seems extreme in this thread... I don't believe Jeanie is trying to say she's an expert or anything. We're all just talking and sharing things we've heard on the news and in the media in general. Most of which is heresay anyway.

That's not what I meant at all. I just like the source so because well I'm kind of an internet detective and I'm inquisitive. A lot of time you can find even more information by following a link.

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by Britster

Really? I mean, I'm not saying adding a link is a BAD thing by any means. But we're on a forum, just discussing. Nobody's really 'arguing' in this thread. I guess now I am LOL... but I mean, it's just like having discussions with friends/coworkers/family. After every statement you make in general convo, do you whip out your sources? Just seems extreme in this thread... I don't believe Jeanie is trying to say she's an expert or anything. We're all just talking and sharing things we've heard on the news and in the media in general. Most of which is heresay anyway.

When you quote others, credit should be given. I am not arguing, just saying what I believe should be done.

Jeanie made a statement that looked like her thoughts, calling Ebola a wimpy virus, but when I questioned her she then said it was a doctor who said it. If she had said that from the get go I would not have questioned her about her thoughts. I probably should go read this though because I wonder about the context in which he said this because this virus has people concerned enough to wear stuff you would wear on Mars to survive.

[sandy simpson]

I keep listening to the news and it is not getting any better with this virus outbreak. My daughter is an R.N. and said they are training medical personnel here in the san diego area hospital, Scripps Mercy in case they need to deal with this virus. I am praying for all the sick people and their families. Life can take a turn for the worst and then one thinks of their mortality and hopefully turn their hearts and minds to the Lord, our only refuge, strength and hope in this world.

[yorkietalkjilly]

Brit, thank you for understanding! I'm going to be a little defensive here a bit as no one else's descriptive words without links/attribution were troubling. I'd always thought we all understood that what we personally post here is a combination of our advice, opinions and information based on things we've directly learned through our own personal studies/scholarship and life experiences or our take on what we've learned and read from other's studies/scholarship and life experiences.

None of us are experts in Ebola and I never purported to have directly studied the Ebola virus or had any life experiences with it. Commons sense dictates I could never have a personal knowledge or original opinion that Ebola is a "wimpy virus" or any other direct knowledge of its properties - how ever could I? But you know what? Neither has anyone else on this thread - so any words or statements from me - just like all the others here who didn't use quotes and links to back up their dynamic, descriptive words and phrases about the Ebola epidemic - are simply made using thoughts and terms I/we are personally parroting in our own style from actual experts or health providers' statements to us, articles, advisories, news reports and media interviews, as none of us can speak from direct Ebola knowledge. I thought we all got that.

Please let's don't let's start questioning each other's descriptive words and terms or the tone we take on current events that aren't always linked to some article or put in quotes with proper attribution or YT could quickly become drudgery, too tiring a forum to post on. For real information and advice about the Ebola virus, visit the actual websites of the experts and government and leave our forum to our personal discussions on it - links and attributions optional. C'mon, ya'll. Lighten up!

[yorkietalkjilly]

Originally Posted by ladyjane

When you quote others, credit should be given. I am not arguing, just saying what I believe should be done.

Jeanie made a statement that looked like her thoughts, calling Ebola a wimpy virus, but when I questioned her she then said it was a doctor who said it. If she had said that from the get go I would not have questioned her about her thoughts. I probably should go read this though because I wonder about the context in which he said this because this virus has people concerned enough to wear stuff you would wear on Mars to survive.

To avoid giving those who haven't read my posts a very wrong impression, let me clarify that I didn't call Ebola a "wimpy virus" at all but actually made the statement that it was a "wimpy virus off its host" and then in begins to die relatively quickly. Big difference. I learned and exhaustively posted and offered links to official healthcare articles/advisories that the experts say it's anything but wimpy in the human body and bodily fluids of a patient or body with a high viral load and my references to "biohazard", "deadly" and similar terms, and the absolute need to take full precautionary measures and proper after- cleaning/disinfection measures in my posts tends to fully underscore that.

The point I was trying to stress in latter posts is that, oddly, outside its host, the Ebola virus is wimpy by comparison to some hardier but less deadly viruses, doesn't live long out in the environment and is easily killed with most basic cleaning and disinfectant agents, UV light, including sunlight, heat, etc. So we don't have to fear going out and about or visiting the facilities where Ebola patients are being treated, fearing we'll readily contract Ebola from the air or off any surface a sick patient sometime touched.

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by yorkietalkjilly

To avoid giving those who haven't read my posts a very wrong impression, let me clarify that I didn't call Ebola a "wimpy virus" at all but actually made the statement that it was a "wimpy virus off its host" and then in begins to die relatively quickly. Big difference. I learned and exhaustively posted and offered links to official healthcare articles/advisories that the experts say it's anything but wimpy in the human body and bodily fluids of a patient or body with a high viral load and my references to "biohazard", "deadly" and similar terms, and the absolute need to take full precautionary measures and proper after- cleaning/disinfection measures in my posts tends to fully underscore that.

The point I was trying to stress in latter posts is that, oddly, outside its host, the Ebola virus is wimpy by comparison to some hardier but less deadly viruses, doesn't live long out in the environment and is easily killed with most basic cleaning and disinfectant agents, UV light, including sunlight, heat, etc. So we don't have to fear going out and about or visiting the facilities where Ebola patients are being treated, fearing we'll readily contract Ebola from the air or off any surface a sick patient sometime touched.

First of all, I questioned you because I don't believe Ebola is wimpy at. all. Pardon me for not adding "off its host" but even that would make me comment in the same manner I did. The ONLY reason the question about sources was made was because you then said that it was something someone else had said...not your words.

As to your highlighted sentence above, I am saying that I don't buy it. If that were true, why would it be necessary days later for that apartment in Dallas to be decontaminated by people in hazmat suits?

The people involved in this virus are saying one thing and acting another. I would not fear going into a facility where someone was being treated, but I sure as heck would not want to be in an area where that patient was or had touched!!! The people being flown into this country for treatment who just happened to be in such an area speaks volumes to me.

[Yorkiemom1]

There is soooooooo much we really do not know about this virus. All these "experts" that say one thing, and then there are the "experts", doctors that have worked in areas where the disease is rampant, saying something else. I completely understand all the efforts being made to keep people from going into a panic, but to downplay the seriousness of this virus will be catastrophic. "You cant catch it here", "You cant catch it there", ".....wont do this". ".....wont do that", etc......and yet, that one doctor that has worked with the disease and patients for the last 65 years, simply says, "A lot of claims and statements are being made, and these "experts" just do NOT know these answers". And now, in Spain, they have a nurses aide that has caught it, cant really explain how she could have gotten it if everything that has been said about the virus, is true. And now, they have even put her dog down just to make sure that poor soul is not infected and spreading the virus from dog to human contact. I am stunned and amazed that the "experts" in THIS country keep assuring us they have everything under control and dont worry, the virus "has never, will never, not expected to,...." behave in any frightening manner......and yet, in the next breath, it is pointed out, "Well NO, we dont actually have any more medicine/vaccine to give these sick people, and there wont be any more until next year at the earliest.....but dont worry, nothing to fear." How can they possibly say we are prepared to fight this disease when we have nothing to fight it with.....we are treating symptomatically, and throwing everything but the kitchen sink at it, hoping something works. They should be honest with that information.....this is all a guessing game and we really need to be kept accurately informed of the progress and changes that have NOT been made, addressing this virus.

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by Yorkiemom1

There is soooooooo much we really do not know about this virus. All these "experts" that say one thing, and then there are the "experts", doctors that have worked in areas where the disease is rampant, saying something else. I completely understand all the efforts being made to keep people from going into a panic, but to downplay the seriousness of this virus will be catastrophic. "You cant catch it here", "You cant catch it there", ".....wont do this". ".....wont do that", etc......and yet, that one doctor that has worked with the disease and patients for the last 65 years, simply says, "A lot of claims and statements are being made, and these "experts" just do NOT know these answers". And now, in Spain, they have a nurses aide that has caught it, cant really explain how she could have gotten it if everything that has been said about the virus, is true. And now, they have even put her dog down just to make sure that poor soul is not infected and spreading the virus from dog to human contact. I am stunned and amazed that the "experts" in THIS country keep assuring us they have everything under control and dont worry, the virus "has never, will never, not expected to,...." behave in any frightening manner......and yet, in the next breath, it is pointed out, "Well NO, we dont actually have any more medicine/vaccine to give these sick people, and there wont be any more until next year at the earliest.....but dont worry, nothing to fear." How can they possibly say we are prepared to fight this disease when we have nothing to fight it with.....we are treating symptomatically, and throwing everything but the kitchen sink at it, hoping something works. They should be honest with that information.....this is all a guessing game and we really need to be kept accurately informed of the progress and changes that have NOT been made, addressing this virus.

Totally agree. I am not in a panic and don't think anyone should be; but all this business of downplaying the seriousness of this virus is concerning to me.

[yorkietalkjilly]

Maybe they are downplaying it because we're in such a better situation over here they know it can be contained to non-epidemic stages. Yes, we'll have more cases - most probably Mr. Duncan's close contacts since it's said to be so contagious in close contacts. What I don't understand is why someone would allow a visitor from Liberia, in the throes of an Ebola epidemic, to come stay in their home and kiss and hug family children. You'd think they'd be more careful with their kids.

[ladyjane]

Or maybe they are downplaying it to prevent mass hysteria. Who knows....

As for that family, I am not going to start blaming them for this exposure. Just because he was in their home does not indicate to me that they don't care for their children.

I once had a relationship with a man who was HIV+ and lied about it. Of course you could say it was my fault for not requiring proof OR for protecting myself; but the bottom line it was not because I didn't care.

[TxVicki]

Thomas Duncan in the man here in dallas, has passed away. It was just announced on the new's.