# Preparing to face ebola



## ovsfarm (Jan 14, 2003)

There is a large, uncontrolled outbreak of the ebola virus currently in Africa (see Current Events for more details about what's going on). I wanted to start a thread about what to do about it.

Obviously, avoidance is the best defense. Everything from social distancing to wearing barrier gear to shelter in place. I am bad about not wanting to go overboard unnecessarily, but if cases of the virus start showing up near me, I wanted to know what to do.

According to the ECDC (European CDC), "Ebola virus is easily killed by soap, bleach, sunlight, or drying. Machine washing clothes that have been contaminated with fluids will destroy Ebola virus. Ebola virus survives only a short time on surfaces that are in the sun or have dried." It appears that while nothing is guaranteed perfect, N95 masks would provide substantially more protection than going without a mask. Eye shields would be very important to help keep any fluid droplets that have gone airborne from reaching the healthy person's eyes.

The only thing I have been able to find about treating patients at home for the virus deals with rehydration. And of course, the need to use extreme precautions to avoid contracting the disease yourself. Have any of you found anything else from a reputable source that addresses how to care for ebola patients? In an ideal world, we would be able to get them to a hospital immediately, but in a pandemic situation hospitals become overrun quickly and often cannot accept additional patients. 

I ran across a mention of "EPA regulated low or intermediate level chemical household germicides" as being capable of killing the ebola virus. Does anyone here know of specific product names that fit this category?

I'm kind of at a loss here. I have seen stuff touting everything from certain (unspecified) foods, to vitamin D3 to recipes for ORS (oral rehydrating solutions that can be made at home). I am trying to sort through all the garbage to find any legitimate info. Anyone have anything solid?


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## where I want to (Oct 28, 2008)

Nolvasan is an inexpensive veternary disinfectant for bacteria and viruses.


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## terri9630 (Mar 12, 2012)

I heard a Dr say that Ebola really isn't a problem because it can be treated... that people only died if they didn't get treatment, but if that's true why does the CDC among others list the death rate at 90% and not quantify that that's without treatment and ??% with treatment? I don't know. I do know that any reports near here will have me and the kids quarantined here at home and hubby living in the camper since he can't stay home.


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## bigjon (Oct 2, 2013)

news reported dr that treated patients contracted ebola and died!


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## Aintlifegrand (Jun 3, 2005)

Heres what I have been told in my infection control briefings..there is no known cure for Ebola as it is a virus..nor is there any vaccines...death rate ranges from 40 to 90 percent..it can take as much as 21 days to began showing symptoms..with the onset of symptoms the person becomes the most contagious..the known transmission is bodily fluids..to include sweat and droplet..the virus can live on surfaces several days...extreme protection equipment is required...specific germicidals are required with appropriate kill times..handling of the dead is extremely dangerous..


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## Hobbes (Apr 1, 2008)

I'm no expert, but here are some random thoughts of what I would at least try if I knew there was a good chance I might have been around somebody with ebola:



For anything virus-related, the most potent herbal defense that I can think of would be oregano oil and garlic (fresh or Allimax capsules). You will think you will die from the heartburn, but it sure beats the alternative.
Bleach disinfectant spray all hard surfaces religiously.
Original Pinesol (with real Pine Oil) is a disinfectant that can be used to disinfect hard surfaces as well.
I'd probably run a humidifier that have thieves oil added to it as well to help clean the air. Pine Oil was used during the WWI plague in the same manner. Add them both. 
Get an ozone air purifier?

Just some brainstormin'


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## Darren (May 10, 2002)

Keep in mind any skin contact with a body fluid containing the virus will result in infection. That means some sort of whole body suit and gloves probably taped to the suit. The suit would need to be decontaminated before being taken off or the same procedure used by any trained person in hazmats. Just wearing a mask is ineffective.

If you really want to be prepared, practice taking off your outer clothing without touching any outside surface. If Ebola gets to this country, avoid any public venue. That will be somewhat difficult. I would wear gloves everywhere when in public. The disposable ones would be best. Dispose of them frequently. Remove them so that the outside surface is not allowed to contact the skin. Ebola will jump from area to area. Stay aware.


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## Vosey (Dec 8, 2012)

This is the old WHO rehydration formula, used for cholera epidemics for decades. 

3 finger pinch of baking soda
2 finger pinch of sugar
1 pinch of salt
1 liter of water

a pinch of potassium (potassium chloride is sold as a salt substitute Nu-Salt) is also good, but not in the original formula.

Try this next time you think you're having heat stroke or montezuma's revenge, works wonders.

Not the same as IV fluids, but can't hurt.


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## Cygnet (Sep 13, 2004)

I'm watching this somewhat closely. There's emerging news that this MAY be a new variant of the virus, and also indication that the case fatality rate is going down. The latter is actually not good news -- it can indicate the bug is becoming better adapted to humans. (And survivors remain potentially infectious for a time after they're recovered.) Incubation period is up to 21 days, which is plenty of time for someone to end up anywhere in the world. 

There are some some signs things make be getting a bit intense in Africa, as well, including Ebola clinics so overwhelmed they're turning away new patients (!), and infection and deaths of medical staff. Also, if you've been following the news, you're probably aware that a guy boarded a plane in Liberia with symptoms, collapsed, and was hospitalized in Nigeria. He has died, and another passenger on the plane who helped him is now confirmed infected. The first passenger was a US citizen on his way home to the US. 

The reason they've been able to stamp out outbreaks in the past is that outbreaks have been small, in remote areas, and patients are pretty obviously ill. The authorities were able to swoop in en mass, restrict travel, enforce sensible rules regarding the handling of the dead (even though those rules conflict with social expectations for funerals), quarantine the sick long enough to make sure they weren't carriers when they went home, and _deal _with it. 

The problem now is that we're not dealing with fifty or a hundred cases, we're dealing with several hundred at a time (and very likely more, uncounted, in the community) in major population centers, which have highly mobile populations. The medical professionals are overwhelmed and outnumbered and the people (victims, families, local authority figures) are not cooperating. :facepalm: NGO volunteers are being _blamed _for the disease, in some cases, or accused of other malicious plans for patients. Emotions are running high, people are very scared, and they're reacting in predictably human but rather counterproductive ways. 

Potentially infected patients are fleeing the area, resorting to traditional medicine, and treating patients at home because if they take them to the hospital they likely won't see them alive again anyway ... and they really don't trust the foreigners who are trying to help. Hrmmm. Sounds about like how many westerners would react if we were in their shoes ... 

All that aside, it's still not an end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it situation. Not even close. Ebola has a long history of burning itself out. The people dealing with it have dealt with it before, successfully. They're experienced with dealing with it. And they may not have the resources now, but I bet they will shortly.

Overall -- my personal assessment is that it's a worrisome outbreak but I'm nowhere near ready to panic yet. If we start seeing signs of sustained person-to-person transmission in a western country, you can bet we'll be battening down the hatches and staying home. 

Because it has a long incubation period, it's not particularly good at spreading via air, and the RO (rate of infection -- i.e., how many people any given patient infects) is comparatively low, any pandemic will likely slowly build up rather than explode like flu does. 

As far as protection goes -- it's about as infectious as the common cold. Or SARS, which the authorities fairly effectively controlled in the western world. (The fact that we got SARS under control is very encouraging. We could control cold outbreaks the same way if we really had to. But "spreads like the common cold" is a good way to think of it when thinking disease control. Ya'll know how to protect yourself from a cold, right?)

Bleach kills it. Heat kills it. It spreads via bodily fluids, including sweat. Washing your hands obsessively and religiously and not touching your face would be very good practice. It's not airborne precisely (not like influenza or measles or smallpox), though I wouldn't want to be downwind of a patient immediately after they sneezed. You can't catch it by walking down the street. You can catch it by touching a contaminated surface and then touching your eyes or mouth (think sweaty hands on a doorknob). 

Patients probably are not infectious until they start showing symptoms, but they remain infectious for a time after recovery. If there aren't resources to quarantine survivors and keep testing them until they're no longer shedding virus, you can end up with carriers ... who are well enough to travel. 

I imagine there's a few people who are having sleepless nights at the WHO and CDC right now over this, but it's not time to panic and it may well be a manageable problem if/when it arrives in the western world.


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## kully (Feb 19, 2008)

Just read the book, Ebola by Dr William T Close. Scary...and gives a very good idea of how hard it is to fight the lack of supplies, and the resistance of the people to cooperate. Many of them do think the health care workers are causing the disease and hide their loved ones who get sick. They go to the local "witch doctor" for treatment. Their local customs for burial were a problem too. If you can find the book be sure to read it. I've had it for years and just decided to read it because my Kindle is broken. And the next thing I know is Ebola is all over the news.


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

kully said:


> Just read the book, Ebola by Dr William T Close. Scary...and gives a very good idea of how hard it is to fight the lack of supplies, and the resistance of the people to cooperate. Many of them do think the health care workers are causing the disease and hide their loved ones who get sick. They go to the local "witch doctor" for treatment. Their local customs for burial were a problem too. If you can find the book be sure to read it. I've had it for years and* just decided to read it because my Kindle is broken. And the next thing I know is Ebola is all over the news.*


Ah, so it's your fault, lol!


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## ovsfarm (Jan 14, 2003)

Darren said:


> Keep in mind *any skin contact with a body fluid containing the virus will result in infection*. That means some sort of whole body suit and gloves probably taped to the suit. The suit would need to be decontaminated before being taken off or the same procedure used by any trained person in hazmats. Just wearing a mask is ineffective.
> 
> If you really want to be prepared, practice taking off your outer clothing without touching any outside surface. If Ebola gets to this country, avoid any public venue. That will be somewhat difficult. I would wear gloves everywhere when in public. The disposable ones would be best. Dispose of them frequently. Remove them so that the outside surface is not allowed to contact the skin. Ebola will jump from area to area. Stay aware.


Can you give a source for the bolded statement? I have read that there has to be a cut or other skin opening for the virus to enter a new body and that the most common avenues of transmission are via the mouth, nose or eyes.


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## Darren (May 10, 2002)

From a quick search:

"It can be transmitted from person to person as a result of direct contact with the blood, organs or other bodily fluids of those infected, with healthcare workers among those most at risk."

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/health/ebola-virus-what-it-how-7532593


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## Darren (May 10, 2002)

Recently released CDC map showing location of quarantine centers.

http://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/quarantinestationcontactlistfull.html


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## SCKYHWoman (Oct 10, 2008)

http://www.ajc.com/news/news/breaking-news/emory-healthcare-to-treat-ebola-patient/ngrtm/ This story was on our evening news tonight. I hope my link works. They are flying two Eboli patients to Atlanta GA. They are 2 Doctors that where working over there.


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## Calico Katie (Sep 12, 2003)

Flying ebola patients into the US to treat them for an untreatable disease. What a good idea. 

If I go to another country, even if it isn't of my own free will, and I contract an untreatable disease that has never been diagnosed in the US, please don't bring me back. If I'm dying, I don't want to take anyone with me.


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## where I want to (Oct 28, 2008)

Unfortunately Ebola, along with every other disease, is just a plane ride away anyway. This morning I was reading about an American citizen who became deathly ill in Liberia, was quarantined and his family was unable to get him out in time to get good treatment. His family was going on about the evil of "ebola hysteria" causing the death of an American citizen. 
Beside the naivetÃ© of anyone who thinks that American rights extend outside the US and that the American State Dept will ride to the rescue of any American who gets into trouble, this shows that what was important to this family was not protecting the people living here but saving the family member. If they could have arranged it, they would have brought him home for treatment without having confirmation he did not have Ebola and it was only that the country did not allow him to move until he was too sick to go that kept him there.
Sooner or later a sick person will come into the country and expose us all. It is already happening with other viruses. 
So maybe getting someone who is sick and known into treatment here will allow needed experience in treatment and control before that unknown case arrives. If the disease escapes from the hospital or hospital workers can not contain it, then it only means it happened a bit sooner. If they can control it and provide effective treatment, then that may be a saving grace.


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## Calico Katie (Sep 12, 2003)

where I want to said:


> ... anyone who thinks that American rights extend outside the US and that the American State Dept will ride to the rescue of any American who gets into trouble ....


This is what I have a problem with. Anytime we go to a foreign country, we are going to be under their laws and customs. The US cannot go to war or risk all citizens to aid a few people who have voluntarily left the US. If an American teenager goes to Asia and vandalizes property, he's going to pay for it according to their justice system and not ours. If people go as missionaries following their faith, they go knowing of the risk involved. 

These are good and decent people who have gone over there to help. Sadly, they are now suffering because of their generosity. I don't believe they would consciously make a decision to endanger their loved ones or any of the people who will be bringing them back and caring for them.


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## where I want to (Oct 28, 2008)

Calico Katie said:


> This is what I have a problem with. Anytime we go to a foreign country, we are going to be under their laws and customs. The US cannot go to war or risk all citizens to aid a few people who have voluntarily left the US. If an American teenager goes to Asia and vandalizes property, he's going to pay for it according to their justice system and not ours. If people go as missionaries following their faith, they go knowing of the risk involved.
> 
> These are good and decent people who have gone over there to help. Sadly, they are now suffering because of their generosity. I don't believe they would consciously make a decision to endanger their loved ones or any of the people who will be bringing them back and caring for them.


When a person is desperately sick, they and their families will be easily convinced that the danger to others doesn't exist. Even if it's simply a matter of convenience, like drinking or drug intoxication and driving, enough people will chose convenience over the lives of others.
Look at that article on the man dieing and his family blaming 'ebola hysteria' for preventing them from bringing him right back here for better treatment- they did not know whether he had it or not. The public's safety did not matter to them. And, here in this country, public good has been sacrificed for a long time on the altar of many different social causes.
Being not of victim status means you don't count. There is no sense of obligation to society in many people - it is simply not fostered at all.


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## ROSEMAMA (Jan 12, 2007)

We were just this past week given a short course and test on the use of personal protective equipment similar to what BLS labs use (separate portable air supply, etc.). 

Of course, there was no official reason why all of the sudden now we are getting this training (nudge, nudge, wink, wink).


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## Spinner (Jul 19, 2003)

SCKYHWoman said:


> http://www.ajc.com/news/news/breaking-news/emory-healthcare-to-treat-ebola-patient/ngrtm/ This story was on our evening news tonight. I hope my link works. They are flying two Eboli patients to Atlanta GA. They are 2 Doctors that where working over there.


Someone posted on another forum today that they are transporting some to Cali too. They were very worried because they were bringing them to their town. 

If it breaks out, it's going to be at least both coasts. I'm wondering if there are others being taken to various parts of the country.


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## AVanarts (Jan 2, 2011)

Cygnet said:


> It's not airborne precisely (not like influenza or measles or smallpox), though I wouldn't want to be downwind of a patient immediately after they sneezed. You can't catch it by walking down the street. You can catch it by touching a contaminated surface and then touching your eyes or mouth (think sweaty hands on a doorknob).


 Sweaty hands on a doorknob. Sweaty hands on a shopping cart handle.

How about a sweaty butt on a public toilet? Probably a good thing most people don't touch their faces right after an emergency poop at Walmart.


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## where I want to (Oct 28, 2008)

It will be interesting to hear if high tech supportive therapy makes any difference. I am already very dubious over all the patronizing repetitions in the news of officials saying variations of there is nothing to worry about.


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## unregistered358895 (Jul 15, 2013)

I was really surprised when my hipster brother brought this up at dinner. This may not become a pandemic, but if HE sees it as a possibility then anyone with half an ounce of common sense should start paying attention. My brother isn't dumb, but he is the guy who has a furnace on the fritz for months and when it finally dies in the dead of winter has to go out in a blizzard to buy overpriced bundles of sticks at the grocery store so he can use his fireplace.

Keeping my eyes open.


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## John Carter (Oct 6, 2004)

N95 medical grade face mask that will stop the TB exposure have doubled in price on ebay just in the last 24 hours...........
just random thoughts on why they want to bring these two back here.
Everything I have read to date indicates this to be a 4th or newer strain of ebola than what has been encountered before.
Reports indicate it to be more virulent than the others, and those were deadly. But the previous outbreaks were limited in scope and quantity.

so, TPTB want to bring this newest strain straight back to the CDC while they still have live specimens to work with.........
Much more information that can be gleaned from that CDC lab than they can get second hand from the out back of africa.......in other words they see a new more deadly bio weapon and they WANT it......
Scientist, doctors and such are just to darn curious for their or our own good


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## ovsfarm (Jan 14, 2003)

I think that while it is not impossible that we will see uncontrolled ebola here in the US, it is fairly unlikely. I feel that due to our more advanced and better supplied medical facilities, lack of funeral practices that involve the family in direct contact with the corpse, and larger number of trained medical personnel, we would hopefully have more ability to contain the problem until it burned itself out.

However, I think our biggest problem would be (apologies to Churchill) fear itself. the resulting panic could be quite nasty in its own way.

I think we can do a lot toward stamping that out in ourselves and others by not fear mongering or rabble rousing. We can be stringent to ONLY spread information from solid sources. We can ask others for the sources of their information. We can avoid the panic mentality and help others to do likewise.


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## Ozarks Tom (May 27, 2011)

It would seem the best idea would be not to get it in the first place. I'm assuming most of the people reading this forum are "preppers", and being a prepper means not having to leave your abode for months at a time. We're not especially concerned for our own health. If an outbreak is announced in the region we would simply stop contact with the outside world, including not handling mail that's been handled across the country.

If a relative wished to come stay with us, they would be made welcome - but quarantined to a tent for 3 weeks.

Sorry if I sound hard hearted and uncaring, but this is the type of situation that encompasses the true meaning of "Survival & Emergency Preparedness".


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## Nimrod (Jun 8, 2010)

ovsfarm said:


> I think that while it is not impossible that we will see uncontrolled ebola here in the US, it is fairly unlikely. I feel that due to our more advanced and better supplied medical facilities, lack of funeral practices that involve the family in direct contact with the corpse, and larger number of trained medical personnel, we would hopefully have more ability to contain the problem until it burned itself out.
> 
> However, I think our biggest problem would be (apologies to Churchill) fear itself. the resulting panic could be quite nasty in its own way.
> 
> I think we can do a lot toward stamping that out in ourselves and others by not fear mongering or rabble rousing. We can be stringent to ONLY spread information from solid sources. We can ask others for the sources of their information. We can avoid the panic mentality and help others to do likewise.


Whats Churchill got to do with it???
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EuAZsz_z_U[/ame]


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## ovsfarm (Jan 14, 2003)

Thanks for posting the link!


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

I am not even going to be thinking hard about until a month from now or so.
We will see where we are then.


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## Coco (Jun 8, 2007)

right now my plan is to stay put, if this goes hot here in the US. This homestead will shut the gate if the new, not confirmed yet person in Taiwan does have it. My plan is NO one in NO one out if this is a confirmed case.


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## Coco (Jun 8, 2007)

[FONT=Verdana,Arial]you can listen to what uncle sez

or you can watch what uncle does

national guard in all 50 states just got what gear?

they just ran what test in nyc yesterday?

barney fife in every podunk town has how much .mil gear?

every fed agency has ordered what over the last several years?

what executive orders came out recently?

yeah. pondering what i see and ignoring what i hear i find myself......uneasy [/FONT]


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## TheMartianChick (May 26, 2009)

I have a friend who just left Liberia yesterday. She is a newspaper reporter who is originally from Liberia. The outbreak is likely more serious than the general public knows. At issue is the body count. The government can only count those who have passed through the hospitals. Many people who contract the illness are opting to stay home where they are cared for by family members (who will likely contract the disease, too). 

As she was posting about the conditions, many of her Liberian friends were calling on the politicians and political ministers to turn their government vehicles over to the cause of transporting those who were ill. That request seemed to be falling on deaf ears. Additionally, several of her friends were talking about specific roadsides where they have seen dead bodies and no one has come to collect them. The bodies mentioned seem to be isolated (so they aren't just piling up in the streets), but it is a genuine concern.

Prior to leaving Liberia, she said that she was tested to ensure that she was not carrying the virus. I'm not sure about what the testing entailed, but she did mention that her temperature was taken as part of the process. She also said that she has not been in contact with anyone who has had it and she does not know anyone personally who has succumbed. She has not seen any of the bodies on the road.


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## Vosey (Dec 8, 2012)

TheMartianChick said:


> I have a friend who just left Liberia yesterday. She is a newspaper reporter who is originally from Liberia. The outbreak is likely more serious than the general public knows. At issue is the body count. The government can only count those who have passed through the hospitals. Many people who contract the illness are opting to stay home where they are cared for by family members (who will likely contract the disease, too).
> 
> As she was posting about the conditions, many of her Liberian friends were calling on the politicians and political ministers to turn their government vehicles over to the cause of transporting those who were ill. That request seemed to be falling on deaf ears. Additionally, several of her friends were talking about specific roadsides where they have seen dead bodies and no one has come to collect them. The bodies mentioned seem to be isolated (so they aren't just piling up in the streets), but it is a genuine concern.
> 
> Prior to leaving Liberia, she said that she was tested to ensure that she was not carrying the virus. I'm not sure about what the testing entailed, but she did mention that her temperature was taken as part of the process. She also said that she has not been in contact with anyone who has had it and she does not know anyone personally who has succumbed. She has not seen any of the bodies on the road.


I was wondering if the official death toll was really accurate, especially after reading the article in the thread "Anatomy of an epidemic". Officials often only purposely count 'confirmed 'deaths, and if they died at home it's not confirmed.


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## TheMartianChick (May 26, 2009)

I decided to go back through my friend's Facebook posts to see what I could share here.

1- It seems that there is a rumor/myth floating around Liberia and possibly other African countries that says that Bitter Kola can cure Ebola. This may be the reason that many people are opting to treat their relatives at home.Most patients who go to the hospital with Ebola, are at the point of being severely affected. Unfortunately, there is little that can be done for them at that point.

2- A Liberian man died in the Casablanca airport (Morocco) a couple of days ago, prompting widespread panic that he may have had Ebola. It turns out that he did not and had a known heart condition. Some of the government officials are fueling the panic by speculating, rather than reporting on the facts.

3- She also posted this article on her Facebook page.It is an interesting read from National Geographic:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/...s-eboladrugs&utm_campaign=Content&sf3952139=1

4- She also commented that the stress and worry about Ebola is enough to make you feel as though you have it. Pounding stress headaches and the constant exposure to bleach on your skin (handwashing) and being in buildings that are constantly being scrubbed with bleach have led to her being nauseous and teary-eyed from chemical exposure.


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## TheMartianChick (May 26, 2009)

She also posted this letter on her Facebook page to encourage people to donate needed medical supplies. I'm thinking that this list might be helpful for those who are concerned about what supplies to have on hand in the event of an outbreak:


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## Calico Katie (Sep 12, 2003)

Coco said:


> [FONT=Verdana,Arial]you can listen to what uncle sez
> or you can watch what uncle does ........
> yeah. pondering what i see and ignoring what i hear i find myself......uneasy [/FONT]


It looks like the national guard is being prepared to go to the Ukraine. Police and sheriff's departments are being given military grade armored weapons. NYC had an unexpected test on giving emergency medication to the public. BO signed an amendment to an executive order allowing US citizens to be detained if they have respiratory illnesses other than flu. That includes ebola.

Yep, that day we've all been preparing for? It got here some time ago.


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## Cygnet (Sep 13, 2004)

We'd button up here if it started spreading in US cities. Not too worried until then. It is not particularly easy to spread in a modern health care setting. 

(However, devil's advocate --- the US health system IS easily overwhelmed and people would be likely to resist being taken to the hospital during a pandemic. The early symptoms are stomach-flu like. Nobody wants to be diagnosed with a deadly virus when the problem could simply be norovirus, and it would be easy to say to yourself, "I'll be fine tomorrow. It's just a little bug." And, also, stomach flu could still be quit deadly if you ended up in an Ebola ward and caught Ebola from someone else there, which would be added incentive for the potentially-infected to avoid hospitals. Normal human behavior in the face of a pandemic, and our less-than-robust health care infrastructure, make me rather wary of saying "modern medicine can completely handle it, no problems.")

I am glad I live at the end of a long dirt road, in a very tiny community. We're fairly well set to isolate ourselves here if we have to. Hopefully, it won't come to that.

One thing I _would _note is that ebola is zoonotic and infects a wide range of critters. "Don't eat bushmeat" may apply during an ebola outbreak in the US just as it does in Africa. It just occurred to me that my "zombie apocalypse" plans for survival, which included harvesting some naturally occurring sources of protein *ahem*, may need to be rethought. Wonder if squirrels can get ebola? 

(With my luck, I'd shoot a squirrel, and it wouldn't have ebola, it would have plague. Because, Arizona.)


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## where I want to (Oct 28, 2008)

One of the problems with having a government that clearly lies to it's people on a regular basis it that no one believes them about this either. And it CDC lab scandals are less than a month ago.
Not good time for an official xno need to panic' speech.


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

Darren said:


> Recently released CDC map showing location of quarantine centers.
> 
> http://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/quarantinestationcontactlistfull.html


Looking at the link the Dallas Quarantine station is in.......... Houston 


:umno: Houston is 250 miles away from Dallas

They did get the Houston Quarantine listing correct - its at the same address in Houston


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## Coco (Jun 8, 2007)

the 2 health care workers that have been flown back to the US including a MD has it. They( health care workers) that include over 100 dead now practiced ppe at a level 4 , it ( ebola) has infected the protected?


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

Once again we are put at risk because of superstition.


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## Cygnet (Sep 13, 2004)

Coco said:


> the 2 health care workers that have been flown back to the US including a MD has it. They( health care workers) that include over 100 dead now practiced ppe at a level 4 , it ( ebola) has infected the protected?


It is extremely hard to maintain the necessary level of biosecurity in an ebola ward over an extended period. When someone is dying of ebola, bodily fluids go everywhere -- blood, snot, feces, puke, sweat, and most likely tears, everywhere. Ebola affects the brain, and sometimes patients act in irrational ways, including fighting those trying to help them -- or simply having a seizure at an inopportune moment.

It doesn't take much imagination to picture a doctor working in an Ebola ward, bending over a sick patient, and having the patient freak out. The patent could grab his mask and tear it off. Or a nurse is trying to get a sedative into a patient, and the needle goes into their hand. (I've put a needle into my hand giving a goat a shot -- the goat moved at the wrong moment. I would imagine the same problem applies if you're trying to inject a delirious, seizing, or simply frightened patient. Or -- imagine the reaction of the average child to the idea of a shot. Now try getting an IV into a sick six year old patient, separated from their parents, surrounded by monsters in space suits, who is absolutely terrified and fighting you the whole way.)

And then there's getting dressed and undressed -- all it takes is one moment of inattention after days without sleep, tending the dying, and you've touched a gloved (contaminated) hand to your uncovered face and boom, you've got it. 

It supposedly can only be contracted through exposure of bodily fluids to broken skin or mucous membranes, but "broken skin" can be as simple as a mosquito bite or a small rash. I imagine spending days in protective gear means you're going to get heat rash and chaffing. Then you're undressing and the outside (contaminated side) of your gown brushes against some irritated skin and boom, you have it. 

And then there's always that _one _glove with a factory flaw, or a mask that doesn't fit quite right, or the patient that manages to barf on your boot and you've got a blister and the boot has a tiny hole in a seam ...

PPE level 4 works good in a lab. As the number of health care workers getting sick shows, it's not easily sustainable in the real world. There are just too many ways for protective gear to fail.

The health care workers trying to fight this are heroes.


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## Coco (Jun 8, 2007)

[FONT=Verdana,Arial]If you can't use bleach for any reason, you can kill ebola with heat. 

"DRUG RESISTANCE: There are no known antiviral treatments available for human infections.

SUSCEPTIBILITY TO DISINFECTANTS: Ebola virus is susceptible to sodium hypochlorite, lipid solvents, phenolic disinfectants, peracetic acid, methyl alcohol, ether, sodium deoxycholate, 2% glutaraldehyde, 0.25% Triton X-100, &#946;-propiolactone, 3% acetic acid (pH 2.5), formaldehyde and paraformaldehyde, and detergents such as SDS (20, 21, 31-34).

PHYSICAL INACTIVATION: Ebola are moderately thermolabile and can be inactivated by heating for 30 minutes to 60 minutes at 60ÂºC, boiling for 5 minutes, gamma irradiation (1.2 x106 rads to 1.27 x106 rads), and/or UV radiation (3, 6, 20, 32, 33).

SURVIVAL OUTSIDE HOST: The virus can survive in liquid or dried material for a number of days (23). Infectivity is found to be stable at room temperature or at 4Â°C for several days, and indefinitely stable at -70Â°C (6, 20). Infectivity can be preserved by lyophilisation. "

It can live on surfaces for a long time:
"SECTION IV â STABILITY AND VIABILITY

DRUG SUSCEPTIBILITY: Unknown. S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase inhibitors have been found to have complete mortality protection in mice infected with a lethal dose of Ebola virus (30).

DRUG RESISTANCE: There are no known antiviral treatments available for human infections.

SUSCEPTIBILITY TO DISINFECTANTS: Ebola virus is susceptible to sodium hypochlorite, lipid solvents, phenolic disinfectants, peracetic acid, methyl alcohol, ether, sodium deoxycholate, 2% glutaraldehyde, 0.25% Triton X-100, &#946;-propiolactone, 3% acetic acid (pH 2.5), formaldehyde and paraformaldehyde, and detergents such as SDS (20, 21, 31-34).

PHYSICAL INACTIVATION: Ebola are moderately thermolabile and can be inactivated by heating for 30 minutes to 60 minutes at 60ÂºC, boiling for 5 minutes, gamma irradiation (1.2 x106 rads to 1.27 x106 rads), and/or UV radiation (3, 6, 20, 32, 33).

SURVIVAL OUTSIDE HOST: The virus can survive in liquid or dried material for a number of days (23). Infectivity is found to be stable at room temperature or at 4Â°C for several days, and indefinitely stable at -70Â°C (6, 20). Infectivity can be preserved by lyophilisation.
"

more information at link. Another one we might all want to have in a binder.
http://www.msdsonline.com/resources/...ola-virus.aspx[/FONT]


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## Coco (Jun 8, 2007)

[FONT=Verdana,Arial]*5 Uses for Bleach During a Crisis or Survival Situation*

Preparedness, Water Purification

Bleach survival uses

It seems that everyone has a bottle of bleach either under his or her kitchen counter or in the laundry room. Bleach is used to whiten white clothing, remove stains from hard non-porous surfaces and to disinfect childrenâs toys, and in some cases used to sanitize clothing and to make biologically unsafe water potable, or safe for human consumption.

Sanitize Versus Disinfect

There is a distinction even through many assume the words are interchangeable. Essentially this article will not make a distinction but may interchange the words for emphasis.

In hospitals for example, to sanitize means to kills germs on surfaces to make them safe for contact. A doctor or nurse will âsanitizeâ their hands before seeing a patient. Sanitizing lessens the number of germs on contact surfaces, but typically does not kill all germs it simply reduces the number. Most hand sanitizing solutions claim to kill 99.99 percent, which means obviously not all germs are destroyed.

To disinfect a surface you need a stronger solution and the intent is to destroy all pathogens. Areas that require a disinfecting solution would be those surfaces or areas exposed to bodily fluids, blood, feces, vomit, saliva and so on.

The solution of bleach to water has to be such that it would destroy any viruses/diseases that are communicable.

Bleach used for sanitation and as a disinfectant should have as its active ingredient sodium hypochlorite (liquid chlorine). It will state this clearly on the label. Ensure there are no additives in the bleach such as fragrances or agents that cause the bleach to be splash proof.

The percentage of the active ingredient is typically 5.25 to 6 percent but some manufactures are now producing bleach and labeling it as a concentrate, so the active ingredient can be as high as eight percent.

Uses around the Home for Bleach in particular during a Crisis or Survival Situation

1.) Making Water Safe to Drink
Typically, drops are used when describing the amount of bleach needed to disinfect water. The ratio is eight drops per gallon of water or two drops per quart/liter if the water has been filtered or is otherwise clear and not considered extremely cold.

According to the CDC 8 drops is equal to roughly 1/8 of a teaspoon, so 16 drops would equal Â¼ teaspoon. You must wait at least 30 minutes after adding the drops of bleach before drinking.

If you do not have, a dropper or teaspoon use a clean piece of paper. Dip a corner of the paper in the bleach and allow it to form drops on the end, shake the drops into the water. Ending up with a few extra drops of bleach in the water will not hurt you as long as you do not exceed 16 drops per gallon (1/4 teaspoon) at the 5.25 to 6 percent active ingredient ratio. Most manuals will recommend doubling the amount of drops (up to 16 per gallon) if the water is cloudy or cold, below 60&#7506;F. (CDC, n.d.).

2.) Sanitize Food Preparation Surfaces and Food Storage Containers
A teaspoon of bleach to a gallon of water is considered a strong enough solution for sanitizing food-processing areas. Bacteria in raw meats can cause sickness if the raw juices cross contaminate foods that will not be cooked. This typically happens when raw chicken, for example, is cut up on a cutting board that is then not properly disinfected before cutting bread, produce or fruit on the same board. Use the bleach solution whenever any surface has been exposed to any raw meats and before preparing any foods.

Get the odor and bacteria out of plastic coolers and thermoses by using a teaspoon of bleach to a gallon of water solution. Pour the solution into the cooler, wash the side and all corners, and let the solution soak for 30 minutes and then rinse well. If the cooler has a drain spout, open the spout and let the solution drain through to clean. Pour the solution into your thermos and let soak for 10 minutes and then rinse well.

3.) Cleaning Raw Fruits and Vegetables
If your area has experienced a flood, local produce and fruits can become contaminated due to contact with the floodwaters. The produce or fruit must be cleaned before eating raw, even if the outer layer (skin) is not eaten. Using a knife or your hands to remove the peel or to cut the product can cause bacteria to make contact with the edible parts. The outer layer must be cleaned by soaking for 30 seconds in the one teaspoon per gallon bleach solution. Rinse well and let the produce air dry.

4.) Destroying Deadly Molds and Mildew
Molds can form quickly in particular if your do not have electricity in hot months due to a crisis. Most air conditioning units also dehumidify the air and without this process, high humidity can cause mold growth.

To kill mold and mildew mix one cup of bleach with one gallon of water and either sponge or spray the solution on or otherwise drench the growth with the solution. Let the solution work for at least 10 minutes before scrubbing the mold. Make sure you have heavy rubber gloves, eye protection and a face mask/respirator on and provide as much ventilation as possible when working with a strong bleach solution.

5.) Preventing the Spread of Diseases
In most emergencies, proper sanitation is a problem, and this can cause the spread of viruses and harmful bacteria. Medical care will be limited if there is any at all, so you must do what you can to prevent the spread of viruses and bacteria to keep your family safe.

Clothing can be sanitized using bleach but any colored clothing would be spotted or have the color completely âbleachedâ out, but in an emergency you do what you have to do. You may have to wash the bedding and clothing of a sick member of the family, and you do this to prevent the spread of the disease.

Use a bleach solution ratio of 1:100 for washing clothing and bedding as well as any protective clothing a caregiver is using.

Use the one teaspoon of bleach per gallon of water to kill germs and viruses on any hard surfaces in particular doorknobs, light switches, baby crib rails (other than wood rails), countertops, and any hard surfaces in which you and others would routinely have contact.

To disinfect childrenâs hard, non-porous toys that are color safe use Â½ cup of bleach per gallon of water. Let the toys soak for 5 minutes in the solution, then rinse with clean water and let air dry.

Some will state that a solution of bleach sprayed into the air will kill airborne viruses and bacteria. Bleach works as a contact agent, in other words, it must make and maintain contact with a surface for a specified period to kill bacteria and viruses.

Spraying bleach into the air may kill some bacteria but it would be difficult for the bleach to maintain contact with any viruses or bacteria in the air, in other words, this is not an effective method of killing airborne pathogens.

Additionally spraying bleach into the air may cause droplet to get in your eyes or on surfaces that can be damaged by the bleach.

Never mix bleach with any other cleaning solution, to include white vinegar and in particular ammonia. Mixing bleach and ammonia together will create a deadly gas. Use eye, hand, mouth and body protection whenever handling/using bleach.

CDC. (n.d.). Retrieved 2014, from http://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/pdf/..._Flyer_508.pdf[/FONT]


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## Coco (Jun 8, 2007)

- The first Ebola victim to be brought to the United States from Africa was safely escorted into a specialized isolation unit Saturday at one of the nation's best hospitals, where doctors said they are confident the deadly virus won't escape.
Fear that the outbreak killing more than 700 people in Africa could spread in the U.S. has generated considerable anxiety among some Americans. But infectious disease experts said the public faces zero risk as Emory University Hospital treats a critically ill missionary doctor and a charity worker who were infected in Liberia.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has received "nasty emails" and at least 100 calls from people saying "How dare you bring Ebola into the country!?" CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden told The Associated Press Saturday.
"I hope that our understandable fear of the unfamiliar does not trump our compassion when ill Americans return to the U.S. for care," Frieden said.
Dr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol, who will arrive in several days, will be treated in Emory's isolation unit for infectious diseases, created 12 years ago to handle doctors who get sick at the CDC, just up the hill. It is one of about four in the country, equipped with everything necessary to test and treat people exposed to very dangerous viruses.
In 2005, it handled patients with SARS, which unlike Ebola can spread when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
In fact, the nature of Ebola - which is spread by close contact with bodily fluids and blood - means that any modern hospital using standard, rigorous, infection-control measures should be able to handle it.
Still, Emory won't be taking any chances.
"Nothing comes out of this unit until it is non-infectious," said Dr. Bruce Ribner, who will be treating the patients. "The bottom line is: We have an inordinate amount of safety associated with the care of this patient. And we do not believe that any health care worker, any other patient or any visitor to our facility is in any way at risk of acquiring this infection."
Brantly was flown from Africa to Dobbins Air Reserve base outside Atlanta in a small plane equipped to contain infectious diseases, and a small police escort followed his ambulance to the hospital. He climbed out dressed head to toe in white protective clothing, and another person in an identical hazardous materials suit held both of his gloved hands as they walked gingerly inside.
"It was a relief to welcome Kent home today. I spoke with him, and he is glad to be back in the U.S.," said his wife, Amber Brantly, who left Africa with their two young children for a wedding in the U.S. days before the doctor fell ill.
"I am thankful to God for his safe transport and for giving him the strength to walk into the hospital," her statement said.
Inside the unit, patients are sealed off from anyone who doesn't wear protective gear.
"Negative air pressure" means air flows in, but can't escape until filters scrub any germs from patients. All laboratory testing is conducted within the unit, and workers are highly trained in infection control. Glass walls enable staff outside to safely observe patients, and there's a vestibule where workers suit up before entering. Any gear is safely disposed of or decontaminated.
Family members will be kept outside for now.
The unit "has a plate glass window and communication system, so they'll be as close as 1-2 inches from each other," Ribner said.
Dr. Jay Varkey, an infectious disease specialist who will be treating Brantly and Writebol, gave no word Saturday about their condition. Both were described as critically ill after treating Ebola patients at a missionary hospital in Liberia, one of four West African countries hit by the largest outbreak of the virus in history.
There is no proven cure for the virus. It kills an estimated 60 percent to 80 percent of the people it infects, but American doctors in Africa say the mortality rate would be much lower in a functioning health care system.
The virus causes hemorrhagic fever, headaches and weakness that can escalate to vomiting, diarrhea and kidney and liver problems. Some patients bleed internally and externally.
There are experimental treatments, but Brantly had only enough for one person, and insisted that his colleague receive it. His best hope in Africa was the transfusion of blood he received including antibodies from one of his patients, a 14-year-old boy who survived thanks to the doctor.
There was also only room on the plane for one patient at a time. Writebol will follow in several days.
Dr. Philip Brachman, an Emory public health specialist who led the CDC's disease detectives program for many years, said Friday that since there is no cure, medical workers will try any modern therapy that can be done, such as better monitoring of fluids, electrolytes and vital signs.
"We depend on the body's defenses to control the virus," Dr. Ribner said. "We just have to keep the patient alive long enough in order for the body to control this infection."
Just down the street from the hospital, people dined, shopped and carried on with their lives Saturday. Several interviewed by the AP said the patients are coming to the right place.
"We've got the best facilities in the world to deal with this stuff," said Kevin Whalen, who lives in Decatur, Ga., and has no connection to Emory or the CDC. "With the resources we can throw at it, it's the best chance this guy has for survival. And it's probably also the best chance to develop treatments and cures and stuff that we can take back overseas so that it doesn't come back here."
---
Medical Writers Mike Stobbe and Marilynn Marchione reported from New York and Milwaukee. Video journalists Ron Harris and Alex Sanz in Atlanta contributed to this report.


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## where I want to (Oct 28, 2008)

Somehow, there is a bit too much arrogance going on about American medicine. I would feel much better if all the media platitudes were not all variations on "we are so much wiser than you and we see it's no problem." 
I would feel better with a few remarks more to the "this is a frightening disease and that fear makes us unremittingly careful" side. The surest way to fail is to think you can't.


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/mount-s...solates-patient-with-possible-ebola-symptoms/

There may be a case at Mt Sinai in NYC.
Oh joy.
They just came from a West African nation that has reported Ebola.


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## unregistered358895 (Jul 15, 2013)

I was just about to post that ^^


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## terri9630 (Mar 12, 2012)

Timberrr said:


> I was just about to post that ^^


Me too.


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## Calico Katie (Sep 12, 2003)

The doctors are saying it is most likely not ebola. So, why are they talking about it then? There is apparently concern about all the illegals that are being brought into the country. They're not all from Central America. 
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/il...il_job=1580138_08042014&s=al&dkt_nbr=sogyfrw7


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## where I want to (Oct 28, 2008)

Calico Katie said:


> The doctors are saying it is most likely not ebola. So, why are they talking about it then? There is apparently concern about all the illegals that are being brought into the country. They're not all from Central America.
> http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/il...il_job=1580138_08042014&s=al&dkt_nbr=sogyfrw7


At least it's not being allowed to be hushed up. At least completely although the hosital is giving out no specifics. There are many other wonderful diseases that can be imported so it might be one of those.


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## Vosey (Dec 8, 2012)

They did post that Mt Sinai managed to get the patient from the ER (it didn't say waiting room) into an isolation ward in 7 minutes. That's pretty miraculous in a big city ER, I'm assuming this patient did the responsible thing and told them up front he thought he might have Ebola.


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## cfuhrer (Jun 11, 2013)

Calico Katie said:


> Flying ebola patients into the US to treat them for an untreatable disease. What a good idea. .


Anybody who has ever seen a zombie movie knows this is how it starts.


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## moldy (Mar 5, 2004)

> SUSCEPTIBILITY TO DISINFECTANTS: Ebola virus is susceptible to sodium hypochlorite, lipid solvents, phenolic disinfectants, peracetic acid, methyl alcohol, ether, sodium deoxycholate, 2% glutaraldehyde, 0.25% Triton X-100, &#946;-propiolactone,* 3% acetic acid (pH 2.5),* formaldehyde and paraformaldehyde, and detergents such as SDS (20, 21, 31-34).


Acetic acid is vinegar, but it's usually 5-6%. Does this mean vinegar can kill the ebola virus???


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

Add Saudi Arabia to the list of potentials.


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## terri9630 (Mar 12, 2012)

Add us to the list of potentials. I can't believe how they are down playing the seriousness of Ebola.

http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-TV/2014/08/04/Patient-in-NYC-Tested-for-Ebola

He also pointed out that even though the patient isnât in isolation, âThis isnât the kind of thing that they worry about spreading to other patients in the hospital, spreading to people who are walking around the hospital.


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## TheMartianChick (May 26, 2009)

My reporter friend posted this article on her Facebook page today:

How Journalists Covering Ebola Outbreak Stay Safe

She also posted a couple of days ago, that as bad as Ebola is, you aren't likely to catch it if you avoid being around the (exposed) people (public) places and contaminated things like dead bodies, meat, etc... 

One of the most difficult things in some areas of Africa is that many people don't have a lot of food stored. Some people don't have refrigeration or the money to buy more than a few days worth of meals. These people have no choice but to go out to feed their families and that keeps the germs circulating. In an open air market, you must touch the foodstuffs in order to select it for your family, so diseases can easily spread. Coughing, sneezing droplets containing the virus can all pose a hazard. (Edited to add: I know that they are saying that you can't get Ebola from a sneeze, but it the disease causes hemorrhaging, then you could have small droplets of blood that are so small that they might go unnoticed.)

While many people here are concerned about the caregivers who have been flown here, we actually have the ability to isolate the illness. When you think about how many other diseases are housed at the CDC and other labs around the country, we are pretty good at keeping bad things contained. This virus is fairly fragile in a country with resources. Africa is in a pickle because they have so many poor, so many uneducated, so many languages and inadequate resources to handle the patients. Many of the affected countries have hospitals that we would refer to as clinics, due to the lack of services that they provide.


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## TheMartianChick (May 26, 2009)

I spotted this article from CNN. 

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/08/04/sanjay-gupta-on-the-ebola-front-lines.html

Dr. Sanjay Gupta is going to interview the infected doctor who was flown to Emory. While I'd like to see the interview, this snippet jumped out at me:



> If he speaks to Brantly, Gupta would first ask&#8212;naturally&#8212;how is he doing, then how he got infected. &#8220;He&#8217;s a health-care worker, he trained well, so what went wrong? He made a decision to isolate himself, so I would ask did he think he was going to die when he realized he was exposed? I would ask him if he would go back to Liberia. He doesn&#8217;t know, I am told, what a big deal this all is in the media.&#8221;
> 
> There is also the 14-year-old boy who survived Ebola thanks to Brantly&#8217;s care, and who returned to the hospital to donate his own blood; as a survivor it is thought his blood had antibodies in it, which might have proved key to Brantly&#8217;s own survival.


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## TheMartianChick (May 26, 2009)

This article from NPR helps to explain why Ebola has gotten such a foothold in Sierra Leone. If the people don't believe that the disease is real and the police aren't enforcing the quarantine, then it will spread.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/goatsandso...eople-come-and-go-as-they-wish?sc=ipad&f=1001


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## TheMartianChick (May 26, 2009)

My reporter friend has continued to post a lot of information about the Ebola situation in Liberia, since returning to the states. I just noticed that she updated her Facebook status (in the last 30 minutes)to reflect that her aunt in Liberia awoke to find 2 dead bodies in her yard this morning. Since finding dead bodies in the yard is not a normal happening, she feels certain that they probably are Ebola victims.

When you consider that the government has been slow to pick up dead bodies and have started a mass grave near a wetland area where people get water from a well...this is not good!


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## TheMartianChick (May 26, 2009)

The language and educational barriers are very real in Liberia. One of my friend's acquaintances posted a photo of Ebola kits that she assembles with the help of local donations. (She is in Monrovia, Liberia, so this is not a solicitation for donated goods.) There are no real surprises in the hygiene supplies, but this handout information is what caught my eye. It relates in photos the things that can help to prevent the spread of the disease.


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## terri9630 (Mar 12, 2012)

I just left my Dr's office, kid with ANOTHER ear infection. :facepalm: she said she got a letter from the CDC explaining why Ebola isn't a problem. She said some things seem to make sense, but she doesn't think they are taking it serious enough. That their making light of it. She said the "feel" of the letter was that we are "to good" to be beat by a virus.


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

I have been seeing a lot of that too.
Nothing official, like from your Dr, but from the public.

But what I have seen is..
That it can't take hold in a civilized country.
That it is almost impossible to catch.
That because we have doctors, we will be fine.
That the media is just making headlines.
That Obama has brought it to the US to make himself and the liberals the compassion warriors or something (weirdest one yet)
And, my favorite, 'I am more afraid of SARS than Ebola."
That being said, there hasn't been a case of SARS anywhere since 2004.

I am not running scared, but I am not being bone stupid either.
This has the potential to be the greatest threat our generation has ever known.
Or the nation since the Flu post WWI.


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## KentuckyDreamer (Jan 20, 2012)

I just read our local news site ( Columbus, Ohio ). Seems there is a local woman who had been isolated in one of our area hospitals pending her results. They were negative.

I had not heard of this until after the fact and had only noticed one news site with the info. I need to pay better attention.

I googled the info and found nothing reported prior to a few hours ago.


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## ovsfarm (Jan 14, 2003)

I agree that American arrogance could well be the source of our downfall. However, I also feel that the US is doing a fairly decent job of quarantining possible ebola patients, and that alone will go a long way toward decreasing the spread. We have the luxury of being able to go into this with our eyes open, not being blindsided by it and struggling to play catch up.

A thought I had this am is that even if our country does not have an outbreak, this is a good simulation for the next major flu epidemic. I know I have bought a few new things for my epidemic kit and have a few more listed that I am watching for. 

With all the epidemics/pandemics that have been around during the last 10 years or so, I am learning how to evaluate the organism, determine my best course of action, I have my preps pretty well tweaked, and I am doing a lot better about controlling the flow of information to my brain. I have learned to be diligent with documenting my sources, which has cut out a lot of the hype and hysteria. I have identified some good go-to sites which I feel I can rely on to provide more solid reporting.

I hope that for us, this will be only another trial run. (I am terribly sad for those in countries where it has been a terrible tragedy.) But I want to learn something new from every trial run I experience. So if it ever really gets cranked up in the US, I will have a better chance of protecting myself and my loved ones. 

Thanks to everyone here who has contributed sources and insights that have increased my knowledge on this.


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

Finally! Finally!
They are saying what anyone with any common sense at all has known!

If it is contagious through bodily fluids, wouldn't it stand to reason that if those bodily fluids were flung through the air in a cough or sneeze that they would, thusly, also be contagious?
Well duh.

The CDC now says to be aware of bodily fluids being flung at you from people sneezing etc..

Now if they will just publicize that it lives on hard surfaces etc.. too

Oh.. and it is Saudi Arabia now as the person they had in quarantine has died.


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## Coco (Jun 8, 2007)

we are now on high alert.

[FONT=Verdana,Arial]*CDC Activates Highest Response Level at Emergency Operations Center *

6 Aug 2014, 3:04 PM PDT

Dr. Tom Frieden &#10004; @DrFriedenCDC
Follow

[email protected] Ops Center moved to Level 1 response to #EbolaOutbreak given the extension to Nigeria & potential to affect many lives.

In a statement to the media, the CDC explains that it is increasing the amount of operational capacity dedicated to Ebola as a response to its rapid spread internationally, and at the behest of the World Health Organization:

CDC has contributed to the World Health Organizationâs (WHO) efforts to control the Ebola outbreak in West Africa since the start of the outbreak. CDC now is taking a more active role, and has been invited by WHO to provide leadership on the technical front. The CDC has activated its Emergency Operations Center to its highest response level.

[...]

At home, CDC has updated infection-prevention protocols for hospitals where travelers with suspected Ebola exposures may present for treatment; for aircraft crew and airport personnel; and for laboratories handling specimens from suspected Ebola cases.

The CDC had previously issued a Level 3 travel alert to Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia, advising Americans to stay out of the affected areas of West Africa. Level 3 is the highest possible alert warning against traveling to a country. In Nigeria, where five more cases have been diagnosed, the warning level has been raised to 2.

In the days since the Level 3 alert to the other Ebola-affected countries, Nigeria's lone case has become five diagnoses and an additional death-- a nurse who had treated Liberian Patrick Sawyer, who died shortly after flying in from his native country to Lagos, Nigeria with the disease. In Saudi Arabia, a man who was being tested for Ebola after entering the country from Saudi Arabia died before results could come in, while Spain prepares for the return of a priest who was positively diagnosed with the virus in West Africa.

In the United States, two patients-- both Christian Missionaries previously working in Liberia-- are being treated at Emory Medical Center in Atlanta, Georgia for Ebola. Six different individuals, none identified, have been tested for Ebola-- one in New York, one in Baltimore, and one in Columbus, Ohio. The CDC has refused to disclose the locations of the other three tested, but has confirmed all six tested negative.

While the CDC issues precautions in the United States, the World Health Organization is currently conducting an emergency meeting to discuss, among other things, the ethics of providing patients in West Africa with a highly untested experimental serum that could cure the disease. WHO director general Margaret Chan warned of the disease, âThis outbreak is moving faster than our efforts to control it."

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2...on-Ebola-Virus​ 
[/FONT]


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## SmokyShadow (May 19, 2007)

and yet there are 6 or 7 students in (I believe) Liberia that are coming back to Alabama 2 days before school resumes. I didn't hear anything mentioned about testing them or a quarantine.


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

http://www.wsfa.com/story/26206638/tuskegee-students-stuck-in-liberia-due-to-ebola-virus

Good grief!
They won't even LEAVE Liberia for 2 more weeks.
And not just Liberia, but Monrovia!

Oh egads.


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

You know what?

We should just go ahead and have a lollypop party and get it over with.
Just have them mail us a bunch of lollypops that are infected so that we can just get the virus and move on.

This slow teasing is brutal.


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## TheMartianChick (May 26, 2009)

My Liberian friend posted that the Armed Forces of Liberia are finally enforcing the State of Emergency in that country. For those of you with Facebook, she shared a public page on her own Facebook status today. Presumably, this is a reliable source of information on the situation in Liberia. As she left Liberia several days ago, she is relying on a series of news sources to continue to report information. In addition to relying on the mainstream sources (like CNN, BBC, etc.) she has a whole network of friends and former colleagues that she is reaching out to.

The Facebook page is not hers, but it is a public page for the Liberian Observer with information about what is going on and it is unfiltered with lots of firsthand reports in the comments:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Liberian-Observer-Online/42279623238


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## TheMartianChick (May 26, 2009)

Here is some information about the medication that has been used to treat Dr. Brantly. It is in the primitive stages and does not prevent the disease, It is meant to help the body to ramp up to fight the disease.

Here is a snippet from the Forbes Magazine Article:


> This general biotherapeutic approach is called passive immunity. By injecting the patient with ready-made antibodies raised in the laboratory to latch onto specific parts of an infectious agent, their body can mount an immediate immune response. Passive immunity is therefore different from a vaccine that might require weeks for the person to make their own antibodies against the virus.
> 
> These three antibodies represent a clever strategy against the virus. One of the antibodies binds up a form of Ebolavirus protein that seems to be sent off by the virus as a decoy against the immune response.


ebola-secret-serum-small-biopharma-the-army-and-big-tobacco/


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## illinoisguy (Sep 4, 2011)

There is a lot of talk but not really any suggestions. I do believe we should not be guided by fear. But, would it not be advisable to begin doing some things if you haven't already? Extra bleach? Topping off pantries? Rubber gloves. .....

Would this amount to quarantine? ...stuck at home for a month?

I don't advise buying stuff you would not eventually use if the Ebola thing does not pan out. It might be advisable to buy stuff ahead of time.

I remember the panic with bullets and guns. Not food, but items that most people don't buy in quantity. No guns or bullets were to be found. Only if you were willing to pay 500% more for the item. Change that to food and other items to weather the storm. Bleach is easy to obtain, when in panic mode, will there be any?

any thoughts?


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## illinoisguy (Sep 4, 2011)

I read a couple places that Mexico has a confirmed case. Some places are refuting that. But if it does hit Mexico, we got problems.


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## terri9630 (Mar 12, 2012)

illinoisguy said:


> i read a couple places that mexico has a confirmed case. Some places are refuting that. But if it does hit mexico, we got problems.



big problems!!


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## InTownForNow (Oct 16, 2008)

Well not only through the air but could it potentially be on food at the store, buffets etc? Im not sure exactly how that works


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

I wouldn't worry too much about the drivel about Mexico.
It's total carp to try to expedite some border stuff.

And let's think of this logically.

- If a person has FLOWN into Mexico on flights that go half way around the world, they are going to get a nice hotel room and check out the sites.
-They are not then going to undergo a long, long and dirty journey through the desert to get to the US.
Just not feasible. Nope.

IF Ebola comes, it will fly into JFK, all comfy cozy and enjoying the in-flight movies.


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

And I am not that worried yet.
Even in the much smaller African nations Ebola took months to really take off.
Talk to me in December.

And, even then, the US is pretty big.
I don't think we would get a widespread infection.
Perhaps just regions or areas or cities.

But I could be wrong, I just know it will take time.


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## TheMartianChick (May 26, 2009)

Today, I read an interesting Facebook post by a friend of my reporter friend. She said that she was in Accra in Ghana, though she is Liberian by birth. Her cab driver in Accra was listening intently to news broadcasts about Ebola. His impression was that the seriousness was all government hype. Thanks to social media (like Facebook) posts of friends, she was able to provide accounts of the virus that brought it more clearly into focus for him.

She was able to tell him how to keep his family safe with the handwashing with bleach, spraying everything down with bleach and avoiding the foods sold in marketplaces.. It is so difficult to fight something that people don't believe exists. Ghana has far more resources than a country like Liberia. In Liberia, there are 40,000 patients for every doctor.


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## TheMartianChick (May 26, 2009)

There also seems to be a serious issue in Liberia over the mass burials. As this Time Magazine piece demonstrates, they are not being carried out in a manner that will stem the tide of contagion.

Here's a snippet:



> Bayogar, a tall man in his early 40s, is one of many Liberians unhappy that the dead are being buried so close to home. âLook here, these are the gloves they used to play with the dead and they have left [them] all here,â he says, pointing to the debris littering the ground. âWhat if our children come and touch this? The entire town will be infected. We are in trouble.â


Time: Ebola Liberia State of Emergency


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## puddlejumper007 (Jan 12, 2008)

wow, there needs to be some serious education programs in that country before they all die...


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## puddlejumper007 (Jan 12, 2008)

one tiny little thing, to keep a whole lot of stuff from spreading, is use the handwipe towels the gro. stores provide when you go in with your cart, if they do not furnish them take your own with you....wipe down the handle of the cart that many people have alrady handled and also your hands....


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## terri9630 (Mar 12, 2012)

chickenista said:


> I wouldn't worry too much about the drivel about Mexico.
> It's total carp to try to expedite some border stuff.
> 
> And let's think of this logically.
> ...



It happens every day.


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

terri9630 said:


> It happens every day.


What happens every day??
People spending thousands upon thousands of dollars for a plane ticket to spend a week or so tramping through the desert?


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## terri9630 (Mar 12, 2012)

chickenista said:


> What happens every day??
> People spending thousands upon thousands of dollars for a plane ticket to spend a week or so tramping through the desert?


Yes. They spend a couple of thousand on a ticket and a couple more on a coyote to guide them.


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## GoldenCityMuse (Apr 15, 2009)

Cygnet said:


> SNIP...
> (With my luck, I'd shoot a squirrel, and it wouldn't have ebola, it would have plague. Because, Arizona.)


Here in NM, we will fight you for being the leader in plague, & hantavirus, and skin cancer......

But at least we are having a good monsoon summer. 
And I have deer moice rustling around in the house. Arrgggghhhhhhh!!!!


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## terri9630 (Mar 12, 2012)

GoldenCityMuse said:


> Here in NM, we will fight you for being the leader in plague, & hantavirus, and skin cancer......
> 
> But at least we are having a good monsoon summer.
> And I have deer moice rustling around in the house. Arrgggghhhhhhh!!!!


Those stupid mice are EVERYWHERE this year!! There are so many out by the rabbits that I had my rifle and game shot out there the other day while we were cleaning. I think we got a dozen of those little buggers.


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## NamasteMama (Jul 24, 2009)

terri9630 said:


> It happens every day.


Yup my neighbor found 16 Chinese immigrants in her barn just last summer.


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## Vosey (Dec 8, 2012)

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/16/health/hospitals-in-the-us-get-ready-for-ebola.html?_r=0

Interesting article on what the CDC recommends for hospitals to be prepared. The protective gear is much less than what we see the Africans wearing which is causing some concern and there are still unknowns, like what to do with soiled linens. Also, the Emory teams caring for the 2 missionaries have dropped there protective gear down to the minimum suggested. Of course, the missionaries may be doing much better, no longer sweating profusely and vomiting.


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## DryHeat (Nov 11, 2010)

> Interesting article on what the CDC recommends for hospitals to be prepared.


... Which just might be based on an assessment that there's no way to get enough really full sets of gear manufactured and stocked by enough hospitals to do much other than those basics anyway, IF this strain's epidemiology (victims able to move around during incubation more than in the past, in particular) has shifted a bit from earlier variants. Ya know, if hospitals were advised to embark on something that might be "prepping," who knows how much "panic" would ensue with normal citizens stocking up on food, meds, and other basics instead of expected economic activity like, oh, vacations and restaurants and movies?


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