Ebola

This informative article answers some questions and explodes some myths misconceptions.

I don't think you can call the nurse in Spain "a little careless"! Just human.

Thanks Anno.
Nice to read some sense for a change.

The nurse in Spain was a nursing assistant, not a Registered Nurse - maybe she wasn't trained properly to do the task expected. I understand she was the one who cleaned the room/equipment.

I've no idea Riverwalk - I only heard on the news that she was a nurse that had touched her face with a gloved hand when she shouldn't have. I had assumed it might have been one of those times when you can rub or scratch an itch almost without thinking.

Let's put all this into perspective shall we?WHO report the number of deaths in Africa since the Ebola outbreak in March this year as follows:
HIV/Aids.....620,000
Malaria.......320,000
Hunger.......203,000
TB .............124,000
Syphilis........26,000
Ebola.............4,492
Something to think about?

None of the above, except for ebola, is doubling every month though.

Remember the story of the lily pond? The lilies double in size every day. It takes 30 days for the lilies to grow enough to fill the pond.
On what day is the pond half full?

And apart from TB none of the other diseases can be caught by casual contact.

Just a thought but would a lot of the people who caught ebola have a compromised immune system because they are HIV positive?

Not a lot Tegan just a few.

The answer to the lily pond question for those who are interested (which I suspect is nil) is day 29. But I exoecf you all knew that before.

Now that really is something to think about

# just saying

It occurred to me when I was reading this thread (especially anno's useful link) that my hands nearly always have small scratches/skin punctures. Ebola-friendly hands!!! Eek!

Just make sure you quarantine all those visitors from West Africa arriving by boat on the west coast of Scotland, Bags

jane

All the other diseases are scattered over the whole of populated Africa aren't they? Whereas Ebola is centred around a chunk of a few countries. There are x number of road accidents in the Uk every day. If they were all on Dartmoor it would be cause for concern and time and money would be spent doing something constructive.

I am re-activating this thread, as I did nit think it was appropriate to discuss isolation policies for the UK on the thread concerning that poor nurse Pauline Cafferkey.

I am beginning to think that there should be some compulsory isolation/quarantine policy in the UK for volunteers who have been nursing ebola patients. Taking temperatures at the airport no longer seems to be adequate.

This poor lady could have gone on to infect her family when she got home, as they would have close contact with her, share towels etc. It seems a harsh reward for their bravery to stick them in isolation for whatever the appropriate time is, but it may be the nest way forward.

Sorry - "best."

I agree.
Helping to cure people, but then potentially affecting others is bizarre.

You sound as if you are blaming her, soontobe - have a little more Christian charity for goodness' sake!

soontobe

I do not find your post causes me concern in the least. I most certainly do not find it 'lacking in christian charity' nor blaiming anybody.

It is stating a fact that there was/is a possibility that somebody who had the best intentions of doing good deeds and caring for Ebola patients could unintentionally be infected themselves, for reasons we do not know of to date.

In turn that could have the potential of infecting others quite unintentially and there is an irony in that situation which I believe is what you meant when you used the word 'bizarre'.

If I have read your post incorrectly soontobe please feel free to correct me!

You understand me correctly POGS.
I would have thought that doctors and nurses hate the current situation as it stands. Not their fault at all.

soontobe

I also understood your post and was a bit surprised when you were challenged.

Sad though it seems, quarantine would probably be the best way to prevent the disease being spread by medical staff returning home.

Ebola is not infectious until it is in full swing. The nurse would not have been infectious at the airport or on her journey home. It was the next morning the fever developed and then she rang the hospital herself. Everything was done correctly.

We must not start to ostracise returning medical volunteers, which could so easily happen. Hysteria has no place in this.

Soutra regularly doesnt understand me. I dont think that it is personal.

I feel so sorry for the nurse concerned. Her family must also be suffering greatly especially as only a short while ago it was announced that she was sitting up, chatting to family, and reading. I have my fingers crossed for her.