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Texas Health Care Worker Tests Positive for Ebola

Fishstyx said:
Need to figure out if the nurse was exposed on Duncan's initial visit or during the treatment. If its the latter, the current consensus on the manner in which this disease can spread may be incorrect.
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Heya Fishstyx. :2wave: It was the second time Duncan came in and knowing then what he had.....this Nurse was prepared when she went in. But CDC is still saying there was a breach of Protocol. But now they are going to have to watch any that the health care worker came into contact with. They affirm they are working with diligence.



Meanwhile, a top federal health official said the health care worker's Ebola diagnosis shows there was a clear breach of safety protocol and all those who treated Thomas Eric Duncan are now considered to be potentially exposed. Dr. Daniel Varga, of the Texas Health Resources, said during a news conference Sunday that the worker wore a gown, gloves, mask and shield while they provided care to Duncan during his second visit to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital. Varga did not identify the worker and says the family of the worker has "requested total privacy."

Health officials have interviewed the patient and are identifying any contacts or potential exposures. They said people who had contact with the health care worker after symptoms emerged will be monitored based on the nature of their interactions and the potential they were exposed to the virus. Officials said they also received information that there may be a pet in the health care worker's apartment, and they have a plan in place to care for the animal. They do not believe the pet has signs of having contracted Ebola.....snip~

Health worker 2nd in US to test positive for Ebola
 
VanceMack said:
You can say that across the board. NASCAR and other pro sports respond to tragedies. The military adjusts policies in response to tragedies. The med profession, law enforcement...everyone does.

Hell...we have a problem right now in our child care services in the military because people got complacent at one Post (I believe it was Fort Gordon) and now every worker has to be vetted with 8 different types of background checks including psych screenings. Hell...its harder today to be a childcare worker in the Army civil service than it is to get a TS clearance.

People make mistakes. They miss things. Even professionals.

And as an edit...if it the infection occurred during his actual visit...it wasnt even about a lack of professionalism or complacency.
Click to expand...

But it's been affirmed it wasn't during his first visit so that point is moot.
 
EnigmaO01 said:
But it's been affirmed it wasn't during his first visit so that point is moot.
Click to expand...
Hence the edit...which was there before you responded AND it also renders your comments about a lack of professionalism moot as well. (unless of course you meant both our comments on professionalism in which case I simply say...I agree...)
 
DaveFagan said:
I'm sure we've all observed this from Day One. First, misdiagnosis in the ER, and since he was temp 103+ and just in from Liberia, that seems negligient. Second, photos of Texas/Dallas health employees leaving the Apartment Duncan stayed in are not in protective clothing, wowser, negligience big time. Third, a deputy on the watch list of Duncan contacts was thought to have Ebola and first taken to a hospital other tha Texas Presbytarian, and that's a screw up big time. Why chance spreading to another facility, especially considering he is on the watch list and should have been warned previously that if any symptoms developed to go to TexasPres. Fortunately, the deputy did not test positive for Ebola. I would guess that there have not been formal policies developed to enforce these common sense responses, or else the Three Stooges are in charge.
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Mornin' DF. :2wave: They think the problem could be with the removal of the Protective gear.


"I think the fact that we don't know of a breach in protocol is concerning, because clearly there was a breach in protocol." Frieden said. "We have the ability to prevent the spread of Ebola by caring safely for patients ... We'll conduct a full investigation of what happens before health workers go in, what happens when they're there, and what happens in the taking out, taking off their protective equipment because infections only occur when there's a breach in protocol.".....snip~
 
But but you can only get it thru bodily fluids!! :roll:
She was wearing full protective gear!
 
sawdust said:
I believe that Thomas Duncan knew that ebola was in his future when he came to the US because he had contacted carriers in Africa. He believed that American doctors had success with other cases and his only chance for survival was here. In the process he is guilty of attempted murder if the health care worker recovers and murder if she doesn't, even though it's a moot point because he's dead. Jesse Jackson can stuff it.
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You believe? No link? All this on a belief? God help a defendent that gets you on his jury.
 
MMC said:
Heya Fishstyx. :2wave: It was the second time Duncan came in and knowing then what he had.....this Nurse was prepared when she went in. But CDC is still saying there was a breach of Protocol. But now they are going to have to watch any that the health care worker came into contact with. They affirm they are working with diligence.



Meanwhile, a top federal health official said the health care worker's Ebola diagnosis shows there was a clear breach of safety protocol and all those who treated Thomas Eric Duncan are now considered to be potentially exposed. Dr. Daniel Varga, of the Texas Health Resources, said during a news conference Sunday that the worker wore a gown, gloves, mask and shield while they provided care to Duncan during his second visit to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital. Varga did not identify the worker and says the family of the worker has "requested total privacy."

Health officials have interviewed the patient and are identifying any contacts or potential exposures. They said people who had contact with the health care worker after symptoms emerged will be monitored based on the nature of their interactions and the potential they were exposed to the virus. Officials said they also received information that there may be a pet in the health care worker's apartment, and they have a plan in place to care for the animal. They do not believe the pet has signs of having contracted Ebola.....snip~

Health worker 2nd in US to test positive for Ebola
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What was the breach of protocol? I'm not seeing it.
 
EnigmaO01 said:
You believe? No link? All this on a belief? God help a defendent that gets you on his jury.
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Do I have a link to my belief, well, no that is a foolish question. Thomas Duncan infected a healthcare worker knowing that he had ebola. He's gone but knowing that how can you possibly justify his actions? Is it ok for someone who knows they have a deadly disease to put others at risk? It's already a crime in some places. Criminal transmission of HIV - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
washunut said:
Wonder what that portends for the troops we are sending to Africa. Wonder why the government is so willing to use our kids in this way.
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Mornin' WN. :2wave: Any suits they wear.....they will need to disinfect before removing them.

Here was the Director Quarantining herself and her staff after one of her people picked it up. That was on the 27th of Sept....her Deputy may now have it. Which they have placed that person in quarantine.


Ebola outbreak: Liberia's chief medical officer places herself under quarantine

Liberia's chief medical officer is placing herself under quarantine for 21 days after her office assistant died of Ebola. "Of course we made the rule, so I am home for 21 days," Dahn said Saturday. "I did it on my own. I told my office staff to stay at home for the 21 days. That's what we need to do."

Health officials, especially front-line doctors and nurses, are particularly vulnerable to Ebola, which is spread via the bodily fluids of infected patients. Earlier this month, WHO said more than 300 health workers had contracted Ebola in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, the three most-affected countries. Nearly half of them had died. Making sure health care workers have the necessary supplies, including personal protective equipment, has been a challenge especially given that many flights in and out of Ebola-affected countries have been cancelled.....snip~

Ebola outbreak: Liberia's chief medical officer places herself under quarantine | CTV News


Read more: Ebola outbreak: Liberia's chief medical officer places herself under quarantine | CTV News



2014-10-12t055717z_1_lynxnpea9b023_rtroptp_3_health-ebola.jpg



They might want to use a powder spray to spray those suits down.....just sayin!
 
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EnigmaO01 said:
What was the breach of protocol? I'm not seeing it.
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They haven't said what it is.....but the CDC is saying there has to be a breach. Which is why they are conducting an investigation as we speak. He did mention removing the protective gear. So that's where I expect they will focus upon.
 
Check out the suits the Dominican Republic wear.....and this was over a guy on a plane that made a joke about having Ebola.

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If you're going to be flying soon and plan on making an Ebola joke, don't. Yesterday at an airport in the Dominican Republic, a man who joked about having Ebola and recently visiting West Africa was taken off a flight from Philadelphia by men in blue hazmat suits. Before the men boarded the plane, a flight attendant warned passengers things would "look worse than they really are."

"Once we landed in Punta Cana we were told by the flight attendants that there was a situation and that a passenger may have been in Africa and had Ebola. She was certain it was a hoax but they did not take any chances and had a full hazmat crew board the plane and take the passenger off. It was later confirmed that the passenger was never in Africa and after 2hrs we were finally able to get off the plane," the caption on a a video posted by Patrick Narvaez and Jukin Media states.....snip~

WATCH: Man Jokes About Having Ebola, Gets Ripped Off a Plane By Men in Hazmat Suits - Katie Pavlich

Oh, and he didn't get ripped off the plane.....they walked him out.
 
EnigmaO01 said:
So either the virus is more contagious than we are told or the worker was sloppy or his gear was defective.
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Or the healthcare worker contracted Ebola from Duncan when he came to the hospital with a 103 degree temperature three days before he returned and was placed in isolation.

Duncan first came to the hospital on Thursday, September 25th, and, since nobody was thinking Ebola, they didn't institute Ebola safeguards -- today would be the 17th day since initial infection of this hospital on September 25th by Duncan, well within the 2 to 21 days of incubation.

So Duncan walked around freely on his first visit when he was definitely contagious, touching this and that and leaving the virus on objects he touched, poked, prodded and inspected by healthcare workers not in protective gear, who disposed of his contaminated materials in the standard manner not in the safer Ebola precautions manner ...

For three days thereafter, everyone walked around and touched doorknobs and restroom facilities and other objects Duncan touched at the hospital during his first visit .. and we know for a fact that the disease can be spread from touching objects contaminated by someone infected with the disease .. and this particular healthcare worker simply coincidentally picked up the disease prior to being assigned to Duncan upon Duncan's return.

Once Duncan returned to the hospital on Sunday, September 28th, and everyone realized what had walked into their facility on Thursday, September 25th, three days earlier, it was too late, administrators thought, to shut the entire facility down and disinfect it.

By the way, the article I read this morning indicated that a second person in addition to this healthcare worker is now also "under observation".

It is important to keep in mind that one is not contagious only from the moment they begin to recognize they're feeling symptoms.

A person is contagious a few hours to 24 hours or a bit more prior to "feeling" symptoms, as there is sufficient viral community in one's body at that time to leave the virus on towels, lunch tables, pens, computer tablets and keyboards, etc., for other hospital workers to pick up, not to mention via direct contact with other staff members.

This hospital should be shut down immediately, quarantined, with no one allowed in until more than 21 days pass with no one showing symptoms of Ebola.

If the right and proper intelligent procedures are not executed immediately, then we as good as already have an epidemic on our hands.

The CDC should be ashamed of it's "well, the only explanation is that the healthcare worker didn't remove their protective clothing correctly" policy line. Their attempt to fend off "panic" comes at the expense of the obvious truth in this matter which thereby puts more people at oblivious risk and thus increases the chances of an epidemic developing when the CDC will then simply be unable to convince people of their misinformation about how the disease is truly spread .. and then there'll be real panic.

Better is for the CDC to tell the truth now and institute the proper and intelligent reactive measures, thereby really preventing a panic, or, better yet, and much more importantly, really preventing an epidemic.
 
lizzie said:
That still doesn't mean that you assume they have ebola. From what I understand, he lied on the forms that were required, in order to fly here. If someone has flown here, and lied on the paperwork in order to do so, why would a doctor (or nurse) assume that he was here under false pretenses?
Click to expand...

Greetings, lizzie. :2wave:

I had the opportunity to listen to a 2-hour presentation on the Thomas Duncan background story recently. Briefly, here is what I learned. Duncan's landlord had a pregnant daughter who became very ill. They did not know he had Ebola and thought it was connected to her pregnancy. They called an ambulance and accompanied her to the hospital. She was so weak that she had to be carried, and Duncan and the lady's younger brother carried her. Four days had passed before she was isolated at the hospital. Duncan, the pregnant lady and the younger brother have all since died. The ambulance was used for two days after taking them to the hospital before being taken out of service, so it is not known at this point how many others might have used that ambulance. There was a lot more, but apparently sneezing can spread Ebola.

Of the two doctors who were originally brought here for treatment from Africa - one lived and one has died. Experts fear exponential doubling is possible, so if it is not shut down at the source, health care systems around the world will be totally overwhelmed and unable to function.

The headline on Yahoo today about the latest Ebola case in the US basically tells much the same story. Trained specialists are getting the virus from treating those who have Ebola. Very scary indeed!
 
polgara said:
Greetings, lizzie. :2wave:

I had the opportunity to listen to a 2-hour presentation on the Thomas Duncan background story recently. Briefly, here is what I learned. Duncan's landlord had a pregnant daughter who became very ill. They did not know he had Ebola and thought it was connected to her pregnancy. They called an ambulance and accompanied her to the hospital. She was so weak that she had to be carried, and Duncan and the lady's younger brother carried her. Four days had passed before she was isolated at the hospital. Duncan, the pregnant lady and the younger brother have all since died. The ambulance was used for two days after taking them to the hospital before being taken out of service, so it is not known at this point how many others might have used that ambulance. There was a lot more, but apparently sneezing can spread Ebola.

Of the two doctors who were originally brought here for treatment from Africa - one lived and one has died. Experts fear exponential doubling is possible, so if it is not shut down at the source, health care systems around the world will be totally overwhelmed and unable to function.

The headline on Yahoo today about the latest Ebola case in the US basically tells much the same story. Trained specialists are getting the virus from treating those who have Ebola. Very scary indeed!
Click to expand...
So it truly makes sense at this point to shut this Dallas hospital down, to quarantine it and its workers, immediately.

Better safe than epidemic sorry.
 
lizzie said:
Ummmm, the vast vast majority of people who come to the hospital with flu symptoms, don't have ebola. :lol:
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But they might so wouldn't the prudent thing be to put them and everyone they've come in contact with in isolation for a few weeks?

Oh, wait a sec. I guess that maybe if we did that and totally over reacted to this thing then people that did have the disease might be afraid to go to the doctor and, in all probability, would cause the disease to spread even more.
 
Sabanist said:
Nice, so you are saying the nurse deserves to get ebola? You should jump off a bridge
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Reading comprehension failure.

I specifically referred to the hospital.

Spew your nasty rhetoric elsewhere.
 
EnigmaO01 said:
There are also bad players in the field that are not reported by their peers. Some really awful doctors out there that literally get away with murder. I almost lost and niece AND a nephew to an idiot doctor.
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Bingo!

I have good friends who are RNs, and hear all the medical ignorance and coverup stories regularly.
 
polgara said:
Greetings, lizzie. :2wave:

I had the opportunity to listen to a 2-hour presentation on the Thomas Duncan background story recently. Briefly, here is what I learned. Duncan's landlord had a pregnant daughter who became very ill. They did not know he had Ebola and thought it was connected to her pregnancy. They called an ambulance and accompanied her to the hospital. She was so weak that she had to be carried, and Duncan and the lady's younger brother carried her. Four days had passed before she was isolated at the hospital. Duncan, the pregnant lady and the younger brother have all since died. The ambulance was used for two days after taking them to the hospital before being taken out of service, so it is not known at this point how many others might have used that ambulance. There was a lot more, but apparently sneezing can spread Ebola.

Of the two doctors who were originally brought here for treatment from Africa - one lived and one has died. Experts fear exponential doubling is possible, so if it is not shut down at the source, health care systems around the world will be totally overwhelmed and unable to function.

The headline on Yahoo today about the latest Ebola case in the US basically tells much the same story. Trained specialists are getting the virus from treating those who have Ebola. Very scary indeed!
Click to expand...

I don't believe that either has died.
 
lizzie said:
A nurse doesn't send a patient home without a doctor's order, assuming the patient was actually admitted into the er.
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This woman is a true hero. As so many nurses are every day
 
Ontologuy said:
So it truly makes sense at this point to shut this Dallas hospital down, to quarantine it and its workers, immediately.

Better safe than epidemic sorry.
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Greetings, Ontologuy. :2wave:

I hope your post was tongue-in-cheek because shutting hospitals down is unthinkable. We can't just let people die! The health care experts are doing their best with a disease that currently has no cure, and some victims are surviving - I just wish it was better than 50%! The fatality rate in Africa is 70% or higher, with entire villages succumbing to the disease, so there is hope that we might yet find a cure. The health care experts we recently sent to Africa are setting up labs, etc - any news on how they're doing?
 
Ontologuy said:
So it truly makes sense at this point to shut this Dallas hospital down, to quarantine it and its workers, immediately.

Better safe than epidemic sorry.
Click to expand...

Heya OG. :2wave: CDC is now saying there was a protocol breach. From 42 mins ago.


CDC: Protocol breach in treating Ebola patient.....

Top federal health officials said Sunday that the Ebola diagnosis in a health care worker who treated Thomas Eric Duncan at a Texas hospital clearly indicates a breach in safety protocol. But the unidentified worker has been unable to pinpoint where that breach might have occurred, according to Dr. Tom Frieden, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

He said the CDC has recommended that the hospital where the worker is being treated — and where Duncan died Wednesday — should keep "to an absolute minimum" those who care for Ebola patients and should perform only those procedures that are essential to a patient's treatment. He cautioned that additional health care workers could develop Ebola even as he expressed confidence that the "chain of Ebola" could be broken. He said that the CDC, as part of its investigation on how the worker became infected, would look at dialysis and intubation, procedures with the potential for spreading infectious material, as well as the removal of protective gear. Removing it incorrectly can lead to a contamination, he said. Earlier, on CBS' "Face the Nation," Frieden said the worker was doing self-monitoring. "Immediately when they developed symptoms, they isolated themselves, they were promptly isolated at the hospital so that any further spread from that individual was stopped," he said.....snip~

CDC: Protocol breach in treating Ebola patient

Texas-health-care-workers1ipad_635x250_1413108289.gif.jpg



How many believe this guy from the CDC?
 
SMTA said:
I don't believe that either has died.
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Greetings, SMTA. :2wave:

The Media itself reported that one had died, and the other is in poor condition, but slowly recovering so far. They apparently got the news from the CDC. Why would they lie?
 
MMC said:
Heya OG. :2wave: CDC is now saying there was a protocol breach. From 42 mins ago.


CDC: Protocol breach in treating Ebola patient.....

Top federal health officials said Sunday that the Ebola diagnosis in a health care worker who treated Thomas Eric Duncan at a Texas hospital clearly indicates a breach in safety protocol. But the unidentified worker has been unable to pinpoint where that breach might have occurred, according to Dr. Tom Frieden, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

He said the CDC has recommended that the hospital where the worker is being treated — and where Duncan died Wednesday — should keep "to an absolute minimum" those who care for Ebola patients and should perform only those procedures that are essential to a patient's treatment. He cautioned that additional health care workers could develop Ebola even as he expressed confidence that the "chain of Ebola" could be broken. He said that the CDC, as part of its investigation on how the worker became infected, would look at dialysis and intubation, procedures with the potential for spreading infectious material, as well as the removal of protective gear. Removing it incorrectly can lead to a contamination, he said. Earlier, on CBS' "Face the Nation," Frieden said the worker was doing self-monitoring. "Immediately when they developed symptoms, they isolated themselves, they were promptly isolated at the hospital so that any further spread from that individual was stopped," he said.....snip~

CDC: Protocol breach in treating Ebola patient

Texas-health-care-workers1ipad_635x250_1413108289.gif.jpg



How many believe this guy from the CDC?
Click to expand...

Greetings, MMC. :2wave:

Why would he lie? It's probably worse than we're being told. I find it difficult to believe that anyone would commit a "protocol breach" at this point! If you were dealing with a deadly disease that has no cure, would you be careless? :thumbdown:
 
Ontologuy said:
Or the healthcare worker contracted Ebola from Duncan when he came to the hospital with a 103 degree temperature three days before he returned and was placed in isolation.

Duncan first came to the hospital on Thursday, September 25th, and, since nobody was thinking Ebola, they didn't institute Ebola safeguards -- today would be the 17th day since initial infection of this hospital on September 25th by Duncan, well within the 2 to 21 days of incubation.

So Duncan walked around freely on his first visit when he was definitely contagious, touching this and that and leaving the virus on objects he touched, poked, prodded and inspected by healthcare workers not in protective gear, who disposed of his contaminated materials in the standard manner not in the safer Ebola precautions manner ...

For three days thereafter, everyone walked around and touched doorknobs and restroom facilities and other objects Duncan touched at the hospital during his first visit .. and we know for a fact that the disease can be spread from touching objects contaminated by someone infected with the disease .. and this particular healthcare worker simply coincidentally picked up the disease prior to being assigned to Duncan upon Duncan's return.

Once Duncan returned to the hospital on Sunday, September 28th, and everyone realized what had walked into their facility on Thursday, September 25th, three days earlier, it was too late, administrators thought, to shut the entire facility down and disinfect it.

By the way, the article I read this morning indicated that a second person in addition to this healthcare worker is now also "under observation".

It is important to keep in mind that one is not contagious only from the moment they begin to recognize they're feeling symptoms.

A person is contagious a few hours to 24 hours or a bit more prior to "feeling" symptoms, as there is sufficient viral community in one's body at that time to leave the virus on towels, lunch tables, pens, computer tablets and keyboards, etc., for other hospital workers to pick up, not to mention via direct contact with other staff members.

This hospital should be shut down immediately, quarantined, with no one allowed in until more than 21 days pass with no one showing symptoms of Ebola.

If the right and proper intelligent procedures are not executed immediately, then we as good as already have an epidemic on our hands.

The CDC should be ashamed of it's "well, the only explanation is that the healthcare worker didn't remove their protective clothing correctly" policy line. Their attempt to fend off "panic" comes at the expense of the obvious truth in this matter which thereby puts more people at oblivious risk and thus increases the chances of an epidemic developing when the CDC will then simply be unable to convince people of their misinformation about how the disease is truly spread .. and then there'll be real panic.

Better is for the CDC to tell the truth now and institute the proper and intelligent reactive measures, thereby really preventing a panic, or, better yet, and much more importantly, really preventing an epidemic.
Click to expand...

She came in contact with him the second time he came in. News this morning says that she was in full protective gear. The health care workers are the most cautious, so what does this say for the rest of us who don't have suits, masks, and protective gear?
 
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