It sends chills up my spine when I hear reports saying "there should be a concern, but it's contained to the specific family members and close friends at this moment". Are you freaking kidding me? According to all the professional medical powers that be, there was no chance that the disease was here in the US. Now, look at us! Here's the scoop as I hear it: The infected person flew from Liberia via Brussels and Washington. Reports say this man was actually in a taxi (in Liberia) that was transporting a pregnant lady who was infected to the hospital. Apparently three hospitals refused to treat her and she went home and died, as did her brother, and several of her family members are now being treated for the Ebola virus. This man was in contact with several children, family, and strangers before he was hospitalized per the Dallas health officials. This person visited the hospital twice before being diagnosed. According to Thomas Frieden, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the patient was being treated in strict isolation and that all measures would be taken to ensure that the disease would not spread in the US. Yet every time I read or hear another report, there seems to be more people he had close contact with. Okay, someone please let me know some MORE facts... You know it's bad when Liberian officials have declared that they will prosecute him for lying on his travel application when he stated that he did not have contact with anyone who had the Ebola virus.. How many people did he really have contact with? Was he infectious at the time? Did he actually spread the disease to someone else? Will he live?
The crazy thing is for the most part, the initial symptoms of the Ebola virus are similar to the flu. That's not good since we are coming up on the cold and flu season. The symptoms which show up 2 to 21 days after infection include:
- High fever
- Headache
- Joint and muscle aches
- Sore throat
- Stomach pain
- Weakness
- Lack of appetite
- Diarrhea
- Vomiting
- unexplained bleeding or bruising
I'm sure there are many rumors as to how this virus is spread. According to medical experts at WebMD, Ebola is NOT as contagious as other common viruses like colds, flu, or measles. It is spread by people having contact with the skin or bodily fluids of an infected animal. Then it moves from person to person the same way. (This makes me want to go back to my childhood days when I would yell at my siblings, "stop touching me" when they were sitting too close to me in the back seat of the car). Persons who care for a sick infected person or bury someone who has died from the disease will often get the virus. How will you find out if you have Ebola? There has to be a blood and/or tissue testing at a medical facility.
Well for now, I guess we keep our prayers up and fingers crossed that this thing does not get worse. Unfortunately, I just heard a report from USA Today that a patient is being tested in Howard University hospital in Washington, D.C., confirmed Friday that it has admitted a patient -- a recent traveler to Nigeria -- who has symptoms that could be associated with Ebola.
My next questions... NOW WHAT??? Have hospitals started to prepare for the possibility of more cases? What about these new urgent care facilities that have popped up all over the country in the last year? Are they prepared to handle a possibly infected patient? Do we have an appropriate supply of medications needed to treat this virus?
And some said that the Ebola virus would never reach here!!! Never say, NEVER!!!
Smooches
My next questions... NOW WHAT??? Have hospitals started to prepare for the possibility of more cases? What about these new urgent care facilities that have popped up all over the country in the last year? Are they prepared to handle a possibly infected patient? Do we have an appropriate supply of medications needed to treat this virus?
And some said that the Ebola virus would never reach here!!! Never say, NEVER!!!
Smooches
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