Although I can admit to getting apprehensive about being in a profession so heavily involved in touch and the exchange of bodily fluids, I think the chances of someone catching it through this avenue are slim right now.
It appears, at this point, that it is not airborne and is spread through direct contact with bodily fluids, namely diarrhea and vomit. I listened to this NPR piece about an American doctor who was working in Monrovia when the first couple of cases trickled in. Like us, or rather, like the Dallas hospital, they weren’t prepared and the guy was not properly diagnosed nor quarantined for over 48 hours. When they finally did figure this all out, four men in rudimentary protective garb got him into a rather hastily put together isolation room. The American doctor was the only one who was not allowed to touch the patient in any way, although he was certainly in the room. All four men who handled him directly are dead; the one doctor who had no direct contact is the only one in that room who lived. It’s not airborne, at least, not yet. One article I read stated that projectile vomit (which I have never experienced, thankfully) tends to particalize in the air and can come to rest on hands, doorknobs, medical equipment, etc. There really is no evidence (that I know of) that it has been transmitted via in any other avenues; it’s just the existing avenues can be a little subversive.
The only people who have gotten sick from the Liberian national who was treated at Dallas Presbyterian were the healthcare workers who interacted with him while he was desperately ill. He interacted with dozens of people before then and none of them became infected. So, that leads me to believe that while it is highly contagious, it very probably is still not likely you would contract it unless someone was symptomatic. I'm not saying it doesn't make me nervous; it does.
But, this is not the first case on our shores. Emory treated a couple of Ebola patients months ago. The difference in that situation is that they knew what they were getting and they were prepared; they had a protocol in place. There was no outbreak.
There certainly was a systemic failure here, but we have good systems, and they tend to self-correct in a pretty nimble fashion. That Dallas hospital fucked up; they know they did. I bet it won't happen again, at least not in response to this.
I keep thinking of cholera. The lived experience of that must have seemed like if you just breath the air you’re done for. But, of course, it wasn't. It was in the water.
Originally Posted by chelseabean
For the most part I agree based on the research I can find (just internet scrapes). In a controlled environment we probably can contain this. The BREAK in containment (an infected Nurse flying around the country) is where the breakdown occurs. She was smart enough to know what was wrong. What happens to an unprepared city and several think they just have "the flu" and don't take necessary precautions.
And, we are treating this as if NO ONE else in the world can walk around contagious. IE people can get infected somewhere else, fly here, and pass it on.
And these people are getting the BEST care because its in the governments best interest. The costs have to be astounding for treating a couple of patients.
Can they keep this level of care up if thousands or tens of thousands get infected?
I think we will know a lot more in about 2 weeks if this first scare is contained...