DRUDGE headline, "NO NEW EBOLA IN 5 DAYS" leads to a Yahoo News article entitled "US cautiously optimistic after no new Ebola in 5 days."
Well, let us pop open the champagne and do a little jig, the US health officials, politicians, and "experts" are all optimistic, albeit cautiously so, right?
Wrong.
First, let's remember a warning we were given before Thomas Duncan, US patient zero, brought Ebola into the US, from "Dr. S" when Steve Quayle brought him onto the Hagmann and Hagmann show, reported at ANP on August 9, 2014, where this doctor with decades of experience in the US healthcare system issued a number of warnings, specifically stating that should Ebola get into America, the hosptials were not prepared and the doctors and nurses were not properly trained to handle such a deadly, infectious virus. (First video below - I suggest everyone listen to it)
Those warnings were proven true as mistakes, missteps, and outright incompetence was highlighted from the very first moment Duncan went to a Texas hospital, told workers there he had come from an Ebola hot zone, was symptomatic, had a fever and was sent home with antibiotics rather than immediately quarantined.
Four to five days later, Duncan was brought by ambulance back to the hospital, diagnosed and eventually died, after infecting two healthcare workers, who are now in quarantine, along with the boyfriend of one. One of those nurses traveled, via air, while symptomatic, after calling the CDC to tell them she was symptomatic and receiving permission to travel.
The family that Duncan was staying with for those four to five days after becoming symptomatic were forced to stay in the home where he was deathly ill for days before being moved to another location, the vomit of Duncan before being picked up by the ambulance was cleaned by men who were not wearing proper gear and was simply hosed away as reported on October 3, 2014, video at this LINK.
Before getting to Dr. S's other warning, which in light of how accurate he was about the US being totally unprepared, is VERY important, it would be remiss not to wonder and bring up the fact that the family Duncan lived with has been declared Ebola free, despite living in a contaminated home with Duncan while he was symptomatic for four to five days without any protective gear, yet nurses that cared for Duncan, with protective gear, managed to become infected.
The second issue about that family and the nearly 50 other people that emerged from quarantine after 21 days, is that five percent of those infected with Ebola do not show symptoms in the first 21 days.
For me, a recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine detailing the first nine months of the 2014 epidemic in West Africa raises concern about the short, often-mentioned 21 post-exposure-day periods in the guidelines. In the journal's study of 4,507 probable and confirmed cases, "approximately 95 percent of the case patients had symptom onset within 21 days of exposure." If we do the math, this means that approximately 5 percent or 225 of the Ebola cases in West Africa had symptoms 21 days after exposure, as reported by the patient or caregiver.
Now back to Dr. S and his other warning: (From the August 9, 2014 article)
This doctor is a cardiologist and M.D., has been in the medical profession for decades and informs listeners that what we are seeing in Africa right now, is just the "tip of the iceberg," and the "perfect set up for the perfect storm, an infectious disease storm." "S" explains that by the time patients are symptomatic, they are also "catastrophic." He also warns what he sees are the risks, concerns, problems and that this is not sci-fi, not imaginary, but a very real possibility to become a global pandemic, where we could see a three week lull, think authorities have a handle on it, then see a worldwide death rate explosion.
We are also warned by another expert,Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) Director, Michael Osterholm, that "the more we learn" about Ebola "the less we know," as he warns of catastrophic events expected. (Video of his speech at this LINK)
While the media is carrying Barack Obama's message of "we have everything under control," the US borders are still open allowing anyone, including terrorists that want to become "Ebola bombs," into the US, or even weaponize Ebola, as well as no travel restrictions from Ebola hot zones, and word is that the US will also be admitting more people from those countries still suffering from the Ebola outbreak. We also have thousands of US troops being sent into Ebola hot zones, who will not be given HAZMAT suits but will instead be protected only by "gloves and masks," and then brought back to the US. With the recent news that "screenings" are beginning at 5 US airports on people coming from west Africa Ebola zones, we also see in those same reports that only "94 percent of the people who travel to the U.S. from the three heavily hit countries in West Africa — Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea," come into those 5 airports.
One last point about those "screenings" which test passengers for a fever which is indicative of possible Ebola, as reported by LA Times, a fever is not always present in those carrying Ebola.
Yet the largest study of the current outbreak found that in nearly 13% of "confirmed and probable" cases in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and elsewhere, those infected did not have fevers.
The finding that 87.1% of those infected exhibited fever — but 12.9% did not — illustrates the challenges confronting health authorities as they struggle to contain the epidemic.
The study, sponsored by the World Health Organization and published online late last month by the New England Journal of Medicine, analyzed data on 3,343 confirmed and 667 probable cases of Ebola.
So, no, it isn't time to pop open that champagne and pat ourselves on the back for having dodged the Ebola bullet because not only is it NOT over... it has just begun and the US has failed spectacularly in proving how much better prepared the nation is than west Africa was.
