CDC Confirms Patient In Dallas Has Ebola Virus

[The Bobster]

http://nypost.com/2014/10/13/nbc-crew-ordered-under-mandatory-ebola-quarantine/

NBC’s medical correspondent ‘violated Ebola quarantine’
By Bruce Golding
October 13, 2014 | 2:37am

Dr. Nancy Snyderman
Photo: NBC


An NBC News crew was ordered under mandatory quarantine for possible Ebola infection after the network’s chief medical correspondent was allegedly spotted on a food run to a New Jersey restaurant, according to a report.

Dr. Nazi Snyderman and her crew had agreed to a voluntary quarantine when they returned to the United States from West Africa last week following their exposure to a cameraman who contracted the deadly virus.

But lying jew Snyderman, who lives in Princeton, NJ, was spotted outside the Peasant Grill in nearby Hopewell on Thursday afternoon, according to Planet Princeton. Snyderman, who was wearing sunglasses and had her long hair pulled back, waited while a man went inside the eatery to pick up a takeout order, Planet reported.

Another man was sitting in the back seat, according to the local news blog.

A spokeswoman for the New Jersey Department of Health said there was no need to decontaminate the restaurant or warn anyone who was inside because the CDC says people without Ebola symptoms aren’t contagious.

“The NBC crew remains symptom-free, so there is no reason for concern of exposure to the community,” spokeswoman Dawn Thomas said.

The incubation period after exposure to Ebola can last 21 days, and the mandatory quarantine order runs until Oct. 22.

Snyderman did not immediately return a call seeking comment. An NBC spokeswoman declined to comment.

Ebola-stricken cameraman Ashoka Mukpo is being treated in Nebraska.

 

[The Bobster]

http://www.myfoxphilly.com/story/26778681/un-worker-dies-of-ebola

German hospital: UN worker dies of Ebola
Posted: Oct 14, 2014 6:36 AM EDT
Updated: Oct 14, 2014 6:40 AM EDT

BERLIN (AP) -- A United Nations medical worker who was infected with Ebola in Liberia has died despite "intensive medical procedures," a German hospital said Tuesday.

The St. Georg hospital in Leipzig said the 56-year-old man, whose name has not been released , died overnight of the infection. It released no further details and did not answer telephone calls.

The man tested positive for Ebola on Oct. 6, prompting Liberia's UN peacekeeping mission to place 41 staff members who had possibly been in contact with him under "close medical observation."

He arrived in Leipzig for treatment on Oct. 9 where he was put into a special isolation unit.

The man was the third Ebola patient to be flown to Germany for treatment.

The first patient, a Senegalese man infected with Ebola while working for the World Health Organization in Sierra Leone was brought to a Hamburg hospital in late August for treatment. The man was released Oct. 3 after recovering and returned to his home country, the hospital said.

Another patient, a Ugandan man who worked for an Italian aid group in West Africa, is undergoing treatment in a Frankfurt hospital.

 

[voiceofreason]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/10/13/ebola-nurse-who/17182599/

Infected Dallas nurse ID'd; gets transfusion from Ebola survivor
9:13 a.m. EDT October 14, 2014

Health officials scrambled to learn how a Dallas health care worker caught Ebola at a Texas hospital where she had cared for a man who died from the deadly virus.

The woman was identified Monday as nurse Nina Pham, her family confirmed.

Pham, 26, became infected while treating Thomas Eric Duncan, the first Ebola patient to die in the USA. Pham, who graduated from Texas Christian University's nursing program in 2010, is the first person known to contract the disease in the USA.

By evening, she had received a transfusion of plasma from Kent Brantly, a Texas physician who survived the virus, according to her pastor and the nonprofit medical mission group Samaritan's Purse, Associated Press reported.

Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Monday that Pham was "clinically stable."

Frieden apologized to officials at Texas Health Presbyterian hospital in Dallas. He said his comments Sunday that Pham's infection was the result of a "breach of protocol" did not reflect on Pham or the hospital's efforts.

"I apologize if people thought I was criticizing the hospital," Frieden said at a news conference Monday. "And I feel awful that a health care worker became infected while helping an Ebola patient."

Frieden said investigators have yet to determine how Pham was infected. He stood by the protocols — including the use of masks, gloves and other equipment — saying they have proven safe for health care workers for decades.

 

[voiceofreason]

http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2014/10/15/2nd-hospital-worker-tests-positive-for-ebola/

2nd Hospital Worker Tests Positive For Ebola
October 15, 2014 5:27 AM

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - A second health care worker at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas has tested positive for the Ebola virus. The diagnosis was announced by the Texas Department of State Health Services early Wednesday morning.

Just as with nurse Nina Pham, who was diagnosed with the virus over the weekend, the latest patient had provided health care to Thomas Duncan, the first person to be diagnosed with Ebola in the United States. Duncan died last week. Pham remains isolated, but in good condition.

The latest patient reported a fever on Tuesday and was then also isolated at the hospital within 90 minutes. Preliminary testing was performed late Tuesday night in Austin and the positive result was received at around midnight, state health officials said in a media release. Confirmatory testing is being conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

 

[voiceofreason]

http://www.wfaa.com/story/news/heal...las-hospital-worker-diagnosed-ebola/17290677/

Nurse traveled on plane day before Ebola symptoms
11:01 a.m. CDT October 15, 2014

DALLAS -- There are now two Dallas nurses being treated for the Ebola virus, and News 8 has learned that the second patient flew on an airplane Monday.

Family members say 26-year-old nurse Amber Vinson has joined nurse Nina Pham, also 26, in isolation at Texas Presbyterian Hospital. Martha Schuler, the mother of Vinson's former stepfather, confirmed her identity Wednesday morning.

The Centers for Disease Control says Vinson was a passenger on Frontier Airlines Flight 1143, which flew from Cleveland to Dallas-Fort Worth on Monday -- the day before she reported symptoms.

The center is now contacting all 132 passengers on that flight, which landed around 8:16 p.m., as a precaution and is asking them to call 1-800-CDC-INFO.

Frontier Airlines says the plane stayed at DFW International Airport overnight, and has since been cleaned. It traveled to Cleveland on Tuesday and was cleaned again. The airline says Vinson traveled to Ohio from Dallas-Fort Worth on Flight 1142 on Oct. 10.

 

[The Bobster]

http://www.myfoxphilly.com/story/26790493/cdc-2nd-hospital-worker-with-ebola-took-flight

2nd Texas Health Worker With Ebola Was On Flight
Posted: Oct 15, 2014 8:05 AM EDT
Updated: Oct 15, 2014 1:08 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) -- The night before she was diagnosed with Ebola, a Texas nurse flew back to the Dallas area from Cleveland, according to health officials who are now trying to contact the other passengers.

The woman is the second nurse apparently infected with Ebola while caring for a Liberian man who died of the disease last Wednesday at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas.

The unidentified nurse flew to Cleveland on Friday, the same day a colleague, nurse Nina Pham, was hospitalized. Pham's diagnosis with Ebola was disclosed on Sunday.

The second nurse returned to Texas on Monday on Frontier Airlines Flight 1143 from Cleveland to Dallas-Fort Worth with 132 other passengers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The airplane's crew said she had no symptoms of Ebola during her return flight on Monday. But Tuesday morning she developed a fever and on Tuesday night tested positive for Ebola.

Infected Ebola patients are not considered contagious until they have symptoms. But the CDC is asking passengers on Monday's flight to call the health agency so they can be monitored.

The flight landed in Dallas at 8:16 p.m. Monday, stayed there overnight, and underwent a thorough cleaning before returning to service the next day. The cleaning was consistent with CDC guidelines, according to a Frontier Airlines statement released by CDC officials.

The health worker's flight to Cleveland last week happened far enough in advance of her symptoms that the CDC sees no need to contact passengers on that earlier flight, said Barbara Reynolds, a CDC spokeswoman.

Health officials did not immediately release the reason for her trip or where she visited in the Cleveland area. The CDC notified the airline Wednesday morning.

 

[vorlos]

http://www.dailystormer.com/silly-s...reated-diseased-ape-tests-positive-for-ebola/

Silly, Stupid Goyim: Second Nurse Who Treated Diseased Ape Tests Positive for Ebola


Andrew Anglin
Daily Stormer
October 15, 2014

Just when you thought it was happening, it turns out it is.

Today the stupid ape President who allowed our country to be infested with a deadly and contagious virus canceled a campaign trip today to address the fact that, lo and behold, a second nurse who treated the invasive and diseased ape in Texas has been diagnosed with Ebola.

This certainly shows just how infectious this disease is, and just how incapable of containing it we are – it shows just how wrong the filthy ape chief and his dirty Jew comrade at the CDC were when they told us “hey, silly goyim, no problem, it’s fine, we can let all of these diseased monkeys in our country and nothing at all will happen, silly goyim.”

Nurses are constantly dealing with persons infected with diseases – that is their job – and they aren’t getting infected like this.

The nurse was traveling through the midwest and boarded a plane the day before she was diagnosed.

COMMENTS:


CrimsonTide
October 15, 2014 at 7:37 pm



"This nurse is black, which would explain why she made a stupid and irresponsible move to get on a plane and likely infect other people."


❝
Authorities declined to say what type of care the nurse provided to Thomas Eric Duncan, who was diagnosed with Ebola after coming to the U.S. from Liberia. He died Oct. 8.

Even though the nurse did not report having a fever until Tuesday, the day after she returned home, she should not have boarded a commercial airliner after learning that another nurse, Nina Pham, had been diagnosed with Ebola, government officials said Wednesday.

CDC Director Tom Frieden said no one else involved in Duncan’s care will be allowed to travel “other than in a controlled environment.”

Infected Ebola patients are not considered contagious until they have symptoms. Frieden said it was unlikely that other passengers or airline crew members were at risk because the nurse did not have any vomiting or bleeding.

Even so, the CDC is alerting the 132 passengers aboard the Frontier Airlines Flight 1143 from Cleveland to Dallas-Fort Worth on Monday “because of the proximity in time between the evening flight and first report of illness the following morning.” Officials are asking them to call the health agency so they can be monitored. The woman flew from Dallas to Cleveland on Oct. 10.

Also Wednesday, Kent State University said the second nurse was related to three university employees and that they were asking the workers to stay off campus for 21 days “out of an abundance of caution.”

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the additional infection is “a serious concern.”

“What happened there (in Dallas), regardless of the reason, is not acceptable. It shouldn’t have happened,” Anthony Fauci, director of the Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of NIH, said Wednesday on MSNBC.

The nurse reported a fever Tuesday and was in isolation within 90 minutes, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said.

“We are looking at every element of our personal protection equipment and infection control in the hospital,” said Dr. Daniel Varga, chief clinical officer for Texas Health Resources, which operates Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas.

The second nurse will be transferred to a special bio-containment unit at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, where other Ebola patients have been successfully treated, Frieden said. Pham will be monitored in Dallas to determine the best place for her care, Frieden said.

The CDC has acknowledged that the government was not aggressive enough in managing Ebola and containing the virus as it spread from an infected patient to a nurse at a Dallas hospital.

“We could’ve sent a more robust hospital infection control team and been more hands-on with the hospital from day one about exactly how this should be managed,” he said Tuesday.

Yes, you Jew snake, you definitely could have done a bit more.

But now you’ve done enough.

Please, you sneaking, stinking rat – go back to your promised land and let us attempt to contain this doom virus you’ve unleashed upon us.

You best start believing in zombie apocalypses

You’re in one.

 

[The Bobster]

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/20...oversial-ebola-themed-costumes-for-halloween/

Companies Selling Controversial Ebola Themed Costumes For Halloween
October 15, 2014 3:59 PM
By John McDevitt

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Too scary for Halloween? Expect to see Ebola themed costumes in the mix, and it’s causing some controversy.

Ebola zombies, Ebola containment workers and even an Ebola soup are some of the ideas being thrown out there for Halloween costumes this year.

A college student, Kayla, says, “I personally don’t think it’s a problem. I just think it’s, I mean, people make fun of everything and now of days — you just got to be like, whatever.”

Paul Johnston is the manger of Masquerade costume shop in South Philadelphia. He says, “It’s inappropriate. I wouldn’t buy them, and I buy a lot of costumes for this store. I wouldn’t touch them. And I don’t want to make fun of people who are sick, you know.”

One company is even selling hazmat suits complete with goggles and breathing masks online for $79.99.

 

[The Bobster]

http://nypost.com/2014/10/16/ebola-victims-nephew-speaks-out-and-criticizes-hospital-system/

Ebola victim’s nephew speaks: The system killed him
By Josephus Weeks
October 16, 2014 | 3:27am

Josephus Weeks, nephew of Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan, who died Oct. 8 in Dallas, speaks with a reporter in a hotel room on Oct. 10.
Photo: AP


On Friday, Sept. 25, 2014, my uncle Thomas Eric Duncan went to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas. He had a high fever and stomach pains. He told the nurse he had recently been in Liberia. But he was a man of color with no health insurance and no means to pay for treatment, so within hours, he was released with some antibiotics and Tylenol.

Two days later, he returned to the hospital in an ambulance. Two days after that, he was finally diagnosed with Ebola. Eight days later, he died alone in a hospital room.

Now, Dallas suffers. Our country is concerned. Greatly. About the lack of answers and transparency coming from a hospital whose ignorance, incompetence and indecency has yet to be explained. I write this on behalf of my family because we want to set the record straight about what happened and ensure that Thomas Eric did not die in vain. So, here’s the truth about my uncle and his battle with Ebola.

Thomas Eric Duncan was cautious. Among the most offensive errors in the media during my uncle’s illness are the accusations that he knew he was exposed to Ebola — that is just not true. Eric lived in a careful manner, as he understood the dangers of living in Liberia amid this outbreak. He limited guests in his home, he did not share drinking cups or eating utensils.

And while the stories of my uncle helping a pregnant woman with Ebola are courageous, Thomas Eric personally told me that never happened. Like hundreds of thousands of West Africans, carefully avoiding Ebola was part of my uncle’s daily life.

And I can tell you with 100 percent certainty: Thomas Eric would have never knowingly exposed anyone to this illness.

Thomas Eric Duncan was a victim of a broken system. The biggest unanswered question about my uncle’s death is why the hospital would send home a patient with a 103-degree fever and stomach pains who had recently been in Liberia — and he told them he had just returned from Liberia explicitly due to the Ebola threat.

Some speculate that this was a failure of the internal communications systems. Others have speculated that antibiotics and Tylenol are the standard protocol for a patient without insurance.

The hospital is not talking. Until then, we are all left to wonder. What we do know is that their error affects all of society. Their bad judgment or misjudgment sent my uncle back into the community for days with a highly contagious case of Ebola.

Thomas Eric Duncan could have been saved. Finally, what is most difficult for us — Thomas Eric’s mother, children and those closest to him — to accept is the fact that our loved one could have been saved. From his botched release from the emergency room to his delayed testing and delayed treatment and the denial of experimental drugs that have been available to every other case of Ebola treated in the US, the hospital invited death every step of the way.

When my uncle was first admitted, the hospital told us that an Ebola test would take three to seven days. Miraculously, the deputy who was feared to have Ebola just last week was tested and had results within 24 hours.

The fact is, nine days passed between my uncle’s first ER visit and the day the hospital asked our consent to give him an experimental drug — but despite the hospital’s request, they were never able to access these drugs for my uncle. [Editor’s note: Hospital officials have said they started giving Duncan the drug Brincidofovir on Oct. 4.] He died alone. His only medication was a saline drip.

For our family, the most humiliating part of this ordeal was the treatment we received from the hospital. For the 10 days he was in the hospital, they not only refused to help us communicate with Thomas Eric, but they also acted as an impediment. The day Thomas Eric died, we learned about it from the news media, not his doctors.

Our nation will never mourn the loss of my uncle, who was in this country for the first time to visit his son. But our nation and our family can agree that what happened at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas must never happen to another family.

In time, we may learn why my uncle’s initial visit to the hospital was met with such incompetence and insensitivity.

Until that day comes, our family will fight for transparency, accountability and answers, for my uncle and for the safety of the country we love.

 

[The Bobster]

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/20...se-exposed-to-ebola-might-not-be-long-enough/

Drexel Study Claims 21 Day Quarantine For Ebola Might Not Be Long Enough
October 16, 2014 12:12 PM

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – A new Drexel study published in the journal PLOS One suggests 21 days might not be a long enough quarantine period for those who have been exposed to the Ebola virus.

The research, which was conducted by Professor Charles Haas, PhD, and used data from both previous outbreaks and the first nine months of the current outbreak, claims that there is still a .1 to 12% risk of that person developing the virus if they are released from quarantine after 21 days.

“In other words from 0.1 to 12% of the time, an individual case will have a greater incubation time than 21 days,” Haas concludes.

The current WHO guidance on quarantining people for Ebola is 21 days, which is based on the supposed 2-21 day incubation period; however, Haas suggests a broader look at the risk factors and the costs and benefits when setting a quarantine standard.

In response the CDC has said, “CDC doesn’t comment on other research. CDC reports based on their findings. The recommended 21 days incubation time is based on their own research.”

 

[The Bobster]

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/20...-call-for-travel-ban-between-u-s-west-africa/

Local Congressman Supports Call For Travel Ban Between U.S., West Africa
October 17, 2014 3:34 AM
By David Madden

MEDIA, Pa. (CBS) – There’s a growing call, in light of the spread of Ebola, to impose a travel ban from the United States to and from West Africa, and a local member of congress now supports that idea.

The U.S. needs to get better protective procedures in place in this country, according to Delaware County Republican Pat Meehan:

“It’s prudent that steps are taken to contain it for a temporary period until we’re able to be better prepared to resolve any issues that might arise in the United States and we’re better prepared to do the kinds of checking to assure that we’re doing everything possible to prevent it from coming here.”

He says the temporary ban would include people on connecting flights, which are necessary to travel from West Africa to Philadelphia:

“Those who are emanating from those original West African countries may frequently travel through other kinds of junctions, so to speak, to get here. So I think it’s prudent that the ban would include people traveling from those areas. You’re already beginning to see some of that happening in Europe.”

The Obama Administration would have to approve any travel ban.

 

[The Bobster]

http://nypost.com/2014/10/17/we-are-liberian-not-a-virus-si-immigrants-face-ebola-stigma/

‘We are Liberian, not a virus': SI immigrants face Ebola stigma
By Erin Calabrese and Rebecca Harshbarger
October 17, 2014 | 3:25am

Oretha Bestman-Yates, president of the Staten Island Liberian Community Association, says she is worried about the shame among and abuse of fellow Liberian immigrants living on Staten Island.
Photo: New York Post/Chad Rachman


Their accents clear subway cars. They are denied work as soon as anyone hears where they are from. And their kids are being bullied at school.

Residents of Staten Island’s Liberian community — the largest outside of Africa — said life has been a struggle since the Ebola outbreak, and it has been impossible to break free from the stigma.

Community leader Oretha Bestman-Yates, 43, flew to her homeland in July to visit her nieces and nephew, and she was cleared by her doctor to go back to her job at a private hospital when she returned.

But her bosses instead forced her to go on unpaid leave since the family trip, she said.

“I asked them, ‘Are you telling me not to come in because of Ebola, or because I’m Liberian?’ ” said Yates, who also runs the Staten Island Liberian Community Association in Clifton.

The frustrated mom said she loses $1,100 every two weeks that she is out of work, and her car has been repossessed. She also recently caught people whispering about her in public.

“The people sitting next to me looked, and I heard them whispering,” said Yates. “And they said, ‘She’s Liberian’ . . . They walked away from me.”

Her young son is taking it hard.

“He’s only 6 years old, and he normally says, ‘I am Liberian,’ ” said Yates. “But he told me he doesn’t want to say that anymore because all people talk about is Ebola.”

About 10,000 Liberians live on Staten Island, largely in the Park Hill and Clifton neighborhoods. Many moved there during a civil war in their homeland.

A flyer about Ebola health screenings in a Staten Island apartment building lobby. The borough is home to the largest population of Liberians outside of Africa.
Photo: New York Post/Chad Rachman


Sando Roberts, 50, who does construction work on Staten Island, said he has struggled to find work since the Ebola crisis.

“It’s human nature for people to look at this in a funny way and be scared. I understand people’s fears,” said Roberts.

“I have a 14-year-old son. I don’t want to die. I don’t want him to die, either. But this seems extreme.”

Ahmed Kargbo, 45, of Mariners Harbor said he was riding an R train on Monday when passengers heard his voice and cleared his entire subway row.

“People can detect your accent and know you’re from Africa,” said Kargbo, who hails from Sierra Leone.

“The whole row I sat on went empty. I was kind of shocked that this happens in the United States of America.”

His friend was told at a Labor Day party to use a napkin if he wanted to touch a plate, while a partygoer said when he saw him that “Ebola is walking around.”

“They think you are the disease itself, or you are a positive carrier,” said Kargbo. “Instead of avoiding me, let’s find a way of how they can be knowledgeable.”

Staten Island Councilwoman Debi Rose told The Post that Liberian kids in her district are being bullied after school.

“I have heard about instances where young Liberian children have been singled out, ostracized and made to feel responsible for this virus,” she said.

She added that she has reached out to Staten Island hospitals to make sure they are up to date on protocols for treating the disease and fully prepared.

One home health-care worker, who did not want to be identified, said her patient told her she didn’t want her coming back because she’s Liberian.

On Facebook, some Liberians are trying to fight back. They are posting pictures of themselves saying, “I’m Liberian, I’m not a virus.”

 

[The Bobster]

http://nypost.com/2014/10/16/dont-say-ebola-on-the-radio-fdny-to-911-dispatchers/

911 dispatchers forbidden from saying ‘Ebola’ on the radio
By Shawn Cohen, Jamie Schram and Laura Italiano
October 16, 2014 | 1:25am

911 dispatchers are being told to not use the word "Ebola" over the radio if it is suspected a patient might have contracted the deadly disease.
Photo: Shutterstock


City officials are so jittery about causing widespread Ebola panic that 911 dispatchers have been forbidden from dropping any “E”-bombs over the radios, The Post has learned.

An FDNY memo instructs all personnel to use more vague terms when discussing the deadly disease, which is threatening to become a global pandemic.

“At no point shall a dispatcher transmit over the radio any message containing the word ‘Ebola’ or related terminology,” according to the advisory, which was obtained by The Post.

Dispatchers instead must use the code letters “F/T,” as in Fever/Travel, to indicate that a 911 caller has a fever and a history of travel to West Africa. “Engine XXX, utilize Universal Precautions — you are responding to a Fever/Travel incident,” dispatchers are now ordered to say.

A source said the directive is meant to minimize fear of a citywide outbreak, since the emergency radio channels are closely monitored by civilian hobbyists and members of the media.

“Just like you can’t say bomb on an airplane, we can’t say ‘Ebola,’ ” said the source. “Back in the ’80s and ’90s, taking universal precautions meant someone has AIDS. And we weren’t allowed to say AIDS either.”

The disease has killed one man in Dallas, and two nurses who treated him contracted the disease despite taking precautionary measures.

Still, officials in New York are confident that first responders are able to treat potential patients without contracting the highly contagious virus. FDNY medics who respond to at-risk patients have been told to wear polyethylene-coated paper gowns, gloves and face masks with plastic eye visors, officials said.

Responders were given a memo laying out a 19-step process for putting on and then safely removing and disposing of their protective gowns and gloves.

“We are the agency on the front lines of this — 99 percent of the jobs will be handled by us,” said Israel Miranda, head of New York’s EMS union.

The FDNY also has a dozen elite “Haztec” workers in each borough designated to deal with potential Ebola patients who are vomiting, bleeding or suffering diarrhea, sources said.

They are equipped with $2,000 in special protective gear and would provide transport to a hospital. Most patients would go to Bellevue Hospital, where up to 20 isolation rooms are available.

“We can replicate the same isolation rooms in other hospitals if needed,” said Dr. Ram Raju, the commissioner of the city’s Health and Hospitals Corp.

The directive sent to 911 dispatchers ordering them to never use the word “Ebola” in radio messages.


Blood samples will be tested by the city Health Department at its lab across the street from Bellevue, with results available within six hours, said Dr. Jay K. Varma, deputy commissioner of the department.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will do backup tests yielding results the following day, he said.

The Medical Examiner’s Office “will take jurisdiction over any confirmed or suspected Ebola death” in the city, a spokesperson said.

“We have now had about 133 calls since July concerning patients with possible Ebola symptoms,” Varma said. “And all 133 are false alarms.”

But at least one company — the city’s main supplier of body bags — is ready to pitch in should the outbreak turn into an all-out crisis.

“We have more than 100,000 bags on hand,” assured company vice president Basheer Mahar.

Last night, the Department of Education sent a letter to school principals containing Ebola information and instructions on how to deal with possible cases.

The letter said that if a student who had traveled to an Ebola-stricken nation shows symptoms, he or she should “be seen immediately by the school nurse.”

 

[The Bobster]

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/102...ated-as-her-condition-downgraded-reports-say/

Nina Pham Boyfriend Isolated as Her Condition Downgraded, Reports Say
By Jack Phillips, Epoch Times | October 18, 2014
Last Updated: October 18, 2014 5:42 pm

Nina Pham, the Dallas nurse to contracted Ebola this week, may have spread the virus to her boyfriend, according to reports.

Got News reported that it got information from two separate Alcon employees. It reported on an email that was sent out to Alcon employees, which said her boyfriend was admitted to the hospital with “Ebola-like symptoms” and “he’s now in quarantine.” The website posted an update from Alcon CEO Jeff George’s email.

It, however, did not totally confirm if he got the virus.

Meanwhile, the condition of Pham has been downgraded from “good” to “fair,” according to reports. “Good condition” is worse than “fair condition ,” according to the American Hospital Association scale.

Pham, 26, apparently contracted the deadly virus after caring for Liberian Thomas Eric Duncan, who died a few weeks ago.

Another nurse, Amber Joy Vinson, also was quarantined after being diagnosed with Ebola. She is being treated in Emory, Atlanta.

On Friday night, Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Pham is in “fair, stable condition and resting comfortably.” Pham is sitting up, talking with staff members, and eating, he said, via ABC News.

“She’s very fatigued. This is a disease that wreaks havoc on you… This virus knocks you out,” he said.

And Dr. Richard Davy continued: “She’s interacting with the staff, she’s eating… I really think she’s doing quite well.”

Pham, 26, arrived shortly before midnight Thursday and was admitted to the clinical studies unit. Doctors said her mother and sister also were in the Washington area.

Pham is being treated by staff specializing in infectious disease and critical care. The hospital has one of four such specialized isolation units in the country designed to handle highly infectious cases.

Workers are monitored as they put on and remove protective clothing and nurses are working in pairs inPham’s room, with one watching the other to make sure correct procedures are followed. They also limit the amount of time they spend in her room to reduce fatigue.

At a briefing outside NIH, Fauci was asked whether Pham’s condition had changed for the worse since she left Texas Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, where she was described as in good condition.

Fauci said, “We fully intend to have this patient walk out of this hospital.”

Pham flew late Thursday from Dallas to Maryland. She was seen walking gingerly down the stairs of the plane to an awaiting ambulance that brought her to the hospital.

In a video shot Thursday in her Dallas hospital room, she is seen smiling as she sits upright in a hospital bed while a man identified as her treating physician can be heard thanking her for getting well and being part of the volunteer team that took care of Duncan, who died of Ebola last week.

 

[sniffy]

Yes, It's time to kill Bentley the Ebola Dog – Glenn Beck
2 days ago - There's a groundswell of bi-partisan support for Bentley, the dog of nurse Nina Pham, who has the Ebola virus. Although the dog was exposed ...

 

[The Bobster]

http://nypost.com/2014/10/20/snyderman-might-lose-nbc-job-after-breaking-ebola-quarantine/

NBC reporter’s job in doubt after breaking Ebola quarantine to get takeout
By Associated Press
October 20, 2014 | 11:56am

Dr. Nancy Snyderman
Photo: NBC


The quarantine against possible Ebola exposure ends this week for Dr. Nazi Snyderman, but the troubles clearly aren’t over for NBC News’ chief medical editor.

An admitted lapse in the quarantine, combined with a curiously imprecise explanation, unleashed a furious response. NBC must now decide whether Snyderman’s credibility is too damaged for her to continue reporting on Ebola or other medical issues and, if so, for how long. The network would not comment.

Snyderman, a surgeon who spent 17 years as a medical correspondent for ABC News and has been at NBC since 2006, covered the Ebola outbreak in West Africa and worked briefly with Ashoka Mukpo, the cameraman who caught the virus and is now being treated in Nebraska. Upon returning to the United States, Snyderman and her crew voluntarily agreed to quarantine themselves for 21 days, the longest known incubation period for the disease. They have shown no symptoms.

Yet New Jersey health officials ruled that her quarantine should be mandatory after Snyderman and her crew were spotted getting takeout food from a New Jersey restaurant.

Ashoka Mukpo
Photo: Facebook


NBC won’t give details about who actually went into the restaurant, or even how many of its employees are being quarantined. Snyderman issued a statement saying “members of our group” violated their pledge.

More than 1,100 people have subsequently written on Snyderman’s Facebook page, many expressing anger. There were suggestions she should be fired or lose her medical license, and some viewers said they wouldn’t trust her again. Snyderman’s failure to be more specific about the lapse or take greater responsibility was another flashpoint.

Snyderman’s “arrogance and dismissiveness” create a huge PR and credibility problem for NBC, said Kelly McBride, an expert on ethics for the journalism think tank the Poynter Institute.

“People are so freaked out about Ebola that the problem NBC has now is that whenever they put her on the air, some news consumers are going to see the woman who put others at risk, rather than the reporter and professional with great experience,” McBride said.

McBride suggested that Snyderman “lay low” or take a leave of absence. Certainly she should not report on Ebola anymore for the network, she said.

Susan Dentzer, a longtime health journalist and commentator for National Public Radio and the PBS “NewsHour,” said people shouldn’t forget that Snyderman put herself at risk to travel to Africa and cover the story. The public is reacting to a fear of Ebola instead of science, she said.

“She and her team clearly should have observed the terms of their quarantine, and she has said clearly that they made a mistake,” Dentzer said. “But let’s put it in a broader perspective.”

Before Snyderman’s trip for takeout, ABC News’ medical expert arguably had bigger problems. ABC health editor Dr. Richard Besser was in Africa at the same time as Snyderman and did not quarantine himself upon his return. That led ABC News President James Goldston to send his staff a memo explaining that the network was following medical advice.

Still, Besser was disinvited to a speaking engagement at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, he wrote last week in the Washington Post. Some colleagues have avoided him.

“I’ve been surprised by how many colleagues have waved from across the room and quickly made an exit,” Besser wrote. “Others won’t enter my office.”

NBC could face a competitive disadvantage if Snyderman is taken off medical stories. Robert Bazell, the network’s longtime health and science correspondent, left last year to teach at Yale.

An important first step for Snyderman will be to explain to viewers exactly what happened, perhaps on a venue like the “Today” show, said Bill Wheatley, a longtime NBC executive who now teaches journalism at Columbia University.

“If she and the network are more forthcoming about the whole matter, I believe that her credibility can be preserved,” Wheatley said.

 

[The Bobster]

http://nypost.com/2014/10/21/travel...-ebola-infected-nations-lower-than-estimated/

Travelers flying to JFK from Ebola-infected nations lower than estimated
By Chris Perez
October 21, 2014 | 12:14pm

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers conduct enhanced screening at JFK International Airport.
Photo: UPI


The number of people flying to JFK International Airport from the three west African nations affect by Ebola is much lower than previously thought, federal officials said.

Data collected at the airport during the first five days of enhanced passenger screenings shows that an average of 31 people per day are arriving from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guniea — less than half the amount that was previously thought, the Washington Post reported.

Officials originally said that an average of 150 people were traveling to the US every day from the virus-stricken region.

Around 94 percent of them were believed to be flying into the five international airports where the screenings take place — Washington Dulles, Chicago O’Hare, Atlanta, Newark and JFK — with 43 percent arriving in Queens.

Since the enhanced security measures began on Oct. 11, the U.S. Customs and Border Prevention service and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have not been authorized to release data about the number of people being screened.

The JFK passenger traffic information came out last Thursday when CBP Assistant Commissioner John P. Wagner testified before a congressional committee, the Washington Post reports.

“Yes, there are less people coming in from those countries,” an anonymous official told the Washington Post. “There have been some flight restrictions. There are some carriers that have stopped flying into the area or taking passengers from the area.”

A total of 155 incoming passengers from west Africa were identified at JFK and put through the screening process over the first five days, Wagner said.

In addition, 13 other passengers underwent enhanced screening after being questioned during the CBP interview process. Eight of those people were transported to an area at JFK where they were subjected to a public health assessment by CDC officials, according to the Washington Post.

A total of 168 people were screened and eventually released after showing no signs of Ebola.

 

[voiceofreason]

New York City Doctor Tests Positive For Ebola

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/10...ng-into-possible-ebola-case-in-new-york-city/

New York City Doctor Tests Positive For Ebola
Doctor's Fiancee, 2 Friends Healthy, But Being Quarantined October 23, 2014 11:59 PM

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — A New York City doctor has tested positive for the Ebola virus after coming down with symptoms Thursday, officials have announced.

Tests Thursday evening at Bellevue Hospital Center came back positive for Dr. Craig Spencer, Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a news conference.

De Blasio urged New Yorkers not to panic, and reemphasized multiple times along with other officials that Ebola is only transmitted through bodily fluids.

“We want to state at the outset – there is no reason for New Yorkers to be alarmed,” de Blasio said.

As CBS 2’s Lou Young reported, EMS crews picked up Spencer just after noon Thursday. He was rushed from a building on West 147th Street in Hamilton Heights where he lives, and taken to Bellevue by a procession of two city ambulances and a police squad car.

Spencer, a 33-year-old physician who works with Doctors Without Borders, came back a week ago from Guinea where he is believed to have been treating Ebola patients.

At the news conference, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said officials believe Spencer came in contact with four people during the time he was infected and symptomatic, and state officials are already talking to those four people.

Those four people include Spencer’s fiancée and two friends – all of whom are healthy, but have still been quarantined, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Commissioner Dr. Mary Travis Bassett said.

The fourth person who is in contact with the state is the driver of an Uber car, which Spencer took when he went bowling Wednesday night in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Bassett said. The Uber driver had no direct contact with Spencer, and is not believed to be in any danger, she said.

Uber issued a statement indicating that it also contacted the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the city Health Department, which said the driver and subsequent passengers were not at risk.

Cuomo emphasized that the state of New York has “a full coordinated effort that has been working night and day, coordinating city, state and federal resources.”

“People come through New York, they come through New York’s airports, so we can’t say this is an unexpected circumstance,” Cuomo said.

Cuomo also emphasized that New York state and city are well-prepared for the threat of Ebola, unlike Dallas – where Thomas Eric Duncan became the first person to be diagnosed with the virus in the U.S. and later died.

“We are as ready as one could be for this circumstance. What happened in Dallas was exactly the opposite,” Cuomo said.

“The more facts you know, the less frightening this situation is,” Cuomo added, also stressing the only way to contract the disease is to come into direct contact with infected bodily fluids.

New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said all processes so far have gone well in treating Spencer, and Spencer can likely make a quick recovery from his illness.

“He was immediately brought to the isolation area that Bellevue Hospital has established for patients that could have Ebola,” Zucker said. “He is being taken care of by an excellent team.”

Bassett said Spencer left Guinea on Oct. 14, and returned to the U.S. three days later. He went through mandatory Ebola screening processes upon arriving at John F. Kennedy International Airport, officials said.

Spencer was well and asymptomatic until Thursday, but started feeling “tired” on Tuesday, Bassett said.

Still, Bassett went on a three-mile jog on Wednesday. He also went to the High Line and may have stopped at a restaurant on Wednesday before his bowling excursion, Bassett said.

As WCBS 880’s Peter Haskel reported, Bassett said Spencer has also used the subway system. He has ridden on the A Train, the No. 1 Train and the L Train.

But Bassett and Zucker both emphasized that there was virtually no chance that Spencer could have spread the virus on the subway, 1010 WINS’ Carol D’Auria reported.

“The patient in Dallas — many people were exposed to him and in the end, very, very few people got sick. As to the point of riding the subway, I would get on the subway tomorrow and take the subway,” Zucker said.

Bassett added that Spencer had no fever when he was at The Gutter bowling alley at 200 North 14th St. in Brooklyn on Wednesday night. But The Gutter was closed as a result Thursday night, and a CMJ music show planned for the venue was canceled.

The Health Department will visit the bowling alley on Friday, WCBS 880’s Peter Haskell reported.

 

[voiceofreason]

Re: New York City Doctor Tests Positive For Ebola

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/24/n...-bellevue-hospital-in-new-york-city.html?_r=0


Ebola Facts: How Many Ebola Cases Are Outside of West Africa?

At least 18 cases have been treated outside of West Africa. Full Q. and A. »

green Recovered orange In treatment red Died

 

[The Bobster]

http://www.myfoxphilly.com/story/27024666/army-troops-isolated-after-africa-duty-tour

Army troops isolated after Africa duty tour
By LOLITA C. BALDOR
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - An Army two-star general and 11 of his staff are being isolated at the base in Italy upon returning from serving in West Africa to help with the Ebola fight.

The general and his staff were met by Italian security officials wearing full hazardous materials suits when they arrived in Vicenza, Italy, over the weekend, a senior military official said Monday.

Maj. Gen. Darryl A. Williams, the commander who led the U.S. response in Liberia, and the members of his headquarters staff were some of the first troops to go to Liberia and were there to provide the initial assessments of the military needs and to begin coordinating the U.S. response. They did not have contact with Ebola patients.

But the Army told Williams and his staff before leaving Liberia that they would be isolated near their base in Vicenza, Italy, for 21 days and they had prepared for it, said the military official, who was not authorized to discuss the issue publicly by name, so spoke on condition of anonymity.

It's not clear whether Williams and his staff were aware they were going to be greeted by teams dressed in hazmat gear.

The Obama administration has resisted efforts to order isolation or quarantine for people working in West Africa. Officials say they want decisions grounded "in science" and don't want to discourage volunteer medical professionals from going to Africa to help fight Ebola, which has infected upward of 10,000 people and killed nearly half of them.

The Army chief of staff, Gen. Ray Odierno, directed a 21-day controlled monitoring period for all redeploying soldiers returning from the Ebola fight in West Africa, said Maj. Charlene LaMountain, an Army spokeswoman.

"He has done this out of caution to ensure soldiers, family members and their surrounding communities are confident that we are taking all steps necessary to protect their health," she said.

So far only 12 soldiers are in isolation in Italy, but dozens more soldiers are expected to return to Italy in the coming days and they will also go to the isolation facility.

The decision only affects the Army for now, but that could change. Army Col. Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, said the decision was made out of an abundance of caution, and that none of the soldiers have shown any signs of Ebola infection. But Warren said the issue continues to be assessed. Warren said there was no exposure incident that triggered the decision, but the soldiers will be checked regularly for any Ebola symptoms.

According to the military official, the soldiers are in a building near the base that includes a dining tent, a gym and other facilities. The building has 56 four-person rooms, 24 single rooms and three VIP rooms.

The soldiers will be restricted there and will not be allowed to go to their homes for 21 days. They will not be interacting with other people, except medical professionals who are monitoring them.