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Two major developments in the US Ebola situation this morning: First, parents have pulled children out of school in the Dallas area after it was released that the person infected with Ebola had contact with schoolchildren—who attended classes before it was discovered. The Star-Telegram reports:
“…Dallas school officials learned Wednesday morning that five students at four schools — Tasby Middle, L.L. Hotchkiss Elementary, Dan D. Rogers Elementary and Conrad High — had come in contact with [Ebola victim] Duncan. Lowe Elementary is also being watched because it connects to Tasby.”
The panic is starting to spread, and the Star-Telegram’s story highlights some disturbing things about how the patient from Liberia contracted the disease.
Meanwhile in Hawaii, a patient is in isolation; officials say it’s “very possible” that they have Ebola.
“We are early in the investigation of a patient — very, very early — who we’re investigating that might have Ebola,” said Dr. Melissa Viray, deputy state epidemiologist. “It’s very possible that they do and they have Ebola. I think it’s also more likely that they have another condition that presents with similar symptoms.”
No word on whether the patient will actually be tested for Ebola.
Xavier says: I’d like to suggest everyone note exactly what the authorities are claiming to be absolute and incontrovertible facts. Because the facts are changing already and by the time this is over, we’ll see that the government and media colluded to propagandize and spread disinformation – just as they always do.
Frieden’s statement as CDC Director that “I am certain we will control this” is straight out of the Obama handbook: false assurances and a direct contradiction of what is actually happening.
We’re handing flyers out to passengers on inbound flights from West Africa, asking them to self-monitor their conditions. Perhaps we should post a sign, “No Terrorists Allowed IN U.S.”
The sheer incompetence boggles the mind.
Jodi says: Absolutely spot on, Xavier. The other day, the doc in Dallas said something like “President Obama is leaning forward” on this issue. Um…MSNBC has (or had) a show with that exact name. I found that choice of words pretty odd. It really got my attention. I don’t trust these people as far as I can throw them. A friend of mine in Texas, who is a very reliable source, says there are far more people exposed than they are letting on.
But don’t worry, they have it under control…sure.
Josh says: Here’s an idea, if you don’t want people to panic, don’t do things that un-necessarily cause panic. Like disinfecting all the schools.. This leads people to believe that there was a chance that students were infected by the other children, after all, why would they need to disinfect the school if there was no chance of transmission because they had no symptoms. Taking un-necessary steps leads people to believe that the steps WERE necessary and therefore the threat real.
Xavier says: I’m going to qualify the following by stating that I doubt we’re looking at a pandemic level event in the U.S. with Ebola. However, I’m not a seer and would prefer that we operate with a high level of caution.
If you had a kid in that school, you’d feel differently. There is never zero risk, and with a fatality rate of over 70% every precaution is justified. Were Ebola to infect a school, containment would be impossible because they are essentially human petri dishes; kids don’t follow health guidelines and parents would contract the illness while nursing their sick children. Plus, kids have pets, and the CDC has proven that dogs are asymptomatic carriers, meaning there is a possibility for the canine population to become a disease reservoir. Consider what that would do to the pet population and pet industry. Consider an indigenous animal population that could trigger an outbreak anytime, anywhere, without warning, forever.
So, disinfecting the school (or not) has a lot more repercussions than may be obvious at first. Plus, many people are behaving too complacently. No one wants panic, but if disinfecting the school raises awareness of the dangers of Ebola, great.
Jodi says: This ^^^
The Ebola patient in Texas reportedly threw up on the sidewalk outside his apartment. And we all know that dogs will eat any damned thing. Gross, I know. But it’s the reality.
Robert Woods says: This morning I spent an hour with my sister in Dallas about this. She is acting pretty nonchalantly about this and was not trying to follow the news. It looks like she’s nowhere near the location where the infected person lived and I didn’t want to scare her, but at least wanted her to listen to the local new occasionally.
We’re really prepared aren’t we!
Robert
Houston
Xavier says: Dallas mayor say police have been embedded in apartment complex under Ebola quarantine to ensure residents’ safety
United Airlines says it is proactively reaching out to 300-400 people who may have been on planes with Dallas Ebola patient, hopes to complete process in next few days – @NBCNews
“residents’ safety”, “hopes to complete process”, snort!
Is this how it begins? With police action and incompetence?
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